The Obvious
1. Driving Recount – Your previous driving record is probably the biggest factor in your car insurance premiums.
2. Claim History – Your claim history as it relates to accidents or comprehensive claims in the past is another large factor in deciding your premium.
3. Type of Car – Of course, if you drive a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 with $30,000 worth of customization and no alarm system, your premium will be higher than if you drive a 2000 Ford Focus without any customization and a factory anti-theft device.
4. Your Age – Your age is a factor, and it is not discrimination. The older you become, the more driving experience you have. This is why they ask you the age when you were first licensed.
5. Coverage – Do you want the state minimum? Do you want to fully protect yourself in any possible situation that can be imagined by mankind? The more coverage you select, the higher your premium.
6. Deductibles – The higher your deductible, the lower your rate. The deductible is the amount you are responsible to pay in the event of a future claim. Low deductibles mean less out of pocket for you if you ever have an accident, but more out of pocket each month.
The Not So Obvious
1. Your Zip Code – Insurance premiums are partially based on your zip code. If you live in a high traffic area, such as New York City, you will pay a higher rate than if you live on top of a mountain in a town with a population of 100, like mine.
2. Your Credit – Most insurance companies view your credit history. Having no credit or poor credit puts you in a higher premium bracket.
3. Occupation – If you drive far to work, or drive for your job, you will pay a higher premium. The more you drive, the more likely you are to have an accident or other claim.
4. Coverage – How long have you been continuously covered by car insurance? Long gaps between policies may lead you to a higher rate.
5. Multiple Vehicles – Do you buy a car and drive it for a few months, then trade it in or buy another car? Dropping insurance coverage on one car and adding another one too often could increase your rates.
May Not Be Your Fault
1. Your Car – Again, your model of car and other people affect your rate. If your choice of vehicle has a high theft rate, you will pay more for your insurance premiums.
2. DUI Rate – The DUI rate in the county in which you live could affect your rate. The higher the rate, the higher your premiums.
3. Other People’s Accidents – If your particular execute and model of car has been involved in a high number of accidents with other drivers, your premium could go up.
4. More About Other People’s Accidents – If your city or county has a high vehicular accident rate, you could pay higher premiums.
Other factors that are considered could be your cities vandalism rate, or overall crime rate. This could be calculated by county rather than city, depending on the insurance company and your site.
Filed under Farmers Car Insurance by on Feb 25th, 2011. Comment. 
Auto insurance for young drivers is difficult to salvage and can be rather pricey. However, there are some things to take into consideration when looking into a car insurance policy for a young driver.
It is important to know that anyone under 25 years of age are going to pay higher auto rates than those who are older. It is also essential to help keep your rates down, so you should not put a teenage driver on your policy. To put it simply you will have to pay very high rates if you add a young driver, even if they don’t have an accident. In most situations you should discuss with your automobile agent about signing an exclusion form so that your teen driver can have their enjoy policy, which is the best way to keep costs at a minimum and allow you to search for the best policy specifically for the them.
If a young driver is going to drive then they should be responsible for at least the cost of their car insurance. Additionally if you do this, the teen will be more likely to do whatever measures are needed in order to reduce the policy rates. The young driver will also be more likely to safer by taking the necessary steps to manufacture their rates go down such as special driving programs and safety features.
Here are a few ways to reduce the car insurance rates for a young driver.
1. Special driving programs which are meant to improve a person’s driving are always good to attend. Seize defensive driving, as well as making you a better driver, it will assist in lowering the car insurance rate that a young driver will derive and make it much more affordable.
2. Make sure that the car is equipped with all the necessary safety options. Cars with recommended safety equipment are rated at more affordable rates.
3. Mileage is important when calculating your risk by an insurance company. The higher mileage you have, the higher the car insurance rate.
4. Insure an affordable car, a high rated car such as a sports car is distinguished more costly to cover. Before you choose which car for the teenager to drive, get quotes and prices of insurance on different cars. However if you assume a sports car, you should be prepared for the high cost of car insurance even before you add the young driver factor.
5. Compare car insurance quotes from at least five companies. This is very important for young drivers because it not only can set aside money but can form distinct they get the best coverage for the lowest cost.
Some mountainous insurances to try first would be Geico, Progressive, Allstate, E-surance, The General and Safeco. It is significant to check out all you can about any auto insurance company and what kind of programs they may can offer a young driver when getting your quotes.
Geico has developed a parent and teen driving contract for families and offers discounts for driver education. Progressive has a teen insurance program and offers discounts for graduation from driver education along with safety equipment discounts.
Safeco has a program called Teensurance, which has a device that can be installed and lets the parents know what kind of driver their teen is and can offer assistance should there be any car trouble to the teen while driving. The online tools that are available can direct parents if a teen goes over the pre-determined speed limit that was spot in the system.
Progressive had the best rates for my young driver and over time Progressive was able to lower the rate based on their good driving habits.
References for this article include: www.geico.com/landingpage/go57-intent.htm
www.onlineautoinsurance.com/teenagers/
www.allstate.com/auto-insurance/auto-insurance-for-teens.aspx
www.progressive.com
Filed under Farmers Car Insurance by on Feb 23rd, 2011. Comment.
Good news for California insured drivers the Insurance Commissioner John Garamendai announced a $30 Million Settlement with Allstate Insurance, that effects 250,000 policy holders, that could qualify for return on premium or credits of future premium bills. This was the result of an investigation that resolved issues, and number of practices of Allstate, between January 1, 2000 – April 12, 2002 effecting some auto insurance policies. Allstate has telephone, for policyholders can call, to get further information: 1 – 800 – 351-0646.�
California insurance motorist are only required to have a minimum amount of coverage, that includes $15,000 for death or injury to one person, any one accident, $30,000 for all persons in anyone one accident, and $5,000 for property pain, for any one accident. Not required by the state of California include comprehensive coverage, uninsured motorist, medical payment, and collision insurance.�
A pilot program that is available for California Drivers to rob low cost car insurance. The California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program (CLACK), satisfies the requirements of the state’s auto insurance requirements. The insurance policy is based on a driver’s household income, driving picture, and vehicle purchased value.
California Proposition 103, enacted into law in November 1988, qualifies a Pleasant Driver to come by car insurance from any insurance company, and is entitled to get 20 percent reduction in car insurance, compared to a non-Good Driver. A Good Driver must be a California driver licensed for three consecutive years, and have no points on driving record. Also, any major driving violations including Driving Under the Influence, could remove the Good Driver rating. Under Proposition 103, car insurance companies primary factor to calculate insurance rate, must consider operator’s driving safety record, number of miles driven annually, and years of driving experience. Other considerations include, if the vehicle is stored in garage and has security features. Despite the positive aspects for lower insurance rates with proposition 103, drivers should be aware that lower minimum coverage may not be sufficient, to cover any additional liabilities, which the driver would be responsible for out of pocket cost. Additional liability insurance should be considered or purchasing an umbrella policy that would cover most cost of liabilities, above the car insurance policy, and cover any other liabilities. An average umbrella policy provides one million dollars coverage for liabilities, and cost between two to three hundred dollars, a year.
Always recommended to contact several insurance companies or brokers to compare auto insurance rates. Each company calculates their acquire rate policy, which is partially based upon their own past losses, and expenses. Through your local telephone directory or Internet can provide names, and telephone numbers. Spending some time on the phone, answering questions, can conveniently get heed quotes, and save money to get the best rate.
When speaking to a car insurance company, ask if there is any discounts, getting credit for extra driving courses or lectures, having more the one car insured, adding any additional security features to the car, and limiting your driving mileage to and from work only. Affirm the insurance agent if you work at home, and if you can pay the premium in one payment per year, rather then in installments, to get a lower premium. Ask if you can make payment by a credit card, because the amount will be billed to you on your next month’s credit card statement, and you maybe entitled to points on the credit card, based on the type of credit card.
When deciding upon a car insurance company, check with the Consumer Complaint Peek (CCS) that is published by California Department of Insurance. This will benefit consumers on car insurance companies based upon justified complaint study (composite ratio), company performance, and comparison data ogle. For example, in 2003, the number one rated car insurance company was The Swansea Mutual Insurance Company, that had justified complaint ratio zero, and Number of justified complaints zero.
Filed under Farmers Car Insurance by on Jan 21st, 2011. Comment.
