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Online Car Insurance

Shopping tips

By Marilyn Lindblad

Everybody needs car insurance. Driving without liability insurance is illegal, and driving without collision insurance is considered a breach of contract if you have a car loan. Free online car insurance quotes make it easy to find the best deal on the kind of car insurance you need, and knowing how to shop for online car insurance can save you time and money.

Four Easy Steps

You're four easy steps away from finding cheap online car insurance. To get the best online car insurance rates, you need to get organized; you need to get free online car insurance quotes, you need to get your mind made up and you need to get moving to your new insurance company.

Step One: Get Organized

Car insurance companies base their online car insurance quotes on information you provide online. You should collect all this information before you start to shop online for car insurance.

Gathering Information about your Old Car Insurance

Get out your present car insurance policy and answer these questions:

• How much bodily injury coverage does the policy provide? Bodily injury coverage is usually expressed in two numbers: the total amount the insurance will pay for all the bodily injuries in one incident and the total amount the insurance will pay any one individual for his or her bodily injuries.
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• How much property damage coverage does the policy provide? In other words, how much money will the insurance company pay to fix the other vehicles involved in the accident, and how much will it pay to fix your vehicle?
• How much personal injury protection (PIP) does the policy provide? PIP pays for lost wages and medical expenses of the policyholder and any passengers injured involved in a car crash.
• Do you have collision insurance? Collision insurance covers your car in any accident, even a single-car accident. If you have collision insurance, what is the policy limit?
• Do you have comprehensive insurance? Comprehensive coverage pays for your car if it is stolen or damaged in a natural disaster.
• Do you have uninsured motorist coverage? If you're involved in an accident with an uninsured driver and the other driver is at fault, uninsured motorist coverage protects you. The policy also protects you against hit-and-run drivers and drivers who don't carry enough insurance to cover your losses. Most states require drivers to carry uninsured motorist coverage.

Gather Information about Yourself

Before you start getting those free online car insurance quotes, you also need to have information about yourself and others in your household.

Make a list of everyone you want to cover under your car insurance policy, including their dates of birth and whether they have had any car accidents or traffic violations in the last three years.

If you use your car to get to and from a job, you also need to know how many miles you drive each way.

Gather Information about your Car

Finally, you will need some basic information about the car or cars you want to insure. Write down the year, make and model of each car. Make a note of whether you are the car's first owner or whether you bought it used, and write down the total mileage reading on the odometer.

Once you have all this information at hand, you're ready to go to step two.

Step Two: Get Free Online Car Insurance Quotes

Now that you have all your information handy, getting free online car insurance quotes is easy. If you have a favorite insurance company in mind, go directly to that insurer's site.

If you want to get online car insurance quotes from several insurers at one time, use an online car insurance portal like esurance.com or netquote.com. Either way, enter the information you collected into the car insurance rate quote form to get your free online car insurance quotes.

Step Three: Make Up Your Mind

By this time you’ll have several online car insurance quotes from which to make a decision. Take a hard look at each of the insurance companies offering you a quote - have you heard horror stories from friends about any of them? What kind of reputation does each insurance company have?

Ask your friends and co-workers if they have experience with the company you want to select, and do your homework before you change insurance companies. You always pay for car insurance in advance, so be sure to select a company that's going to be around after you pay your premiums.

If you purchase more than one kind of insurance, like homeowner's or renter's insurance, from your car insurance company, you might be receiving a discount for bundling your insurance. Before you change car insurance companies, find out if the change will affect your other insurance policies. Will your renter's insurance cost more if you cancel your auto insurance? Will your homeowner's insurance be canceled? Find out before you make the switch.

You might be pleasantly surprised when you contact your insurance agent. When the agent finds out you are changing companies based on an online quote, your agent may agree to reduce your rates to match your free online insurance rate quote.

Step Four: Make the Switch

Now that you've researched car insurance online, it's time to change insurance companies and start saving money on car insurance. Don't terminate your old insurance policy until you know for certain that your new policy is in place.

After your new coverage takes effect, be sure to replace your old proof-of-insurance cards. Most states require drivers to notify the motor vehicles division when they change car insurers and provide a form for this purpose. Check your state's laws to find out how to provide the proper notification.

Searching for online car insurance quotes is easy – and if you find you manage to save money on your car insurance, the process might even be fun!

It used to be we could depend on the reputation and reliability of North American cars to meet our standards - but could it be the times are changing? Here in the U.S., overseas models are continuing to rise in popularity. Find out why!

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