Reader’s Question:

I have my teenager listed on my own car insurance policy in Phoenix, Arizona. He reared a brand new mustang and we had to make claims from our insurer. Will my car insurance rate go up upon renewal if my policy should expire?

Tom

Phoenix, AZ

That is one big crash to your bank account if you didn’t have car insurance policy in Phoenix. Your insurer must be in a bad shape after paying for the damages on that mustang!

For most insurers, accident rate of listed drivers will definitely affect car insurance premiums. In fact, being accident prone and high probability of road accidents for teenage drivers is reason enough for your premiums to get raised by your car insurer in Arizona.

You might experience irreversible results for now on your car insurance premium’s possible increased rates because of that accident. However, you can always ask the insurance regulating agency in Phoenix, AZ to check if you are not overcharged if any increase happens. Your insurer in Phoenix will be more than happy to explain to you their rating system.

A good way too for you to check if your car insurance rates are reasonable is to shop around for free quotes online. You can get good quotes from around Arizona through this website and I think it is wise for you to do that. Once you submit your zip code, you will be given a comparison chart for local insurers in your area who can give you some free quotes. Once you have those quotes, simply compare that to the probable new rate you might be charged by your present insurer and see if you are not charged too high.

I hope your car insurance rate would not increase as much!

Tags: auto insurance online, car insurance quotes, car insurance rate, teen insurance

Reader’s Question:

If someone gets a speeding ticket in New Jersey, is it necessary to let the insurance carrier know about it?

Arthur

Newark, NJ

When someone receives a speeding ticket in New Jersey, generally, you do not need to inform your insurance provider in NJ or other states. This is because the next time the insurance carrier pulls your motor vehicle record (MVR) the ticket will likely show up and therefore make the insurance company aware of your citation.

The insurance providers can run your MVR at any time but normally it is checked when you begin a new policy, make changes or are up for renewal.

Reader’s Question:

How many years back do you have to go when providing driving history for auto insurance quote?

Arnold

Atlanta, GA

The number of years that an insurance companies will check at your driving history or the amount of years in which you will have to give information on your driver’s history in Atlanta GA to an insurance company will differ depending upon both state laws and the internal guidelines of an insurance providers.

In Atlanta Georgia many years leave the “look back” period up to individual insurance provider. Insurance carrier tend to look back at your motor vehicle record (MVR) for either 3 to 7 years. When applying for a car insurance policy you will need to provide information on your driving history for the time period the insurance company requests. If you give incorrect information it will then affect your auto insurance quote.

To verify if Georgia has any laws regarding how many years back a car insurance provider can look to check insurance rates, you may contact your state’s insurance regulator.

Reader’s Question:

Do I really need to buy insurance before I buy a used car?

Beth

Chesapeake, VA

If this is your first car then indeed you will need to get auto insurance before taking over the ownership of a used car in most states. If you already have auto insurance policy and you are replacing a car on your current policy then the coverage might insure your “new” used car for a few days. You will still need to check with your insurance company and state laws though.

Before buying a new or used car, you need to contact your auto insurance provider to let them know about the car you might buy. They should be able to provide you a quote of what it will cost to add the motor vehicle to your auto insurance policy, which can help you budget for your car purchase. Your insurance company can then let you know when you should call and add the car so it will be covered.

Reader question:

Is it better to do with the bigger auto insurance quote?

Randall

Maybe.

I can’t make any sweeping statements about this because there is really no way to do it and be honest with you. Getting cheap auto insurance quotes is one of the best steps that you need to take on the road to getting the best auto insurance rates, but it is not the end of the process, nor should it be. Whenever you are choosing an auto insurance company, you need to consider ore than just the quote that they give you. In fact, when you end up unsure about who to pick out of two car insurance companies that have similar ratings, you might want to consider a couple of other factors, such as:

• One car insurance company might give you a higher rate because of the area that you live in, your driving record, your credit report, and so on. This puts you into a group of high risk drivers that file more claims and cost more to insure.
• If you always go with the cheapest auto insurance quote, you might get a bad customer service experience. Their claims might be handled very badly, they might do everything they can to get out of paying you the right amount and nothing to actually help you with your claim. They might be rude, always closed; they might try to fix up your car with shoddy parts.

In the second situation, it may not be obvious at first. If you don’t drive your car very much anyway, it might be a good idea just to go to the cheapest quote. However, if you use it often then I wouldn’t advise it. Remember that when looking for a good car insurance company, you should be interested most in the value, and value is quality plus price. If it has a good value, go for it. But if it only has a good price, stay away.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Reader question:

How do I pick the right auto insurance company?

Manuel

Fantastic question.

I think I am probably very annoying in the fact that whenever I buy something big, I do a bunch of research about it and then make a list of questions, which I then hammer the salesperson with. However, when you’re spending your money, especially on something like an auto insurance company, then I think it’s better to be annoying than forgettable. If you really want to get the most quality auto insurance company while you are shopping around, then not only do you have to look at things such as the quotes, but you also have to learn to ask questions, and the rights ones. Here are some questions to bring along for your trip to the office.

• When you file a claim after a collision, does an adjuster come to your house to examine the car, or do you have to take it to the car body shop to get it looked at first?
• What sorts of repair shops are on the auto insurance company’s recommendation list that are within a short distance of your home?
• When your car is getting fixed and a part needs to be replaced, will they use aftermarket or OEM?
• Once everything concerning your claims process is done, how much time does it take for you to get your check?
• If your car is getting fixed up, what sort of rental do you get to drive in the meantime? Are rentals even provided?
• If you go for a long time without having to make any car insurance claims, do you get any kind of discount?

Before you even go into the office, though, you should do some initial research. First, of course, comes the gathering of several instant auto insurance quotes online. Once you have at least a dozen of these, pick companies out of them and go find out what they’re about and if they are stable enough financially to handle the claims that come at them. To do this, you can go check out Standard & Poor’s websites, which deals with financial ratings for companies.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Reader question:

Ever since I got my laptop and wireless internet connection, I’ve been buying things almost exclusively online. However, some things I’m not sure I should buy over the internet, like car insurance. I mean, will the instant online car insurance quote I get be as good as the one I would get in the office?

Aurelio

Nope, you’re going to be okay shopping for car insurance online.

There really is no reason for you to be nervous about getting car insurance online rather than in an office. One of the main reasons for this is because the form that they have you fill out online is often even more thorough than are the questions you are posed by the car insurance agent in the office. The agent can forget and omit, but the online form remains the same. Another things is that you are providing the same information, so that comes out to the same quote. You won’t get a better car insurance quote because the agent meets you and thinks that you’re a very nice person; it’s based on many things, but not that.

One of the best things about shopping for car insurance online is that there is so much information there and it is so easy to get to. Even if you researched online before going to a car insurance office, it wouldn’t be the same. If you are buying online, you can always check at the last minute for things and so on. You are able to not only get instant online car insurance quotes, but once you have them you can choose from a list of companies with the best quotes and research further into their websites.

On the internet, you don’t just have to go by what the company web site says, either. There are dozens of consumer review sites out there that you can go to and read several people’s real testimonies of their customer service experiences with each car insurance company.

And even beyond that, you can find out how good your car insurance company is from more official sources. First of all you can make sure it is regulated by the state department of insurance, and then you can see how many complaints have been submitted to them about this company.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Why should you pay more for high performance muscle car insurance? Could it be justified because you own a fast car, does that mean you are going to drive fast and reckless?

I know of many fast car collectors in this country and many of them do not really drive fast at all….heck their cars cost too much money to put in jeopardy driving like a mad man.

So does this mean that their car insurance carrier will give them the same low rates as a “normal” vehicle? Ya right my friend, think again.

I would assume that the vast majority of cases the insurance rates will be greatly higher for a muscle car than that of a regular whimpy vehicle. Could this be fair? Can one really expect to find cheap fast car insurance?

So how can a high performance car owner reduce your insurance rates?

1. Carry the highest deductible allowed
2. Move all other insurance plans to one company to take advance of combined coverage discounts
3. Check for discounts like limited use or restricted use vehicles if you only drive on the weekends or at certain times of the year etc.
4. Take defensive driving class or some other state offered driving program
5. Clean up your driving record. Keep your record clean and clear of violations even when not driving in your fast car. Any and all violations will increase your rates regardless of what kind of vehicle you were driving in when you were giving the citation.

Want to get more ideas and tips on how to lower your high performance car insurance rates? Our new site is made for visitor feedback to help fast car owners get lower rates on high performance car insurance allowed.

There are so many auto insurance discounts that you can get that it is impossible to talk about them all at once, but I will try to address a few of the lesser known ones out there. The easiest ways to get cheap motor car insurance quotes may be to get a higher deductible and drop your coverage, but everybody, those who can do that and those who can’t, can get cheaper rates by taking advantage of the wide supply of discounts that most companies offer. And even once you’ve got as much as fifty percent off your car insurance from discounts, more come along to make you realize that there’s always a cheaper way.

Most companies you go to will have a few of the same discounts. These usually include things such as multiple insurance discounts, which is for if you get your car insurance and some other type of insurance through the same company; multiple car discount, for if you insure more than one car; and a safety discount, for if your car is equipped with safety features such as air bags. However, there are many companies that have specific types of car insurance discounts that others don’t offer. Let’s take a look.

• College degree.

21st Century Group does its research, and that research has come back saying that if you have a college degree, you make a more responsible driver. Not just any college degree, though. People with degrees in fields such as engineering or other science areas are less of a risk than your average driver without them. 21st Century offers discounts to people with these degrees, and if you have a good driving record, it only makes it better.

According to 21st Century, if you have one of these degrees and a good record, your discount could be from anywhere from ten percent up to forty percent, based on the basic rate. The basic rate means normal amount of claims that are made in addition to 21st Century’s claims processing fee.

According to the company’s vice president, people who end up in careers such as engineering and mathematics have certain characteristics that make them better drivers. These characteristics include paying more attention to detail and taking care of their things.

• Teachers.

Teachers have one of the most unappreciated jobs around, so it’s nice every once in awhile to come across discounts meant for them, and Horace Mann Insurance, which offers coverage in every one of the fifty states, does just that. It gives car insurance discounts to any teacher who is a member of a teacher association such as the National Education Association. The discounts come up to 8% of the insurance total, to begin with. It will generally make up for about half of a year’s worth of dues from the association.

According to Horace Mann Insurance, teacher’s have characteristics that make them better drivers, just like engineers do. They’re job is considered stable, since most teachers stick with the same post and school for most of their lives. They are held as examples for the community and value responsibility.

21st Century also has a discount for teachers and professors, but this only applies in the state of California if you have certification from the State of California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. This discount goes high, though, with savings from ten to thirty percent.

• Military

Sometimes finding good car insurance can be difficult when you’re in the military and are always moving around. Lucky for you, GEICO, which began as a company for government employees, offers discounts for members of the military, even if they have retired. The discount starts at 2% and goes up to 15%. Another great thing about getting GEICO if you’re in the military is that they have a better understanding of members who are shipped out and have to put their cars in storage. If you have to do that, then they will do you the favor of only charging you for comprehensive coverage. And if you end up being shipped out to a country where you will be getting active fire pay for, they will take 25% off of that very comprehensive coverage.

• Retiring

One of the best organizations to join if you are going to retire is AARP, and one of the reasons is because of their great car insurance discounts and programs. Their auto insurance can be discounted as much as 45% for some members, if they have multiple cars, more than one type of insurance, and are with the company for over five years. They also have many defensive driving programs which can be used to improve your skills and get discounts on car insurance.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Reader question:

I’m now insuring a teenage driver and I want to get lower rates. How do I do that?

Abram

Great question.

Sometimes we have to wonder why teenagers are even allowed to drive. Car accidents are the main cause of death for people between the ages of fifteen and twenty, and teen drivers are thrice as likely to die in a crash than older people. Some may attribute these statistics to the fact that teen drivers have just learned how to drive, and that they would be the same for whatever age group that we raise the driving age, too, because they are the result of experience and not age. This may be true, but all the same it is also true that teenagers have lower decision making abilities and higher hormones, and are more likely to practice dangerous driving.

Insuring your teenager that drives is completely necessary, considering that they are more likely to get into a car accident. It is also extremely expensive, and adding just one female teen driver to your policy can make your rates go up as much as 50%, and a male makes them go up twice as much. So, when it comes time to insure your teenager, it’s important to try every cost effective way to lower your rates that you can.

• Driver assignment.

You need to figure out what your car insurance company’s policy is when it comes to assigning drivers to cars. Every insurance company is different, but all of them want to try to get you to pay as much as possible, so watch this. The typical trick is to take the costliest driver on the policy and put their name with the most expensive car. That usually ends up with your teenager being the driver assigned to your new car.

This can make your rates double all over again, and it’s only done if there are more drivers in a household than there are cars. For this reason, it might actually be cheaper for your teen to get his own car for his name to be attached to, even if it ends up being a $500 piece of junk that is never used except on the insurance policy.

Another way to go would be to just switch companies altogether. Whatever you do, it will be cheaper for you to keep your teen on your own policy. Getting them their own policy will cost more, and you’ll probably have to foot the bill, because most jobs a teenager can get might not handle that kind of cost.

• Academics.

Make sure that your teen makes good grades in school, because these could get you a discount on your car insurance premium. Most companies will give you a discount if one of your drivers makes a B or 3.5 GPA average. It can be anywhere from ten to twenty five percent off of your premium. This can be a good incentive for your kid to concentrate on their studies, as well.

• Education.

No, I’m not about to repeat myself. Driver’s education is one of the best ways to get lowered rates on car insurance. Driver’s ed actually does not, according to studies, take down the possibility of getting into a car accident. According research, it would actually be a more drawn out study period that does that. However, insurance companies haven’t wisened up yet, so take what you can get. This discounts can save you from five to fifteen percent.

• Deductible.

Increasing your deductible is one of the easiest ways to get cheaper car insurance for any time, and even better when you’re adding a teenager. Increasing your deductible can make your premium go down by as much as 35%, which is almost enough to offset the addition of a teenage girl.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.