How To Comparison Shop For Car Insurance

Car insurance is something we all need but it is probably not the kind of thing that we think of to shop around, like a stereo or new TV. But this is something that we all should do every now and then, like every couple of years, instead of just assuming that we are getting our best rate with the carrier we have now. We need to simply make sure that we are still getting the best car insurance value for the money. It goes without saying that there is always a new guy on the block offering even more competitive car insurance.

When you shop around for car insurance, be very cautious if you think you have discovered a better quote. You do not need to be an expert in insurance terminology to find out that you are not comparing apples to apples. For example, if everything looks the same on two policies, look again. Oh yes, one has a $300 deductible and the other one has a $1200 deductible. That is a major difference.

Should you shop for car insurance online? Absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt. But again, be careful. There are no guarantees that just because you found it online means that it is a competitive quote. You need to examine the fine print very carefully, because many times your local insurance agent can do better than what you see there. Although there are many considerations, one of the primary considerations is your driving record, and if you have had good luck with no tickets and no accidents in many years, then you should be a very good shape for getting an aggressive quote, either online or from your local insurance agent.

But if your driving history lacks a little luster, maybe you have an accident or two, maybe combined with a ticket or two, it is going to be tougher to find a good quote for car insurance. It will not be impossible, but you are going to end up paying much more than you would like to.

One of the hard facts of life is that you need to have car insurance if you are going to drive a car on public roads and highways, and almost all states have a requirement to that effect. So given that, do not forget to add the cost of the car insurance that you must carry to the cost of your car payment. Maybe you can afford the car payment, but after you add in the insurance, it’s just out of your league.

There are many factors that go into pricing car insurance, and one of the main ones is the type of car you want to insure. It does not require a rocket science degree to figure that the cost of insuring a late model Lincoln Town Car is going to be much more than a late model Kia. The overall value of the car is taken into consideration as well as the cost of repairing the car if it gets into an accident. In the same way, a car’s crash safety test records indicate how safe the driver is in an accident, and the cost of the car plus the cost of medical bills play into computing insurance costs also.

So shop around and get your best quote for car insurance. Check online pricing but do not assume that that is as good as it gets. The time you put into your shopping will be directly reflected as savings in your wallet.