Understanding Your Car Insurance Will Save You Money

There is one thing that goes hand in hand with owning a vehicle and that is a car insurance policy.  You’ll protect yourself and your family with a car insurance policy.  Before you think that you can get away without having one, keep in mind that the second you put your car in gear you and others are at risk.  It is necessary to have insurance before you get behind the wheel.

A vehicular accident will cause damage to the vehicles involved, but it can also cause damage to people.  Between repair costs and medical costs you could be looking at thousands of dollars in expenses.  If you add collision insurance to your policy you can save all kinds of money and keep yourself stress free.  It’s always nicer when the insurers are shouldering the brunt of the costs, especially if you’re found at fault.

Coverage will differ from company to company and there are a number of different factors involved in what your rates will be from the type of car you drive to your age.

If you’ve gotten into a lot of accidents in the past, whether they were your fault or not, and/or you’ve had a lot of traffic tickets your rates will increase.  Every single time an accident is reported with your details involved or a violation is recorded it goes against your driving record.  Every negative mark, or point, will affect your rate.

You may think that it would be a good idea to keep the police and the insurance company out of the loop in the event of an accident because of this, but that isn’t always the case.  You could negotiate on your own with the owner of the other vehicle in the event of a minor accident.  However, it is always best to report the accident to the insurance company anyway because they generally find out about it in the end and usually from the other driver involved whether you agreed to involve them or not.

When an insurer chooses to increase rates they will do so based on several factors – how bad the accident was; how much of it was your fault; if the third party filed a claim against your policy; and/or if traffic tickets were issued during the incident.  Each negative piece of any given accident or traffic violation will cause your rate to go higher and higher.

Follow the rules of the road and keep in line with your policy requirements and you should be fine.  You’ll get into fewer accidents by being a more responsible driver and you’ll keep your rates lower.