** what are you/I gonna do ?
A few rules regarding auto insurance that everyone should know:
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- Consider auto insurance as you would major medical. That is, only for really BIG boo-boo's. Nickle-and-diming them for windshields and other small (less than 0 claims) won't work in your favor. Do they track the little stuff? You bet. File a couple of piss ant claims and you're history.
- Consider partially insuring yourself by raising the deductible to 0 or even 00. This pretty much eliminates the piss ant claims that get most people canned.
- If the value of the car is less than the cost of comp/collision X 10, drop it. Again, you're insuring yourself here, and if you are a reasonably good driver, it won't be a problem.
- Drive responsibly. It sounds silly, but avoiding citations and chargeable accidents will save you serious money and make you very insurable, which leads me to #5:
- Hire only 'preferred insurers.' These are outfits who ONLY insure the best drivers who adhere to rule #4. I have a clean record and can buy a ,000,000.00 liability policy for less than 0/yr. Another good incentive to maintain that clean record.
- Avoid brokers. Hire only the best, and do business directly with them. There is no reason to pay a brokerage fee these days. Most decent insurers are happy to do business directly with the consumer, right over the internet or by phone.
- Pay the annual fee up front. Avoid paying bi-annually or by the month; most add unnecessary fees to the cost of insuring you if you do this.
- Park in a secure location at night. Clean out the garage and actually put a CAR in there, and lock that sucker up tight. My preferred insurer actually offers a discount for those who securely garage their vehicle. Most thefts and vandalism occur late at night, and insurers know this.
- Realize that the best insurer is not the one that offers you the cheapest rate. Most suck when it comes to servicing a claim. Others charge a bit more, but don't quibble when you need help, and won't cancel your policy. Check Consumer Reports for a list of the best insurers in terms of SERVICE, not price. And it might surprise you to learn that list is quite small, and consists of companies you've probably never heard of. (No, they don't advertise: they don't have to.)
- Buy a Beater Car and use it for your daily commute, especially during winter months. This will allow you to avoid public parking lots, where tremendous unexplained damage occurs to nice cars. Save the prized Mustang for weekend motoring pleasure, and let everyone beat the crap out of the beater instead. Cost to insure my beater? Again, ,000,000.00 liability coverage is about 0/yr - a small price to pay to avoid costly damage to my GT during commute times, when you're most likely to get zapped by some tailgating lame ass who could care less if you live or die.
OK, there you have it. Several things you can do to both lower the cost of insurance AND get better service. Go forth and be enlightened.
-JD
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