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Have you ever wondered what the top five most affordable auto insurance companies are? We have that list, based on consumer voting through a number of online resources. Just so you know how we did it, we took the total number of votes received by each company and divided them by the total number of resources we used in order to get the average score. Using those scores we ranked them 1 to 5. Our top five list, then, is as follows:
Consumer Votes Don’t Tell the Whole Story
While we’re happy to provide this top five list for you it’s important to note that consumer voting doesn’t tell the whole story. Because there are so many variables involved in determining how much a driver pays for car insurance, there is no concrete way to say for sure who is absolutely the most affordable. You could have two drivers of approximately the same age, driving very similar vehicles, yet with totally different car insurance rates. Consumer voting does not take any of that in consideration.
When a car insurance company determines your premiums they look at a whole host of factors including your age, sex, driving history, where you live, accident rates in your community, your occupation, how much you drive on an annual basis, and much more. In fact, all of the questions they ask are designed to glean information they can plug into a complicated mathematical formula. It is very scientific, to say the least.
Most Affordable Changes from Time to Time
Another thing to remember is that the most affordable auto insurance companies will change from time to time. Between market conditions, your record as a driver, and the other factors that affect insurance providers, the one that’s most affordable in 2012 maybe second or third in 2013. In practical terms this means an annual review of your insurance company and your premiums is in order if you wish to always get the best price.
You should most definitely compare quotes in the event of any significant change in your life circumstances. Examples of such changes include a marriage or divorce, a child reaching the legal driving age, a move to another state, or the addition or subtraction of vehicles. All of these different circumstances play an important role in determining your rates. If a life change means a lower rate, that’s certainly not something you want to miss out on.
Ask About Discounts
When you’re comparing rates among the most affordable auto insurance companies you may find one or two with nearly identical prices. In such cases be sure to ask about any discounts that might apply to you. One discount here or there might mean the difference between getting the best possible rate and paying slightly more. The types of discounts you want to consider might include those for safe driving, good grades for students, and bundling multiple policies together.
If you have a bad driving record and are in search for cheap car insurance, it’s a task easier said than done. Your prospects are not good based simply on the fundamentals of how car insurance works. However, if you’re willing to put forth the effort to look you can find insurance that will be less expensive than what some other drivers in your situation are paying.
Car Insurance for Bad Drivers
You need to understand that car insurance is all based on risk. In other words, every time you get behind the wheel you are opening up your insurance company to the possibility they will end up having to spend money after an accident. Therefore, the more likely you are to have an accident the higher the risk they are taking. Drivers with bad records tend to be a higher risk because they are more likely to have an accident.
Company Specializing in High Risk Drivers
One of the things you might look for is a company that specializes in high-risk drivers or those with bad driving records. Often times they sell their policies through local agencies offering low down payments and low monthly rates. This type of policy may not be a less expensive over the course of a full year, but by breaking the total cost of the policy down into monthly payments it becomes vastly more affordable.
Companies with Forgiveness Programs
There are a couple of nationally-known insurance companies that have programs in place to help reduce your rates through forgiveness. Some of them will forgive your first accident or your first couple of violations – as long as you meet some of the requirements. Others don’t necessarily forgive incidents upfront but instead limit the amount of time they are counted against your record. You’ll have to ask specifically about such forgiveness programs because most insurance companies will not offer the information up front.
Keeping It Clean
Even if you can’t find cheap car insurance with a bad driving record you can bring the price down in due time by behaving yourself behind the wheel. For example, let’s say your state keeps a speeding ticket on your record for two years. There’s nothing you can do about that except wait it out. But if you make a point to not get any more violations or have any accidents within that time frame, your insurance rates will drop when the ticket comes off your record two years from now. On the other hand, if you continue to drive recklessly and incur more tickets and more accidents, your insurance is only going to go up.
The point is the best way to ensure that you get cheap car insurance rates is to keep your record clean. Always obey the law, always drive in accordance with weather and road conditions, and always be defensive when behind the wheel. Driving this way provides as little risk to your insurance company as possible. That will keep your rates down.
The terms “cheap auto insurance” and “teenage drivers” rarely go hand-in-hand. That’s because teen drivers tend to be the most accident prone on the road, according to nationwide statistics. The higher risk they pose to auto insurance companies naturally translates into higher premiums, but that doesn’t mean you have to settle for the first thing that comes along. With a little knowledge of how auto insurance for teen drivers works you’ll be equipped to find the best policy at the best price.
Auto Insurance for Teenage Drivers
When we talk about teen drivers and their insurance needs we are talking about four different groups of kids:
Under 18 with a Learners Permit
For parents whose teen children are still operating on a learners permit, the standard insurance policies they currently have will cover those teenagers without having to change them in any way. As long as your child possesses a learner’s permit, and is under the age of 18, you don’t even need to inform your insurance company in most cases.
The one thing you have to be careful of with a learners permit drivers is to make sure that they do not violate the terms of their permit. Doing so could result in your insurance company denying a claim if your teenager is involved accident. At that point it doesn’t matter whether you have cheap auto insurance or more expensive insurance, you’ll be left paying the bill out of your own pocket. You also risk having your insurance company drop you if they feel you can’t be trusted with your teen driver.
Under 18 with a Junior License
The rules regarding junior licenses vary throughout the states. But generally speaking, a teen driver under the age of 18 who passes his or her road test will be granted a junior license which will be valid until the child’s 18th birthday. At that point the junior license is converted to a senior license with full driving privileges. Both types of licenses have very specific implications when it comes to your auto insurance.
A teenager with a junior license will still be covered under his parent’s insurance unless some special circumstance exists. However, it is the legal responsibility of the parents to inform their insurance company that their child has earned a junior license. If a parent fails to do so the insurance company does have the legal right to refuse any claim brought on behalf of the teenager. Such refusals are not the norm, but they are possible.
Over 18 and Still Living at Home
If your 18 or 19-year-old has a senior license but still qualifies as “living at home” you won’t need to send him looking for cheap auto insurance quotes right away. He’ll be able to remain on your policy until age 26 (in most states) as long as he meets the requirements of living at home. To be considered a living at home, your child must be physically residing in your house or living in a dormitory setting at an out-of-town school. If he is attending an out-of-town school, your home address must be is official address of residence in order to qualify.
If your child is going to school out of town but resides in off-campus housing not officially tied to the college or university, he may be subject to that state’s residency requirements after being there for so many years. You’ll have to check with the state where your child is attending college, but in most cases you probably won’t have anything to worry about as long as he remains in school.
Over 18 and Living on His Own
Teen drivers over the age of 18 living on their own are also responsible for purchasing and maintaining their own auto insurance. For them, getting cheap auto insurance is a high priority due to the fact that they pay among the highest rates in the country. Single males between the ages of 18 and 25 are hit especially hard. They won’t see a significant reduction in what they pay until they get married or turn 26.
If you’re curious as to why this is you need only look at crash statistics compiled by any number of federal agencies. Over the course of the last 30 years statistics consistently show that young male drivers are responsible for the largest share of car crashes. Furthermore, they are also responsible for the largest percentage of deaths relating to such accidents. Teenage girls between the ages of 18 and 25 come in second, followed by senior citizens over the age of 65.
Keeping Your Auto insurance as Cheap as Possible
If you have a teenage driver with full driving privileges living in your household, there are two key things you can do to ensure your rates stay as low as possible. The first is to keep an eye on your teen’s the driving practices and insist that he always dry safely and legally. Nothing drives up insurance rates more quickly than accidents and violations. The second thing you can do is more practical than behavioral; it involves which drivers operate which vehicles.
In other words, when you have multiple drivers in the same household your insurance company assigns each one to a family car. You can keep your rates lower by making sure your teen driver is assigned to the least expensive car. The same can be said about mom and dad if one of them has a poor driving record. By matching the safest drivers with most expensive cars and the risky drivers with the less expensive ones, you’ll keep your rates down.
At the end of the day, cheap auto insurance is all about information. The more you know the better equipped you are to search for the best policies.
