Simple Ways To Lower Auto Insurance Rates In Georgia
Reader question:
I get so mixed up with my auto insurance. I have so many bills to pay each month and I just don’t have time to figure out how to lower my premium. What can I do?
Jack in Atlanta Georgia
Thank you for asking, Jack.
You know, there is actually a way that you can kill two bird with one stone, and lower the stress of multiple bills while also lowering your auto insurance premium. This is pretty simple to do, and might take a few minutes of your time, but it will be extremely valuable in your future.
The key to a cheap, stress less, Atlanta Georgia auto insurance rate is to
- Combine, combine, combine!
The first thing you need to do, Jack, if look at each of the insurance companies that you are with, not just your auto insurance company. What kind of insurance do they offer? Many companies will offer life, home owner’s, and auto insurance, while some will only offer one kind of insurance. If you have the latter type holding your policies, then you need to ditch them and find a company that offers more.
Once you have decided on a good auto insurance company that also offers other types of insurance, you should buy all of your insurance policies through them. Not only will you essentially consolidate your insurance bills, making them easier to keep track of, but you will also lower your premium through the multiple policy discount that most companies offer.
- Join, join, join!
You don’t have to go it alone on your insurance premium if you have another choice. If you have a fiancée, why not combine your policies into one insurance policy? Same with a wife, or a roommate, or even a good friend. By adding someone else to your policy, you can save a lot of money on your auto insurance premium, especially if that person is lower risk than you are.
Raise your deductible amount to $1,000. If you are a safe driver and have not had any accidents or claims in the last 5 years raising your deductible could be a super easy way to lower your annual premium. Remember, you only pay the deductible amount when you file a claim with your insurance company and they pay that claim.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Are Your Georgia Auto Insurance Rates Rising?
Reader question:
What’s the point of a stupid renewal discount if my Georgia auto insurance rate stays the same or is higher every time I renew?!
Beth
Great question, Beth.
It’s frustrating, isn’t it? I’ve been getting my auto insurance coverage with the same company here in Georgia for a couple of years, and while I have been tracking what effect other discounts have on my auto insurance premium, the so called renewal discount has been pretty elusive. My auto insurance rate goes up every time, never down unless I apply a new discount to it or get a safer car; all things staying the same, my insurance quote will rise.
There are several reasons for this that neither we nor the car insurance company can control, such as:
- Cost of vehicles. As each year passes, it costs more to buy a car. A more expensive car will have a higher auto insurance rates.
- Cost of repairs. As vehicles become more expensive, so do their parts. The higher the cost to repair a car is, the higher the quote will be.
- Cost of health care. I went to the emergency room once and was given some aspirin and told to go home. A month later, I got a bill in the mail for five hundred dollars. I think you can see for yourself how that would affect your rate.
- Lawsuits. The number of lawsuits has stayed the same even as crashes with injuries have decreased, and the amount of money awarded is phenomenal.
On the bright side, while your auto insurance rate has a good chance of increasing each time you renew it, premiums as a whole are increasing less and less every year. The last year that the estimates were on record for, 2004, nationwide premiums only went up 3.4%, part of a trend of lower and lower increases that should be even better this year and in 2008, if the trend follows through.
People aren’t filing as many claims as they used to, and this is part of the factors that temper the rise of your insurance rate. Another thing that helps out is that cars are made more safely with features that both prevent accidents and make them less damaging when they do happen.
However, since even with the lower number of claims, car insurance companies are spending more on each individual claim, you will likely only see your rate rise for years to come, although we could have an actual decrease in our future.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
What Determines Your Auto Insurance Rate in Georgia?
Reader question:
How do car insurance companies determine my auto insurance rate here in Georgia?
Paul
Thank you for your question, Paul.
There are so many factors that go into a single Georgia auto insurance quote, that I can’t even begin to address them all in a single post. A few decades ago, the factors could be counted on the fingers of one hand, but each year the process grows more complex. What I can do, though, is tell you about one thing that auto insurance companies look at to determine your insurance rates.
- Your CLUE report.
The majority of policy holders don’t have anything on their CLUE report, and this is mostly because the information only remains there for ten years. Unlike credit, which most of society uses constantly, the average insurance claim is filed only every half a decade or so.
The CLUE report is not connected to you yourself, but, much like your auto insurance policy, is connected to your vehicle. The CLUE report will have information on any past claims and repairs, and when you get a new car you can purchase a copy of your CLUE report from ChoicePoint. Since it does affect your insurance premium, it is probably a good idea to buy a CLUE report before you finalize the purchase of your car.
Like a credit report, sometimes CLUE reports contain mistakes. If you see one, you should contact ChoicePoint to have the offending note removed. This takes less than a month in the majority of cases. Unlike a credit report, though, if you have some information that would make your CLUE report look better, such as the installment of an anti theft device, then you can have that added to the report, making your auto insurance rates go down.
- Your CLUE report and your GA auto insurance company.
Once you are already with a company, they will almost never check your CLUE report again. Normally, these reports are looked at when you are getting a policy with a new insurance company.
The CLUE report will not be used the same across the board by every insurance company, but the number of claims you have on it will certainly determine whether your rate goes up or down.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Loading ...