Many people may be wondering if cheap car insurance is real or even possible to obtain. It is with certain conditions. It is all about the type of car insurance that you get. You must look at the deductible and make fair comparisons with the other companies. There are many steps involved with finding cheap auto insurance but if you do it the right way, then you should find some insurance that is affordable for you.

Comparing cheap car insurance companies

Comparing companies is an important part of finding cheap car insurance. If a company states that their insurance is “cheap,” that may not be completely true. An important thing to do is to ignore the words cheap and discount. You need to focus on the real price of the insurance. You will never know if the deal that you are offered is cheap or not without comparing it with other insurance companies. Do not be afraid to say no and to look around. You are not hurting anybody’s feelings and you deserve to get the best price for your insurance.

Looking At The Deductible

The insurance may be extremely cheap every month but when you look at the deductible, expect to see a very high number. This is how much you must fork over before the insurance company intervenes. This is an important thing to look at. What you need to look for is a low deductible with a low monthly cost. This may seem hard to find, but the deal is out there somewhere. It is optimal to find a good balance of the two costs so you will not have to pay too much to fix your car, and at the same time pay a low cost every month.

Check The Benefits

There are several benefits included with each insurance package. You could be offered special deals, bonuses, accident forgiveness, and other nice things. These are very good to consider when buying cheap auto insurance. The thing that you need to watch out for however, are the one time deals. If for example the company offered accident forgiveness for your first accident, it may look very appealing, but the problem is that the deductible and monthly cost would be very high for that company compared to the one without the offer. You may be paying more for a very long time to get a one time break on an accident and it may just not be worth it. Remember to calculate these things for the long term.

Check The Reviews

This is an important trick for finding cheap car insurance. Always check the reviews. Check the reviews on a verified review website so that you can see what people think of the insurance company. It is an easy way to find scam companies as well as to check if the company that you are looking at is the right company for you. Insurance companies can have great deals and great benefits, but if they have poor customer service, you may not want to go with them.

Generally, insurance companies are of the belief that teenagers are not safe drivers. Even if a particular parent vouches for his son’s or daughter’s safety no insurance company will believe that. Teenagers are dropped like hot potatoes when it comes to insurance. Either that or they have to pay huge amounts as insurance premium. Most parents are at a loss when they find that their insurance premium has risen just because they added their son or daughter to the policy. Insurance companies have all sorts of statistics that say young drivers are reckless and hence they cause more accidents than other people on the road. They even have the evidence and studies that show drivers younger than 25 years of age are likely to cause more accidents than all the older drivers put together.

 Student discount offers

Some insurance companies have become bold enough to come up with insurance policies that offer discounts for teenagers. But the driver has to be a student and should be able to prove that he gets good grades in class. This might remind most people of all the promises parents make to their young ones telling them they will get a gift if they become first in class. This is one form of that old custom and full-time students who study well and get grades greater than B will definitely get good discount offers.

Parents with good driving record can sometimes pass on their discounts to their children. They will have to talk this out with the insurance company. If the mother or the father has been exceptionally good at following all the rules of driving, then it is definitely an asset.

Using second hand cars

Teens are always experimental with their vehicles. They like to race with their peers and go for mock competitions rides. Such rides are not good if the car is brand new. Even if the parent can afford to buy a new car for the teen it is always better to go for second hand cars till the teen becomes an experienced driver. Until they become careful with their driving and becomes competent enough to practice proper road rules and manners, it is better to put off buying brand new cars. Parents should advice their children to drive safely and the teens should make sure they attend crash courses on proper road behavior. They should be encouraged to drive within the speed limit and they should be educated on how exceeding the speed limit can cause accidents. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is the same as inviting danger. Several of these accidents are fatal; brand new car or not. Car insurance companies welcome these options and they offer cheap insurance for teenagers if the teens can provide a certificate for sound mental and physical health from their doctor.

Getting a tracking device

This is one thing which teens will not take kindly to, but it helps in acquiring cheap insurance for teenagers. An active GPS teen tracking device will let the parents know exactly where their teens are. It will also let them know where the car has been coming from and where it is going to. All in real time. It will also tell the parent whether the teen has been speeding or driving without a seat belt. Insurance companies will be relieved to know that a parental monitoring equipment is working actively inside the teen’s car and they will cut down on the insurance premium.

If the driver is young, male and single then his chances of getting cheap insurance for himself are quite slim. They generally fall in the category of reckless drivers. But on the other hand, if the youngster is married then naturally he becomes responsible and duty bound. The instances of reckless driving will come down considerably.  Getting married is not exactly a full-fledged tip for getting cheap insurance, but it helps. After all, marriage is not the means to gain something.

There are online car insurance companies who offer cheaper insurance policies. A smart young driver can save as much as $1000 while shopping for cheap insurance for young drivers. It is not an easy task to research all the websites to know which one offers the best car insurance for young drivers. But the rewards are huge.

If You Take Time To Compare Your Auto Insurance, It Can Save You a Headache in the Long Run.

Finding the right auto insurance is never easy and the amount of options available for the public is expanding more and more everyday. With new companies opening on a weekly basis, the competition has risen drastically in the past year and people have to actually compare a lot of different insurance companies to find exactly what they are looking for, and find the right price that they will be able to afford in the long run. As long as you own a car, paying a monthly fee is inevitable and paying that monthly fee is the only way a driver is allowed to keep driving legally.

Now, with every insurance company, different deals are available for different prices. Finding the right price means comparing more than one price and figuring out what fits your needs best. Every insurance company offers a full insurance coverage and a basic one, picking what sounds better would always allow the full coverage to be picked and people will end up paying a lot more money than they would pay if they just got the normal basic coverage insurance. So step one would be going online and looking up prices for basic coverage insurance between different companies.

The second step and the most important step to do is to fill out the information asked for to the most truthful extent there is because getting insurance all counts on what kind of information are you going to supply for the insurance agents. Having an agent look for different car insurance companies and compare them for you might save you a lot of time but it will not give you the best price for the car you are getting insured for. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself, and that is what insurance relies on as well. Finding the best price is all up to you.

Now the third step is to make sure the insurance company you are signing up for is not going to change their prices in the next day because that will apply to anyone who is using their services. Talking to an insurance agent before you pay any money towards the policy is the smart thing to do and setting a certain price and asking them or making sure they are going to keep that price the whole duration of your policy. Now saving money over time on car insurance means comparing more than one price over a couple of months to figure out what the yearly pay is going to be. Some insurance companies trick you by giving you a cheaper price for the first 3 months then the price escalates very high over time which will cost you more and more money every month. The insurance company makes up what ever money they lost by giving you 3 months cheaper by adding fees and payments that will make all their money back and put them on top.

The fourth step is to start cutting down on driving because the more you drive the more your insurance price is going to be.  More driving means more risk of getting in a car accident which means the driver is putting himself and other people around him in danger of getting in a car accident just because you have been on the road for longer.

The last thing to make sure to do before you pay for your insurance is to check that the company will not add hidden fees if you decide to cancel your insurance before the agreement time says you are allowed to cancel the policy. Reading the policy before submitting a payment saves you a lot of trouble over time.

In the end it is typically our own laziness that causes us to pay a higher price or be taken advantage of in an insurance policy.  After all companies have a lot to gain, the insurance agent included.  Here at centralinsurance.org we want to help facilitate a little laziness by making it easier for you to compare auto insurance plans.  But the trick to making sure you are getting the best deal for your personal need is still a matter of due diligence.  Please visit us at the form above to start comparing the cheapest car insurance rates online today!

So you have decided to take the next step and look into finding some cheap car insurance?  After all, the holiday season is upon us and who couldn’t use a little extra green in their pocket.  There are a few items of concern you should be looking into before you take the cheapest car insurance rate you find.  It is not all about price in every instance when you search for the auto insurance coverage that is best for you.  And with everyone’s situation being different financially and type of car they posses it is impossible to write an article that is a sure fire method for every driver out there.  But we can at least touch on the important points while you shop for your car insurance.

The first thing you need to do is to make a commitment to doing the comparisons of the car insurance quotes you receive.  While there are many ways a consumer can get a cheap car insurance quote today and the process has indeed become easier getting a cheap car insurance price is one story but knowing what you need and what you are getting is the other side of the story.  You need to break out your current policy, if you don’t have it handy ask your insurance agent to send you a copy of it.  Read through your policy and ask your agent questions should you not understand what is being in covered and what is not and for how much.  So the first step is commitment, in finding not necessarily a cheap car insurance quote but a quality car insurance quote that is a better price.  Don’t be lazy and take things at face value this is where your agent can slip in the extras that you may not necessarily need insurance for.  Being educated is the best defense in not being taken advantage of.

Now that you understand what your auto insurance policy is covering you can take a look and see if the cheaper price you are seeing is what you are currently getting or needing coverage for!  Now that you know dollar figures and amounts you want to see if the prices you are being offered have any kind of loop holes.  And by loop holes we mean discounts.  You can get a better rate more times than not with discounts and also you may not be able to get as good a discount if you get one because you have been with a certain provider for a period of time.  Some things to ask for discounts on are:

• Multi-car discounts
• Military discounts (or other types of organizations)
• Senior Citizen
• Safe Driving
• Driving Course

These are some of the more typical discounts that are advertised that are not necessarily disclosed up front with your initial cheap car insurance quotes.  Some other features to ask about can be car specific, like your ABS Brakes, Air Bags, Rear View Camera System, etc.  So be sure to go over any discounts that may be available with the agent before committing.

These two methods are best to use when looking for a better car insurance rate.  Remember not all cheap car insurance quotes are equal and some can be deceiving on coverage that you may need. We at centralinsurance.org wish you the best in your hunt for cheap auto insurance quotes and we invite you to receive your free quotes from us by using our form above.  Its free, safe and easy!

Best Auto Insurance Resource

So here at purchase-insurance.com we get asked a lot of questions about some places to find specific information about where to go to find information on “fill in your blank here”.  So we thought it would be a good idea to create a resource page that is handy not only for car insurance but other aspects of the car as well.  Below you will see some great links that we frequently pass on to our users.

General Insurance Information

First off, we want to start with the Insurance Information Institute.  Chances are most of the articles you read on the internet revolving around insurance have a tendency to spawn from this site.  If you are looking for specific facts or resources this is a good place to check as they are well regarded in the industry.

The next resource we recognize is A.M. Best.  This company has been around since 1899 and if you are familiar with the insurance industry you will know that A M Bests mission has been to rate the auto insurance companies.  This site can be useful if you want to know the financial security of the agency you choose to go with.  This site also provides great news as related to the insurance industry so it is good to check out from time to time.

In this list we also would like to include the links to all the state specific insurance departments only because more than often an insurance question or requirement does vary from state to state so sometimes it is easier to contact the source directly.

Alabama              Idaho                                    Minnesota                          North Dakota                     Vermont

Alaska                  Illinois                                  Mississippi                         Ohio                                        Virginia

Arizona                Indiana                                Missouri                              Oklahoma                            Washington

Arkansas              Iowa                                     Montana                              Oregon                                 West Virginia

California             Kansas                                 Nebraska                             Pennsylvania                     Wisconsin

Colorado              Kentucky                            Nevada                                 Rhode Island                     Wyoming

Connecticut        Louisiana                            New Hampshire                South Carolina

Delaware              Maine                                   New Jersey                         South Dakota

Florida                  Maryland                            New Mexico                       Tennessee

Georgia                Massachusetts                   New York                            Texas

Hawaii                  Michigan                             North Carolina                   Utah

Buy Your Car First

These next sites while we realize they are not specific to insurance can still be of value as to need auto insurance in the first place you need a car.  And like many people we enjoy shopping without the hassle of a salesperson.  While you still will have to test-drive at least you can get an idea of the value of a car before you end up purchasing your vehicle.  After all, an educated consumer can usually tell if they are getting scammed.

For our first car buying site we want to recognize Cars.com.  This site can help you find a car locally, to selling your old car to financing a potential purchase.  It is an easy to use website that can help you find that perfect car you are looking for.

For our next choice you can also check out Intellichoice.  Similar to cars.com, you can actually purchase insurance from this site as well so they have made it a nice one stop shop while the navigation is also easy for even the most inexperienced user to manage.

Safety Matters

There are some sites that are nice just to see how safe your car is.  If you want to see how safe your car really is we recommend going to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  This site gives the low down on just how safe your car is as in keeping occupants safe in a crash.  So for those with little children you may want to know just how safe it is if you were to happen into a car accident.

Another great site to visit is the National Highway Safety Institute.  This is a must see site in regards to anything safety involving a car.  It has great information on safety tips, safe driving techniques, vehicle recalls and even facts that you probably would not want to know about.

Ok, so perhaps this was not the best auto insurance resource ever but we hope it helped add some value and help in guiding you to other places to get answers on your insurance questions.  Laws and regulations can be tough to understand so we recommend always turning to your insurance agent in regards to specific questions you may have.  If you want to see just how much you can save on cheap car insurance be sure to try our quote form at the top of this page and start saving on your policy premium today!

Bagging Up Your Cheap Auto Insurance!

Being able to bag up cheap auto insurance isn’t always easy to do.  Today most people tend to be creatures of habit and don’t take the necessary steps to help them get simple discounts.  So insurance companies can continue to stack and rack the consumers as they come in without having to necessarily offer up what discounts they may be eligible for.  It is a proven fact that an educated consumer typically can save more money just for the sheer fact they don’t get taken advantage of.

Everyone should be familiar with auto insurance.  All states require a certain amount of coverage; on top of that the lender that gave you your auto loan wants to be sure they can get money back in case you default on the loan and therefore want to make sure the car can come back to them in pristine condition in the event of an accident.  But above all we as consumers usually want to protect our assets and this is where insurance plays a big role as typically one usually does not have 20-30k in cold hard cash laying around.

The information in this article is geared to help you know how the car insurance companies work in determining your deductible and by knowing how, you can figure out the right things you can do in order to obtain low cost car insurance.

How The Auto Insurance Companies Determine Your Deductible:

One of the key factors in the determination of your auto insurance deductible is based off of past performance.  In this we mean an individual’s driving record for the past five years.  This can determine how often you have had accidents and are a proven method to see if you are a safe driver or not.  No other external factor can influence this record with an individual.  Taking this into account the obvious thing to do here is to be a safe driver.

Another key factor in determining your premium on your auto insurance policy is your credit score.  Credit scores, believe it or not the insurance companies use to determine your insurance score.  Studies have shown that people with lower credit scores tend to file more claims.  The claims are when insurance companies tend to lose money so as a higher risk factor they will increase your premium.  You would do wise to try and improve your credit score if at all possible not only will this help you with purchasing big items in your life but it will save you some green on your insurance premium.  A good place to turn to help rebuild bad credit is here. The Federal Trade Commission has given a good list of ways a person can self improve their credit score or just give a heads up on possible scams for services that are out there.

Your Identity:

Your age, marital status and gender all play roles in your auto insurance premiums as well.  While we can’t help the way we were born the insurance company will usually slap a higher premium on your policy if you are under 25 years of age and above 65 years of age.  People who fall in these age ranges usually have higher percentages of getting into an automobile accident.   Typically there is not much you can do to help get cheaper auto insurance with your age but one thing you can do is take a defensive driving course for those younger folks in your family, this can usually provide a small discount on your premium.

The area you live and the type of car you drive have a direct effect on your premium, those who live in urban areas have shown to have a higher risk of getting into an automobile accident.  And like wise if you are driving a race car or high luxury car you can expect you will be paying more to insure it because if an accident does happen it is going to be more expensive than your average Toyota Corolla.  So when you are picking out a place to live or the type of car at the dealership be sure to keep these in the back of your mind as being able to add to that bottom line.

What Happens In The Past Stays In The Past?

This is simply not true.  When you file a claim auto insurance companies usually will report them to private databases.  One such is called (CLUE), or Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange.  So when you fill out those applications don’t feel because you are going to a different insurance company that an old accident won’t pop up in their data base.  It is always better to be truthful when filling out applications for insurance companies.  For one you will be getting an upfront cost on your premium and for two, an insurance agent may tell you qualify for a safe driver discount that is simply not the case.  So don’t keep skeletons in the closet.

Now that you know some factors that determine your auto insurance policy there are questions you need to ask when you shop around for cheap auto insurance.  You need to be sure the insurance company you choose is licensed in the state you are seeking insurance.  You can check this with your state insurance department.  You will also need to ask what coverage state law requires you to have and what coverage will the lender of your car loan require you to have so you can be sure you have the right amount and are not getting oversold on a policy that is not what you need.  Be sure you ask about affiliation discounts you may qualify for as certain groups can get a substation percentage taken off of their car policy premium.

We hope this article helped you in understanding how the insurance company determines your premium.  This certainly does not contain all the elements in the determination but it presents the core used by most car insurance companies.  We at centralinsurance.org wish you the best of luck in find the right car insurance policy for you.  Be sure to visit our form at the top of this page to help you find the cheapest car insurance in town.  Our form is free and secure with no obligation to buy from any insurance company.  By comparing multiple quotes for the top leading insurance companies you can ensure cheap auto insurance will be in the bag.

Get Cheap Car Insurance

There are many reason’s one would want to lower their insurance costs.  With the economy the way it has been for about two years there are still many people trying to stop the bleed of their wallet every day.  There are some luxuries in life that we can simply cut back on but others are required for us to have to either sustain our lifestyle or simply uphold the requirements of the law.  Auto insurance is unfortunately not a luxury we can cut out “legally”.  So how exactly can we get savings for car insurance when we are required to carry a certain amount by law?  This list will help you do just that.

Shopping Around

This may seem obvious to a lot of people and it typically is.  Everyone knows that when you take the time to compare an item you usually end up getting the best quality product at a price you are comfortable with.  Insurance is no different.  In fact people should try and compare their car insurance rates every six months to see if the price they are paying is the lowest in town.

Laziness is usually to blame in this tip as we feel most people are creatures of habit.  The beauty of it is with today’s technology one doesn’t have to try very hard to comparison shop on car insurance.  There are three main ways you can compare car insurance policies.  You can call around to your local insurance agencies, jump online and many companies now will offer you quote’s from themselves and their competitors, there are brokers who will also give you many quotes you can compare for free, this is how purchase-insurance.com functions.  Or you can try giving your state insurance department a call and they typically give you a breakdown of rates and discount for each company.

Just don’t look at price alone when you are choosing which car insurance company to go with, more times than not it is best to go by word of mouth from friends and family.  You should check with your friends or family to see what kind of experiences they have had with their insurance company.  We have had customers that have had nightmares with the insurance agent they have had to work with when they try to get claims they have filed.  And sometimes the hassle of threatening your insurance company with a lawsuit to make sure you get reimbursed for your claim is just not worth the cheaper price you pay monthly.

Older Cars

Be sure you are not paying full coverage for a clunker.  Your insurance company or bank will not reimburse you for the retail value of your car as it looked 10 years ago in a showroom.  At some point you need to realize it may be more prudent if your car was totaled in an accident that you would just walk away and buy a new car.  Knowing how much your car is worth can be found at http://www.kbb.com/.  You will have to weigh your own personal finance to determine the risk of insurance you need but just realize the clunker you may be driving you may only get $1000 if it were totaled.

Homeowners and Car Insurance Together

Make no mistake that all insurance companies where available will give you multi-policy discounts for insurance.  One such is when you insure multiple cars, combine your renters and car or home and car insurance policies you can save some money.  Insurance companies make good money so they stand to gain a lot by getting you on multiple policies so be sure to check around for how much you could save by adding more policies than just your car insurance with them.

Our Checklist

Even though we at purchase-insurance.com would love to have you search for your perfect car insurance quote on our site we want to enable you to be able to shop no matter where you go.  This list is a good one to have for the chance you happen to call around or go with a different service provider.

Be sure to ask about the following discounts with every company you compare:

1. Having a $500 deductible
2. Having a $1000 deductible
3. Insuring more than one car
4. Haven’t had an accident in three years
5. Taken a driver training course
6. Installed a car alarm recently
7. Safety features on your car, ie~ air bags, crash star rating, back up camera system
8. Have a student with a B average or higher
9. Multi-policy discounts
10. Long time customer

By following through on some of these simple things you too can get cheap car insurance.  We hope you have enjoyed reading this article and hope you will visit us again soon.  Be sure to visit our car insurance quote form for your free insurance comparisons that literally takes two minutes!

Auto insurance for younger drivers has always been more expensive than for older ones. And the reason comes down to two things, they lack the experience and are more reckless. Insurance companies consider teens and young adults to be higher risks primarily because they haven’t racked up enough time behind the wheel. This shows up in the statistics. Teenagers are three times more likely to be killed in a crash than any other group. In fact it’s the single leading cause of death in this age category. There’s really no way around that fact.   A certain sense of invulnerability plays a part in this. The proof of this is in the fact that males are at significantly greater risk than females. Though there may be a bit of recklessness that goes with being young, the main problem is not having had enough practice.

But even though they’ll have to pay more than older drivers, young drivers can still keep the costs to a minimum. There are a few things they can do that apply to people in all age categories. They can stay away from new, high-priced vehicles. The less likely a car is to be stolen, the cheaper the insurance. A few other tricks include buying just the insurance you need, no unnecessary extras. This may include having a higher deductible on the policy. And always do a lot of shopping around. The popular companies that advertise a lot are usually going to charge more.

Along with these general strategies, there are a few other tips to cheap car insurance for young drivers. Perhaps the biggest thing a newly-minted driver can do is get on their parent’s insurance policy. This saves the most money in the quickest amount of time. Having the parent, or parents, name on the policy provides a trusted client for the insurance company to deal with. They know the parents will take extra precautions with their child to avoid higher premiums. The parent is always the primary teacher of their child. And that includes safe driving habits, such as eliminating distractions. And keeping close tabs on where they’re going and with whom. Of course while this is cheaper for the young adult, it still means higher premiums for the parents. So this provides the parents with the motivation to ensure their child doesn’t do anything that will force them up any higher.

After this there is the simple act of keeping up good grades in school. The companies know from the statistics that students with higher grades are more careful drivers. This would make sense since the same diligence applied to learning carries over to handling a vehicle. Someone who concentrates on their studies will also concentrate on the road.

Along with this sort of learning, it would be helpful to take a certified course in driving. Virtually all companies give discounts for attending and passing a recognized and accredited course in safe driving. If the problem is a lack of experience, this goes a long way towards making up for it. It demonstrates that they have a good grasp of the subject.

Applying all these practices will help considerably to keep down the cost of insurance for young people. But what really lowers the cost is just the ageing process itself.  Be sure to visit centralinsurance.org to get your free car insurance quotes and see how much money you can save on your auto insurance today!

It is legally impossible to own a car in the US without having some form of insurance policy in place. Of course, there are variations in the minimum insurance requirement from one state to the other and there are several hundreds of car insurers to cater to these requirements. Basically, auto insurance can be divided into two categories: liability only and full coverage but of these two, full coverage is the better choice.

Understanding Full Coverage Car Insurance

Full coverage car insurance actually refers to three forms of coverage:  liability only, comprehensive coverage and collision coverage. Liability only coverage refers to the insurance policy that covers any damage caused to other people and their property in the event of an accident. Oftentimes, liability only coverage is set at a level stipulated as the minimum state requirement. Thus, any injury to the carrier or damage to his or her vehicle will be borne by the individual or the other party’s insurer depending on the level of coverage.

Comprehensive and Collision Coverage

Comprehensive coverage provides protection from any mishap other than a collision. This explains why it is often referred to as OTC (other than a collision).  Some of the eventualities covered include: theft, acts of God (flood, lightening, tsunamis, earthquakes), fire, and sometimes, collisions with animals. Collision coverage on the other hand provides protection against accidents resulting from collisions with other vehicles. You can now appreciate the importance of obtaining full coverage because it covers every eventuality that can arise when talking about automobiles.

Getting Full Coverage Car Insurance

A lot of insurance companies offer full coverage policies and there are several ways in which they can be obtained. Some of these ways include the phone book, the yellow pages, the classified ads, banners and billboards, TV commercials and the internet (the best way). When shopping for full coverage policies, you need to understand that the rates depend on the company offering the policy and the terms will also differ from one provider to the other.

Factors Influencing Full Coverage Auto Insurance

Some of the factors that will determine the terms of the policy include: age, gender, driving records and the deductible. For instance, raising the deductible can make a significant difference if you are involved in an accident. The terms of the policy will also depend on the company and this explains the need for obtaining quotes from several companies in a bid to compare and select the company offering the best deal. Apart from the quotes, the performance, ratings and history of the company should also be properly assessed.

In conclusion, securing full coverage auto insurance is more expensive than liability only auto insurance. However, it offers an infinitely better level of protection in addition to providing a higher payout. Before settling for any policy, you should endeavor to obtain quotes from several companies, compare them and then select the company with the overall best deal.  To compare multiple policies now, feel free to head over to our form at centralinsurance.org and get free comparison quotes online  now!

The minimum auto insurance requirement varies from one state to the other. For instance, the minimum requirement for the state of Colorado is 25/50/15 while for California, the minimum requirement is 15/30/5. Thus, you need to consult the state’s Insurance website to determine the minimum requirements for a particular state. The following will explain how minimum auto insurance requirements operate.

Understanding Minimum Auto Insurance

Every state has its own stipulated minimum auto insurance and failure to meet these requirements is a crime that often carries stiff penalties. Typically, a state’s insurance requirements are written in formats like this: 15/30/5. The three numbers represent the maximum amounts that an insurance company will pay in the event of an accident that results in injuries or property damage.   Let’s take a look at these three numbers in detail.

Bodily Injuries

The first two numbers refer to the payable limits in an accident resulting in bodily injuries. The first number refers to the maximum amount that can be paid for bodily injuries to an individual in a single accident while the second number refers to the maximum amount payable for all the injuries resulting from an accident. Thus, going by the requirement for California (15/50/5), this means that $15,000 is payable for bodily injuries per individual while $50,000 is payable for bodily injuries per accident.

Property Damage

The last number in the sequence refers to the maximum amount that can be paid for property damage such as damage to the vehicle. Still going by the requirement for California, it means that the maximum amount that an insurer can pay for property damage is $5000. The same principle applies to the requirement for other states. Now that the mechanism of minimum auto insurance has been explained, is it advisable to obtain just the minimum requirement?

Cons of Minimum Auto Insurance Coverage

Theoretically, it looks like the minimum requirement should be enough to cater to injuries and property damage. In reality however, the minimum coverage hardly suffices especially in the face of high living expenses. For instance, if you are liable for an accident resulting in bodily injury of about $60,000 to another driver, with the minimum requirement for the state of California, the insurer is only liable for $15,000 of the damages while the remaining $45,000 is your headache. Thus it is advisable to always purchase coverage beyond the minimum requirements especially in the society we live in today where lawsuits are as common as the flu.

There are other ways of saving money on auto insurance other than opting for the minimum requirement. Some of these ways include: comparing several quotes before choosing any policy, opting for higher deductibles, maintaining a pristine driving record, applying for discounts and installing safety devices in your car. Get in touch with an insurance broker or company today to receive expert advice and to also compare quotes that will ensure that you get a good deal on your auto insurance.