AUTO Insurance
Most people complain about the cost of their auto insurance--hardly surprising, given that a typical policy costs at least several hundred dollars a year. Depending on your age, driving record, and other factors, your annual premium can be significantly more than that. So how can you lower your premium and save yourself money?
If you own a car and drive it, going without insurance is generally not an option. In most states, you are required by law to purchase a minimum amount of liability coverage. And you should probably have more than just the bare minimum if you want to provide yourself with adequate protection. There are steps you can take, however, to reduce your auto insurance costs without having to cancel your policy. Some or all of these steps may be appropriate for you, depending on your circumstances.
Surely you've seen them on the road: They're swerving in and out of lanes, ignoring rules of the road, and engaging in other rude - and dangerous - behavior. Or maybe you are that bad driver?
A focus group of 30 drivers from Boston who have collectively been involved in 84 accidents over the past three years, and have received 49 speeding tickets, 39 moving violations, and 92 parking tickets, indicates there are some common characteristics to bad drivers. Take a look at these questions to find out if you fit the profile.
Insurance companies such as State Farm Insurance and Allstate Insurance Co. don't track specific information on eating and driving, because it's too difficult to break it down. State Farm says the company is aware it is a problem. The difficulty in pinning down the exact cause of accidents lies in separating distractions such as cell phone use, talking to passengers, reading the newspaper, and eating, all of which drivers engage in while also trying to operate a two-ton piece of machinery.
The popularity of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) has never been higher, even with the increasing costs of fuel and growing concern for the environment.
Reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) continue to portray SUVs as dangerous vehicles, with higher rollover than many cars or trucks. As the number of SUV's on the road reaches over 15 percent of the total number of vehicles, drivers are warned that an SUV will not handle the same way as another type of vehicle. The Automobile Club of Southern California (ACSC) has ten safety tips for SUV drivers to try and keep both the driver and the passengers, as well as other drivers on the road aorund them, safe.
SUVs, minivans, and pickups handle differently than cars. Driver knowledge and experience is particularly important in poor weather, as SUVs require more braking distance than smaller automobiles, which is vital to know to avoid accidents on slippery roads.
Your auto insurance company probably has a lot of your personal information, and that`s not necessarily a bad thing. For instance, auto insurers get a hold of your driving record, credit history, and other info to use in making decisions such as whether to cover your vehicles and how much to charge you for coverage.
Many insurers use credit information to determine your insurance risk score. You`ll likely pay less for car insurance if you have a good credit score, a history of paying bills on time and no bad debt. Insurers see a direct relationship between your insurance risk score and the chances of you filing a claim. Conversely, an insurance applicant who has a history of being late on bill payments and who often opens and closes savings or credit accounts wouldn`t be as good an insurance risk.
If your teen is away at school, living part-time with an ex-spouse, or spending a significant amount of time away from your single-parent home, you may be wondering if you are still required to keep them on your car insurance policy. Insuring a teenage driver can be an expensive endeavor, but depending on the circumstance and practices of your car insurance company, you may not be required to keep them on your auto insurance policy.
Think your occupation does not affect your auto insurance rate - think again! In Insurance.com's 2006 Occupation Report, results show that your occupation can greatly impact your car insurance premium.
Compiled from data from their partnering auto insurance companies, Insurance.com's report shows that scientists, pilots/navigators and actors/performers/artists pay the lowest insurance rates at an average of $935.76 per year. Attorneys/lawyers/judges, executives and business owners pay the highest insurance rates at an average of $1,383.63 per year.
A recently released auto insurance study shows that rates are continuing to climb, but you can minimize your financial pain if you "shop around" for coverage.
When you buy insurance, you're really buying something that you hope you'll never have to use. But if you ever do need to file an insurance claim, you'll understand why having the right amount and right types of coverage is important.
When young adults graduate college they have aspirations of starting their first "real world" job, getting their own place and buying a brand new car - one that does not need a screwdriver to start. However, college students are also graduating with much more than just a college degree and a dream, they are graduating with a substantial amount of debt. In fact, many students graduate with an average of $3,262 in credit card debt - 10 percent of that group owing more than $7,000 in credit card charges.
Students forget to factor in other life costs, such as health care, 401K deductions, income taxes, car payments, auto insurance, rent, utility bills, student loans, credit card bills and food expenses into their monthly budget. "After you graduate and land your first job, you do not think about having to pay for all of these expenses," stated a graduate from Ohio University. "Unfortunately, reality sets in pretty fast and you realize you do not have the money to make ends meet - it is a hard lesson to learn!"
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