What’s the lowdown on shopping for auto insurance online? I’m a stay-home mom here in California, and I’m pretty particular about divulging information online.

Marge

Bakersfield, CA

Hello, Marge! Good day to you. Based on how you reacted, I can tell that you’re a pretty careful individual. I would not blame you if you prefer to talk face to face to auto insurance agents there in California than just input information on the computer. After all, you probably heard of some scams that rob people on the internet. But let me tell you, that is not the case for auto insurance online.

My advice is, use the internet as a tool to get more informed. An agent can only do so much, and, of course, they’re geared to push a specific product every time. So, unless you are friends with them, you might be better off shopping initially on the internet. You can move into conversations with agents once you have got the necessary information about the policies you can get from their respective auto insurance companies.

The internet provides you with a high-speed means to get information from a variety of auto insurance companies. There are auto insurance websites that allow you to see a ballpark estimate of your premiums should you go with the same company. The information asked is easy to give out. These are just based on how many drivers, what kind of car, driving habits or offenses. You won’t even need to enter any of your personal data like a name should you choose not to. And since you can do this on a number of websites, you can get more quotes and compare them all to get the best policy with the cheapest rate at the quickest possible time.

Why did my car insurance premiums go up when I moved just ten miles east from San Diego California?

Mike

Good question Mike.

It seems like your zip code had changed and must have put you to a risk factor location according to your insurance company’s underwriting calculations.

There is an established guidelines, according to California Proposition 103, that was established in 1988, that determines your California auto insurance rates. He are the primary factors:

1. Your driving safety record
2. The number of miles driven annually
3. the number of years driving experience

There are other factors that can be used by the nsurance company to determine the individual’s premium.

The secondary factors are marital status, frequesncy, claims history, geographic area where your car is garaged, gender, type of the vehicle, etc.

Until now, insurance companies set rates for premiums based primarily on the zip code rather than the mandatory factors which is driving record, miles driven annually and the driving experience.

Make sure that you maintain a clean driving record within the next two years since this may change so that your rates will be based more upon your driving record than your zip code.

Goodluck!

MariCAR

In  California auto insurance as will as in British auto insurance, women have been found to get into fewer accidents and, therefore, file fewer claims. As a result, they are considered to be of lower risk. In auto insurance, the gap between the car insurance rates for males and females is at its greatest when the policy holders in question are younger than twenty five, but it continues with a smaller gap throughout the older ages.

In the UK, any companies have become women’s car insurance companies, claiming to offer better rates to women.

However, according to a British website that covers issues with auto insurance over there, looking at the quotes for women from these women only car insurance companies, the quotes from the women only companies tended to be seventy nine pounds, or around a hundred and sixty one dollars, more than the same women would be quoted with a regular car insurance provider.

It seems that having women get even more  auto insurance is not all it’s cracked up to be, at least not the way their doing it in the UK. It also looks like women having more auto insurance than men may be a thing of the past. Statistics in recent years show the gap closing in terms of auto accidents, with men getting in fewer and women getting in more. Be careful what you wish for.

Here’s what you should keep track of:

• All of the information that you have from when you first bought the car. This includes that big envelope containing your contract and everything you signed which was given to you by the dealership. You should also have on hand anything about the warranty for your car, as well as whatever ads you saw, if possible, that alerted you to the sell of the vehicle.
• All of your registration stuff. You’ll need to be able to show with your online  auto insurance quote in which state the car was registered when it was bought by you, and where it is registered now (California).
• Any documentation you have about repairs. Your online insurance quote about this will get the information from your CLUE report, but in order to get the best deal, you have to make sure that all of the repairs were done by the dealer or manufacturer with OEM parts. You should also make sure that any statements or bills that the repair shop releases should have your version of the damages, because a lot of times the car lots will sidestep lemon laws by playing with words.
• California auto insurance law requires you to tell the dealer that your car is a lemon, so you need to send a letter. Make sure you have a copy of this, as well as the response, and any other correspondence between you and the manufacturer. Also make sure that all letters are traceable, so that you can have proof that they arrived or not.

• If you move.

In most of the country, zip codes can have a big effect on your auto insurance premium, but with car insurance the effect is not as huge thanks to a California auto insurance law passed to make the location a small factor in the auto insurance premium. The reason it is a factor at all is mostly due to the amount of cars stolen in the area, and the law was passed because the policy had a negative affect mostly on low income and minority drivers.

However, even though your zip code does not say as much for your insurance score as before, it does affect it. When you move to a new zip code, you need to shop around for a better car insurance premium. In any case, you should at least see a change in the premium from your current company.

• If you buy a car.

Before you buy a car, you should check the insurance quotes to make sure it is the best choice in make and model. However, if you’re already certain of what car you want to get, you should still shop around to see what the quotes are from other companies in the area.

Car insurance companies base their rates for collision and comprehensive car insurance coverage on the number of claims they have gotten for those coverages in company, so one company might have seen more claims for your car than another. It’s best to go with the company that has had the best history with your new vehicle, and you can find out which one this is by getting several insurance quotes.

• If you get hitched.

They say that when you get married, two people become one, so naturally they will have a different  insurance rate together than they would apart. Men profit the most out of this, seeing their rates decrease a good deal when they tie the knot, but so long as neither partner is very high risk, both will benefit from the union.

• If you get a new job.

Not only do many insurance companies give you discounts on your car insurance for the degree that you hold, but you can also get one based on what you do. For example, if you are a teacher or an engineer or a military service member, then you can get a discount on your insurance premium.

• If you stop working altogether.

When you retire, you are usually just between being in the cheapest car insurance demographic, and one of the most expensive. Being between fifty five and seventy, you are in a group of the safest drivers and will thus get the lowest rates. However, after seventy, your rates will go up. Many car insurance companies offer discounts to retired people, but you can get the best deal by buying your insurance policy through AARP. Whatever the case, it is best to shop around.

• If you’re just fed up.

You may have a liked a  car insurance company for awhile, and then just got sick of paying the high rates and finding few available discounts. While there is a limited number of excuses not to shop around, there’s certainly no limit to reasons to do so.

Is it possible to buy my Southern California auto insurance over the internet?

Ingrid

Thank you for asking, Ingrid.

One of the great introductions from the southern California auto insurance community to new technology has been the wide availability of southern California auto insurance policies on the internet. Most of the bigger southern California auto insurance companies have launched websites, where they allow their prospective customers to not only get quotes, but buy policies as well; and the service doesn’t end once you have your policy either. Many companies also offer account management for policy holders, so that you never have to pick up a phone or step into a southern California auto insurance office again.

Most companies which allow southern California auto insurance policies to be bought online can be divided into three types.

• Everything online.

Some of the more high tech southern California auto insurance companies offer everything online, including the final confirmation signature, which they accept electronically. This can be either from a simple typing of initals, or an actual signing function where you write out your name with your mouse.

• Halfway there.

Others will allow you to choose your car insurance coverage and policy and confirm everything, up until the point when you need to sign. While you are covered once you have completed the process, these southern California auto insurance companies will send you a form to your mailing address which you must sign and then return to them.

• Just a little bit.

The last type, which is more common among smaller southern California auto insurance companies, is where the companies will display the coverage information on their website, where the future policy holder can choose it and enter their information. Then, they will receive further information along with forms and request for payment in the mail, and they will not be covered until the payment is received. It’s actually cheaper to just go to the office with this one.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama

I heard that you can get a claim denied if your teenager is on your  California auto insurance policy. Is that true?

Phillip

Thank you for your question, Phillip.

I’m not sure where you heard that, Phillip, but it’s definitely not true that your California auto insurance company will deny your claim just because you have a teenager on your policy. Heck, you’ll probably get your claim denied if you decide not to add your teenager to your  insurance policy, because if you don’t provide such important information, then your  auto insurance company is unable to adjust your car insurance premium to fit the amount of risk you pose to the company.

One thing that I think you might be thinking about is the recent report done on parents whose claims were denied because they had claimed themselves to be the main drivers on vehicles of which their high risk teenagers were actually the main drivers. I think this might be the result of a bit of miscommunication.

Many people who deal out auto insurance advice, myself included, have urged parents to make sure that car insurance companies don’t automatically add the teenagers to the most expensive and costly to insure vehicle on their policy. This is definitely something that you should worry about, since car insurance companies tend to, if not told otherwise, put the highest risk driver with the highest risk car, even if the driver in question never touches the car.

However, making sure that your teenager’s name isn’t added to a car that they don’t drive isn’t the same as deliberately putting your teenager’s name on a car that they don’t drive. This is called fronting, and is considered fraud, so I advise every parent thinking about doing this on their California auto insurance policy to think again. The truth is that most parents who do this don’t even know they’re committing fraud, at least according to sixty percent of the parents in the report.

Make sure that you give accurate information and that your  insurance company follows it when rating your policy, but giving inaccurate information yourself could land you in trouble.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarram.

• Your name is .0001%.

California auto insurance providers, like car insurance companies everywhere, deal in statistics. When they see you, that is what they see, not a living breathing person. Therefore, no matter how many protestations you make that you are the most angelic and able driver in the world, if you are part of a demographic (or if your car is) that files a lot of claims, you are high risk as well. There are a number of things that can push you either way on the risk spectrum, from your job to your car, so it’s something you have to get used to.

• One is not like the other.

Not all California auto insurance companies are the same, which is why it is necessary to shop around.

• Price isn’t everything.

While getting a great insurance quote is ideal, it is also important for you to have a bunch of other things from your insurance company. First of all, you will need good rates, but also good service and an easy claims process. You will need to look at several aspects of a company before you decide that it’s the one.

• Rise above it.

In California auto insurance, you have to have a minimum coverage of $35,000 self insured, and $40,000 if you go through a insurance company. However, most of the time these tiny amounts will not help you when push comes to shove. Think about what you need and consider upping your liability insurance coverage.

• Get paid.

Every California auto insurance company offers discounts, but so many people just ignore them. According to several studies, Americans spend $500 billion more on car insurance than they would have spent if they had gotten discounts that they are eligible for.

• Tell the difference.

Many auto insurance providers will try to get off by repairing your car with aftermarket parts when you file a claim with them. While these are just as safe as other parts, if you don’t get the parts from the original manufacturer then your vehicle will lose value.

• Look out.

Your  insurance company is there to serve you, but that doesn’t mean they will be all enthusiastic about it once the time comes for them to do so. It is your responsibility to fight for the money that you deserve.

• Think ahead.

Don’t wait until the last minute to read your auto insurance policy as you are waiting for the firemen to pry you out of your wrecked car. If you know what you need to do in the claims process ahead of time, then you don’t have to worry about it when you’re stressed and possibly injured from a collision.

USAA also helps out members of the military and their families by creating plans where they can buy things, such as video cameras, through their auto insurance coverage. They offer credit cards, and are very understand of members of the military who are deployed. While these soldiers must keep any vehicle on United States soil insured, while they are away there is really no reason for them to have liability insurance if the car is in storage. In order to help them save money, USAA offers cut coverage auto insurance rate by allowing soldiers to only pay for comprehensive auto insurance on their vehicles while they are deployed outside of the country.

USAA isn’t the only company which offers these perks. Other companies, such as GEICO, have plans that allow members of the military a break both while on base and while abroad. You’ll find that around a base area, your California auto insurance rate will be much lower if you are a member, active or retired, of the United States military than it would be if you were in some other area of California. Unlike GEICO, though, USAA does not only have a history of serving the military, but it continues to do so even today, when most companies find they make more money serving lower risk members of the entire populace.

• A lemon is…

The word lemon, when referring to a product, typically means that it has defects which make it to where it cannot complete its usage. It goes for any type of product, but is most often used as a name for vehicles which consistently have break downs and other mechanical problems over a short period of time. I had a lemon once, and believe me, it is not fun to constantly be broke because you have to pay for a huge car repair once a month or more.

These lemons are such a huge problem, that a subsection had to be created in California auto insurance law to make way for the lemon laws. The lemon laws define what a lemon is, allowing the owners of the lemons to sue the sellers if their vehicle fits the description. It also makes sure that the companies are protected by only allowing lawsuits over cars that do indeed fit the definition in the lemon laws.

According to California auto insurance law, a lemon is when a car continues with the same problem after three attempts at fixing it, or has continued with the same problem after an attempt at fixing it and as a result has been broken down for at least twenty days (which do not need to follow one after the other)

In order for you to be able to file a lawsuit under the lemon provision of the California auto insurance law, though, the lemon has to:

• have racked up at least 18,000 miles when you first informed the manufacturer about it
• either the manufacturer or the dealer has to try to fix the car, not just some guy you know who knows about cars
• has to be big enough to get in the way of the use or value of the vehicle