Car Insurance Basics

Nobody wants to have their vehicle stolen or smashed. So purchasing car insurance is one of those rare times where we actually hope to get nothing tangible back in exchange for the money we spend. That makes it tricky to think objectively. We’re buying protection against something we hope will never happen, and we want to spend the least amount of money possible to get it.
 
Well, a little knowledge will go a long way toward significantly reducing any margin of error. And we’re here to help. Let’s start right off with the Four Golden Rules for car insurance buyers. If you remember nothing else about shopping for a new policy, remember these four rules:

1. Shop around before choosing a policy. You’ll want to get at least three quotes offering the same type of policy with the same (or similar) options. Go through them line by line as you compare them. Look for discrepancies in coverage, deductible or phrasing. This can be critical: A policy’s commitment to cover you may rely on a single word that one of the policies intentionally omitted.
2. Call the carrier holding your current policy and find out if they’ll give you a discount. You may be surprised how often car insurance companies reward loyal customers with handsome discounts. But you have to ask for it.
3. Whenever possible, it’s smart to buy more than one type of insurance policy with the same carrier. Buying, for example, your car, home and life insurance policies from the same company may cause your rate per policy to drop as much as 20%.
4. Re-shop your policy periodically. Set an appointment in your calendar program to do this so you won't forget. Once you become complacent, your car insurer loses any incentive to offer you a competitive deal. Remember, ChoiceAutoInsurance.com’s Rate Checker program is designed to do this for you automatically. We’re looking out for you.