What You Need in Automobile Insurance Coverage

By: Nick Vernon


So you are looking at automobileinsurance and wonder what you will choose. This is a typical reaction for those looking for automobile insurance. When you sit down with an insurance agent, whether in person or on the phone, they might ask you some questions you do not know much about. This is turn, can change your automobile quote significantly if you do not get exactly what you need. Some people need more coverage, some people need less. Here are some pointers you need to consider before committing to an automobile insurance policy.

First off, what kind of car do you have? If you are making payments on a car (have it financed through a lender), you will have to carry full coverage. There is no getting out of that. Here are some ways you can save on automobile insurance if you are required to carry full coverage:

1. Select higher deductibles.

2. Multi car discount if applicable.

3. Multi line discount – if you own a home

4. Good Student discount. If you are a high school through college student that receives a B or better average, you will qualify for this small discount.

5. Safety features. You will receive discounts for additional safety features that your car has outside those required by law.

6. Military discount – if applicable (active or retired)

7. Driving course – if you have not already taken the driver improvement course, you may want to. This is an additional discount you can receive.

8. Good driver discount. Most insurers offer a good driver discount. This means you have not had any accidents typically.

If you are in the situation where you completely own your vehicle ( are not making payments to a lender), then you have some other options available to you.

1. Decide if you really need comprehensive and collision. It is a well known fact that after a certain year range, it does not make sense to carry comprehensive and collision on a car. If something were to happen to the car, you would only get book value for the car at the time. We all know what that means – not very much. If you are in a situation where you will not get close to the amount of money that you put into the car in case of an accident, then you might want to consider forgoing the comp and collision.

2. Decide if you need an excessive amount of health insurance coverage through your auto insurance policy. Some people have very good health plans regularly and can just use the automobile insurance policy as filler in excess. This is a very touchy subject, however. It is very important you make sure your health insurance will be able to cover a large sum in the case of a serious accident. If it can not, and you need to use your auto insurance, how much extra would you need. Find out the specifics.

If you would like more information on how you can save money, shop around. Each insurance company out there is vying for your business. They know how easy it is to get quotes from multiple insurers. It also helps us, as the purchaser of auto insurance, that we have the internet. It is up to you to make sure you do your research.