how to get state insurance - 12 August 2013 - insurance
how to get an insurance quote
How To Get Car Insurance Quotes and Save Money
Driving Around Without Insurance is Illegal
Do not drive around without auto insurance, it is illegal. In fact, most auto insurance companies will not insure you if you are currently uninsured. They won't even give you a quote. This is why it is important that you never let your car insurance coverage lapse. Allstate and GEICO are probably the only companies who will still give you car insurance coverage if you are currently uninsured.
Always Shop Around for the Lowest Rates
Note: Unfortunately, if you don't currently have car insurance, most auto insurance companies will not insure you. In this case, try Allstate and GEICO. Getting instant online price quotes from sites like GEICO, Allstate and LowerMyBills allow you to:
Easily shop for your car insurance from home
Make apples-to-apples comparisons
Save money on your auto insurance
Receive accurate, real-time auto insurance quotes
Make an informed choice
Bad Credit Causes You To Pay More For Insurance
Many insurance companies run credit checks on you before the application is signed. Some online companies bypass this by allowing you to supply a self reported credit rating from a pull down menu. The reason for the credit checks is that there is a higher underwriting risk not only in terms your ability to make payments and keep policies in force, but the higher claims/loss ratios of folks with bad credit. A 40 year old man with a couple of late payments and no tickets, accidents or major violations might very well qualify for a preferred policy.
Why you must get a copy of your driving record
I highly suggest you get a copy of your drivers license record before shopping for insurance. Many of us have errors in our driving report that drive up our auto insurance rates. I once paid a traffic ticket and attended driving school, but they never credited my driving record! How did I find out? Allstate canned me! That's not the way you want to find an error on your driving record. In the newspaper, a clerk of the court admitted they had a 20% error rate, and shrugged it off as normal. So lucky 20% me had my license suspended by mistake. Don't let this happen to you! Trust me, you don't want to go through what I did to fix it. If you go to driving school or pay fines, keep the receipt in your wallet for 3 years or until you renew your license! If you get pulled over by the police, it's your only salvation from being arrested for driving with a suspended license. Just like your credit history determines your car loan approval, your driving record determines how expensive your auto insurance will be.
Don't Forget To Budget In Auto Insurance!
Don't overlook this important part of car buying, you'll be in for a shock later. Get an insurance quote on the car you want and, most importantly, shop around! There's some good sites that help you find great deals on car insurance with rate comparison engines. You'll be surprised how much some new cars cost to insure. Some cars are very difficult to insure. Know your insurance costs before you buy a car, and plan your monthly budget accordingly. A lot of people drop the ball on this one. Depending on where you live, you could pay $2,000 a year to insure a new car. This is an average of $167 per month. If you're buying a car on the hairy edge of what you can afford, insurance payments can drag you under since they are part of your monthly cost of ownership.
While you're shopping for insurance, here's a few online sites that give you free quotes online. To get the most accurate pricing, be very accurate about the info you enter. Also, try to enter the exact same coverage you desire from each online site you visit, to get a true apples to apples comparison. These sites will give you quotes to compare before making your final decision. Get quotes from as many sites as possible to get your best price, then when you are ready to buy, call the company you chose and verify the price with them. When you decide to buy insurance, don't think you can be smart and neglect to tell them you had a speeding ticket last year. They'll find out when they check your driving record after you apply, even all your out of state tickets, and your rates will increase accordingly.
Online Sites To Get Car Insurance Quotes
The Allstate Corporation is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer. A Fortune 100 company, with $156.4 billion in assets. Allstate is known for unique programs such as Accident Forgiveness which helps keep your rates from going up just because of an accident. Even if it's your fault!
AA rating from Standard and Poor's
Aa2 from Moody's
A from A. M. Best
Car insurance doesn't have to cost a small fortune. Before you sign up for a new policy or renew your current one, LowerMyBills.com has ways to save some cold, hard cash.
Check your credit report before checking your insurance rates. If your credit score has gone up since you activated the policy, you might be able to negotiate a discount. A low score is seen as a high risk that you'll file a claim. Studies have shown financially stable people have less tickets accidents.