Posts Tagged ‘premiums’

Licensed or unlicensed, teens nowadays are undeniably enthused to be behind the wheel, driving their very own car (or at least their family vehicle.) True enough, more and more teenagers today are drivers in their own right, bringing themselves to anywhere they possibly can. With this, car insurance companies are keeping up with the needs of these restless adolescents, and more importantly their concerned parents.

Evidently, teenagers are more prone to car accidents due to a lot of factors (i.e. drunk driving, use of mobile phones while driving), which implies higher insurance claim rates, that would resolve to higher premiums. Now, this may be an issue to the parents considering the burden this puts on their budget; but luckily, there are a few measures that they could take to not only lessen what they could possibly be paying after giving their child driving privileges, but most especially, to ensure the safety of their teen.

Impart the Right Knowledge

Knowing the do’s and don’ts of driving will give your teenager a greater sense of responsibility as a driver. Understanding and obeying the traffic rules should always be the foundation of everyone who aspires to drive. Also, the parents should first be a good example to their children when it comes to driving.

Ensure the Right Skill

Before allowing your adolescent to get behind the wheel, ensuring that he/she can actually drive and drive well is very essential. Close supervision should be provided at first, then taper to promote independence and confidence for your teen driver. Sending him/her to a good driving school is also of great help to establish his/her driving skills.

Instill the Right Attitude

Driving is a big responsibility as it is a privilege; thus, the right perspective towards it is always vital. Having the right attitude towards driving will then ensure the adolescent’s right knowledge and skill. Therefore, keeping within speed limits, obeying road rules, putting on the seat belt, not drinking and driving, etc. are a few of the correct attitudes that the teen driver should understand by heart and practice. Now, the responsibility of instilling these to the them goes to the parents. Teaching proper “driving ethics” will spare you both your money and your child. Making a contract between you and your teen, which may include rewards or punishments, is one concrete example for making sure that they will be at their best behavior when driving.

These 3 measures will assure you of fewer charges for your teen’s auto insurance. In addition to these, canvassing for the right insurance company and buying the right car are also good actions to take when considering applying for one.

Writer: Irah Victoria

Are men less likely to get affordable auto insurance than women? Moneysupermarket, the leading online price comparison provider in Great Britain, reported that male drivers would pay £17,000 more premiums than female motorists throughout their driving lifetime.

This figure was based on a survey conducted by the company, which looked at more than 6 million motor insurance quotes throughout 2008. It turned out that male drivers paid £743 a year on average, compared with £454 for women, or a net difference of £289. The difference is estimated at £17,000 when computed throughout the driving lifetime.

The same study also revealed that there was a huge difference in the cost of car insurance among various age groups, with younger drivers paying the most. Teen drivers approximately paid £2,200 a year, or £1,905 more than what was paid by forty year-old male drivers. A huge price gap was also seen between male and female drivers in their twenties. The male group paid £997 on average, whereas females paid £421 less at £576.

It is apparent that car insurers tend to be biased against certain gender and age groups, but their prejudice is somehow justified.

What do men drivers have that cause their premiums to soar above women’s?  The total distance travelled by a car is one of the causes of the gender gap in insurance pricing. Men approximately drive 12,000 miles a year, compared with 8,000 miles for females. Younger and male drivers also tend to drive recklessly and commit other traffic violations more often. Notwithstanding the new Equality Bill, gender and age issues seem to remain a major obstacle to affordable auto insurance for men and young drivers. There is no law yet that directly forbids insurers from computing risk scores and premiums based on age and sex. Finding affordable auto insurance can be tricky for men and younger drivers, especially now that companies are downsizing and cutting costs to improve their baseline.

Male drivers can reduce the gender gap in insurance pricing by following these simple guidelines:

• Shop around to get the most affordable auto insurance from as many providers as possible. Premiums for the same policy can differ significantly among different insurers. You can save as much as 35 percent if you have at least five providers to choose from.
• Some insurance companies give discounts on purchases made online.
• Having car security measures lowers premiums. Equip your car with anti-theft and safety devices to reduce the risk of loss and injury.
• Choose a car with smaller engines. SUVs and bigger models cost more premiums than lighter cars. One of the reasons why SUVs are more costly to insure is because they are frequently stolen.
• Earning Pass Plus. Premiums can be lowered by as much as 35% with Pass Plus.

Paying for auto insurance is a necessary evil when it comes to owning a car. No one would willingly shell out cash to compensate for the premiums; however, the thought of facing an accident often makes people think twice. Luckily, the availability of online auto insurance quotes presents time and savings benefits. The following tips ensure that you save money effectively.

By allotting time to shop around by yourself, you can instantly save a lot of money. The problem is that we’re usually discouraged by the thought of contacting insurance companies for their rates, or by having to personally visit several offices. Thankfully, online shopping grants hassle-free alternatives to traditional shopping.

Nowadays, you can now request quotes from many auto insurance companies and get results in a matter of minutes. In effect, you save a lot of money by going through this task single-handedly.

You can also save money on your premiums by delegating all your coverage’s to only one insurance carrier. For example, you can opt to combine your home and auto insurance to only one insurance carrier. This entitles you to save 25% or more. That’s a lot of money saved yearly.

Accident-free discounts are granted to those who didn’t encounter any accident during the past several years. The amount of discount is dependent on the insurance company, but it usually ranges from 5-10%. You can also save an additional 5% by taking a defensive driving course.

The installment of safety equipment such as car alarms and safety restraints may also grant you additional discounts. If you are involved with the military, you may also be granted a military discount.

Online auto insurance quotes and lowest possible premiums are easy to get nowadays. And if you qualify for additional discounts, you can really save a lot of money.

Writer: RDavidas

Some car insurance customers are not aware or sometimes just refuse to bother themselves about the factors that affect the price of their yearly premiums. But still, there are others who are cautious in choosing the right package, one that would not be too expensive for them but could still cover the needs they demand for their cars. An important question to think about is ‘how do insurers come up with the price?’ There are several important factors to take into consideration before getting a car insurance.

The older and more experienced the driver, the cheaper. Adult car drivers are more ‘careful’ when they are behind the steering wheel, unlike teenagers, which according to statistics, are more prone in getting into a car wreck or an accident.

Driver’s gender and marital status. According to statistics, male drivers are more prone to collisions and vehicular accidents than females. This has to do with males as risk-takers on the road while females as cautious drivers. Married men and women are also considered ‘careful’ drivers because of their family members which are usually with them when they travel.

The farther your travel every day, the more expensive. Obviously, the farther your house from your destination every day, the higher the possibility that you will be involved in a car accident. If you are living in the city, travel time would relatively be shorter, unless you’re living in still developing countries where the roads are crowded. That would also affect the policy of your insurance.

The cheaper the car, the lower the policy. Examples of this are second-hand vehicles. Either the driver or the insurer chooses only a lesser coverage for the car, unlike newly-bought cars where the auto company who may also be the insurer offers full coverage for the vehicle. Premiums are also based on the kind of vehicle the customer wants to insure. High-risk cars have higher prices for their insurance. By high risk, I mean that these cars are most likely to be stolen, be involved in a collision, or a car accident.

The pointers above are just some of the most important factors that new car owners should consider before availing an insurance policy for their cars. Having car insurance is essential for car owners seeing that accidents are inevitable, however, what each driver really needs is concern, for others and himself.

Writer: JD Rota