Insurance Tip

[incongruent]

Here is one generic and a couple specific tips for getting cheaper car insurance.... maybe add some of your own?

Generic:

• Phone your insurance company at least once a month and ask if there is any way to lower your insurance.... get frequent quotes from other companies and if one is significantlly lower, don't be afraid to cancel mid-year and switch over. Calculate if it is still worth it after the penalty the company will charge you.

Specific:

• Make sure your insurance company has accurate data on all your particulars. When you got your license... How old you are... how many accidents you have... how many tickets.... the EXACT model of your car.... any anti-theft devices... multi-line discount for having home insurance is applied to your CAR policy (more % off)....
• Also frequently check what your rate would be if you had another vehicle... tell them you're thinking of getting a new car. If your quote is a lot lower than you are currently paying, this is a sign that they're giving you the screws.
• If you are turning 25 in the somewhat not too distant future, make sure you get your company to apply the change in the middle of your policy. Fight them for this if you have to, but there is no reason you should have to pay 24 year old rates when you are 25 years old. Cancel if they don't, its probably still worth it. My company did it 2 months early because a competitor gave me a quote at 25 and I was about to cancel.

Addendum:

• Useful site explaining how cars measure up (and indirectly affect insurance rates for vehicles)
  http://www.ibc.ca/vehinfo_pub_howcarsmeasureup.asp

[zadscmc]

Originally Posted by incongruent

[*] Make sure your insurance company has accurate data on all your particulars. ... the EXACT model of your car...

My insurance company demands the VIN number, thus, they can't not know the correct model. They insist on calling my '04 Honda Civic Hybrid an IMA because that's what the data base calls it. No one calls it that.

[lvl7civic]

Originally Posted by zadscmc

My insurance company demands the VIN number, thus, they can't not know the correct model. They insist on calling my '04 Honda Civic Hybrid an IMA because that's what the data base calls it. No one calls it that.

I had a similar situation with my insurance company. I have a 2002 Civic LX and they insisted on calling it a DX. What's the point of asking for the VIN if they're going to ignore it and call the vehicle something different? ... At least they called it a Civic? :-p

[Kroze]

ROFL....what's your name? bob...okay..mike. from now on you're mike.

[letsgoflyers81]

Those are some good common sense tips. Another one is to see who would be cheaper on which vehicle with a multi car policy. When I started driving, my brother and I were on my mom's policy. She worked with our agent to see what the cheapest combination of car and driver was. So the way they saw it, I think I was the primary driver on my mom's car, she was the primary on my brother's, and he was the primary on mine. Now we were all covered on all the cars so everything was legal, but considering the rates for our ages and types of cars, it was the cheapest. That's definitely something to consider if you have a multi car policy.

[aodmisery]

Originally Posted by lvl7civic

I had a similar situation with my insurance company. I have a 2002 Civic LX and they insisted on calling it a DX. What's the point of asking for the VIN if they're going to ignore it and call the vehicle something different? ... At least they called it a Civic? :-p

my insurance (mercury) calls my 06 si coupe a 06 si hatchback

[incongruent]

Originally Posted by zadscmc

My insurance company demands the VIN number, thus, they can't not know the correct model. They insist on calling my '04 Honda Civic Hybrid an IMA because that's what the data base calls it. No one calls it that.

My insurance company has my VIN.. and my car is listed as a 2006 Honda Civic EX-G ... lol... I assume its a typo, but I hope I'm not paying more because of the EX... I was gonna ask them about that but forgot.

[incongruent]

Originally Posted by letsgoflyers81

... She worked with our agent to see what the cheapest combination of car and driver was. ...

brokers hate this.... Getting info is like pulling teeth. Ever ask them which is the cheapest car to insure? Thats a riot. However one day an agent gave me a link to a great site that will give you lots of info on the ratings of different cars... here is the link for your information (canadian info though) http://www.ibc.ca/vehinfo_pub_howcarsmeasureup.asp

[Kroze]

if you stated that you're using your vehicle for pleasure rather than work/school.. it'll save you $$$.

i save over $100 just from stating for pleasure rather than work