How to Buy Car Insurance

From LoveToKnow Buy

Think you can go without car insurance? Think again. It's against the law in all 50 U.S. states, and an absolute necessity (not to mention a godsend) for drivers who are in accidents. Car insurance covers all damage inflicted on your car, not to mention the car you've had an accident with. This works in reverse and covers other sorts of mishaps as well. Here's a guide to some of the basics involved with purchasing car insurance.

Steps to buying car insurance

The first step you should take in purchasing auto insurance is figuring out what kind of coverage you need. This entails selecting mandatory and optional coverages. Mandatory coverages include the amounts the insurance company will pay for any one person in the other car injured in an accident, as well as the property damage done to the other car. Optional coverages include towing and labor, substitute transportation, and collision/comprehensive, among others. You can read up on minimum levels of required auto insurance by state right here: http://info.insure.com/auto/minimum.html
Set your deductible. The deductible is the amount of money you give to the insurance company before their money begins covering you. Many go for a lower deductible, but this basically means that you'll pay more monthly on your insurance bill. Definitely consider a higher deductible-this will lower your monthly insurance payment.
Be aware of the many factors that will affect your insurance premium. For instance, your age, marital status, and gender will affect your premium. Another factor is the area you live in-for example, people who have cars in cities generally pay more than those who have cars in the suburbs. The type of car affects how much you will pay as well-your premium will skyrocket if you're driving a luxury automobile, because luxury automobiles are thief magnets. What you use your car for also plays into the price of your premium-if you use your car mainly just to drive the short distance to work and then home, chances are good your premium will be lower, since your chances of having an accident will be lower.
Begin comparing rates from different insurance companies for insurance plans. This is incredibly important to do since many insurance companies charge wildly different rates for the EXACT same insurance plan. A good place on the web to do this is InsWeb. Once you've selected a plan that looks good and are ready to contact the company, pull out a pen and a pad of paper to take notes on what the insurance agent tells you. Also prepare a list of questions you'd like answered in regards to the plan you'd like to select. Don't be shy-salespeople will be very eager to sell you on a plan, so it's absolutely your right to bombard them with as many questions you need answered before making such a big financial commitment. An excellent spot on the web to do investigative work into the validity and reputation of an insurance company is the Insure.com Insurance Company Guide.