The 5 Easy Steps To Lower Your Auto Insurance Quote

It was not too long ago when contracts were made on a handshake and a promise. Individuals were not particularly concerned with things like insurance because they relied upon the goodwill of their neighbor to compensate them for wrongful damage. For a variety of reasons, including an increase in the speed and cost of auto wrecks, auto insurance soon became an important purchase for responsible individuals. Not long after, the federal government mandated that auto insurance be carried, at least minimally, by all car owners. The increase in the need for auto insurance over the last 10 years has led to increases in the complexity of insurance, while at the same time, amplifying the need to be more cost conscious in auto insurance purchases. Buying auto insurance today requires as much dexterity as buying the automobile itself. It is important to know the factors that an auto insurance company considers when offering quotes. This will allow you, as the consumer, to know what steps you need to take in order to qualify for a lower quote. 

 So, the five easy steps to a lower insurance quote are: 

1. Portray yourself as a ‘safe’ candidate: Insurance companies are interested in managing risk. Consequently they offer drivers who are less likely to get into wrecks or at a minimum into wrecks of less severity, a lower insurance quote. -Maintain a clean driving record, free of traffic violations or accident claims. -Install anti-theft devices in your vehicle. -Attend a Drivers Safety Training program. -Buy a ‘safe’ vehicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety together collect information on safety related aspects of different vehicles. Buy an automobile that is officially designated as ‘safe’. -Park your vehicle in a garage.

 2. Show your Credit worthiness: As a risk management entity, insurance companies are also worried about getting paid on time. If you can show yourself to be credit worthy, there is less risk of you not making your payments on time, thus warranting a lower rate. -Maintain a good credit score and clear up any errors on your credit. -Cut down on the total number of outstanding credit cards to 2 or 3. 

3. Practice Financial Wisdom: The way in which you structure and pay for your policy can lower the risk that an insurance company faces with respect to you as a customer. By taking steps to lower their risk, you receive a lower insurance quote and policy. -Buy an annual policy instead of a six monthly coverage to get you a lower rate that remains the same for a year. -Opt for automatic payment deductions from your bank account or your credit card to avoid getting charged for mail payments. -Increase your deductibles on comprehensive and collision policies to reduce on the rates. -Get loyalty discounts by buying your home and auto insurance from the same company. 

4. Assess your Insurance Needs accurately: This is obvious, the more coverage you get the more it will cost you. Add-ons are killers in the insurance business, strip your policy down to just the minimum of what you need. -If your vehicle is not used much or you have an old car with little market value, opt for minimum liability alone. It will cost you less. -After fulfilling the legal mandate on auto insurance, insure according to your needs alone. 

5. Other wise things that you can do: There are a number of other considerations that go into your insurance quote. Some of them are not reasonable steps to take, while others you can do with little effort which can translate into substantial savings. -If your car is used only for a particular purpose, make your agent aware of it, as this will limit the cost. -Students that make good grades are often eligible for a discount. -Give up smoking; it can help you get better quotes. -Change your occupation if you can help. A delivery boy carries a higher risk than a storekeeper. 

By: Youness K. EzineArticles.com Expert Author

The 5 Basic Facts : Health Insurance Policies In A Bad Economy

 Many health insurance plans have specific exclusions that eliminate your benefits for anything that could have been covered under Workers Compensation or similar laws. Now read that last sentence again. 

 1. DOES YOUR PLAN COVER YOU ON AND OFF THE JOB? 

 Many health insurance plans have specific exclusions that eliminate your benefits for anything that could have been covered under Workers Compensation or similar laws. Now read that last sentence again. COULD HAVE BEEN COVERED!? 

 That is correct. Most self employed people and even some small business owners do not carry Workers Comp on themselves. There are designed insurance plans that will cover you on and off the job — 24-hours a day, if you are not required by law to have Workers Compensation coverage. 

2. ARE YOU WRITING IT OFF? Independent contractors (1099's), home based business owners, professionals and other self employed people generally are not taking advantages of the tax laws available to them. Many people who are paying 100% of their own costs are eligible to deduct their monthly insurance payments. Just that alone can reduce your net out-of-pocket costs of a proper plan by as much as 40%. Ask your accounting professional if you are eligible and/or check out the IRS website for more information. 

3. INTERNAL LIMITS All true insurance plans use some form of internal controls to determine how much they will pay out for a particular procedure or service. There are two basic methods. -Scheduled Benefits Many plans, some of which are specifically marketed to self employed and independent people, have a clear schedule of what they will pay per doctor office visit, hospital stay, or even limits on what they will pay for testing per 24-hr. period. This structure is usually associated with "Indemnity Plans". If you are presented with one of these plans, be sure to see the schedule of benefits, in writing. It is important that you understand these type of limits up front because once you reach them the company will not pay anything over that amount. -Usual and Customary "Usual and Customary" refers to the rate of pay out for a doctor office visit, procedure or hospital stay that is based on what the majority of physicians and facilities charge for that particular service in that particular geographical or comparable area. "Usual and Customary" charges represent the highest level of coverage on most major medical plans. 

4.YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO SHOP! If you are reading this you, are probably shopping for a health plan. Every day people shop, for everything from groceries to a new home. During the shopping process, generally, the value, price, personal needs and general marketplace gets evaluated by the buyer. With this in mind, it is very disconcerting that most people never ask what a test, procedure or even doctor visit will cost. In this ever-changing health insurance market, it will become increasingly important for these questions to be asked of our medical professionals. Asking price will help you get the most out of your plan and reduce your out-of-pocket expenses. 

5. NETWORKS AND DISCOUNTS Almost all insurance plans and benefit programs work with medical networks to access discounted rates. In broad strokes, networks consist of medical professionals and facilities who agree, by contract, to charge discounted rates for services rendered. In many cases the network is one of the defining attributes of your program. Discounts can vary from 10% to 60% or more. Medical network discounts vary, but to ensure you minimize your out-of-pocket expenses, it is imperative that you preview the network's list of physicians and facilities before committing. This is not only to ensure that your local doctors and hospitals are in the network, but also to see what your options would be if you were to need a specialist. Ask your agent what network you are in, ask if it is local or national and then determine if it meets your own individual needs.

By: Youness K.

Your Health Insurance Company is Scamming you On 3 Ways

   The growing number of consumers taking up health insurance plans has led to the mushrooming of scam health insurance providers. These providers often target new retirees and the elderly individuals and small-business owners, who can't negotiate better rates with legitimate insurers. Article Body: The growing number of consumers taking up health insurance plans has led to the mushrooming of scam health insurance providers. These providers often target new retirees and the elderly individuals and small-business owners, who can't negotiate better rates with legitimate insurers. Be very cautious before you invest in any health policy. Read on to get an idea about 3 ways in which your health insurance company can scam you. 

1. Failure to pay claims Usually fraud health insurance agents sign up a huge number of people quickly by offering them lucrative deals. These insurance providers keep paying small premium amounts and medical claims, but if there is a substantial claim amount or regulators catch them, these illegal companies vanish as if they never existed. So, just beware if you are getting delayed payments or your service provider is offering fake excuses for the failure to make the payments. If you have signed up for these illegal plans, you may be liable for the medical bills of your employees as well. 

 2. Non-licensed health plans If the company from which you have bought your health care policy is not licensed by State Insurance Commissioner, you can be in trouble. If all the protections of insurance regulation do not apply on your service provider, then the company may be phony. In this case your service provider is scamming you by selling non-licensed health plans. Insurance agents are not allowed to sell any legitimate ERISA or union plan as federal law governs them. So, if your insurance agent tries to dupe you by selling an “ERISA” or “union” plan, report them to your state insurance department. 

3. Unusual coverage offered at lower rates If you are offered an unusual coverage irrespective of your health condition and that too at lower rate and much more benefits in comparison to other insurers, its time for you too hit the panic button. Do not get fooled by the lucrative offer, else you can be taken for a ride. The ‘scamsters’ aim to collect huge amounts as early as possible so, they try to sell maximum number of policies at attractive prices.

20 Tips To Cheaper Car Insurance

1. Buy from the internet.Most companies offer a discount for online applications as this is automated process and costs them a lot less to process your application, you can usually see discounts of 5%-10%.Click here to get a instant online insurance quote 

2. Shop around.All insurance companies use different formulas to calculate your insurance premium by adding or detracting money after each question the ask you.By shopping around you could find big savings on your insurance premium. 

3. Buy extra products.Most insurance companies also do other insurance products ie"Building's and content's insurance".Most insurance companies will give extra discounts for purchasing more than one product,by doing this you could save a fair amount on all your insurance premiums. 

 4. Pay your insurance premium in one go.By paying your insurance premium in full you can avoid paying costly interest charges that would be added if you paid your insurance premium by instalments.Some insurance companies may charge as much as 15% APR on instalments.You may even receive a discount for paying in full.If you can not afford to pay in full check out what rate a small loan would be you may still save some money.Fill out a online loan application. 

5. Increase your voluntary excess.Your excess is the amount paid by you in the event of a claim,by increasing this your insurance company should reduce your premium. 

 6. Lower your annual mileage.Lowering your annual mileage can reduce your premium,most insurance companies will quote you for around 12,000 miles a year.Try and work out how many mile's you will do if it's likely to be less you may get a discount.Be honest about this as your insurance company may ask to see old MOT'S and service history to verify your mileage in the event of a accident. 

7. Have a Alarm,Immobiliser or Tracker fitted.Theft of and from your vehicle play a major role in the calculation of your insurance premium.Having a alarm or immobiliser fitted will give you a small discount to your premium and having a tracker fitted could make you quite a saving. 

 8. Take the advanced driving test.Passing your advanced driving test will show your insurance company that you have extra skill when driving and are less likely to be involved in a accident. 9. Don't inflate the value of your car. Adding extra value to your car when you apply for your insurance quote will do nothing for you apart from increase you premium.In the event your car is stolen or written off you will only be paid the market value of your car at the time of your accident. 

 10.Look after your credit rating.Insurance companies are now looking at your credit score as part of the calculation for your insurance premium.Maintaining a good credit rating could avoid unnecessary additions to your premium. 

11. Insure your car Third Party Only.Third party only is the minimum cover you are required to have by law it's also the cheapest.If your vehicle is of a low value then you could consider this type of cover.You need to remember that with this type of cover if you was to have a accident that any damage to your vehicle would not be covered for repair. 

12. Keep a clean licenceInsurance companies take driving convictions very seriously and can dramatically increase your car insurance premium,by maintaining a clean licence proves to the insurance you are a safe and careful driver. 

13. Remove any unnecessary drivers.If you have a young driver on your insurance policy that no longer use's the vehicle you should remove them as this will reduce your premium. 

14. Young driver's add a older driver.Some insurance companies will reduce young drivers premiums if they have a older named driver on the insurance. 

15. Build up your no-claims discountOne of the biggest factors affecting your car insurance premium is the number of years no-claim's discount.You could receive up to 75% discount for around 5 years of no claims.The more years you can stay claim free the safer driver your insurance company will see you as. 

 16. Protect your no-claims discount.Although this will increase your insurance premium if you have a lot of years of no-claims you may want to protect this as a small claim may increase your premium by up to 75%. 

17. Buy a lower insurance group car.A very important factor to your insurance premium is what car you drive.Most insurance companies adopt the Association Of British Insurance Group Rating.This rates vehicle's from 1 - 20 generally speaking the higher the group the higher the premium.By buying a car with a lower group rating can lower your premium especially for young or inexperienced drivers. 

18. Join a car club.If your vehicle is a classic or specialist consider joining a club related to your car most clubs offer insurance schemes which have very good premium rates. 

19. Put your spouse as a named driver.Some insurance companies offer discounts when you add a spouse as a named driver as opposed to unmarried couples,they see marriage as a sign of stability and associate stability with safe driving and there for give you a discount. 

20. Take pass plus.If you are a new driver consider taking your pass plus.some insurance companies could give you as much as a 25% discount and when you have just passed your test and have no no-claims this could make a considerable saving.