Basics Of Cheap Car Insurance

When you got your first car, you probably didn’t think too much about your auto insurance policy. After all you just got a new car- freedom, the power to do as you wish, and a savory sense that you’ve become An Adult are probably foremost in your mind. Perhaps you just bought the most cheap car insurance policy you could, depending on the lender’s requirements. Even if you carefully thought out your auto insurance policy, you should take a little time to better understand how car insurance works and what, exactly, you bought when you got your policy.

Insurance: A Gambling Game

Understanding insurance begins with the understanding that insurance is a game of chance, just like the games of black jack at the casino. However, just like the card counters who rigorously study the probability behind each card’s appearance, so too do insurance companies carefully weigh out the benefits of granting insurance to a certain person. The factors they use in this calculation are as many as you can think of: Age, gender, type of car and past history- all these and more are carefully weighed when granting insurance.

Policies

Understanding your policy begins with the understanding that not all policies are alike. All insurance policies have liability coverage- covering the other person’s car and medical needs in an in-fault accident. This is typically a state requirement.

Other things, like comprehensive insurance, are based on your appreciation of how much money you will need. Typically, comprehensive insurance is around 100000, but you can set it higher or lower depending on you think you will need. Comprehensive insurance covers physical damage to the car not done by collisions, and covers theft of your car. It is often listed as property damage on your policy, because it can also apply to collision coverage on your car.

The Nitty-Gritty

The amount you pay for comprehensive insurance depends on your deductible, or the amount you pay yourself before the insurance company pays anything. Most insurance companies start at a 500 dollar deductible, but you can raise it to 1000 or more. This can lower your monthly bill significantly, getting you really cheap car insurance, but will cost more should you file a claim.

Of course, you have to have car insurance in order to register with the state and get your license. Most of the time, people don’t understand how the policy works. Depending on if you have a loan or not, there may be requirements from your loan issuer for insurance- they want to recoup their money if you total the car you bought with their money.

You can still get cheap car insurance, with the coverage you need, by going to RateDigest’s easy to use comparison tool. You’ll find insurance quotes from big name providers at great rates.