1. The highest insurance rates are for men under the age of 25. Plausible, but inaccurate. While men under the age of twenty-five are likely to pay more for insurance than female drivers of the same age, the most expensive insurance rates are for newly-licensed young drivers (those between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two) and mature drivers (those who are over sixty-five) because those two age brackets are responsible for the greatest number of car accidents.
2. Credit scores can affect insurance rates. Confirmed. While your credit score is not the only factor that determines your auto insurance premium, it is a factor, and if your credit is extremely poor, you may have to consider state-sponsored pool insurance. Watch those credit cards, pay your bills on time, and take steps to protect your identity, and you can help restore a score that has fallen.
3. Collision coverage protects me from hail damage, pays for repairs if I hit a deer. Busted. Your collision insurance will protect you from accidents involving objects that you crash into, but in order to cover yourself against damages from animal accidents, wind, hail, fire, and acts of vandalism, you need comprehensive coverage, as well.
4. A recently-paid premium covers a brand new car. Plausible, with caveats. While you will be covered if you have an accident as you’re driving your new car off the lot, you only have a limited amount of time – thirty days or less – to contact your insurance company and put the new car on your policy.
5. A friend driving my car will be covered by their insurance, not mine. Busted. The responsibility for an accident goes with the car, not the driver, unless the car was stolen, so if you let a friend borrow your car, and they’re in an accident, it’s your insurance that will be used to cover any damages, and your insurance premium that may rise.
6. Auto Insurance is necessary, even for people who have never had accidents. Confirmed. While some drivers are fortunate enough to go through their entire lives without ever being involved in a car accident, this is rare. Car insurance protects you from accidents that you cause, and also protects you if an uninsured motorist hits your car. As well, every state in the country requires some kind of minimum coverage in order to register your car, so having auto insurance isn’t just a good idea – it’s the law.

Shopping for auto insurance can be confusing, but if you know how to sort out fact and myth, you will be able to find comprehensive coverage that protects you without emptying your pockets.

After the deadline, medical coverage will drop from $100,000 of medical coverage to $3,500 for all injuries classified as “minor” by the insurance industry, including whiplash. By renewing now, that $100,00 of medical coverage will stay with you for another year.

According to Consumer Advocate Lee Romanov, “By renewing now I’ve kept my $100,000 coverage for Medical Treatment 10 extra months.”

Medical coverage is not the only element of auto insurance affected by the cut to Accident Benefits that goes into force next week. $72,000 of Attendant Care, Housekeeping, and Care Giving Expenses have also been eliminated in the name of saving money, but, insurance experts say, the average savings is only 1%.

Romanov elaborates, “It’s adding insult to injury implying it’s a savings for consumers, when it’s obviously a savings for the insurance industry. I was paying $2,576 for my car insurance, I went online, found a rate for $1,634, cancelled my existing policy and had another policy issued. I’m keeping my $100,000 Medical Coverage an additional 10 months with a 36% rate decrease as opposed to the 1%. That’s a savings of $942 instead of $26.”

A survey conducted in England by a British auto insurer reveals some interesting behavior about new car drivers. Most don’t have a clue about how their new cars work; they just get in and drive off.

The piece was eye-catching for me as I flashed back to a frantic call to my dealership several years ago as I was standing outside my car with the alarm shrieking and no idea how to stop it. I, like 35% of drivers (or at least those in England) hadn’t even glanced at the manual or I might have known to close the door, insert, and turn the key to disengage the alarm. (Notice it just took one ear-splitting incident for me to commit that procedure to memory.)

According to the study, 51% of drivers flick through the manual. Forty percent of women are more likely to drive without reading the manual as compared to 30% of men. The top five problems resulting from this self-imposed ignorance are:

• No idea how to open the hood.
• Clueless on the sound system.
• Stumped by seat position.
• Groping to turn on the headlights.
• Ditto for the wipers.

Thankfully, I was saved most of that by a salesman who wouldn’t let me have the keys until I knew how to do each one of those things. Coincidentally, that’s exactly what the study recommended — dealers and garages walking new car owners through the basics before letting them tool off in their new cars.

Seriously, in the event of an accident caused by your fumbling to find the light switch, neither the police officer nor your insurance agent is going to be all that thrilled with the news that you didn’t just read the book in the glove compartment. We all know about defensive driving how about some defensive reading?

While women are still considered lesser risks when it comes to car insurance – they still get better rates than men, for example – when women are driving alone they do have to be a bit more cautious than their male counterparts. Horror stories abound, but the reality is that some common sense safety tips will keep most women safe on the road, whether they’re traveling long distances, or just making a late-night commute.

What sort of safety precautions are advised? Here are some suggestions, provided by Irish driving club authority AA Roadwatch, and modified for a North American audience:

While You’re On the Road:

1. If your car doors don’t auto-lock when you disengage the parking brake, lock them automatically, especially if you’re driving at night, or in questionable neighborhoods.
2. Don’t keep your purse on the passenger seat. Leave it on the floor behind you, or on the floor in front of the passenger seat.
3. Keep your back seat as empty as possible. If you’re on a shopping trip, or have a laptop you typically carry with you, put your bags or computer case in the trunk.
4. Noise deters. If a stranger approaches your car, or another car is trying to push you out of your lane, or make you stop, use your horn.
5. Trust your instincts. If you think you’re being followed, immediately go to a busy public place, such as a mall or shopping center – especially one with police presence. Failing that, find the nearest police station.
6. Never, ever, pick up hitchhikers.
7. Always keep your cell phone charged and accessible.

In Garages and Parking Lots:

1. Always pick a well-lit spot. If you’re parking during the day, but know it will be dark when you leave, be sure you consider what the space will look like at night.
2. Wherever it’s legal, and possible, back into a parking space, so you can drive straight out.
3. Have your keys out and ready as you’re approaching your car; don’t waste time looking for them.

Must women follow tips like these for a few days, and then generally slack off. The key to staying safe, is staying alert, and listening to your instincts.

Every good business adviser or financial planner will tell you: when you’re ready to shop for any big ticket item, whether it’s a new refrigerator, a new car, or insurance for your car, the best thing you can do is comparison shop. Doing so is likely the only way to be certain you’re getting the very best deal on whatever you’re trying to buy.

In today’s world, with demanding work schedules, homes, children, and dogs to take care of, and the fact that many people feel pressured to buy when dealing with sales representatives face to face, more and more consumers are turning to the Internet to do their research. It is for this reason that so many insurance companies are offering quotes via the web.

Comparison shoping online gives consumers the ability to obtain free insurance quotes without having to provide detailed personal information. Instead, most websites require fairly basic information – the make and model of the car you want to explore, your age, gender and marital status, and sometimes, a zip code. Using this, almost every insurance company has enough data to generate at least a basic quote, subject to documentation of all the input information, of course.

How do you pick which companies to request quotes from? Do your research. If Titan is one of the insurers your considering, find and read a Titan Auto Insurance review; if Geico strikes your fancy, check out what Consumer Reports says about them. Ask your friends and colleagues which companies they use, and check out their websites.

Is Shopping Online Safe?

If you’re concerned that online research isn’t enough, or that it’s not safe, consider what the Missouri Department of Insurance had to say, “The Department recommends that you get three quotes when shopping. But with Internet shopping, three quotes take no time at all. You could probably get 20 quotes in the same amount of time it takes to drive to or call three agents.”

Online comparison shopping would seem to be the best way to research prospective insurers, then. It’s efficient, it’s inexpensive, and you can do it from work during your lunch hour, or even at home in your pajamas.