How to choose the right auto insurance

To choose the right auto insurance company is not an easy task, but if you are clear what exactly are you looking for, the process could be less difficult. We will give you an idea of what you should take into account when looking for an insurance company.

Set your Priorities

Do a list of priorities on what kind of coverage you need for your car; also evaluate how much money you are willing to pay for an auto insurance policy. This is the first step before looking into a list of insurance companies.

Reputation and financial standings

After finding the most suitable insurance companies according to your priorities, the next step is to evaluate each one of them. Look for reputation rates, to do this you can look for comments from current and former clients, take into account that no company is perfect, all of them might have negative comments, but the important thing is that most of them should be positive. Financial standings is also very important, because you have to make sure the insurance company you choose can afford paying whenever you need them to, to help you with this you can also visit a list of companies that have a BBB (Better Business Bureau) rank.

Evaluate your coverage

Some situations can change some conditions of your coverage, they can decrease or increase your rates, and it will all depend on the events.

Events that can decrease your rates

To get married, because you would like to include your partner into your auto insurance policy.

Moving to a different area, to move into a low risk area could lower your rates of coverage.

Getting older, some insurance companies low your rate, if you are older than 25 years old.

Events that increase your rates

Traffic Infractions, this could higher your rates and it is important to be careful with this.

Moving into a high crime area and with more accidents risks.

Filing claims, the more claims you file, the higher your rate can get.

Frequent questions about auto Insurance

There are a lot of questions people tend to ask about auto insurance regarding costs, the right insurance policy and other concerns, thus we will try to answer some of them.

When do I need an auto insurance policy?

There are some conditions when a person needs to get an auto insurance policy, in most places around the United States and Europe it is mandatory to have at least a liability insurance policy if you want to drive a car legally, but also if you work for a transportation company like Uber or Lyft, that is why, most of these transportation companies offer this benefits to people who use their cars to transportation of employees an others. These companies will cover medical expenses for you and your passengers and property damage for your car, however is always important that you have an auto insurance policy of your own, in case something fail with the transportation company’s system.

How Much does an auto insurance policy cost?

There are different issues when it comes to the cost of an insurance policy

Deductible: as you know the deductible is an amount of money that you would have to pay first, before the insurance company can take care or the rest of the bill, but if the total amount of the repair is below the deductible of your auto insurance policy, then the insurance company does not have to pay for anything, but do not worry most deductible are established in a way that the policyholder can pay it without a problem. On the other hand if the total amount is higher than the deductible, then your insurance company would take care of the rest.

Valued of Insured Car

This will all depend on the real cost of your car, the more expensive is the car, the more is the auto Insurance policy.

Repair costs

This issue relies on the cost and kind of repairing and auto parts and how much does you insurance policy cover.

Benefits of having an auto insurance policy

Nowadays there are more people buying cars, this fact has increased the number of accidents, and everyday it gets more important to purchase an auto insurance policy, and here are some benefits you will have if you buy one.

Law requirements preparation

As you know it is a law requirement to have at least a liability policy, in case you have an accident and hurt yourself or other people, if this happens and you do not have an auto insurance policy then you could lose your driver’s license, therefore the first benefit you will get is to fulfill the law requirements.

Financial liability

Remember that most liability policies cover property damages and medical expenses, and a great benefit you can get through an auto insurance policy is to have those expenses totally covered and it would not only cover your expenses but other people’s involved in the accident.     

Medical costs coverage

Another benefit is to have medical costs covered, this not only will help economically but also you will be able to act quickly in case of a really bad car accident, which could save your life and other people’s life as well, therefore, is better to be prepared.

Replacement costs

After being in a car accident the monetary consequences can be too high, that is why having an auto insurance policy can benefit you for covering these kinds of expenses, this will depend on the gravity of the damages and your policy coverage and if your car is considered as total loss, then the insurance company will compensate you for the current value of your car.

Another benefit of having auto insurance is that some companies offer discount for robbery or for having several policies with the same policyholder.

Having all these benefits can give you the tranquility of driving, knowing that you and your passengers are protected from any expense that an accident or any other mishap could cause.

 

Auto insurance tips when buying a car

From the moment you start thinking about buying a car, you should also think about purchase an auto insurance, because you need to take into account this costs inside your general budget, in that way, by the time you have your new car everything will be in order and you will be financially covered from the moment to hit the accelerator, therefore, we will give you some important aspects you should consider during this process:

Coverage for replacing a car

If this is not your first car and your are changing cars, the previous policy may have a new car coverage statement, this kind of coverage will offer you financial protection for some time, and you need to find out exactly how much time the policy can cover, sometimes it can be for 15 days or even just 24 hours, but the important issue here is to be protected from the start.

Take care of your own auto insurance purchasing:

Do not expect or assume that the person who is selling you the car is going to take care of submitting your auto insurance policy, this is an errand you have to do on your own, all you need is to call your insurance representative and add a new car to your policy. Also depending on the car you are buying, you will need to add new coverage to your policy like collision or comprehensive, in that way, your new car will be fully covered.

Purchase GAP insurance

Some people have their car totaled soon after they purchase it, because cars start to depreciate soon and it is better to calculate their value after there are bought, in some cases, the car costs a lot more that what most insurance companies can give you for total lost, in this cases, GAP insurance can cover not only the difference but what you still own at the dealership.  

Auto Insurance for teenagers

When teenagers get a driver’s license, it is a very exciting moment and all that excitement can be reflected in their driving, that is why it is very important  to protect them and your car in case of an accident.

There are two ways to insure a teenager, you can purchase a policy only for her/him or you can include them in your own policy, the last option is cheaper, because if you get an individual policy, the company will set high rates for considering teenagers high risk drivers because of their lack of driving experience and the tendency for speeding.

There are some important aspects that can help to maintain a good relationship between teenagers and insurance companies.

Keep good grades: Believe it or not grades can help you gain confidence in front of an insurance company; it means that you are a focused and responsible person, which can help you keep your insurance policy.

Get driving experience: the best way to have an excellent discount in an insurance policy for teenagers is to graduate from a formal driving training, they can get hours of driving experience with a driving expert and be ready to hit the road.

Avoid traffic penalty: If a teenager is involved in a serious accident, especially if they are drinking or using drugs, he/she can end up being cancelled by the insurance company and if they get to have coverage for the accident, the rates will be much higher for some years after that.

Safety Programs: There are some insurance companies that offer safety programs to help parents track their teens and be sure they are not in dangerous areas. This kind of programs can also register behavior through surveillance cameras and the speeding record of the car, it would be ideal to get these safety devices, in that way you as a parent will be protecting your son or daughter from getting involved in an accident or robbery.