When you are looking into covering your car, you will want to know how much does car insurance cost. Of course, this is not as simple as just giving one flat rate for anyone who drives. There are many factors that go into determining how much your rates may be. This, however, can give you a better general idea of what to expect.

Details That Determine How Much Does Car Insurance Cost

Everyone wants to save money, especially when it comes to car insurance. Rates can be out of control if you are not careful. There are plenty of stories about drivers who get themselves into a new car only to find out the rates for their auto insurance are going to be as bad as the car payments each month. If you are smart about it, though, you can find cheap car insurance policy rates.

The best thing to do is find little ways you could save money:

• Don’t settle for what you have – It used to be such a task to compare auto insurance rates. If you wanted to know how much does car insurance cost with different providers, you would have to contact each car insurance company yourself, give them personal details and wait for a call back to get all your quotes. This was time consuming and meant many companies had all that personal information just lying around. Many times not all of them would even call back, which meant you also had to follow up with them yourself. So it became common practice for drivers to settle for whatever they got back as their first quote. Not only that but often times drivers would never check to see if their rates could be better with a new company when it was time for renewal. A large percentage of drivers who are over paying for car insurance are doing so just because they didn’t compare rates and stayed with the company they picked years ago.

• Check if things have changed – One major way drivers make a mistake and overpay is by neglecting to check if certain things have changed on their own driving record. For example, if you have a policy with a provider for several years and had a ticket or accident when you first got your policy, it should come off your record in about three years. If your car insurance company can make more money from premiums with you paying rates that reflect the ticket or accident, they are not likely to bring your attention to the fact that this is off your record. Be proactive and make sure you have the best rates possible.

• Bundle coverage – If you have car insurance through one company, home owners through another and boat or motorcycle through yet another one, then you are probably paying more than you need to for all of them. If you combine all your policies and coverage to one company, you will more than likely see much better rates.

• Think safety over flashy – If you are buying a new car or one that is used but new to you, look for safe over sporty. It may not be as much fun, but you will be much happier when you get your premium rates. Cars known for speed tend to “attract” tickets or run a higher chance of being involved in an accident. Check on which colors are cheaper, look for a car that isn’t a convertible and make sure you can have side air bags over the flashy options. Also add anti-theft devices such as a car alarm, and watch the rates drop even more.

• Deductibles – When you want to know how much does car insurance cost, you will need to consider your deductible. The deductible is what you pay in the event of an accident as your part of the financial obligation to get the policy started. You can generally have a deductible as low as $250, but then your monthly premiums will be much higher. For lower rates, you could opt for a $1,000 deductible but then should be sure you could come up with that sum if a collision should occur.

• Your payments – There are several factors that go into how much your payments will be based on how your payments are set up. The new trend for billing is to go paperless. This is not only a great way to “go green” but can also save you some green. When companies don’t have to send out bills, it saves them money and they pass the savings on to you. Set it up so that you pay directly from you checking or savings account or for your credit card to be billed automatically instead.

Other Things to Think about

There are plenty of other ways, of course, to help lower the cost of your auto insurance bills. For another thing, if you pay your bill at the start every year for the entire year instead of per month you could save a great deal. At least set it up to be every six months or every quarter and you will still save money. Ask about other possible discounts such as military, student, vets or others. You never know how you could be saving money if you just check on what discounts are available.

Other factors that will influence your prices for car insurance are based on your state and whether or not the car is financed. Each state has different minimum guidelines for drivers in order to be legal on the street. This varies, so the state you live in will affect your premium rates. Financed cars also have different requirements for insurance, and you will only be able to find out by asking for quotes what it is you need.

Stop wondering how much does car insurance cost. Use nothing more than your zip code and find out for yourself today.