How To Save Money On Your Auto Insurance Policy

Almost every state requires their drivers to carry an auto insurance policy. These policies are necessary to protect yourself, your passengers and your assets in case you are involved in an auto accident. What your goal should be is to have the maximum amount of protection that you need for the best possible rate. There are several things that you can do to help lower your annual premiums on your car insurance.

One of the first things that you can do is check out your credit report. Most insurance companies will obtain a copy of at least one of three major credit reporting bureaus' copy of your credit history. The stronger your credit score is the less of a risk they feel they are taking by writing a policy for you. If you have bad credit they may write you a policy but you are going to pay more down for deposit and you will not get the best rate.

So run all three credit bureau reports and see what an insurance company is going to see. Then take the time and clean up anything that can easily be taken care of. For example bad credit that is over seven years old does not automatically fall off your report as some people think; you must request that it be removed. Removing a few old bad reports can boost your ratings considerably.

Once you have cleaned up your credit report you may want to consider drivers improvement safety courses. Insurance companies love when you attend school (on your own, not because of a driving ticket). This shows that you are a conscientious driver and take your driving privileges seriously. In fact every person in your household that is listed as a driver of your vehicle should attend a class especially if you have teenaged drivers. Taking these types of courses can save you up to 15% on your annual auto insurance premiums.

Another aspect to consider when trying to lower your car insurance rates is the type of car you are driving. In these times of high fuel prices you may want to consider purchasing a new, more fuel efficient vehicle. If you can purchase a newer vehicle you are more likely to have better safety features. The more safety features the vehicle has the less your insurance rate. With new cars you may also need to carry comp and collision coverage so weigh out the difference before you make a change.

Finally if you do carry comp and collision on your vehicle make sure you look at the amount the insurance company has for the value of the car every two years. As your car depreciates you need less value on the car and insurance companies will not lower it themselves, you must call and tell them what your car is worth. Carrying too much value on the car only cost you extra money because if you are paying for a $10,000 value and you total the vehicle and your insurance company says it is only worth $5000 you are not getting paid the full amount of the value you had covered on the auto insurance policy.