Slideshare - 12 ways to waste money on car Insurance

12 ways to waste money on car Insurance

Notes: You have to compare, compare, compare quotes to get the best deal and not waste your $ on car insurance. It cost you nothing but your time to shop, and car insurance is a reoccurring, ongoing expense. It makes sense to do your research. Oh, correct that, have 2 or more brokers bring you their research. 9-12 rates sounds like a lot, but it's not much.

Low deductibles are crazy. Most people will not report small claims to their insurer so their rates don't go up. So why would you keep low deducible?

Don't insure your beater for high car insurance limits. The insurer won't pay you much. Insurance is used to protect against loss, not enrich you if your can is stolen. The insurer will pay you the cash value of your car. Don’t pay extra for comprehensive or collision coverage on older car worth less than $4,000. Why $4,000? I dunno, I made it up. Seriously, if your insurance is 10% of more of the cars value per year, you are with the wrong provider, or over insuring your car.

Home and auto insurance discounts do have a place, although my experience is that the companies that are charging you more, will drop their price if you combine. I personally do not combine my home and auto because separately, they are a better deal.

Medical payments can make sense if you do not have health insurance. The limits may start around $5,000. 16 states with no fault insurance actually require PIP, or Personal Injury Protection. So it may not be something you can waive.

Rental Car Insurance may be a good choice, but if your credit card company covers you, forego this coverage.

Many companies do not verify mileage, but will request you send them a sworn statement.

Don't pay service fees. It's just more money for the insurer, and less for you. Pay annually or more commonly semi annually.

Towing is a toss up. If you knew the future, you could decide to buy towing (or not).

Speeding is insane. Unless someone is dying or giving birth (really important), don't speed. You burn more gas, you wear your brakes faster, and it's the #1 cause of accidents, by far (like 30%).

Do you have GPS? Input your address and notice the time to destination. Go 80mph. Then drop down to 65 mph. You'll notice the time to destination is only 2-5 minutes longer, unless you are going cross country. Do the math. Speeding does not pencil out when you factor in gas, wear and tear and trashing your driving record.

There are many Special Discounts. Some are just strange.

Written by Craig J. Casey

Financial Writer helping people with their insurance problems on the net since 1998.

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