Most insurance companies will classify insurance discounts in one of four categories. There is a simple, 4 part, breakdown that you can use to score the value of a companies discount for you. One company might be better for you than another based solely on discounts or credits offered. One company will have better rates and discounts than a retired couple where another might focus more on drivers from the age of 21 to 25. Learn about what credits are available to you with each company to know where your rates can be headed.
Learn about available discounts to be sure that you are getting the cheapest insurance rate available to you. If you are prepared with the knowledge of what is available to you, you will be able to ask the right questions, and make the right buying decisions, to ensure the lowest possible insurance rate
The four categories of insurance discounts are as follows:
1) Discounts you can receive right now
2) Discounts that will come with time
3) Discounts that will come when making your next purchase
4) Discounts due to Situation / Employment / Lifestyle
Insurance discounts add up to big savings year over year. Don’t let discounts that you can qualify for today pass you by. You should also know what discounts will be available to you in the future so that you are informed of what to ask your insurance agent or company for. Knowing the discount factors that impact a house or car insurance policy will allow you to make a better buying decision when shopping for that new home or car.
Be certain to communicate with your agent. An insurance agent is there to guide you. Simply reviewing your rates every couple of years will save you money in the long run.
This is part 1 of a 5 part series on insurance discounts. Look for parts 2 – 5 from this author. Each section will focus on any discounts, or credits, available under your policy.
Posts Tagged ‘ Car Insurance Policy ’
You probably know that all US states have different minimum coverage amounts that are required to be carried within the driver’s insurance policies. And depending on where your car is registered you will have to meet these requirements. What happens if your policy has coverage amounts lower than the required minimum? That depends on the state you drive in. But usually, in case of an accident if the authorities learn that you have coverage below the minimum amount you can face a penalty or even taken into custody. So, in order to avoid that, here are the minimum requirements of coverage state by state:
Alaska 50/100/25
Alabama 20/40/10
Arkansas 25/50/15
Arizona 15/30/10
California 15/30/5
Colorado 25/50/15
Connecticut 20/40/10
Delaware 15/30/5
Florida 10/20/10
Georgia 15/30/10
Hawaii 20/40/10
Idaho 20/50/15
Illinois 20/40/15
Indiana 25/50/10
Iowa 20/40/15
Kansas 25/50/10
Kentucky 25/50/10
Louisiana 10/20/10
Maine 50/100/25
Maryland 20/40/10
Massachusetts 20/40/5
Michigan 20/40/10
Minnesota 30/60/10
Mississippi 25/50/25
Missouri 25/50/10
Montana 25/50/10
Nebraska 25/50/25
New Hampshire 25/50/25
New Jersey 15/30/5
New Mexico 25/50/10
Nevada 15/30/10
New York 25/50/10
North Carolina 30/60/25
North Dakota 25/50/25
Ohio 12.5/25/7.5
Oklahoma 10/20/10
Oregon 25/50/10
Pennsylvania 15/30/5
Rhode Island 25/50/25
South Carolina 15/30/10
South Dakota 25/50/25
Tennessee 25/50/10
Texas 20/40/15
Utah 25/65/15
Virginia 25/50/20
Vermont 25/50/10
Washington 25/50/10
Wisconsin 25/50/10
West Virginia 20/40/10
Wyoming 25/50/20
The numbers refer to bodily injury and damage liability limits to be carried by the car insurance policy. The first number is the limit of injury liability per person. The second number is the injury liability limit per accident. And the third number refers to damage liability amount. And if the property damage limit is pretty evident, needed to pay for any damage to property or infrastructure delivered by your vehicle during the accident, the first two limits need a more detailed explanation. Let’s take an example from Alaska – 50/100. The first number means that a person injured in the accident that gets covered can receive up to $50,000. The second number refers to the total injury car insurance coverage per single accident. If there are two persons in the car who sustained damage they will receive up to $50,000 each (a total of $100,000). But if there are 3 or 4 persons, the $100,000 will be distributed amongst them, making individual coverage limits lower. In case all the persons require maximum per capita coverage of $50,000 the first who file for it will get it, and the other ones will be covered by the policy of the car owner who was at fault during the accident.
Are you satisfied with the quality of coverage you get for the money you pay? Of course, most of us think that cheap means low-quality and tend to overpay just believing that this will give them better insurance or services. In fact, it is not so. Paying too much money for insurance often leads only to over-spending money and doesn’t increase the quality of coverage you get. So if money is vital to you and you want to lower your insurance costs, here are some simple tips how to do it:
Lower theft risk: The majority of new cars carry anti-theft features. And the more such features your car has the lower will be your insurance premiums. Theft is one of the major risks for insurance companies, especially in urban areas, and if you do something to prevent such risks your policy will be much cheaper.
Multiple car discounts: Sometimes insuring two cars can cost you the same amount of money as insuring a single vehicle. People often get pleasantly surprised with multiple car discounts they can get from their insurance companies when asking for one. It’s much cheaper to have a single policy covering all your cars rather than separate policies for each individually. Even if you think of selling your second car, it is better to get it insured too because it will allow you to opt for the multiple car discount. But when you actually sell the car and report it to your insurer it is quite likely that your rates will go up.
Get one-year policies: Not only you save yourself from the hassle of looking for a new policy every six months instead of a year, but you also get fixed rates for a longer period of time. Which is quite nice if you find a cheap policy initially.
Storage discounts: In case you will be storing your car for a certain period of time, it would be smart to inform your insurance company about it. Because during that time you aren’t likely to be needing any collision or liability coverage, making your car insurance much cheaper during the storage period.
Check your exact mileage: When the insurance agent asks you how much mile you drive within a certain period of time, it is better to be as precise as possible. Your mileage strongly affects your rates, so if you drive only a few miles to work and back it is good to know how much “a few” really is.
Opt for group discounts: In case you are a member of a credit union, college association, driver’s club or any other organization, you can opt for a group discount on your car insurance in case the organization is affiliated to your insurance company.
EFT payments are cheaper: You might notice that every time you pay for car insurance by mail, you are charged more than by any other means. Start using your banking account for settling payments: it’s not only more convenient but actually cheaper.