Advice On Keeping Car Insurance Premiums Low
Written by Susan Reynolds on November 5th, 2009
Trying to keep your car insurance premiums from going up can be like playing a game for which no one tells you the rules. One important factor is your credit. Insurance companies will check your credit score, because studies have shown there’s a direct relationship between a person’s credit score and the odds you would file a claim. If you’ve had good payment histories on your credit accounts and don’t open and close accounts frequently, you present less of risk to the insurer. This is evidence to them that you are dependable and stable. This is a major factor in determining your insurance rate.
Note: Although your auto insurance risk score is not available for you to examine, it will be somewhat like your credit score. If you’ve had unfavorable activity on your credit score recently, it is best to wait a month or so for things to return to normal before purchasing auto insurance. Another factor in determining your premiums is your car itself. Most auto insurers have a system developed by Car Insurance Services Office that factors age, make and model that begins with the cost of your car and then adds in safety factors and theft statistics. Just like your “insurance risk score” this rating information is not available to the consumer.
Another thing you can do, and frankly you should be doing it anyway, is to avoid accidents on the road. Besides the expenses involved in the accidents themselves, car insurance companies will unflinchingly raise your insurance premiums up if you’re proven to be at fault for a recent driving accident. If this has already happened to you, then don’t despair. You can still work your way back down to lower premiums, it will just take a long time of driving safely. Avoiding accidents and other traffic altercations will save you money and trouble in every possible way.
In the event of an accident contact your insurance company about its forgiveness policy, if any, and see whether or not you qualify. Some companies have a policy of forgiving each client’s first accident. Some companies will forgive the accidents of certain qualified clients. You should also be aware that if a friend, using your car, gets into an accident then you will have to file a claim with your insurer. If your friend is uninsured and causes damage that exceeds your coverage then you may be held liable for damages.
Another factor in your premiums is your car’s real value. When determining replacement value, many insurance companies check with local dealers to find what they sell similar cars for. If you think your car is worth more than what the insurance company is offering to pay, you can dispute this. If you’ve made upgrades to your vehicle with special parts, etc., be sure your company knows this so the extra value is covered. If you’ve had regular routine maintenance or extra low annual mileage, produce these records to show the company your car is worth more. You can also plan ahead with “gap” insurance, which would cover the difference between what you owe and what insurance would pay you.
If you get into an accident with an uninsured motorist, and he or she is at fault, then if you hold multiple car insurance policies you might try to “stack” them. “Stacking” refers to collecting from multiple policies for the same incident. Check the language of each of your insurance policies to see if they allow stacking. If you have UM/UIM coverage on more than one car insurance policy, then you can likely make claims under each until you have recovered 100% of your damages.
If you find another car insurance company that offers better deals, you can switch to them. This means telling your old company to cancel your policy. This is a simple procedure, and all you have to do is notify your old company in writing on the date you’ve chosen to cancel. Just be sure to have the newer policy ready to go as soon as you cancel the old one! If there’s a gap, then you’ll be uninsured for a little while, and getting into an accident during that period of time can be a total disaster. Shop safe and smart and you’ll have no regrets about this simple procedure.
Susan Reynolds is the webmaster for a leading South African Insurance Provider who specialises in Car Insurance.
This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 8:13 am and is filed under Insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Tags: automobiles, Car Insurance, cars, Insurance, personal finance, Vehicle Insurance
O comments at "Advice On Keeping Car Insurance Premiums Low"
Comment Now!