In a world where the unexpected can now be considered expected, car insurance is a necessity for any driver. Not only can car insurance protect you from having to pay for damage to your car, but it can protect you from hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills.
Recently, my husband and I went through the process of purchasing our own car insurance for the first time (we had previously been on our parents’ plans). Throughout the process, we learned a lot about how to find good deals. Below you will find some of what I consider the most essential tips for buying car insurance. If you use these tips, you are sure to find a great deal in the end!
Know how much coverage you need. Each state has different minimum requirements for car insurance. To see the required coverage in your state, check out this article from Edmunds. However, in most states, the minimum requirements are very low. Many people would be better off choosing a higher amount of liability coverage. The more assets you have, the higher your liability coverage needs to be. This is because you can be sued for your assets if your insurance doesn’t cover the costs of the accident. The most common coverage recommendation I have seen is 100/300/100 in liability. This is the amount my husband and I decided to go with.
Opt out of collision coverage, if possible. If your car is not worth much, it may not be worth it to purchase collision coverage. By the time you pay your much higher monthly premiums, you will have paid more than what your car was worth! If you do have a car that is worth more money, then choose the highest deductible you can afford. The higher your deductible, the lower your monthly payments will be.
Get quotes from each company you are interested in. I have seen many recommendations for comparison websites for car insurance. These websites ask you a series of questions and then give you quotes from several different companies. However, I found that each time I used these websites the quotes I received were higher than the quotes from the individual websites. Go straight to the company you want a quote from (Geico, Progressive, Allstate, etc.) and fill out their own quote form. This will take longer than the comparison websites, but they will end up saving you money in the end.
If your quote seems high, try again later. I was surprised to find that the quotes I got from an individual company would change depending on what day I filled the form out. If your quote seems high, try again in a few days (make sure you actually fill out a new form). I am not sure if the difference was between weekdays and weekends or different times of the month, but the numbers definitely changed.
Look for discounts. Most car insurance companies offer discounts. Some of these include good student discounts, safe driver discounts, car safety discounts, professional organization discounts, multiple car discounts, etc. Make sure you understand which ones your company offers and for which ones you qualify.
Make sure the company is reliable. Look for reviews for your insurance company. I noticed, though, that many reviews online, no matter which company you are looking at, are negative. So, keep in mind that the number of negative people may be more vocal than the number of positive people. Also, check out the company’s financial strength rating. To do this, check out their A.M. Best Ratings and their Standard & Poor’s Ratings. You will be out of luck if your insurance company goes bankrupt.
Pay up-front if possible. Many companies offer a rather nice discount if you pay up front for a six-month period. Always check the different payment options, though. I did see one company that offered a better discount if you payed via automatic monthly payments than if you payed up-front.
Do you have any other essential tips for buying car insurance? Make sure you let us know!
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