Choosing Car Insurance for Your First Car

In order to be a legal driver on the road, car insurance is required. Choosing a car insurance policy for your first car is done so to protect the investment of your vehicle and the welfare of you, the members of your car and others on the road. The process of car insurance for your first car can be confusing, as there is new terminology, red tape and agents to deal with. The simple fact is, however, that it does not need to be difficult. In fact, obtaining car insurance today, even your first policy, is relatively simple.
Choosing Car Insurance for Your First Car: Why is it Necessary?
It is mandatory that your vehicle be insured for you to legally operate it on the road. This is a law that is set for each of the fifty states in the United States. The intention of car insurance is to protect you and others from bodily harm, and your vehicle from damage, or damage you may cause to other vehicles on the road. Without having the proper amount of insurance on your vehicle, you are violating the law.
Understanding Your First Car Insurance Policy
Choosing car insurance for your first car is not only essential, understanding your policy is as well. Here you will rely greatly upon research to learn about the various policy as well as your insurance agent. There are specific steps in the process that you will follow which include:
1. What type of auto insurance will you need? There are various types of auto insurance. In each of the fifty states in the US it is mandatory to have a liability coverage. The amount of liability coverage is set by the state, so it will be necessary to check your local DMV to determine the amount of liability coverage that is required. There are also other types of insurance coverage that is available such as comprehensive collision coverage, emergency roadside service gap insurance, uninsured motorists insurance and so on. There are many DMV sites online that will detail the specifics of each insurance policy that is available in your state.
2. Obtaining your quote for your first car insurance policy. Obtaining quotes is the simple part and can be done online. The Internet is the greatest source to find insurance providers which gives you the convenience of obtaining free quotes and then comparing them to one another. This is beneficial to the car owner as there is no sitting in the agent's office being pressured.
3. Once you have selected the provider you can then make the call to obtain your insurance or purchase it over the Internet.
The process of choosing it for your first car is simple. Especially with the convenience of the Internet. Once you have purchased your car insurance, it is important that you keep your insurance card with you at all times when you are driving. Failure to do so, will result in fines, if you are caught.
Should you have the unfortunate experience of getting in an accident, then make sure that you are aware of the steps that must be taken such as exchanging information with the other driver and contacting your insurance company to make a claim.

Shortly after purchasing a new car the sudden costs may start to burden you. One way you can save money is by conducting car insurance comparison. A quick search can reveal hundreds in savings.

Is It Better To Make A Monthly Car Insurance Premium Payment?

If you own a car, then you must have some type of car insurance. This is required in nearly every state, and is an important way to protect your assets. However, if your insurance premiums are due yearly or even at six month intervals, the cost can be somewhat of a shock to your pocketbook. While this can work for some people, many people prefer to arrange to have their car insurance payments due on a monthly basis.
If you use a monthly budget to determine your income and expenses, it can be somewhat of a challenge to save the money that would be necessary for the six-month or yearly premium. For some people, it is too easy to spend money if it is in the account because they forget that it is earmarked for some other purpose. If this has ever happened to you, you know how challenging it can be to come up with the large amount needed for a yearly car insurance premium if you have already spent that money on something else.
                                                              Insurance companies understand the realities of living and making it from day to day when you are on a tight budget. This is why many of them are willing to work with people to divide the yearly premium up into monthly amounts. Sometimes, they will charge an extra monthly fee for this service. If this is the case with your insurance company, you may want to shop around for another that does not charge a fee for this service. Also, many banks as well as car insurance companies and others are beginning to charge a fee if you want them to mail you a monthly statement. You can get around this fee if you go paperless and agree to online statements instead of paper statements. You can always print out the statements from your own computer if you want a hard copy.
                                                               If you divide your yearly insurance premium into equal monthly amounts, it is usually much easier to fit into your monthly budget. You can probably set up automatic payments through your own banking institution so that you will know that the payment will go out on time, and this will also save you the time to write a check and the cost of a stamp every month. Many insurance companies can also arrange to withdraw the money directly from your checking account - even if you don't set them up on your bill payment plan. They can have you authorize an automatic withdrawal that will be set up on a monthly basis. Either way, electronic banking can save you time and money when you are paying your car insurance premium or other monthly bills.
                                                                 As you can see, for many people, switching their insurance premium to a monthly amount makes excellent budgeting sense. Another reason for a monthly payment is that if you decide to switch companies, you will not have to wait for months for your pro-rated refund - you just won't need to pay the next month's premium. Since the insurance market is much more competitive than it used to be, it can benefit you to shop around every once in a while.

 

Basics On How Car Insurance Can Work For You

When you are planning to make an automobile purchase, you usually think about the price of the car, and may even remember that there will be sales tax and licensing and registration costs. However, you should also remember that there will be costs for car insurance. When you are looking at the best car for you to purchase, you need to contact your insurance company for quotes on the different cars. This can help you decide which car you will buy.
                   There are many factors that go into determining how much a car insurance premium will be. First, the make and model of the car are figured in, as well as the year it was built. In addition, if there are special appointments or other specialty items, that will affect the cost as well. In general, a more expensive car will cost more for insurance. However, you should also know that there are certain cars that are stolen more often than other cars, and this list may change every year. If the car you are looking at is on that list, you can expect to pay more for the insurance.
                   There are different types of car insurance coverage that you will either be required to have or that may be optional for you depending on the state you live in and whether or not you finance the vehicle. Nearly every state will require you to have liability insurance to cover the costs incurred by the other party in case you are the cause of an accident. Liability coverage will pay for the repairs to their car as well as for medical costs related to injuries from the accident. Even though this is a required coverage, the limits may be low and you may want to increase this coverage and should discuss this with your agent.
                     If you are financing the vehicle, your bank will require you to carry collision and comprehensive insurance. These types of coverage cover your car in the event of an accident - either with another vehicle or something else, such as a collision with a mailbox or fence. The bank wants to make sure that you keep the car in good shape until you sell it, because in effect, they own it until the loan is paid off. Comprehensive insurance covers things that are not due to collision, including windshield replacement.
                     Some states will require uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. This is because some people only carry the minimums, which may not cover all of the costs that can be incurred when an accident happens. These types of car insurance cover you when it is the other driver's fault.

 -As you can see, there are many different types of car insurance coverage available. Of course, these are only the most common ones, and there are many more. It is a good idea to discuss your insurance needs with your agent so that you can get exactly what you need. Not only will you get what you need, but you will know what you are paying for and what it can do for you if you are ever involved in an accident.

Things To Know Before You Buy

It would be nice to know that you can trust any company to conduct its business in such a manner that your needs will always come first. However, in the modern world it is imperative to protect yourself from harm by performing your own investigation. There are questions you should ask before entering into any contractual agreement. The following are details you should know and understand before spending your money.
New businesses are typically a sign of a healthy economy and offer fresh ideas, products, and services for the public-at-large. The strength of any business is important to know before engaging in a contract that covers expenses in the event of a loss. You do not want to make monthly payments to protect yourself only to find out the business has closed up and left town.

• Customer service is important in the event there is a problem with your product or service. Reading customer satisfaction posts in their blogs and other forums is a good way to find out how many people have experienced good results from tech support calls. You need to know if the accounting department provides fast response to billing errors and make the corrections.

• When looking for new products, or attempting to compare different types of services, it is a good idea to find product rating reports that indicate how well other customers have enjoyed the use or benefits of the company and its offer. It is too late to find out the product is at the bottom of the list of consumer choices and you have are ready spent your money.

• Terms of server agreements are in place at most businesses and companies to state their policy on such things as warranties and customer satisfaction. Returning a product may have limitations and you should know exactly what they are before getting involved in a legal agreement. A warranty contract is binding on all parties. It should stipulate the length of time involved for covered repairs or replacement of the product or service.

Property ownership carries responsibilities that include maintaining coverage to protect you against loss from damages, theft or natural causes. There are changes made in the industry on a daily basis that can affect your ability to collect on your claims. The best time to ask questions is before you become a statistic and end up as one of the stories in car insurance news.

GAP Insurance

GAP Insurance, also referred to as GAP Waiver or GAP Addendum, is an abbreviation for Guaranteed Asset Protection. In the event your insurance company declares your vehicle a total loss from accident or theft GAP Insurance will pay the difference between the ACV (Actual Cash Value) your insurance company determines they will pay and what is owed to the bank on your vehicle. An easier way to explain this is that GAP Insurance will pay your negative equity (difference between your vehicles ACV and what is owed to the bank) so that you are not responsible to pay the bank, potentially thousands of dollars, on a vehicle you are no longer able to drive. Most GAP Insurance companies will also cover your insurance deductible and may give you additional money to use as a down payment on a new vehicle.
Who requires GAP Insurance?
Who that:

• Has put less than 20-30% down.
• Is financing for more than 36 months.
• Is rolling over negative equity from a trade in.
• Is buying a new vehicle, especially a truck of SUV, due to a huge immediate depreciation.
• Drives over 12,000 miles per year. Due to accelerated depreciation.

Example of the benefits:
"You've just purchased a brand new vehicle for $30,000 with no money down. With TT & L included you are financing $32,250. You drive your new vehicle off the lot to show to all your family and friends and without you even knowing it, you've just lost 20-30% of the value of your vehicle. That's typical depreciation for the first year of a new vehicle, you can expect another 15-20% in the second year and 10-15% in your third year. So immediately your vehicle is now only worth, let's use the 20% from above, $24,000 and you owe $32,250.
One year after buying your vehicle, using the same figures above, your vehicle is stolen and the insurance company has given up on finding it and declares it a total loss. You've been able to pay down your loan to $31,000, but it's only worth $24,000, which leaves you with a $7,000 GAP plus your deductible, let's say $500. The total amount that you are now required to pay the bank and your insurance company is $7,500. That's right you have to come out of pocket to pay a balance on a vehicle you can't even drive anymore. OUCH!
What happens if you can't pay, or even refuse to pay? Eventually the bank will send your account to collections and then the account will eventually be charged off. What does this look like to future lenders? It will show as a charged off auto loan and will look as bad as a repossession on your credit.
Be sure to check with your insurance company and know what they will and will not cover. If you assume your covered, when you are not, and the worst happens, you are going to be in for a rude awakening."
GAP Insurance should be available at most any car dealership throughout the country.

choose company for car insurance

With so many car insurance companies, finding the top car insurance company can sometimes seem like a pipe dream. This does not have to be the case however. With just a few small decisions and by arming yourself with a bit of knowledge, you will be able to find just the right company, and policy, to suit your needs. The knowledge and decisions are quite simple as long as you know what to look for. 

• The first step in finding the right auto insurance company to suit your needs is to make sure that you are looking at reputable ones. One excellent resource for checking the reliability of a business is the Better Business Bureau. Reputable companies will typically be listed with the BBB so that customers can know that they are reliable. Sometimes, you may run across an insurance provider that is not listed. It is possible to run a check and make sure that no complaints have been listed with the BBB in such a case.

• The next step is to make sure that the companies you are looking into offer the level of coverage you require. This alone can help to pare down the list of car insurance companies from which to choose. State minimums are not always enough depending on the year, make, and model of your vehicle as well as whether or not you still owe money on it. The top company will be able to offer you a variety of coverage amounts.

It is important to make sure that the auto insurance providers you are looking into will be willing to pay in the event of a claim. While this may seem like a no-brainier, there are some cut rate providers that will go out of their way to avoid paying claims. This was once a greater issue than it is today, but the problem still exists. One way to avoid dealing with such a company is to run several searches on the internet and see how many people report having trouble with such issues.
                                                   Finding the top car insurance company does not have to as big a chore as it sounds. No matter how many car insurance companies you check out, make sure to take your time and find the one to suit your needs. Doing so will make all the difference in the world between getting a great deal on a policy and getting stuck with one that will leave you footing the bill.