November 19, 2010

When To Ask Your Auto Insurance Provider For Lower Rates

Insurance for vehicles is sometimes high depending on individual circumstances and relies heavily on the gender, age, driving history and other basic factors of each person. Usually, if you’re a first time driver or a first time vehicle owner, insurance rates tend to be pretty high because you are an inexperienced driver. But throughout a person’s life, circumstances change and certain aspects of a driver’s experience and record change as well. It is easy to obtain low auto insurance rates from your current auto insurance provider; you just need to know when to ask and what to look for. There are several factors that auto insurance providers review in order to determine the amount of insurance rates you are going to pay. Consider a few factors before moving forward with asking your auto insurance provider for low auto insurance rates.

If you were a first time driver or a first time vehicle owner (or if you got car insurance for the first time on your own) when you first got your policy, chances are that you’ve gotten a lot more comfortable on the road. At least that’s what the insurance company believes is true of seasoned drivers, which is why they’ll offer lower rates. But the key is waiting until a year or so after you first get insurance to go back to your provider and ask for lower rates. Chances are that your provider will go ahead and grant you lower rates based on this one factor.

There is also the possibility that you previously had points on your driver’s license for moving violations, which in turn made your rates fairly high. Typically, after three years those points are cleaned from your record and you can start fresh. What this then means for your car insurance rates is that you can ask your auto insurance provider to lower them. Without any points on your license, there is nothing that can warrant maintaining high insurance rates – and most companies value their customers so are happy to lower your rates in order to keep you buying from them.

If you recently bought a new car, you can also ask your auto insurance provider for low auto insurance rates, especially if it’s a safer vehicle. Cars that are better for the environment and/or are safer on the road tend to reflect positively in car insurance rates. So if you are thinking about buying a new vehicle but are hesitant, think about what you’d be saving.

There are many factors than can contribute to high car insurance rates, so it’s worth reviewing your contract and seeing if there are ways to lower them.