The single most important thing you can do when looking for car insurance, is to get car insurance quotes from multiple sources. This is, hands down, the best way to get a good deal. But there are many other factors that determine how much lenders estimate for your insurance quotes.
The kind of car you have makes a big difference to the amount of money your quotes are for. Obviously if you have a more expensive car, your quotes will be higher. But sportier cars that are not necessarily more expensive or higher quality than their more conservative counterparts will also receive higher priced quotes. Why? Because, statistically, drivers of sportier cars are more likely to speed and be in accidents. Don’t give up quality in your car just to get cheaper insurance, but think twice before getting that classy convertible.
Your insurance quotes will also go up or down based on whether your car has certain features. Safety devices such as air bags, and automatic seat belts, and anti-theft devices like car alarms, will all lower the quote options you get.
Another thing that affects your insurance quotes is, understandably, your driving history. That’s something you may have little control over at this point. But one thing you can do to lower your insurance quotes is to voluntarily take a defensive driving or other driving safety course. Most insurers will give you a discount for doing this.
If you go with a higher deductible, your car insurance quotes will be lower. Many people like to have the security of a lower deductible, but this is almost never cost effective. If your deductible is $500 you’ll have to pay for minor scrapes and repairs yourself, but with the amount you’ll save on insurance it may be well worth it. Get lower insurance quotes by requesting the higher deductible.
Insurance quotes are available online, and you can often get quotes from multiple lenders at the same time. Most places don’t require you to give your social security number. Think twice about getting quotes from somewhere that does. Remember that the social security number is necessary for almost all kinds of fraud, and identity theft is becoming an increasingly greater problem. If a company requires you to give your social security number before you can receive car insurance quotes, it may even be because they want to check your credit history (some auto insurance companies raise your price if you have poor credit) and when your credit is checked it can lower your credit by as much as five points. As a general rule, don’t ever give out your social security number, if you can help it.
Now that you know how to get car insurance quotes safely, let me stress the importance of actually getting many insurance quotes. There’s really no reason not to. It’s fast, it’s free, and you can do it all from the convenience of your own home. So spend the thirty minutes it takes to compare options from many different companies. When you sign up for insurance, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you got the best deal out there for you.
By Riannon Cutler