Calculate Car Insurance Costs
Having sufficient car insurance coverage is a legal requirement for all drivers wanting to operate motor vehicles in this country. Each state has their own specific driving laws and insurance stipulations for their citizens to follow. Enter your ZIP into our FREE tool to save car insurance INSTANTLY!
However, some form of car insurance is mandated by anyone wanting to drive. With the high percentage of adults that need and have car insurance policies, the incredible fact is that very few people truly understand the ins and outs of even the most common forms of auto insurance.
Not having a firm understanding of auto insurance can lead to a number of negative consequences such as: being under-insured for your driving needs, being over-insured and paying for insurance that you don't need, and not knowing all of the available options if the driver gets into an accident or has his vehicle stolen or damaged.
Although car insurance may seem confusing and complicated on the surface, having the persistence to dig down beneath the surface and get a full comprehension of the various aspects of car insurance and how it can assist the insurer when he most needs it can be quite beneficial later down the road. Don't lose money on your car insurance! Enter your ZIP for free car insurance quotes TODAY!
The Different Types of Car Insurance Policies
After knowing what each insurance policy covers and how that protection can be used, drivers will be in a much better position to find the best kind of insurance for them and at the lowest price available.
1. Bodily Liability Insurance
This type of insurance covers the medical expenses of those injured in an accident that was the insurer's fault. It also protects against lawsuits filed against the insurer by those injured in the accident. This form of insurances offers no amount of compensation to the insurer or the insurer's vehicle.
2. Property Damage Liability Insurance
This type of insurance covers the property damaged by the insurer in an accident. This includes the other driver's vehicle, a mailbox, a light pole, or any other items were damaged as a result of the accident.
3. Comprehensive Coverage Insurance
This type of insurance covers non-accident related damage done to the insurer's vehicle. It includes damage caused by fire, flood, vandalism, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.
4. Collisions Coverage Insurance
This type of insurance covers damage done to the insurer's vehicle, regardless of who is at fault.
5. Personal Injury Protection Insurance
This type of insurance covers the medical expenses for the insurer and the passengers in the insurer's vehicle who were injured, regardless of who is at fault. This form of insurance is ideal for insurer's who don't have a health insurance policy.
6. Under and Un-Insured Property Damage Insurance
This type of insurance covers a situation when the other driver causes damage to the insurer's vehicle, but doesn't have sufficient or any insurance to adequately compensate for repairs.
7. Under and Un-Insured Motorist Bodily Injury Insurance
This type of insurance covers a situation when the other driver doesn't have the sufficient or any insurance to compensate for the medical expenses of the insurer.
8. Rental Car Coverage Insurance
This type of insurance covers the cost of a rental car while the damaged vehicle of the insurer is being repaired.
9. Towing and Labor Insurance
This type of insurance covers insurers when they need to have their vehicle towed, unlocks doors when keys are lost or locked accidentally in the vehicle, or brings out gas to insurer if he happens to run out.
Additional Factors To Keep In Mind
The following are som additional factors to keep in mind when finding car insurance:
- Bodily injury liability and property damage liability insurance are required in all 50 states.
- Comprehensive coverage and collision coverage require that an insurer pays a deductible that needs to be paid for before the insurance company will pay for any of the remaining balance
Ways To Pay Less For Car Insurance
The cost for insurance policies are not set in stone. Even after an insurance company provides a driver with an insurance quote, insurers can still take actions to try and lower the amount of the premium being charged. These include, but are not limited to:
- Being added onto the policy of a parent or guardian. For younger drivers who are facing incredibly expensive car insurance rates, this can be especially helpful. By using the established relationship and driving history of the parents, young drivers can secure significant reductions in insurance prices that could total in the hundreds of dollars each year.
- Getting a discount for not being in a recent accident. Car insurance companies love drivers who rarely, if ever, get involved in motor vehicle accidents and will gladly provide them with a discount to keep them as customers for the long term.
- Taking a driver's education class or defensive driver's course. People that are responsible enough to get the added driving experience with a qualified driving instructor are shown to be safer drivers. Insurance companies will give these drivers a discount if no claims have been filed within the last 6 to 12 months.
- Getting good grades in school. For driver's that are still enrolled in school, many insurance companies will give them a discount for getting high grades. All a policyholder needs to do is show the insurance company a copy of his school transcript in order to secure the price reduction.
- Install anti-theft devices onto the vehicle. When a car gets stolen by thieves, the costs to replace the value can be quite expensive to the insurance firm. An insurance company will give the insurer this discount for installing devices on his vehicle like an alarm system or a satellite tracking device. Preventing a theft from occurring or having the capability to track down and recover a stolen vehicle can qualify for this reduction.
- Install safety features onto the vehicle. The safer a car is, the fewer the amount of damage that will normally be caused by getting into an accident and less injuries to drivers and passengers. Installing more safety items will result in a greater discount. Safety features can include: automatic seat belts, airbags, rear view video monitor, and automatic crash notification systems.
- Paying a higher deductible. The deductible on a person's insurance policy is the amount that the insurer will pay out of his pocket before the insurance company will provide the additional financial compensation. Having a deducible of zero means that the insurer will not pay anything out of pocket and that the insurance company will cover all expenses. Although this is convenient for the insurer, it also comes with the most expensive price tag. Drivers looking to reduce their insurance premium will elect to pay as high a deductible amount as they can. The stipulation with this insurance savings is the ability to pay the insurance deductible if the time comes where that is necessary.
- Paying for the premium in one lump sum. Most people don't have the financial resources on hand to pay the entire insurance premium in one payment. Fortunately for them, most insurance companies will set up convenient payment schedules that will allow drivers to make payments on a monthly basis. While this may be easier for the insurer to pay, it must be understood that insurance companies will charge a higher amount when making payments in this fashion. Paying for the insurance policy in one payment will ensure that the driver is paying the lowest amount.
Estimating Your Car Insurance Payment
Before an individual goes about contacting insurance companies in regards to getting car insurance coverage, it is a good idea to get an estimation of what the insurance premium will be. This can be used against the insurance quotes that will be requested from the insurance companies to ensure accuracy.
There are various types of car insurance premium calculators on the internet. Although getting a value from an online car insurance calculator is just an estimation, it can give drivers an approximation of what they will need to be able to afford in terms of car insurance costs.
Using a Car Insurance Calculator
Using a car insurance calculator is one of the easiest ways to figure out what the car insurance policy will cost. The only thing a person needs to do is submit their zip code information.
The car insurance calculator will then research the specific state requirements and provide the individual with a number of insurance quotes designed just for them. Each state has their own insurance coverage minimums. The car insurance calculator takes this into account when assisting drivers with accurate insurance quotes.
Car Insurance Comparison
Since every insurance company uses different criteria to determine the amount of the insurance premium to charge drivers, each of them will give a different insurance quote for the same driver. This is why drivers need to get insurance quotes from multiple insurance companies. Compare car insurance with our FREE car insurance comparison tool!
Our car insurance comparison tool allows individuals to enter in all of their personal information and the details of the vehicle that they are insuring. Within a few minutes, you will get a list of insurance quotes from car insurance companies.
These quotes will provide the cost of the premiums and the insurance coverage provided. The person looking to get auto insurance simply has to review the different quotes against each other, deciding on which one provides the most amount of protection for the most economical price. Since everything is placed all in front of him, the process cannot be made any easier.
Now, an individual can pay for the car insurance that he has chosen over the internet. Upon getting confirmation that the payment was successfully processed, the person can then go about the procedure of printing out all of the insurance documents that are suppose to remain in the vehicle when driving.
It's unfortunate that so few people understand car insurance. Individuals who lack the basic comprehension of car insurance policies may find out too late that they are either overpaying for insurance that they don't really need, or do not have enough insurance protection that they assumed they did.
Either scenario will result in wasting money and causing lots of unnecessary stress and frustration. That being said, simply understanding the different types of insurance policies available is not enough.
Drivers who are looking to save money also need to investigate the variety of steps that they can take to lower the costs involved in the insurance policies. Being able to use a car insurance calculator can be a good first step in knowing how much money should be spent on insurance protection. Our car insurance calculator will help you save the most money possible for FREE!
With that in hand, drivers can take advantage of the resourcefulness provided by car insurance comparison websites in order to find the best deal available. What are you waiting for? Enter your ZIP and begin comparing car insurance companies for FREE!