Cheapest Car Insurance Online Quotes In California

Reader’s Question:

When shopping around for car insurance here in California, is going with the cheapest car insurance online quote the best choice that I could make?

Hamish

Huntington Beach, CA

In terms of shopping for car insurance, or no matter which you shop for, it would only be normal for people to get the best possible rate. However, the cheapest car insurance online quote would not always be the best choice. If everything else is equal, then you would want to go for the cheapest rate but there are some issues you have to review to help you find out if the cheapest car insurance online quote is from an insurance company that can be trusted.

If you’re shopping for the cheapest car insurance online quote in California, you have to find out the financial standing of the insurance company you’re considering having business with. In case you file a claim in the future, it’s very important that the company has available resources to cover your claim. If you cause an accident and the company is unreliable and doesn’t have any money available, you could be responsible for the damages incurred.

In getting car insurance online quote, it would also be wise to consult others regarding a car insurance company that you would like to deal with. There are independent institutions such as A.M. Best Company, Consumer Reports and other organizations that would evaluate insurance carriers on several areas including cost, coverage choices, customer service and some other things that must significant to people who think about dealing with a specific company.

Should I Raise My Car Insurance Deductibles in California?

Reader’s Question:

Would a higher car insurance deductible be more ideal in California for lowering my car insurance rate?

Eduardo

Santa Ana, CA

I have to be honest about this, Eduardo. I myself am confused about this. The authorities in car insurance say that we must get a car insurance policy that has a higher deductible in order for the insurance plan holders to enjoy much lower car insurance premiums. It sounds like a fantastic idea, doesn’t it? But here is the catch. You do not have to be a genius to realize that it does not necessarily bring down the cost of the car insurance.

Deductibles are like your slice of the cake, your exposure and participation to the cost of the damages. It is that specified amount of money that the driver has to pay before the car insurance company pays for the remainder of the cost of damages. So, if you get a car insurance premium that has a $2,000 deductible, then that means that in the event an accident happens, you will have to shell out $2,000.

Personally, I do not see it as an advantage because I think that the bottom line would still be the same. Here you are paying for a less expensive car insurance premium that has a high deductible. Come accident time, there you go handing out precious bucks that the car insurance company should have been paying for had you decided on a lower deductible. Then again, this is only my opinion, and it is still best that you ask the expert advice of car insurance agents in California.

What Personal Information Do I Have to Give My Car Insurance Company?

Reader’s Question:

What information do insurance companies get if apply for a car insurance in California?

Ray

Good question Ray.

The insurance company or an agent will ask for certain personal information if you apply for a car insurance. This would help them determine if you are eligible for the coverage and they will be able to know the price for your coverage. The information that will be collected if you apply for a car insurance are; driving record, automobile mileage driven and years of driving experience.

A Motor Vehicle Report will be ordered for all the drivers on the insurance application by the insurance company on some states. The Motor Vehicle Report is an official record of a motorist that can be obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicle. This is being use to verify any traffic offenses, license revocation and any accidents of all driver’s listed on all application.

In case of any unsatisfied judgment, major traffic or moving violations. license suspension and failure to show liability insurance, a California Insurance Proof certificate or SR22 is needed. This is being filed by the insurance company to the Department of motor vehicles. Normally the requirement period is up to three years. Any minor convictions remains on the record for 3 years, 7 years for the major convictions like hit and run, reckless driving etc.

Goodluck!

MariCAR

Do Car Insurance Companies Give Discounts For Defensive Driving Class?

As most car insurance policy holders are aware of, the drivers around here are crazy. Aggressive and swerving little devils, it takes effort to not ram into them, on accident or on purpose (road rage). What many people who have been in accidents realize is that being able to compensate for the stupid driving habits of your fellows on the road can prevent a lot of pain, and not the least a insurance claim.

The way to find out how to avoid these crazy people is to sign up for a defensive driving course. Not only will you learn in one of these courses how to protect yourself on the road, but you will also avoid filing a car insurance claim, as well as being eligible for a insurance discount. Most  car insurance companies do give discounts, both for defensive driving courses as well as regular introductory driver’s education courses.

Why take one?

• The National Insurance Safety Council says that almost eighty percent of car insurance accidents happen because the driver messed up in some way. If you learn how to drive defensively and responsibly, you can avoid being part of this statistic.
• If you have a speeding ticket, then you can go to defensive driving class and get it taken off of your driving record. That’s two drops in your Norwalk CA car insurance rates right there.
• The discounts on your Norwalk CA car insurance rates can be pretty high, ranging from five to ten percent. Normally, though, in order to get a discount, you have to take the class voluntarily.

Where do you take one?

• Classes for defensive driving are all over the place, but your Norwalk CA car insurance company will not recognize all of them. To find out which defensive driving school will get you a discount, ask your Norwalk CA car insurance agent or company representative.
• Make sure that the school you go to is authorized by the National Safety Council. You can check their website to make sure that your course is included.

Taking a defensive driving class can even be fun, and if you get your whole family involved, you should see how fast your Norwalk CA car insurance rates will dwindle.

Which Vehicle Makes Are More Expensive To Insure?

Your car insurance premium should be on your mind before, during, and after you have bought your vehicle from the car lot. Before hand, you need to check quotes, during you need to make sure you choose the right car, and after you need to get your coverage from the best  car insurance company.

When you are buying a car, you will need to get comprehensive and collision car insurance coverage, and the latter of those two coverage options is more expensive the more likely your car is to be vandalized or stolen. Every insurance company bases its premiums on its own claims records, and you will only be able to get an idea of what each company will charge you by getting instant online car insurance quotes. However, if you look at this list of most stolen cars on a nationwide basis, then you’ll also have an idea of what kind of car you should avoid. Some of them are unexpected.

• Toyota Camry
• Honda Accord
• Honda Civic
• Chevrolet Full Size C/K Pickup
• Ford F-150
• Jeep Cherokee
• Oldsmobile Cutlass
• Dodge Caravan
• Ford Taurus
• Toyota Corolla
• Chrysler Neon
• Nissan Sentra
• Chevrolet Caprice
• Ford Explorer
• Chevrolet Cavalier
• Chevrolet Blazer
• Plymouth Voyager
• Pontiac Grand Am
• Ford Escort
• Acura Integra
• Dodge Ram
• Nissan Maxima
• Ford Mustang
• Buick LeSabre

Surprisingly, my ugly old Oldsmobile is on that list, which goes to show that car thieves will steal anything. However, even if you aren’t going shopping and already own one of these oft stolen cars, you can still get a good car insurance quote by adding some extra protection to your car. The National Insurance Crime Bureau says that the best way to go in terms of protecting your car and getting a good comprehensive car insurance quote is to put your anti theft measures on in layers, instead of just equipping one anti theft device.

• First layer: Don’t be dumb.

Some people think that it’s okay to leave the car on and the key in the ignition if they’re just running into the store for a minute and will be able to see the car the entire time, but this is not much protection. I read a story recently about a woman that did this, and someone stole the car, which had her one year old in it, and only brought it back because he didn’t want to be charged for kidnapping. First of all, no, don’t use your kids as anti theft devices. But also don’t leave your keys in the car. By the time you notice someone is in your car and run out into the parking lot, the car will be gone.

You also should make sure that, if possible, you park in well lit areas where there are a lot of people. It’s better to go to the store to do your shopping when it’s busy rather than in the middle of the night.

• Layer two: The deterrent.

Now, even if you are practicing common sense, there is still a chance that your car will get stolen. While deterrents usually won’t get you a good insurance rate, they are still a necessary component in your layered protection.

• Layer three: Disenablers.

If they have no fear of the deterrents and manage to get into the vehicle itself, this type of anti theft device will make sure they are unable to hotwire your vehicle, or at least have a very difficult time of it. This type of device will get you a  car insurance discount with most companies.

If you want to get the best discount with this type of anti theft device, then you need to get an active one. An active anti theft device is always active, whereas a passive one has to be activated by you every time that you leave the car.

• Layer four: Finding it.

If the thief is especially persistent and experienced, and somehow manages to bypass all of the other protections on your vehicle, then you will need a way to get your car back. Most stolen cars are not recovered, and police have to act very fast to get to the car before it is taken to the chop shop or across the border.

A tracking device can help you make sure that your car is recovered. It sends a signal to police so that they can find the find the car.

What Should You Look For In a Car Insurance Company?

Most people in the U.S. are pretty busy with their lives, between family, friends, work, and sometimes school, that they don’t have the time to shop around for a new car insurance policy every six months. For these people, it is not any less necessary for them to get the best insurance premium, so if they must, they can restrict their shopping around to when they have a life changing event instead of doing it by the calendar.

• 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.

Best Cheap California Car Insurance Company?

How is it that you go about looking for a used car that will score you a good quote with your California car insurance company? Ask your body shop mechanic, or some friends? You could do either, but it’s best to take a variety of steps to make sure that you get the best deal on your quote with your California car insurance company.

First, figure out what you want. A good way to do this, if you don’t have any clear idea, is to ask people you now for suggestions. Everybody has their favorite car, the car that they pine for, so you’r bound to get a thousand different answers. With enough information, some will be useful to you and others just won’t be.

Another thing that you ought to do is, once you have an idea of a few cars to consider, go to Kelley’s Blue Book on their website and look at what the manufacturer suggested retail prices (MSRP) are for each car on your list. Remember that the more expensive the car, the higher the quote with your California car insurance company is going to be, although of course this is not the only factor. Whenever you look at the values, get the values for different years, since you’re buying a used car.

The next step is to find the car. You can get listings in several places, such as Craigslist and the newspaper. Whenever you go to see the car you are considering buying, you ought to either bring someone you know who is pretty auto savvy, or you need to take the car to a mechanic so they can look it over and see what kind of condition this is. This may sound like too much trouble to you, but believe me, I’ve bought cars before who worked perfectly until they got off the lot and that is not something you want to get in to.

Normally it won’t cost you a lot of money to get your car inspected, because if you vouch to the mechanic that when it breaks down you will have him or her fix it, then they will usually give you a discount.

But perhaps even that would be too much money for you. But if you want to have a safe car that will get you good quotes with your California car insurance company, then you at least need to have documentation of the cars accident and repairs history, as well as documentation stating that it has had a timing belt change and oil changes and everything else needed for upkeep.

If My Friend Wrecks My Car Will My Insurance Policy Cover It?

Reader question:

What happens when a friend takes my car out and wrecks it? Will my  car insurance claim be denied?

Max in Fresno California

Thank you for your question, Max.

It really depends on the circumstances of his borrowing the car and wrecking it. These days,  car insurance policies are very extended. For example, even if their names are not on your California car insurance policy, other family members in your house will be covered if they drive your car. Another group of people that will be covered under your policy is pretty much anyone to whom you give permission to drive it, or has a decent reason to believe that you would have given them permission.

This can be kind of troubling sometimes. For example, when you didn’t give someone permission then at times it is very hard to prove that this is the case, especially if they are a good friend or relative. I would never let my brother drive my car, but if he did somehow and got into a car accident, then my  car insurance company would consider it to have been consented to. This means that his at fault crash would affect my auto insurance premium in the future. If they find that I did not give my consent, or wouldn’t have if asked, then while the damages to the vehicle will be covered, the driver will not be and my future premiums will not be affected.

So, yes, if your friend takes your car out for a spin and gets into an accident, then your car insurance policy will cover their injuries as well as the damage to your car. You still need to be the one to file a claim, though, and pay your deductibles. All of the responsibility for that sort of thing depends on you, since they have not signed your policy and everything is required from you.

Now, if your friend wrecks your car, then your own insurance policy will be the first to kick in. However, if they have their own policy, then once your own coverage runs out, it will kick in as well.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Should You File an Insurance Claim In California?

The California car insurance claims process is a difficult one to wade through, at least when you’re the at fault driver. Unlike the more easy filing for when you are not at fault, you are required to do more and deal with the same problems. It’s a good idea to read your car insurance policy ahead of time so that you know what the steps recommended by your CA car insurance company are, and here are a few steps that you can follow as well.

• Should you, or shouldn’t you?

The first thing to do is determine whether or not to file a car insurance claim at all. Anytime you decide to file a claim on your insurance policy, it will become part of your CLUE report. In the future, other companies who you buy insurance with will see this report, and you will have to pay more for your insurance with them, so you have to be careful.

If the damages are fewer than your deductible and no one else is involved, then there’s obviously no point in calling the  insurance company. If you only get into a fender bender and feel you can take care of it alone, then there is no need.

• Follow the steps.

Make sure you take the correct steps after your car insurance accident to make sure that you have the events properly documented. This way, should there be any controversy down the line as to who is at fault for the collision, you will be able to show real proof supporting your position.

• Get it done.

If you’re going to file a insurance claim, then you need to file it now. While claims are open and you are able to file it a couple of weeks down the line, the longer you wait, the more likely you are of having your claim denied. It is also possible that if you the at fault driver and there is another person involved, they will call the car insurance company first, and you will be in trouble.

• Be prepared.

It’s possible that if another driver is involved in the accident, their own insurance company will give you a call. They will do this to get your side of the story. When they call, be sure to keep track of what goes on in the conversation and to write down the name of the person you’re speaking to.

• Repairs.

Once your claim has been given the go ahead, you will be able to have an adjuster look at your car and the damages. Then you will be able to have your car repaired, and the end of your insurance claim is in sight.

Auto Insurance Claims – The Other Party Does Not Accept Blame?

Reader question:

When the owner of an auto insurance policy in California who crashed into your car doesn’t want to take the blame, what do you do?

Mark

Thanks for asking, Mark.

Sometimes a person will be completely apologetic at the scene of the car accident, but when it comes time to file a claim with their auto insurance policy in CA, you find that they’ve told a whole other story to their car insurance company. The company that sells his auto insurance policy is going to go with his story unless forced to believe otherwise, because they want to pay the least money and stick by their policy holder. If it’s your fault, then they don’t have to pay anything.

Normally this happens when an accident hasn’t had a police report filed for it. There’s a good reason for calling the cops every time right there. However, sometimes even when a police officer comes, they don’t file a report. Why is that? It’s because if the police officer believes the damages of the accident to be $500 or less, then it isn’t necessary to file one. However, what might seem like only a little bit of damage at the time could be worth several thousand dollars at the mechanic.

While you might try to convince the police officer to follow a report, it’s not something that you can reasonably do. Instead, do things yourself. Ask witnesses and get their statements about the accident, get the other driver’s statement about the accident, and make sure you take your vehicle to a repair shop as soon as possible so that the damages can be checked out and no one can say that they didn’t come from that accident.

Make sure you get names and numbers of the witnesses, as well as the name, number, and policy number of the other driver. Take pictures of the vehicles, and if there is a police report filed, you can get a copy.

If the auto insurance policy still gets you a no to your claim, you can get more serious. Go to small claims court with the other driver, or even get an attorney. Make sure that they can’t push you around.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

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