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.
Will Canada Speeding Ticket Affect My California Car Insurance?
Reader’s question:
I received a speeding ticket while driving my boyfriend’s car in Canada. is it still going to show up on my insurance if I pay it? I live in LA California.
Christina
Thank you for asking Christina.
Your home state California is part of the Driver’s License Compact or what is known as DLC that requires all of its member states including California to report or informed the member state of all the moving violations by their licensed motorist. Although Canada is not part of the DLC, California may have the same agreement as well.
California Vehicle Code , Provision 13363 states that the Department of Motor Vehicle can suspend the license upon the notice of conviction of a person in a state of territory, district of Columbia, Puerto Rico or the Dominion of Canada of an offense which if has been committed in state, would be grounds for suspension of the privilege to operate a vehicle.
This means that the the convictions in Canada will still be reported to the California Department of Motor Vehicle. You may contact the California DMV to verify if the speeding ticket has been transferred to them or if points has been assigned already. The point assigned for a speeding ticket in California is 1 point.
This however will not show up on your friends record nor affect her insurance rate.
Goodluck!
MariCAR
Why Does Car Insurance Have To Cost So Much?
Nobody wants to think about car accidents, aside from trying to drive well and avoid them. However, sometimes things happen and you can’t avoid them, so having a car that will stand up well in a car accident will both protect you and get you a good car insurance rate for your collision premium. With more information coming to light about what makes a car safe, even the car insurance companies are trying to get changes in the law so that car manufacturers have to construct their cars in a safe way.
Changes in laws have played a big part over the years in making damages less serious and the incident of car accidents fewer. The passage of laws that require seat belt and air bags, lower the speed limits and outlaw drunk driving, have been pushed by the insurance companies, among others, and they are not doing the same with other measures.
And accidents are certainly good motivators to these insurance companies. According to the government’s information, the costs that car accidents had were about three hundred dollars for every single person in the United States, or almost two hundred and thirty one billion dollars. That’s billions of dollars in California alone, the most populous state in the entire country, right before Texas. It is also one of the states with the highest amount of uninsured drivers, so although the study didn’t specify, it probably has the highest amount of costs as well.
The National Highway Traffic Association already performs crash tests on cars, but they are trying to get more tests to be done and more available to consumers so that we can make the right decision when trying to buy a safe car. This government associations wants us to know how the cars we want actually drive and react in a crash. They also want the companies that make the cars to wise up and start making better ones and safer ones.
At the moment, having a safer car will save you money on your insurance, and will probably continue to do so, just like you are still able to get discounts for having air bags, which are mandatory. However, requiring more safety means that car prices will go up because cars will be more expensive to make.
Variance in Auto Insurance Rates in California
Progressive auto insurance company says that car insurance buyers would be able to save around five hundred dollars on their six month car insurance premium if only they shopped around for their prices. However, many don’t, which is why the majority of Americans and those who own insurance policies are paying too much for their car insurance.
Progressive said it got its information from a study of over seventy thousand customers over a six month period. The study relates the lowest car insurance rate possible versus the highest, and notes the gap (five hundred dollars in the case of car insurance). Depending on what state you are in, the degree of separation in dollars between the highest and the lowest car insurance premium can be more than many preferred car insurance pays in a year. In Houston, where I’m from, the variation is as much as $838 of variation for a six month policy.
Putting aside car insurance, some other areas in California had huge variances between auto insurance rates as well. Notable, San Francisco:
- $514 of variance
And Los Angeles:
- $616 of variance
Progressive went a little with its study and tried to see how aware California car insurance policy holders were of this rate variance. According to their findings, 65% didn’t realize that the variations between rates was so huge–most estimated it to be around one or two hundred dollars on average. And 60% of the people asked had not made an effort to shop around for a good insurance policy in several years.
Even if the company that you are with now had the best rates several years ago, that doesn’t mean that the same will be true today. New companies rise up and offer cheaper prices, and older companies find new ways to pass the savings on to their customers. The best thing to do to ensure that you get a cheap California car insurance quote is to shop around at least every six months.
Lower Your California Car Insurance Rate With Anti Theft Devices
Criminals are typically a few nails short of a full toolbox, but people too often underestimate their prowess when it comes to stealing cars. As Houdini was to getting out of water while chained up, so are many experienced car thieves to getting into your car when layered with all the technology in a presidential cavalcade. However, although your car may still be stolen or vandalized while it is heavily protected by anti theft devices, you will at least discourage most hardy car thieves and possibly all of them, and in the meantime you will be able to get a discounted car insurance rate, which is one of the best parts.
Here I am going to give a description of the many common anti theft devices. When you look at the descriptions and the prices, think of how much that device will cost you know versus how much it will save you on your California car insurance rate.
- Lock for steering wheel.
This is one of the cheapest kinds of devices. It might get you slight decrease in your comprehensive car insurance rate, depending on the company you are with. It makes it to where the thief can’t turn the wheel, and while it is more easily disabled than many devices, it works well with other devices and if a thief has to choose a car with a lock over a car without, in most cases he will choose the car without.
$25+
- Alarm.
This is the most common kind of anti theft device, and usually comes equipped on the vehicle. The better kind, though, will add horn honking and light flashing into the mix to attract more attention to the car.
$150+
- Kill switch.
This will impede the flow of electricity to the engine, making it impossible to start the car. This type of anti theft device is extremely cheap and will get you a big decrease in your California car insurance rate if you have comprehensive coverage.
$10+
- Tracker.
This is different from all of the others in that, while it doesn’t prevent car theft, it does what no other anti theft device does–it sends out a signal allowing police officers to find it. This is unusual because almost all cars that are stolen are never recovered. It is somewhat expensive, though, even for the cheapest one.
$400+
- Code entry.
There are a few cars that have a set of numbers on the front driver door to them which, if the code is entered correctly, allow the vehicle to be started with the help of the key. This is somewhat effective, but remember that thieves are known for breaking codes. It would be best if used with another feature.
Can’t be bought. Has to be installed while the car is being made.
- Steering column collar.
One of the more common ways of hot wiring a vehicle is by going through the steering column. While this anti theft device does not prevent the thief from entering the car, it does prevent the thief from starting it without an actual key. If you want to get a good California car insurance rate, then you need to get one that is always active, not one that has to be installed every time you leave the car.
$100+
- Locks for tires.
These are frustrating, making the vehicle immobile until the tire locks are removed. However, removing them is difficult, for you and the thief.
$80+
- Decals.
There are a lot of decals that can be found in most stores stating, like the kind of decal you’ll find on a house, that the car has some kind of alarm system or theft prevention device. It may be true, it may not. I had one of these years ago, although I didn’t have so much as an alarm on my car, and my car never got stolen. Of course, this may be because no one wanted my car, but I choose to blame the decal. This is a good way to go when you have no cash to spend on anti theft devices, because it does act as a deterrent even if it provides no real protection. It also won’t get you a better California car insurance rate.
How Your Credit Report Affects Your Car Insurance Rate
Your credit doesn’t affect your driving skills, and there are plenty of drivers with the worst credit ever who are also the best drivers around. However, if you want to get cheap car insurance, then having a lot of negative accounts on your credit report might prove an obstacle. Although the car insurance company does not look at your report the same way as, say, a car dealership does, bad is bad and if one thinks your credit report isn’t so great, the other will as well.
Using credit reports to affect your car insurance rates is no longer an occasional thing. Almost all (upward of 90%) car insurance companies check credit before they give out a policy, and the same goes for companies who do home owner’s insurance coverage. When they check your credit report, they will gather the information into what they call an insurance risk score. Over fifty percent of the companies in the above ninety percent in turn take that insurance risk score and use it to decide if you will have a insurance premium or an expensive one.
According to Fair, Isaacs, and Co., a company which comes up with insurance risk scores which are in use by over three hundred car insurance companies all over the country, while both credit scores and insurance scores use the same information to come to their result, they are not exactly the same.
As a matter of fact, car insurance companies look at the report in a different way when they weigh the score. In the end, the scores of credit and insurance can end up having a difference of as much as ten percent.
When you get a credit score, normally they are looking at how stable your accounts are, whether you are constantly opening and closing new ones and so on. It’s also important to your FICO credit score how much you owe on certain things. With insurance scores, they just want to know that you pay, and pay regularly.
Is Your Bad Credit Keeping You From The Best Car Insurance Rates
If you have bad credit, you’re going to have a little trouble getting the best car insurance at a good rate. While there are several other things that you can do to achieve a decrease in your car insurance premium, the main thing that you need to concentrate on is improving your credit report. In order to improve your credit report, though, you’re going to need to save some money.
- Get your discounts.
First things first, as you begin on your path to a better credit report, you need to make sure you have the money to fix it. In order to save more money, you should try to get your current insurance premium down as much as possible. Take advantage of any discounts that you have available to you, raise your deductible, and cut your coverage if possible. If your own company does not give you the insurance quote, then thin about changing providers.
You also should try to cut your spending in other hours. Lose the coffee, if you know how to cook, then do so instead of eating out, and so on.
- Start big, or small?
My method has always been to pay off the smallest debts first, and then move up to the bigger ones. I like to pay things off in chunks, but this might not be as good for you. Remember that, while your credit report will improve while paying off, it will not be clear until the debt has been entirely cleared off. You have two plans of action here.
- Pay off the smallest debts first gradually working your way up.
- Pay off the debts with the highest interest first.
The second option is truly the best, because you would be keeping these debts from growing. Once you have a good credit report, you will be able to get the best car insurance rate.
California Car Insurance Fraud – Crappy Auto Repairs Cost You Money
I think that, after reading a report that says that over fifty percent of auto repairs performed in the state of California are overpriced, the necessity of the California auto repair bill of rights comes to seem even more important. These statistics are mostly the result of fraud, which sends California car insurance rate rising. If you are more aware of your abilities to report fraud and are more aware of the repair process so that you can spot it, then you can help this rate of fraud drop, and along with it your California car insurance rate.
According to the organization that performed the study, of around five hundred cars that were checked after they had been fixed, almost half of the repairs that were done on them were not even requested–they were, essentially, repairing things that weren’t even broken. Now, it may not seem like too big of a deal, but consider the fact that of those, the normal price paid for these unnecessary repairs is almost five hundred dollars.
Every year in the state of California, over three billion dollars are paid out for repairs from car insurance accident claims. Of that amount, over six million dollars are from unnecessary repairs. The average amount of the unnecessary repair in most vehicles is one fifth of the total claim amount. Eliminating this extra spending on fraudulent repairs could cause a sharp decrease in the average California car insurance rate for policy holders.
If you want to have your own car that has recently been repaired under a car insurance claim, you can call the Bureau of Auto Repair and have it inspected. In order to qualify, the claim amount must be $2,500 or above, and the repairs have to have been done recently, within the last four months since the repairs.
California Teenage Driver Car Insurance Rate Quotes
- 11,177: teen drivers killed in car accidents between 1995 and 2004
- 3/4: portion of those accidents involving teen drivers in which the fatalities were suffered by the passengers of the teen’s car
- 5.6%: decline in the number of teen traffic deaths after the introduction of graduated licensing laws in 46 states
Some of the statistics sound frightening, but in the end things seem to be getting better, thanks to new laws on the books in most states that refrain from giving young drivers full licenses until certain benchmarks have been met. While this is, indeed, much of the reason for the decline in fatalities, other factors should not be left out.
Looking at the numbers, even after the decline, can make any parent shake at the thought of sending their teen out on the road, and it’s no wonder with these numbers that the average CA car insurance rate is so high. However, if you take the proper precautions, such as working with your child on their driving skills even after the license has obtained, and buying the best car for your teen, you can ensure to an extent that they have a safe driving experience, and you can save a lot of money on car insurance.
So what should the perfect teen car look like, the one that will garner the very best CA car insurance rate? Here are some rules to go by.
- Size matters.
The impact of a car’s size on its CA car insurance rate is often distorted in the public’s mind. Some notions that might seem to be common sense at first, really aren’t. For example, we all know that the insurance provider will give you a cheap CA car insurance rate if you have a safe car, and vehicles such as SUVs are very safe, right?
Yes and no.
SUVs can be safe for the driver, but car insurance companies have to take more than just you into mind when they are deciding on your CA car insurance rate. SUVs are very safe for the people inside them, but they cause quite a bit of damage. Part of this is because of their size, but some comes from the fact that their bumpers are on a different level than the bumpers of other vehicles, so instead of hitting the other car’s bumper and absorbing some of the impact, the bumper of an SUV will rip through the other vehicle’s body, causing more damage to the vehicle and more fatalities within.
Another common misconception is that a small car will get you a good car insurance rate. Also not true, for just the opposite reason. Small cars don’t cause a lot of damage, so your car insurance rate for your liability coverage will be cheap, but they do take a lot of damage. If you’re going to buy comprehensive or collision on your new car, then the car insurance rate is going to hit you hard there.
So…what kind of car should you get for your teen, to ensure the maximum amount of safety and the best car insurance rate? Well, we can take a little lesson from Goldilocks in this field.
- Just right.
The best car that you can choose for your teenager, in order to stay safe and get a cheap car insurance rate, is a mid-sized car. It’s also a good idea to choose a car that is a couple of years old, rather than a new one. New cars are expensive to insure, especially if the name attached to them is under 18. Picking a car that’s still around 2000 up will ensure that you get both the modern technology and safety features, while avoiding the high car insurance rate.
It should also be a given that you need to avoid getting a sports car, a convertible, or any other type of high performance car for your teen. It’s proven through various studies that these sorts of cars encourage reckless behavior, especially among young people.
Join a Club Or Organization to Lower Your Car Insurance Rate
I live a busy life, and so for a long time I didn’t bother to join any kinds of clubs or organizations. In fact, except for a brief stint in the Society for Creative Anachronism, I hadn’t been part of a club since high school up until a couple of months ago, when I joined AAA. I quickly began to reap the benefits. When I went to visit my brother in San Francisco, I got fifteen percent off of my hotel room price simply for being a member of AAA. I can’t even begin to list the savings I’ve grabbed for joining that organization.
My favorite one, though, would have to be the better rates I now get on my car insurance premium. I get a ten percent discount through AAA, and along with all of the other discounts I get, I’m riding pretty cheap, a lot cheaper than I was, say, a year ago.
And things like AAA aren’t the only ones you can join. You can also join one of the many car clubs out there for your specific type of car. Normally, the people who join these clubs are the ones who make additions to their car, turn them into high performance cars, or own classic cars. However, even people who don’t normally think more about their car than to get the oil changed can join these clubs.
I joined a club for BMWs last month, even though I’m not a big expert on cars. My deal is the insurance, not the car itself. However, there is a special place in my heart for my 1987 BMW 325i, and so I figured, why not? Well, I haven’t seen the returns on car insurance yet, although when my premium renews I will be getting a 15% discount from this club as well. In the meanwhile, all of the information about this car that I previously knew so little about has been both helpful and interesting.
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