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Cars and Auto Insurance

6 Tips for Getting Auto Insurance If You Have Bad Credit

    2 minute read

    People who shop for auto insurance are often looking for fairly different things. Some want insurance against as many types of mishaps as possible. Others want to add a teen driver to their policy. Some even want zero-deductible insurance coverage.

    And then there are the people who are burdened with subpar credit records.

    In some states a person’s credit score does affect how much he or she pays for auto insurance. That’s because there’s a strong statistical correlation between an individual’s creditworthiness and his or her risk of filing an auto accident claim. Therefore, car insurers often charge higher premiums to policyholders who have lower credit scores.

    So if your credit is less than stellar, here are eight suggestions for finding auto insurance that won’t blow up your budget.

     

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    8 Tips for Getting Lower Car Insurance Quotes

      3 minute read

      Obviously, it’s unethical to knowingly give false information when obtaining a car insurance quote. But there are two more practical reasons for being truthful.

      1. The insurer will check your personal and driving records anyway to verify the information you have submitted.

      2. If you do manage to secure a policy with inaccurate information, it’s quite possible that your coverage would be voided when you file a claim if by doing so your lie gets brought to light. And that could leave you in a lurch.

      Read More »8 Tips for Getting Lower Car Insurance Quotes

      Does Your Education Level Impact Your Car Insurance Rates?

        3 minute read

        It seems like almost every day, there’s at least one story in the news about education in America. One day it’s about underfunding of public schools, and the next it’s about overwhelming college debts. One week, experts stress the importance of a college degree in the job market … and the next week they bemoan how unprepared college graduates are for the workplace.

        Here’s another recent topic : people who are well educated often pay less for auto insurance.

        college graduates tend to pay less for auto insuranceIt’s true. A recent study conducted by the Consumer Federation of America found that some insurance companies charge anywhere from 12% to 45% less for auto coverage to customers with a college degree. In addition, drivers with graduate degrees or doctorates often pay less than their bachelor’s degree counterparts.

        Not surprisingly, there are some who are upset that better educated drivers get lower rates. The CFA’s executive director, Stephen Brobeck, claims that the higher rates for people in working class jobs place an additional strain on the finances, because jobs without a college degree tend to pay lower wages.

        So why exactly are auto insurers charging higher rates to less educated drivers? The answer is simple: because they tend to be riskier drivers. And statistics bear that out.

        Two states, Maryland and New Jersey, convened lawmakers to take a closer look at the practices of certain insurers — specifically, whether these firms were justified in differentiating premium amounts by education level. Both probes concluded that not only was this practice lawful, but also that the relationship between education and claims risk was actuarially sound. In plain English, this means that insurance companies had the numbers to back up the assertion that more-educated drivers tend to file fewer and less-costly auto insurance claims.Read More »Does Your Education Level Impact Your Car Insurance Rates?

        Coming Soon: Electronic License Plates

          3 minute read

          Over the last few decades, there have been numerous technological and electronic advancements made in passenger vehicles. Drivers tend to focus on the innovative creature comforts, like in-dash GPS, satellite radio, and hands-free mobile phone applications. But electronics also play a major part in the operation of today’s vehicles, from engines that are compatible with computer diagnostic equipment to electronic crash sensors in bumpers to technology that identifies stationary objects ahead and applies brakes faster than drivers can.

          Given these advancements, it’s a bit puzzling as to why the electronics trend has avoided one of the most common components of a vehicle: the license plate. Dull, unsophisticated license plates are still manufactured and affixed to vehicle exteriors; and they require periodic manual changes by drivers when they receive new plates. Consider this: the first license plates, whose basic design hasn’t changed much, appeared on cars in New York during the same year that the first radio transmission was successfully received.

          That may soon be changing with the introduction of the electronic license plate. And California may be the first state to issue them.

          Lawmakers in the Golden State have approved a measure which permits the rollout of electronic license plates by 2017. The technology already exists to manufacture these innovative plates, and California startup Smart Plate Mobile may be the company which begins supplying them to drivers.

          Read More »Coming Soon: Electronic License Plates