Top Five Ways To Save On Auto Insurance

By Abbey Wagner

(NAPSI)-Motorists looking to drive down their auto insurance costs will get good mileage from InsWeb's top five ways to do just that:

1. Shopping Around. This is the number one way of saving money on insurance. Are you sure you're getting the best deal possible with your current insurance company? Many people find it easy to stay with the same company for years, but fail to realize they have the potential to save hundreds of dollars each year by comparing quotes from multiple companies. You should shop around at least twice a year to see if you are getting the best deal possible.

2. Multi-policy Insurance. Various insurance companies offer various discounts if you insure more than one vehicle on a single policy, or if you have your home insured with the same company that insures your vehicle(s).

3. The Higher the Deductible, the Less $ Out of Your Pocket? Yes, it's true; the higher your deductible is, the lower your premium. However, you must be careful not to get in accidents with a higher deductible, as this is the amount that will come out of your pocket before your insurance company starts paying for the rest of the damage to your vehicle. If you find yourself with more financial comfort in the future, you might think of lowering the deductible(s) you raised when you needed to save money.

4. Check Before Buying. Before you buy a new vehicle, compare insurance quotes. This way, you can see how much it will cost to insure (and possibly change your mind if you find a vehicle with a lower rate) and have quotes to return to if you end up buying the vehicle and need to quickly insure it. High-profile cars, cars that commonly have parts stolen, and cars that are expensive to fix will cost you more to insure.

5. Discounts, Discounts, Discounts. There are many discounts available to drivers. To learn more about auto insurance discounts, visit www.InsWeb Save.com.

Abbey Wagner is a spokesperson for InsWeb, a site that offers viewers multiple quotes on auto insurance.

Auto Insurance 101: What Affects Rates?

Deciphering Fact From Fiction

(NAPSI)-Have you ever heard that the color of your car influences how much it costs to insure it, or that Comprehensive coverage protects drivers in all situations because, after all, it's "comprehensive?" If you're like many of the respondents to a recent survey, you accept these common car insurance myths as truths.

The online survey of 1,000 drivers was conducted by Drive Insurance from Progressive, the largest writer of personal auto, motorcycle, recreational vehicle and boat insurance through independent insurance agencies in the U.S.

Before you make decisions regarding your auto insurance policy, check out these survey findings along with the facts behind each:

• Don't decide on the color of your car thinking that it's going to help you save money on your insurance. Twenty-five percent of drivers surveyed mistakenly believe that the color of their car affects their auto insurance rate when in fact, it doesn't. Information that is used to price policies includes the vehicle's year, make, model, body type and engine size, as well as information about you.

• Know what you're buying. Almost half of drivers surveyed (48 percent) wrongly believe their car insurance policy's Comprehensive coverage protects them in all situations. Comprehensive coverage is just one type of protection available on an auto insurance policy (others being Collision, Uninsured Motorist, etc.) and it pays only for damage caused by an event other than a collision, such as fire, theft or vandalism. It also covers weather-related (e.g., hail, flood) damage, damage caused if a vehicle collides with an animal and it can provide a rental car if a vehicle is stolen.

• Be sure to get quotes on auto and homeowners policies from separate companies, because "bundling" is not always the best option. The majority of drivers surveyed (51 percent) say they'll always get a better rate if they "bundle" their insurance, i.e., buy their car insurance policy from the same company that insures their home. Just because you buy more than one product from the same insurance company doesn't always mean you are getting the best rate available. In many cases an independent agent or broker can uncover savings by creating a custom insurance package with policies from competing insurance carriers.

You can find an independent insurance agent or broker by looking in the Yellow Pages or by visiting driveinsurance.com and using the "Find an Agent" tool.

True or False? A vehicle's make and model affect the price of car insurance? Answer: True.