Before you enter the road with your brand new car, you wish there wouldn’t be any possible disaster. But there are lots of things you should ponder before paying annual premiums to an auto insurance company. A renowned auto insurance expert once said that many people pay between $500 and $1,500 more than they have to for car insurance each year. The amounts you need to pay radically vary depending upon your age, gender, accident and moving violation history, driving experience and many more. So, you must contemplate certain aspects of insurance before buying any of it.
1. Coverage
Buying the minimum amount of coverage mandated by your state can save you some money of your pocket, but it can’t be a better option for you. You might also consider some other natures of coverage such as comprehensive, collision, uninsured and underinsured motorist protection, and personal injury protection. What comprehensive plan does for you is that it pays for non-crash incidents such as fire, natural disaster, theft etc. Collision covers all sorts of repairs for your car ignoring what the fault is. If an uninsured or underinsured driver hits you, uninsured and underinsured motorist protection can cover the cost of car repairs. And personal injury protection, as the name suggests, pays you all medical expenses and lost wages if someone hits you or your passenger.
2. Brand
Brand distinguishes one insurance company from others. You should think before choosing one, for your motor trade insurance. You can only rely on a better brand than the one which you haven’t heard of. When you make a claim to any insurance company, you can see the moment of truth for customer. As auto insurance is portable, you can swing to another insurance company without the loss of desirable benefit.
3. Customer care
Will the insurance company open for 24 hour? Do they provide one of the fastest insurance policies in the market? These things matter the most now days in auto insurance market. Seeing your car stuck in between the tree trunk is less painful than knowing your insurance company will open only after two days from the incident. With the competitive market around the globe, plenty of insurance companies now offer 24 hours a day and 7 days a week service. So, either way, you can contact with the provided toll-free number or online.
4. Payment option
Instead of paying an annual lump of sum, most people would love to pay the premium in monthly installments. You must choose your plan to pay depending on your current situation. Most insurers offer at least annual and six-month premium payment option with some discount. But the fact is that, you wouldn’t get as much discount on monthly basis payment as on annual basis. Hereafter, make sure to choose between your options before choosing any auto insurance plan.
5. Your driving record
Your driving records are openly linked with the cost of your auto insurance. Higher you drive off the road, higher is the cost you have to pay for insurance. Even, some minor traffic violations can be upsetting for you. Those unpleasing records can be a sign of increased risk for any insurance company. Hence, insurance cost increases for you. Thus, summarizing the facts, higher the frequency of accidents in the past, higher the cost of insurance and vice versa.
6. Lying is not a solution
Give factual and detail information to the insurance company you are looking for. Giving some made-up information can save you few bucks, but it’s totally a risk. If you get caught, the chances are so high for you getting a severe punishment. You could face higher rates or may be plunged out from the insurance plan altogether.
7. Location, age and gender
If you are younger than 25(generally), then there is a high probability that you must pay more. Most of the insurance industries consider young and male drivers as a risk. Also the statistical data proves that younger lads are highly prone to accident. Also, the insurance company expects you to pay more if you live in densely populated and bigger cities. Chill out, if you are in rural or suburban areas. Also, insurance rates tend to fall gradually after you reach 25.
8. Discount
With the world being competitive moment after moment, your strong bargain skills can be beneficial for you. You can convince them soft as cotton, eventually making them pay your discount. Exploring all your options relating to discounts can be a good drill before buying any insurance. Depending on your profession, your vehicle’s current status and driving record, the discount you are going to get varies radically.
9. Company’s track record
Making price and coverage comparisons while stirring from one company to another is not a big deal for you to practice. With all the records and information of the companies on your fingertips, you can choose your ultimate insurance company comparing the monthly rates for different types of coverage, customer service, location and other different payment plans. You can review the customer satisfaction between different companies obtained from surveys or can also rely on the information acquired from your friends and relatives. The positive response from reviews as well as from friends and relatives can be a key to open the door of respective insurance company that you are searching for.
10. Ask questions
Before initiating auto insurance, you must consider certain things. You have to think of certain risk assessment, coverage of policy, what will be the deductible amount, value of vehicle the company is willing to set, etc. You must ask about different cancellation rules. Every policy has diverse rules and it’s important to know what they actually are. If not accessed properly, an accident can drop you from an insurance plan. Featured photo credit: Flickr via farm9.staticflickr.com
