Auto Insurance
Auto insurance provides protection for the consumer in the event of a traffic accident or other significant and unanticipated property loss involving your vehicle. Typically auto insurance policies cover against risk of damage to your vehicle, damage to the property of others involved in the accident, and personal injury to yourself and others. Auto insurance can also be purchased to offset the risk that another individual associated in an accident is uninsured or under-insured. Both comprehensive coverage and collision coverage are usually offered. Collision auto insurance will cover you in the event of a vehicular accident involving a collision between your car and another car; comprehensive auto insurance will cover other mishaps such as theft or accidents not involving collision. Most states require drivers to purchase some form of auto insurance with minimal coverage limits.
In the US auto insurance is offered by a number of different companies, each of which is regulated at the state level. The marketplace is extremely competitive, as evidenced by the extensive advertising by the major auto insurance carriers. Consumers can oftentimes save money by comparing their current auto insurance policy with competing companies. Unfortunately it can be a confusing and time consuming process to compare auto insurance rates, particularly since most auto insurance companies, through their advertising campaigns, give the impression that they have the best rates. However, the astute consumer will notice that auto insurance companies never guarantee they will offer you the lowest rate. Instead, most auto insurance companies make claims such as “the average customer who switched to us saved 15% on their auto insurance policy.” The savvy consumer realizes that many customers who receive quotes do not switch their policies because they are quoted a rate more expensive then what they are currently paying.
To obtain an exact quote for auto insurance, most insurance companies will pull a form of your credit record called an insurance score, and also take a look at your driving record. Thus, an exact quote does require you to submit your personal information to an insurance company or an insurance agent. However, if you are lucky enough to live in a state that makes auto insurance rate information publicly available to its residents, you can estimate which auto insurance companies will offer the cheapest rate to a consumer in your situation. This will save you time and ultimately money.
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