Affordable Auto Insurance | Car Insurance Local

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Affordable Auto Insurance

While nobody really “feels” it, there are actually more affordable auto insurance deals today than there was a few years ago. This is primarily due to the rising number of car insurance companies. Still, especially with the economic downturn, more people cannot afford auto insurance. There are numerous factors that contribute to the cost of auto insurance some of them are controllable while others are not. What you need to know is how the controllable factors can be manipulated so as to make your auto insurance a whole lot cheaper. This starts with knowing and understanding one thing – insurance, whether for your car or otherwise, is all about statistics.

The Stats

Insurance companies couldn’t care less about what you feel, unless they are made up entirely of former customer care representatives. They will deem you as high or low risk in accordance to several factors, which as mentioned above may be controllable or not. In any case, no matter how much you plead to them, only the numbers will matter. Sour-graping over your previous insurance company won’t help. In fact, the moment they determine that you have been with another company will make them look back into your insurance record, which could put you in a difficult position. For the factors that you can do something about, here are some of those that you can control.

The Driver’s Credit Score/Rating

There are auto insurance companies that take a look into your credit score. There are also others who don’t. There are also others that look and don’t tell you about it. First thing you will want to ask the insurance agent is whether they will look at your credit rating or not. If you have good credit, then you have nothing to worry about. If you have bad credit, then you might want to fix that to get affordable auto insurance. You can do that by paying your credit card debts, purchasing a lot of items and paying them in time, and by closing the credit cards that have too high interests.

High Premium Versus High Deductible

Premiums are what you pay for every month, every two months, or every year depending on the terms you agreed to with your insurance company. Deductibles are what you pay for in the event that you will need some repairs, or if you’ve gotten into a road accident. These two are inversely proportional. If you pay high premiums, your deductibles will cost lower, and vice-versa. So if you are confident in your driving abilities, you may want to opt for a high-deductible/low-premium deal with the auto insurance company. To save yourself from the headaches caused by bank account malnutrition, drive safely to avoid having to pay the ungodly deductibles.

Car Risk and Car Type

If you haven’t bought your car yet, you might want to think about it if you want affordable auto insurance. Generally, the bigger the car, the more expensive it is to insure. Also, the more expensive the car, the more expensive it is to insure. There are cases where there are exceptions. For instance, the more “common” your car is, the more likely it is to be targeted by thieves as it is easy for it to get lost in a pool of similar looking cars. Besides, the thieves don’t really gun for the Lamborghinis or the Ferraris. Some are just looking for normal sedans that they can take apart and sell the various parts to different buyers.

Security Measures

If you already have a car, and it is considered high risk, then what you can do is install a few additional security measures. Your car would probably already have seatbelts and airbags. Install a few more measures such as window bars, antilock breaks, and antitheft systems like burglar alarms. This makes your car less likely to be stolen and less likely to be a victim of vandalism, which is not covered by anything other than comprehensive insurance. Also, if you have a garage at home where you can park your car, your auto insurance will be much less expensive.

Mileage

Mileage is another factor that affects car insurance greatly. The more miles you have on your car, the more expensive it is to insure. This is because you are out on the road more often thus becoming exposed to more dangers. This is also the reason why senior citizens and retired individuals get lower car insurance bills. They don’t get a lot of mileage since they don’t really drive to work anymore. With that said, you can start cutting down on mileage and commute whenever possible. If it’s just a couple of blocks away, consider walking. This saves you gas, is good for the heart, and allows for affordable auto insurance.

Applicable Discounts

Discounts apply to a lot of people. Senior and retired citizens, as mentioned above, get discounts due to the lack of time they’ll be spending on the road. Student drivers may not have cheap auto insurance, but can avail of discounts if they get flying colors at school as well as in driving courses. Homeowners with home insurance can get their car insurance from the same company and get some discounts. You might want to add life insurance to the list as well, getting the discount benefits on all three insurances. Adding people on to your auto insurance policy entitles you to discounts too.

These are just a few factors that you can control. There are more things to take into consideration out there, such as your driving record being clean or not the latter, of course, will put you in a high risk category. There are also other factors, such as age, gender, marital status, and even your occupation are considered as well. These may dictate the how expensive or affordable auto insurance is, but there is little to none that you can do about it. Keep these controllable factors in mind, and manipulate them so you can get the cheapest car insurance possible.

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