High Risk Drivers

A car insurance company will consider you a high risk driver if you have a considerable number of speeding tickets or other traffic violation, if you have been involved in several accidents and if the mishap was your fault, and if your car insurance policy was canceled or your licensed suspended or revoked.

Shop for the best rates

If you are tagged as a high risk driver, it will be wise to hire an insurance broker or do your homework by shopping for the best rates offered by different car insurance companies. When inquiring, try to find out the minimum requirements you need for a car insurance and if you can shave off portions of the premium if you give up perks like online access or customer service.

What you can do

High risk drivers can still save some money by doing some steps that can help save some money. You can purchase only the most basic of the car insurance coverage, ask for any discounts that can be applied, and increasing your deductible.

The reason that car insurance for teens is so expensive is that they are far more likely to be involved in an accident than adults are. The numbers are actually quite shocking if you look at them, teens are involved in accidents much more frequently than adults. In part this is simply because they don’t have the same level of driving experience. Like most things the more you do it the better you will get at it. Therefore as the least experienced drivers on the road teens pay the highest insurance rates.

The other big reason that teens are involved in more accidents is that they have a tendency to be reckless. Most teenagers have a belief that they are indestructible and that accidents are things that happen to other people. This leads to reckless behavior which is very dangerous when they are driving. This is why it is so important for parents to make sure that they monitor their teens driving very carefully to make sure that they are being safe. Not only will it help to reduce the cost of accidents but it will also help keep them safe.

While teenagers are going to pay more for car insurance there are things that you can do to reduce the amount. The best thing is to limit the driving that your teen does. By far the best thing that you can do is to restrict them to daylight driving. Most accidents occur at night and this is especially true for teenage drivers. It is also a good idea to limit them to one passenger in the car to reduce the distractions. These are the two best things that you can do to help them to avoid accidents and it will be rewarded with lower insurance rates.

There are also a couple of things that you can do to lower your teen’s car insurance rates even though they probably don’t reduce the likelihood of an accident. The first is driver education. This usually brings a discount even though statistically it really doesn’t make them a safer driver. The other thing that you can do is to require good grades. The insurance companies give discounts to students who have good grades. They don’t do this because they think that it makes them safer drivers. Rather they do it because they believe that students with good grades will be better customers in the future.

In this day and age, it seems to be the norm for people to text while they are driving and to be honest that is one of the riskiest moves in the world.  Did you know that you are actually at a higher risk of getting into a car accident when you are texting and driving versus when you are just concentrating on driving?  It is roughly a 43% higher risk.

In this blog and a few others, we are going to explore some of the risks that you are taking when you are texting and driving.  One of the first risks is that splitting your attention up between two different things is something that will not keep you focused.

Driving takes a lot of focus and when you are splitting that, it can be difficult to keep your eyes on the road.

Saying I Do

Getting married can be one of the most important events of your life. It is a new beginning. You also merge your assets with your partner. Marriage may also spell more discounts for your auto insurance. Well marriage can actually save you some money.

Most insurance companies offer discounts for coverage of multiple cars. So when you have your cars under a policy with the same company, then you can save some money and cut down on the bills. During this time, you may also want to shop and again compare the auto insurance quotes and pick the best for your vehicles.

Divorced or Widowed

It is a very unfortunate event to be divorced or widowed but it is a possibility and reality that we must face. When this thing happens, you might be the only driver in your household and this will push up your auto insurance rate. You have to be on guard since they can go sky high.

Try to shop around for a better rate. Although your current policy may be the best rate in the market, that is true when you were married and does not apply when you’re single. You also have to consider that the budget is a bit tighter since you do not have the extra income.

Retirement

A lot of people spend their retirement traveling or just relaxing away from the daily stress of their old jobs. This also means you will not be driving everyday. Low mileage will also mean a chance to lower your monthly auto insurance rates. You may also consider that you do not need the extra cars in your garage and one vehicle will be perfect for your situation.

A lot of auto warranties, as an incentive also add in roadside assistance.  This means that if you lock yourself out, run out of gas or even get a flat tire, someone will be there for you; you just have to find out exactly what is covered in your policy.

Keep in mind though that a lot of warranties do not include roadside assistance, but a lot of warranties do.

This is definitely a warranty that is a little on the rough side and it is definitely one that is important and certainly one that is worth the research on it.  However, if are looking for a car warranty that covers everything – bumper-to-bumper, you want to make sure that you get the last warranty we discussed.

In the next blog, we will talk about roadside assistance because that is covered in some warranties.

That is what we are going to cover in the next few blogs and we are also going to touch on roadside assistance.  Basic auto warranties are pretty simple to understand and they actually cover everything on the car – minus the oil, tires and brakes.  Things that wear out are generally not covered.

Typically, the warranty lasts about two years or about 24,000 miles, which is pretty typical unless you purchase yourself an extended warranty.

Naturally, AAA offers a lot of assistance when it comes to car repairs. In addition to personally helping you, you can choose a mechanic based on the AAA rating.

Did you know AAA even offers a special savings program for prescription medications? You can get a discount for up to fifteen percent at participating pharmacies — and that is for name brands. For generic medications, it is more like thirty five percent.

AAA also offers help with travel, such as getting your passport in order.

These are just a few of the benefits that come with the AAA membership. Check it out yourself to see if this is a good idea for you.

With a AAA membership (and can I just tell you guys how difficult it is to write “a AAA,” which though phonetically correct, looks horrible grammatically?), you are entitled to bail bonds.

Yep, you read that right. Bail bonds. Specifically, if you get into any kind of minor traffic trouble, in set states AAA will actually provide you with a certificate good for a thousand dollars or less, and often up to five thousand dollars worth of bail money can come to you.

AAA also offers an enviable battery service — and it is mobile at that. Meaning, with a membership your batter can get tested, it can get diagnosed, and it can even get replaced if necessary.

Many drivers are members of this association. Many drivers are not aware of what, exactly, the benefits of a membership are.

While not tied directly to auto insurance, this is a topic that can complement insurance.

Having access to AAA can be hugely beneficial, and it is important to understand why, especially considering how cheap it is to become a membership.

The yearly dues are a drop in the bucket compared to how much you can save by having a membership. And not all the bonuses are related solely to your vehicle.

We are going to take a close look at the many advantages of a membership. You can decide from there whether it is a good idea for you to seek membership.