Smart Auto Insurance Blog

When comparing similar auto insurance companies such as Encompass Car Insurance and and Acceptance Insurance it’s important to be sure to understand exactly what you are comparing.  Bankrate recommends focusing in on four insurers to start off with.

Start off by picking four reputable auto insurance companies and visit their websites for detailed information.  Educate yourself on the companies and read through consumer reviews.  Although price is a very important part of an insurance policy, customer service is crucial and it’s helpful to know what you are getting into.

There is a lot of value to face-to-face business.  If this is something you think will bring you value in the long run, visit your local auto insurance offices and speak to an agent directly.  Developing a relationship with a local agent can help your chances of getting the best deal possible on your auto insurance rates.

Once you have locked into a new auto insurance policy, review it annually and ensure you are still getting the best rate possible.  Continue your search online to keep it simple and use comparison sites to help save you time.

According to the article “Who Crashes the Most?  Car Accidents By Occupation” by Kat Zeman on insure.com, doctors have the most auto accidents per year, at about 109 accidents for every 1000 doctors.  They also receive about 44 tickets per 1000 doctors on the road.  This information may cause their occupation to affect their auto insurance rates.  Here’s the ranking for the top 10 most accidents:

1. Doctors
2. Lawyers
3. Architects
4. Real estate brokers
5. Enlisted military personnel
6. Social workers
7. Manual Labor
8. Analysts
9. Engineers
10. Consultants

Other occupations that made the list but rank below the 10th ranking are nurses, librarians, insurance agents, dentists, accountants, politicians, firemen, law enforcement, and salespeople.  Occupations can already affect interest rates on certain loans, so it makes sense that it may affect your auto insurance.

A recently released report from Quality Planning Corp in San Francisco shows that auto insurance companies lost about $15.9 billion in 2008 from premium leakage.  Premium leakage is the loss of revenue because of the inability of insurance companies to keep track of their customers’ situations that influence rates.  This number is about 10% of the total $167 billion in personal auto premiums written.  This is according to the article “The 5 Biggest Lies Told to Car Insurance Companies” by Barbara Marquand on insure.com.

Lying about small information to get a better auto insurance quote may seem harmless but it could mean trouble for you down the road.  Some of the lies told to insurers include under-estimating the number of miles driven, not reporting all the drivers in the household, not giving the correct garage location, claiming discounts that no longer apply, and misstating how the car is used.

You should avoid misstating information when getting your auto insurance quote, not only because it increases rates for everyone over time, but the insurance company could very well find out.  According to Quality Planning every 1% reduction in rating error can cause a 20% profit gain.  This means that it’s worth the insurer’s time to do their homework and ensure their customers are being honest.  The information you give them may end up getting scrutinized so safe yourself the trouble and just be upfront from the start.

MSN’s Money Central web page lists the most and least expensive cars to insure for 2010.  This information is helpful to know as you shop around for auto insurance quotes to use for comparison purposes.

At the top of their list for the most expensive car to insure specifically in the “car” category is the Porsche 911 Carrera GT2 2-door coupe with 6 cylinders with an average premium of $2943.78.  The next car is the Mercedes S65 AMG 4-door sedan with 12 cylinders at $2863.03.  The 3rd most expensive car is the Porsche Panamera Turbo AWD 4-door sedan with 8 cylinders with an average premium of $2837.39.

The least expensive car to insure is the Dodge Caliber SXT 4-door hatchback with 4 cylinders with an average premium of $1192.85.  Next is the Dodge Caliber 4-door hatchback with 4 cylinders at $1196.21 and the 3rd least expensive car is the Volkswagen Golf GLS 4-door hatchback with 4 cylinders at $1196.39.  Remember to keep this information handy as you compare auto insurance rates to ensure you are getting the best deal.

Allstate Auto Insurance, which is a very well respected insurance company, has created an innovative policy for their customers.  The policy is called Your Choice Auto and it provides high quality auto insurance.  Their website provides more details, but here are the highlights:

• Accident forgiveness helps to keep rates low even after one accident
• Safe driving bonus earns you cash for safe driving
• Deductible rewards gives you up to $500 off your deductible for safe driving
• New car replacement gives you a new car if yours is totaled within the 1st three model years

There are numerous different packages offered through the Your Choice Auto program.  According to their website, those who switched to Allstate from another carrier saved on average $480 per year.  Getting auto insurance quotes from a few different companies is the best way to ensure you are getting the most competitive auto insurance rate.

In these tough times, drivers are looking for any type of discount they can on their auto insurance rates.  Progressive Auto Insurance is happy to offer discounts whenever they can and their MyRate Discount program proves this.

Progressive’s MyRate discount offers savings based on how much, how, and when they drive their car.  With the newest version of MyRate, now offered with Minnesota auto insurance, customers can start saving in as little as 30 days, up to 30%.  Progressive now gets data for only 6 months to determine a customer’s auto insurance rate.  Once drivers sign up for the MyRate program they plug in a small device into their auto that measures their driving data.  After about 30 days they can let the customer know if they qualify for a discount.

Some examples of scenarios that will offer lower rates are business travelers who park their cars at the airport numerous days per week, families with an extra car they rarely drive, or safe drivers who rarely slam on the brakes.  Progressive may occasionally check in with MyRate customers to get another snapshot of driving habits to ensure nothing has changed, but if the safe driving habits continue so do the great discounts.