Reader’s Question:

Which car insurance company offers the cheapest rates?

Paul

Long Beach, CA

Every car insurance company in the United States uses a unique system of rating its clients. So, the only way to know which insurer gives the cheapest rates is by obtaining quotes from each car insurance company in your area.

This is why it is very important to understand how insurers compute for your premiums. Firstly, your credit standing will be checked since companies believe that individuals who have not handled their finances well are high insurance risks. So, you may want to clean up at least the previous month’s financial statements first before getting those quotes. Gender is another factor that goes into the calculation of premiums. Women are generally safer drivers hence are given much lower rates than men. One’s age will also be checked by insurers. Drivers below 25 years old are charged with relatively higher car insurance premiums because the accident rate of this age group is very high. This is also the case with older drivers between 55 years old and above. So, if you plan to enlist teenagers or older drivers in the policy, then you should make them attend driving classes. This way, you get to avail of discounts that could significantly lower your premiums. Also bear in mind that the motor vehicle record (MVR) of those you include in the coverage will be pulled up by the prospective car insurance company. So it would be best that you only enlist those with good driving records for the past three years.