Thursday, November 29, 2007

Tips for Finding the Best Insurance for Your Vehicle

by Steven Anderson

Finding the vehicle of your dreams is just one part of the equation because after you buy it you will be required to insure it. So, when considering a vehicle you also need to consider insurance providers in order to end up with the best car insurance at the best price. There are literally thousands of insurance providers you can choose from and the last thing you want to do is simply choose to use your local insurance agent when you can do a little bit of research and find the best provider and save yourself hundreds of dollars on your monthly premium over the year. Consider the following insurance tips before you make a final decision and you will more than likely save yourself a lot of money and receive better service.

Compare There are so many insurance providers there is no way you can compare them all. However, you can narrow down the list by asking friends and family members who they use, you can also compare policies on the Internet, and check out the companies running ads on television.

All you have to do is come up with the top 5 insurance companies from these locations and then sit down and compare them. The important information are their rates and the services they provide for the quoted rates. You want to compare similar policies to one another, not a liability only policy from one company with a full liability and collision policy from another. You need to compare similar policies in order to have a good comparison for the rates and what type of service you will receive. Be sure to also ask a lot of questions when you call for quotes because if you don't know the answers to your questions you could be taking a lot for granted when it comes to your insurance policy. Only when all of your questions have been answered by all of the insurance companies will you be able to compare them adequately. More than likely you will see premium differences of hundreds of dollars for similar policies with similar services. This is not unusual in the insurance field, so as long as you have done your research and the policies and services are more or less equal you should buy the cheaper policy, enjoy the service and coverage, and save your hard earned money!

Your State's Insurance Laws Every state has its own insurance laws and in order to find the best insurance for your vehicle it would be prudent for you to research what your state requires in the way of insurance for your vehicle. Some states are stricter than others, so don't just take for granted the type of insurance you will need. At the very least you will be required to carry liability coverage to protect others and their vehicles if you are responsible for an accident. However, many states do not require that you carry insurance for yourself, your passengers, and your vehicle. This is not a big deal if you are in an accident that is the fault of another driver because they will be required to pay for your damages, unless they are uninsured. And yes, this does happen. It is illegal to drive an uninsured vehicle in the United States , but it happens on a regular basis and these individuals are in accidents and there is no insurance to pay the victims. So, before you decide to forgo collision insurance you might want to consider this fact. If you don't have collision insurance to protect your vehicle and passengers and are in an accident with an uninsured individual and can't collect the damages, how will you pay to have your car repaired as well as medical bills? These considerations should be kept in mind when making the decision on what types of insurance you need.

Look Online You already know to compare insurance providers, however you should know that many online providers offer rates that just can't be beat simply because they reduce many of their costs by eliminating brick and mortar establishments by interfacing with consumers through their website. You will probably notice as you are comparing prices that many web only insurance providers have rates that are unbelievably low, however you are worried about fraud or not receiving the services you are paying for and frankly don't trust the Internet. Don't worry, there are a lot of other people in your shoes as well. Many Internet insurance providers are on the up and up, however there are a few out there that are not. As a result, when looking for an insurance provider online you want to search for one that has lots of good reviews and recommendations from past and present customers. This is not hard to find if you search one of the big search engines. Also, you want to look for certain features on the website like membership in professional organizations, secure transactions, and be sure to ask plenty of questions and talk to the customer service department to make sure they meet your needs. You want the online insurance company to be available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week because you never know when you might need them. So, test out their response at an odd hour just to make sure they are there and waiting to assist you. Then, when you are convinced the online insurance company is legitimate and offers great rates then you can purchase your policy while being assured the company will be there for you when you need them and you will save hundreds of dollars as well.

There are lots of tips to help you find the best insurance provider for your vehicle and these are but a few. However, keep these in mind when you are shopping for insurance and you will certainly find the best plan at the best rate for you. Many people say they don't have time to shop for insurance, and if you are one of them then consider if you would do a couple hours of research to save $300-$500 on your insurance? You probably would, so that means you should do the research and save yourself the money that you would waste by not doing the research. When you consider it in those terms it is certainly a worthwhile investment of your time.

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