Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Your location matters when it comes to buying/renewing car insurance

Car insurance is one thing that every driver needs to have. It protects you and your assets, as well as those of other drivers on the road. If you are caught driving without car insurance, you can face hefty fines and in some cases your license will be suspended. If you get into a car accident with insurance, you could be faced with tens of thousands of dollars of medical and property damage bills. Expensive car insurance might seem like a waste of money because you likely rarely get into an accident, but it only takes one for you to be in financial ruin.
Shopping around car insurance quotes is easy if you take the time to research your options. Shopping online is the best way, because it is fast and easy. You can oftentimes find websites similar to comparebestquotes.net that will allow you to input your information once and get multiple quotes with one click of a button. The more quotes you get, the better your chances of getting a great deal. It is important to shop for coverage first and then price. Most people just want the cheapest auto insurance, however, if you get into an accident and you are not adequately covered, it can almost be like you don't have insurance at all! You should first determine how much coverage and which types you need, then get multiple quotes that have this coverage, and finally, pick the lowest price.
Before shopping around for a good auto insurance quote it is useful to know what goes into them. If you understand the types of discounts available, you can try to adjust your life to meet the eligibility criteria. One factor that is commonly used for this is location. There are many factors that go into car insurance quotes that you cannot control, but fortunately, you generally have some control over where you live.
First of all, the state you live in will likely have various laws governing car insurance rates. Some put a limit on how much a premium can cost, there are different coverage amounts required for different states, and some don't allow certain factors (such as sex) to be considered when calculating your quote. All of these laws can have an affect on how much your car insurance is.
Next, the town you live in can determine if you should have more or less cheap car insurance. Living in the city will likely cost you more than in rural areas. This is because cities have more people and cars - so more chances to get into an accident - and they also generally have higher crime rates. Theft and vandalism damages are often covered by insurance, so living in a safer neighborhood will allow you to pay less.
To narrow it down even further, the type of dwelling you live in can affect your rates. If you live in an apartment you likely park in a parking lot. A parking lot will allow you to pay less than if you parked on the street, but you won't get as good of a rate as you would if you parked in a garage.

Friday, April 25, 2014

What you should do and what you should not do shopping for car insurance

Drivers believe cheap car insurance to be the policy with the lowest premiums too often. But that is not accurate. It is actually the policy that offers the most coverage at the lowest rates. You need to include coverage and costs in the equation if you want to get a truly cheap policy. When looking for this type of policy, there are some specific do's and don'ts you should follow to get the best coverage for your money.
Do Know Your Auto Insurance Needs
Simply getting the minimum amount of coverage required by state law may place you at significant financial risk if you are in an accident. It is common for drivers to mistakenly believe the other driver is responsible if they are at-fault. But what if that driver is uninsured or underinsured? Are you willing to place yourself or your family at risk? Do a thorough inventory of your low car insurance needs and get quotes that respond accordingly.
Do Use Online Quotes
You simply cannot know you are getting the lowest rates unless you comparison shop. And the best way to do that is with online quotes, preferably from a quotes comparison site like ours. It only takes a few minutes of your time to get and compare quotes. Using online quotes to buy car insurance online is the fastest way to save money on insurance costs.
Do Ask About Discounts
Never assume the discounts are automatically included in quotes. Learn about the various discounts offered by each insurance company and verify the discounts have been included in your quote. If you are not sure, ask the insurance company. Discounts can add up to over 50% in reductions on annual premiums.
Don't Settle for Inferior Coverage to Save a Buck
It does you no good to buy a worthless policy just because it is cheap. Unless you are independently wealthy and are looking for a policy just because the law says you need one, you probably need to have some affordable car insurance that will actually benefit you. Spend a bit more money to get a policy that has substance to it.
Don't Take Them at Their Word
Just because an insurance company says they are the best does not mean they are in fact the best. You are responsible for making sure you are giving your money to a reputable insurance provider you can trust to follow through on future claims you may submit. You can easily read customer reviews online and verify the company is financially solvent.
Don't Let Your Coverage Lapse
When you are ready to switch coverage from one insurer to another, you need to do it the right way. Let your original insurance company know you are cancelling your policy. Be sure to give them sufficient notice or you will have to pay a penalty. Once you have the cancellation date, you can start your new policy. At minimum, the end date of one should coincide with the start date of the other. An overlap is better than a gap in coverage.
Cheap auto insurance quotes do not have to mean a bad policy. As long as you buy insurance that provides adequate coverage at a low rate, you have found a good deal (may be at comparecheapquotes.net). Use these do's and don'ts to find cheapest car insurance the smart way!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Most Beautiful Road Journeys Routes in America

There are a lot of factors that make a good road trip. A road trip is not just about where you are going but how you are getting there and what you will see along the way. It is all about picking a good route with lots of beautiful scenery or many interesting attractions along the drive. Just make sure you have enough coverage, and go through up-to-date car insurance quotes to save your money!
Drive Down the West Coast
A great starting point for a West Coast road trip may be Olympic National Park and the journey will be a long one. The way to cover the vast differences in the scenery is to start there but do not stop until you get to the Mexican border. Some attractions to watch for along the way:
  • Fishing communities in Washington State
  • The Great Redwood Forrest of Northern California
  • Big Sur that stretches to Southern California
The Appalachian Trail: Not Just for Hikers
On the eastern half of the country, check out the Appalachian Trail... as a road trip. Although this trail is commonly hiked on foot, you can still see just as much beauty from behind the dashboard. There are a lot of scenic roads that are very close to the hiking route. This venture will take you on two-lane roads from New England to Alabama. Some attractions to watch for along the way:
  • Delaware Water Gap
  • Pennsylvania Dutch Country
  • Virginias Shenandoah National Park
  • Blue Ridge Parkway
  • Mount Airy
  • Chattooga River
Drive the Atlantic Coast
Begin at the Statue of Liberty and do not stop until you hit Key West. This beatiful journey route will have a lot of quiet patches of road until you hit the ocean. Some places to watch for:
  • Cape Hatteras
  • Cape May
  • Atlantic City
  • Roanoke Island, North Carolina
  • Fort Sumter
  • Chesapeake Bay
  • Kitty Hawk
Take Route 66
This Route has been captivating most everyone taking it for years. This journey runs from Chicago all the way to Los Angeles for over 2,000 miles on the "Main Street of America." Some attractions to watch for:
  • National Old Trails Highway
  • Los Angeles
  • Grand Canyon
  • St. Louis
So if you are looking to spend your vacation time this year behind the wheel, these are just a few great routes to take where you can get some of the most memorable scenery. Take the time to get cheap car insurance quotes to have the coverage you need for these trips. Plus, by saving money with car insurance quotes, you will have more to spend on vacation. There are some great historical aspects to a few of these routes as well as just some natural beauty of the places you will pass through. Have fun on your endeavor and take lots of pictures.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Characteristics to look out for in a car for cheap insurance

Cheap auto insurance is not as elusive as most car owners think. Sure, it's hard to get, especially if you're young or with a bad driving record. But if not, finding affordable insurance for your car can provide a challenge. With comprehensive comparison shopping, detailed review of your coverage and some discounts you can actually find pretty cheap auto insurance deals. However, if this doesn't help either there's just one thing that may be standing in your way of getting low-cost coverage - the car itself. Many people seem to overlook the fact that the car they're trying to insure also has a hefty weight in the premiums charged by the insurer. And there can be a huge difference when trying to insure different car models even within the same price range. So what makes a car cheaper to insure and how to find the right car to get cheap auto insurance with?
Safety is essential
The paramount factor in a car for insurers is its safety, which is measured both in crash tests and real-life claim reports. For most people a car is just a metallic box on wheels that gets smashed on high speed. However, it really makes a difference for people inside it how it acts during a collision as their lives will depend on it. The safer is the car and the lower the risk of injury in it the cheaper it will be to insure - that's a universal insurance law. Everything counts - seat belt quality, airbag number and position, car body stress points and many other things - the only goal is to keep the people inside intact. So the safer is your car the easier it is to get cheap auto insurance for it.
Secure it well
Car thefts are still quite widespread despite the all-time low since the 1970's as proclaimed by the police. But it still costs insurers billions of dollars to settle claims caused by theft every year. So they are rather sensitive when it comes to car security - the less it is protected against theft the higher is the premium. So it's highly recommended to fit your car with at least a couple of anti-theft devices that can make the thief think twice before trying to get into the car. An alarm system is good, a geo-tracking device is also nice, but even the good-old steering wheel lock is enough to make the insurer drop the costs a bit. Just make sure not to spend a fortune on security as we're trying to save money here, don't we?
Damage to other vehicles
While safety and security seem rather obvious, car owners tend to have a hard time understanding the liability cost factor of their vehicle. To describe it in simple words, liability costs arise from the damage delivered by your vehicle to other vehicles or objects. This is the amount of money your insurer will have to pay to the other party through liability coverage. And different vehicles have different liability costs associated with them. As a rule of thumb, larger cars tend to deliver more damage than smaller cars due to the difference in mass. So it's always harder to get cheap auto insurance for an SUV than for a small hatchback.
Repair costs
Now this is something the car owners can easily understand. All cars have different repair costs, even if they are from the same price range or class. Some cars use cheaper parts that are easier to get on the marketplace, while others employ expensive parts that need to be ordered directly from manufacturers. This results in a different repair bill for the same type of damage inflicted to the car, and it's the insurance company that has to pay the bill. So they will be very sensitive about the repair costs implied with every car being insured. That's why the models that are cheaper to repair always get cheaper insurance than those that have expensive parts.