Auto Insurance Rates - How To Save

During these tough times everyone is looking to save a dollar, and there are ways to save on your auto insurance as well. In addition to shopping around for the best auto insurance rates, there are a few tips you may not know to save you a lot of money. The article “Saving your green: How to save money on auto, car or truck insurance” by Evelyn Kanter on examiner.com shares some of these tips

1. If you have an older car, consider dropping collision
2. Buy your home and auto insurance policies separately or at least get two separate quotes to compare
3. Be sure you have sufficient coverage in case of a major accident otherwise it could cost you big in the long run
4. Look for companies that offer discounts for hybrid cars if you are driving one
5. Consider paying a small claim yourself instead of contacting your insurance company
6. Avoid purchasing exotic sports cars or cars perceived as unsafe

Although all these tips may not save you money, it’s important that you are educated in how your rates are determined so you can be the informed consumer. An informed consumer is often times a richer consumer. Now more than ever we need to be looking for every little way we can save money.

Auto Insurance Rates - Speeding

We all know that traffic violations have a negative impact on your auto insurance rates. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has released a map which shows maximum speed limits in each state.

If you are traveleing intrastate for vacation this usmmer you should familiarize yourself with the maximum speed limits in the states for which you will be driving through. One of the easiest ways to keep your auto insurance premiums down is to make sure you have a clean driving record.

You can visit this url directly to view these speed limit maximums on a state by state basis. http://www.iihs.org/laws/mapmaxspeedonruralinterstates.aspx

Wisconsin Auto Insurance Bill

According to the article “Insurer Groups at Odd with Proposed Wisconsin Auto Insurance Bill” on insurancejournal.com, Wisconsin lawmakers have proposed legislation that would increase Wisconsin auto insurance rates for low and middle income auto insurance customers. This information is according to the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

Twenty to twenty-five percent of all insured drivers in WI would be negatively affected by this new Wisconsin auto insurance provision which is in Governor Doyle’s budget. The initiative includes increasing the required per-person injury limit 4 times the current level by raising personal auto insurance financial responsibility limits, increasing the minimum on medical payments to $100k and also making UM coverage and UIM coverage mandatory at 100/300 limits.

PCI shows that low and middle income insurance customers in the west, southwest, north and east central counties of WI would have the highest percentage increase in their liability premiums. Milwaukee would receive the highest dollar increase.

Auto Insurance Rates and Humor

New York Auto Insurance consumers have a new option to save some money. According to the article “Humorous Online Course Helps Curb Auto Insurance Rates” by Gary Alexander on bignewsbiz.com, NY is offering an online defensive driver course that uses humor to help teach car safety skills. It’s completed entirely online and no need for a physical exam.

Drivers who complete the course receive a 10%, 3 year discount on their auto insurance rates and quality for a 4 point reduction on their driving record. The average auto insurance premium in NY is $2,456 a year so this could add up to over $700 in savings.

This is the only course that uses humor to get across its message. It is approved by the New York State DMV and is one of the only courses that has been proven to reduce traffic violations and accidents. This is according to an efficacy study of Basic Driver Improvement courses in FL which was conducted by the Dept of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The program is called Improv Aware Driver created in partnership with the Improv Comedy Club. It’s offered by National Point and Insurance Reduction Course.