Finding Great Auto Insurance Rates – Reduce Your Premiums

Finding great deals on your car insurance rates doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have to trade your beloved vehicle in for a lower grade model – there are plenty of great ways to reduce the auto insurance rates you pay without downgrading your car. While it is important to compare car insurance rates from different companies, and even for different vehicles, before you commit, there are plenty of other things that you can do to help insure you get a great insurance deal.

Did you know that your overall credit rating can impact the car insurance rates you’re offered? Many insurance companies use credit scoring techniques to determine the quote you’re given, so help to keep it low by paying attention to your credit.

Another figure that can help reduce your insurance premium is the number of miles you drive in a year – the less you drive, the less you’re likely to pay. Walking to the store down the road might be great for your waistline, but it can help your wallet out too.

An important factor in calculating your car insurance rates is the quality of your driving record. Driving safely saves lives, but it saves money too. Not only are driving convictions embarrassing and expensive, their implications are more far reaching: insurance companies will consider them carefully when deciding how cheap – or how expensive – your auto insurance rates will be.

Staying claim free is also an important way to help maintain your cheap car insurance rates. Your No Claims Bonus is, in fact, the biggest single factor in determining your rates, so even should you become involved in an accident, try to keep your No Claims bonus safe. Drive safely at all times, and in the event of minor accidents, pay out of your own pocket if you can.

Keeping your car safe even when it’s not in motion can help secure cheap car insurance rates. Vehicle theft is an important criteria is determining these rates, and most insurance companies will offer a discount for cars that are fitted with security equipment, such as an alarm and an immobiliser.

All in all, car insurance companies love stability, in terms of your car, your driving history, and your life. While it might seem like a drastic way to reduce your car insurance rates, it has been shown that married people often receive cheaper auto insurance quotes when cited as named drivers than single people who are named on the same car. So if you are looking for a great deal on car insurance, be sure to check the safety, security and stability of your finances, your driving style, and your car, and don’t forget to book the church!

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2008 winners of Top Safety Pick award — number of winners increases; pickups eligible for first time

ARLINGTON, VA —Thirty-four vehicles earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Pick award for 2008. The award recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, and rear crashes based on ratings in the Institute's tests. Winners also have to be equipped with electronic stability control (ESC), which research shows can significantly reduce the risk of crashing.

Compared with last year, automakers have more than doubled the number of vehicles that meet criteria for Top Safety Pick. At the beginning of the 2007 model year, 13 models qualified, but as manufacturers have made changes and introduced new and safer vehicle designs, 10 additional vehicles qualified during the year. Now another 11 vehicles are being added to the list for 2008. Designating winners based on the tests makes it easier for consumers to identify vehicles that afford the best overall protection without sifting through multiple sets of comparative crash test results.

"For 2008, consumers have the widest selection of vehicles they've ever had that afford the best protection in the most common kinds of crashes," says Institute president Adrian Lund. Front and side impacts are the most common kinds of fatal crashes, killing nearly 25,000 of the 31,000 vehicle occupants who died in 2005. Rear-end crashes usually aren't fatal, but they result in a large proportion of the injuries that occur in crashes. About 60 percent of insurance injury claims in 2002 reported minor neck sprains and strains.

All current car and minivan models, small and midsize SUVs, and small and large pickup trucks are eligible to win Top Safety Pick. Eight vehicles from Ford and its subsidiary, Volvo, make the list of winners for 2008. Seven winners are from Honda and its subsidiary, Acura.

Winners have features that help avoid crashes: The Institute added a crash prevention criterion last year to earn Top Safety Pick. Winning vehicles have to be equipped with ESC, which can help drivers avoid crashes altogether. ESC is a control system comprised of sensors and a microcomputer that continuously monitors how well a vehicle responds to a driver's steering input and selectively applies the vehicle brakes and modulates engine power to keep the vehicle traveling along the path indicated by the steering wheel position. This technology helps prevent sideways skidding and loss of control that can lead to rollovers. ESC can help drivers maintain control during emergency maneuvers when their vehicles otherwise might spin out.

"Vehicles should be designed to provide good occupant protection when crashes occur, but now with ESC we have the possibility of preventing many crashes altogether," Lund says. "If all vehicles were equipped with ESC, as many as 10,000 fatal crashes could be avoided each year." Institute research indicates that ESC reduces the risk of fatal single-vehicle crashes by 56 percent and fatal multiple-vehicle crashes by 32 percent. Many single-vehicle crashes involve rolling over, and ESC reduces the risk of fatal single-vehicle rollovers by 80 percent (SUVs) and 77 percent (cars).

For first time pickups are eligible: Pickup trucks haven't been eligible to win Top Safety Pick until now because the Institute hadn't begun side testing them. The Toyota Tundra is first to qualify. Pickups aren't as likely as cars or SUVs to have side airbags or ESC, and Toyota has made these features standard in the Tundra.

"Pickups are among the top selling vehicles in the United States," Lund points out. "They're also more likely than in the past to be used as family vehicles, so equipping them with the latest safety features is important."

Protection in rear impacts improves: Crash tests have driven major improvements in the designs of all kinds and sizes of passenger vehicles. The Institute began frontal crash tests for consumer information in 1995. Side tests were added in 2003 and rear tests in 2004. Most vehicles now earn good ratings in the frontal test, but significant differences still are apparent in vehicle performance in side and rear tests.

Some manufacturers have been working to improve the ratings of their vehicles in the rear test. For example, the seat/head restraints in the Honda Accord, Element, and Odyssey as well as the BMW X3 and X5 are rated good compared with previous designs that were rated marginal or poor. Audi improved the design of seat/head restraints in the A3 from acceptable to good. Another 23 vehicles would have won 2008 awards if they had good seat/head restraint designs. Toyota could have claimed 10 more awards, including 3 for Lexus models. Nissan and Volkswagen could have picked up 4 awards apiece.

Another area where safety is improving is occupant protection in side impacts. More 2008 model vehicles include as standard equipment side airbags designed to protect people's heads. The Saturn was side tested twice. In the first test, the side curtain airbag didn't deploy properly, and the head of the dummy positioned in the back seat was struck by the sill of the window in the door. This impact didn't produce high head injury measures, but head protection was inadequate. In response, General Motors redesigned the side curtain airbag to ensure more rapid inflation and better coverage of the airbag next to the dummy's head. In the second test, the fix was successful, and the VUE's side rating improved from acceptable to good. Top Safety Pick applies to VUEs built after December 2007.

Each year, the Institute offers to test Top Safety Pick candidates early in the model year. The policy is for manufacturers to reimburse the Institute for the cost of vehicles if the tests aren't part of the group's regular schedule. Top Safety Pick is presented by vehicle size because size and weight are closely related, and both influence how well occupants will be protected in serious crashes. Larger, heavier vehicles generally afford better protection in crashes than smaller, lighter ones.

How the vehicles are evaluated: The Institute's frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of frontal offset crash tests at 40 mph. Each vehicle's overall evaluation is based on measurements of intrusion into the occupant compartment, injury measures from a Hybrid III dummy in the driver seat, and analysis of slow-motion film to assess how well the restraint system controlled dummy movement during the test.

Each vehicle's overall side evaluation is based on performance in a crash test in which the side of the vehicle is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph that represents the front end of a pickup or SUV. Ratings reflect injury measures recorded on two instrumented SID-IIs dummies, assessment of head protection countermeasures, and the vehicle's structural performance during the impact. Injury measures obtained from the two dummies, one in the driver seat and the other in the back seat behind the driver, are used to determine the likelihood that a driver and/or passenger in a real-world crash would have sustained serious injury. The movements and contacts of the dummies' heads during the crash also are evaluated. Structural performance is based on measurements indicating the amount of B-pillar intrusion into the occupant compartment.

Rear crash protection is rated according to a two-step procedure. Starting points for the ratings are measurements of head restraint geometry — the height of a restraint and its horizontal distance behind the back of the head of an average-size man. Seats with good or acceptable restraint geometry are tested dynamically using a dummy that measures forces on the neck. This test simulates a collision in which a stationary vehicle is struck in the rear at 20 mph. Seats without good or acceptable geometry are rated poor overall because they can't be positioned to protect many people

11 NEW WINNERS FOR 2008

Midsize cars
Audi A3
Honda Accord

Small car
Subaru Impreza equipped with optional electronic stability control

Minivan
Honda Odyssey

Midsize SUVs
BMW X3
BMW X5
Hyundai Veracruz built after August 2007
Saturn VUE built after December 2007
Toyota Highlander

Small SUV
Honda Element

Large pickup
Toyota Tundra

ALL 34 WINNERS

Large cars
Audi A6
Ford Taurus with optional electronic stability control
Mercury Sable with optional electronic stability control
Volvo S80

Midsize cars
Audi A3, A4
Honda Accord
Saab 9-3
Subaru Legacy with optional electronic stability control

Midsize convertibles
Saab 9-3
Volvo C70

Small car
Subaru Impreza with optional electronic stability control

Minivans
Honda Odyssey
Hyundai Entourage
Kia Sedona

Midsize SUVs
Acura MDX, RDX
BMW X3, X5
Ford Edge, Taurus X
Honda Pilot
Hyundai Santa Fe
Hyundai Veracruz built after August 2007
Lincoln MKX
Mercedes M class
Saturn VUE built after December 2007
Subaru Tribeca
Toyota Highlander
Volvo XC90

Small SUVs
Honda CR-V, Element
Subaru Forester with optional electronic stability control

Large pickup
Toyota Tundra

ALSO RANS
Twenty-three vehicles earn good ratings in front and side crash tests. They have ESC, standard or optional. They would be 2008 Top Safety Pick winners if their seat/head restraints also earned good ratings:

• Acura RL, TL
• BMW 3 series
• Chrysler Sebring convertible
• Infiniti M35/M45
• Kia Amanti
• Lexus IS 250/350, ES 350, GS 350/460
• Nissan Pathfinder, Xterra both with optional side airbags
• Nissan Quest
• Toyota Avalon, Camry, FJ Cruiser, 4Runner, Prius, RAV4, and Sienna
• Volkswagen Eos, Jetta, Passat, Rabbit

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Wal-Mart CEO Hints at Selling Hybrids at Stores

The parking lots at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) retail locations could get much bigger, as the company is in talks with automakers to sell hybrid and plug-in automobiles, H. Lee Scott, the company’s chief executive officer, said to store managers and suppliers Wednesday.

"Maybe there isn’t room for Wal-Mart in this right now," Scott said, according to Bloomberg. "But something tells me that there may be some role for us in the future."

Scott didn’t mention a time frame or any auto companies by name, but said they were "major companies."

There are a bevy of interesting and semi-interrelated things going on here, but let’s start with Wal-Mart’s seemingly 180-degree turn into its image of environmental and humanitarian angel.

For example, the company now requires suppliers to meet environmental and ethical standards and has offered to help manufacturers in China comply with laws. It also made favorable changes to its employee health coverage.

"We will favor - and in some cases even pay more - for suppliers that meet our standards and share our commitment to quality and sustainability," Scott said.

That’s encouraging to see, but economically speaking, it’s easier to say that after the company wrangled a considerable chunk of the U.S. market away from competitors such as K-Mart, Sears, Ames, Fisher’s Big Wheel, Montgomery Ward - on top of all the ma-and-pa businesses that folded under Wal-Mart’s industry pressure.

Also worth noting is that the Wal-Mart’s share price is more than 20% off its 2002 peak. And the company doesn’t have much room left to expand in the United States.

A softer image is crucial for the company to break into emerging economies wary of its reputation.

Big Boost to Big Auto

On a less pessimistic note, Wal-Mart selling hybrids and plug-in vehicles would do wonders for the fledging car industry, especially if Wal-Mart - continuing its red-white-and-blue attitude - waits for U.S.-based dealerships to develop some top-notch offerings.

The sheer amount of foot traffic Wal-Mart gets on a daily basis trumps that of car dealerships. More people casually looking under the hoods of hybrids [with less pressure to buy] will no doubt raise their knowledge of and interest in the next generation of cars. And the presumed lower prices would certainly help, too.

However, if successful, that could also squeeze a few non-competitive car dealerships out of the equation.

No matter what happens, the Public Relations staff at Wal-Mart will never run out of work.

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Auto Insurance Buying Tips

Consolidate Insurance Policies

Insuring two or more vehicles with the same insurance company can save you between 10 - 15% on your premiums. Covering your home through the same company that you have auto insurance with can reduce your premiums by another 10-15%.

Increase Your Deductible

One rule of thumb is to carry the highest deductible you can afford. By increasing your deductible from $100 to $1,000, you could save up to 25%. Keep in mind, though, that your lender might not agree to a higher deductible.

Install Anti-Theft And Safety Devices

Installing a vehicle recovery system such as Lo-Jack or Teletracer could save you up to 7-10% per year. There are other relatively inexpensive anti-theft devices such as "The Club", which locks the steering wheel in place, as well as having your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) etched on each window.

Safety features such as air bags, traction control and anti-lock braking systems (ABS) are viewed positively by insurance companies which, in turn, is reflected in your premiums. Although these systems may not reduce injury during an accident, they will reduce your premiums.

Clean Driving Record And Safety Courses

While traffic tickets and auto accidents will increase your premiums, most insurance companies offer discounts to drivers with clean records. Also, some insurance companies will offer a discount if you attend a Driver Training School Program, and your employer might even pay the cost if you use a company vehicle for your job. Training school discounts may vary between 7-10%.

Reduce Coverage On Older Vehicles

If you have an older car worth between $1,000 - $2,000, you might be better off dropping the collision coverage. Check to see if your collision premium is more than the value of the car.

Non-Smoker Or Early Retiree Discounts

Yes, some companies provide discounts for Non-smokers and Early Retirees. Insurers consider smoking a dangerous driving activity.

Park In A Garage

Sometimes the difference between getting auto insurance and going uninsured is where you keep your vehicle at night. Most thefts do not involve a garaged car and this is reflected in premium discounts. If you have a winter home with no garage, try putting the vehicle in storage. Let your insurance company know that your car is in storage, and you could receive a partial premium reduction.

Carpool With A Co-Worker

Most insurers surcharge premiums if the commute to work exceeds 3 miles. Carpooling with a co-worker may result in a discount for low-mileage use.

Drive A Conservative Car

Before buying a car you might want to find out how much your insurance will cost annually. Insurance companies consider certain cars easily damaged and expensive to repair, and other cars the target of thieves. You could end up paying a premium surcharge between 10 - 20%. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has established the Auto Safety Hotline at 1-800-424-9393 to report safety defects or to obtain information on cars, trucks, child seats, highway or traffic safety. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety provides information on death rates by car make and model as well as the standard safety equipment available. The Institute can be reached at 703-247-1500.

Teenage And College Bound Drivers

You may want to consider letting your teenager drive the family car instead of buying his/her own vehicle. This will very likely lower your cost to cover them. Students in school and living away from home can reduce their premiums by 30 - 50%, depending on the insurer.

Conclusion

After reviewing all of the savings tips, you may have determined that if you added up all your credits you could receive a 70 - 90% reduction in your premium. Well, unfortunately it doesn't work like that. Certain measures that you take may qualify you for being placed with the "preferred" company of a particular insurance group. This "preferred" company will be able to give you additional premium credits.

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