Your car insurance policy package broken down into easy to understand sections.

Breaking down your car insurance policy package.

Opening that huge package from an insurance company that is your new car insurance policy leaves most of us so overwhelmed that we just pull out the insurance cards then slide the rest back in the envelope and quietly file it away. Well, filed away until we actually need it after an accident to see if we have coverage. Even then because it is a legal document it can still leave us scratching our head.

So here is a quick an easy guide to help you navigate that daunting package a little easier.  Now keep in mind that every insurance company is different, so this is just a general guide.

Breaking Down the Car Insurance Policy

Every car insurance policy can be broken down into sections and understanding one section at a time can make it a lot easier to understand the policy as a whole. In general, car insurance policies all have the following:

1. Declarations Page
2. Insurance Statement
3. Conditions
4. Exclusions
5. Definitions
6. Endorsements

Declarations Page

The declarations page has all of your personal information, your specific coverages and also your billing information. You will actually get a new declarations page every time your insurance renews because the information will change at each renewal. However, this is the only part of the insurance policy that you will get at renewal as the rest of the policy package stays the same so there is no reason to send you the other parts again.

You will, however, get a full packet if there have been significant changes in any of the other parts of the insurance contract.

Insurance Statement

The insurance statement is exactly what it sounds like, it is a statement from the insurance company stating that through this contract they are agreeing to provide you insurance coverage.

Conditions

Specifically outlines what your responsibilities as the policyholder are and the responsibilities of the insurance company.  It can also include how to cancel your policy, billing options, and other legal obligatory information.

Exclusions

Defines in details what is NOT covered under your insurance policy. There is no gray area here, the insurance company is very specific about things they don’t cover.

Definitions

This is the insurance company’s version of their dictionary.  Everything term that could possibly be confusing is right here specifically defined for you.

Endorsements

Some insurance policies don’t have an endorsement section or there is nothing in it, this is only because there are no endorsements on the policy.  Endorsements are additional coverages that are not included in the basic policy but that the insurance company offers to add on for you. Those additional coverages and their details will be added here.

Yes, an insurance policy packet can be daunting, but it is in your best interest to understand exactly what you are paying for and to make sure you have the car insurance coverage you need in the event of a catastrophe.

Don’t forget to add the car insurance back on before you hit the road again.

Don’t forget to add car insurance back to your stored vehicle

With the weather getting nicer it’s time to bring back out those beautiful summer vehicles that you stored for the winter.  But, before you get too excited and take that vehicle for its first drive of the season you need to make a call to your insurance company or insurance agent. You don’t want to be enjoying your drive and have to deal with a no insurance ticket if you end up getting pulled over.

Adding Car Insurance for a Stored Classic or Antique Vehicle

If you have a classic or antique vehicle, you already know that your car insurance is not quite the same as everyone else’s. Your comprehensive and collision coverages are based on a stated amount and not an industry averaged cash value. So each year that you bring your vehicle out of storage and put car insurance back on it, it would be a good idea to update the stated value of the vehicle. You may have made improvements to the vehicle over the winter while it was in storage, your vehicle may have aged enough that it changed from classic to antique or your vehicle may have decreased in value for some reason while in storage.

Regardless of the reason, you want to review the stated value of your vehicle when you go to put insurance back on it.  If you don’t have an updated amount, you will be paying too much for the insurance or won’t get enough from the insurance company if you total your prized vehicle.

Adding Car Insurance Back for a Stored Regular Vehicle

If you have a regular vehicle that you put in storage over the winter months for whatever reason, simply call your insurance company or agent and tell them you need to put insurance back on that vehicle. It’s easiest if you stick with the same coverage that you have on your other vehicles, but if you have to call your insurance agent or insurance company anyways, it would be a good time to review what coverage you have on your vehicles. Take off or decrease coverages you don’t really need or add coverages that you think would make life easier if something were to happen.

Also, don’t forget to contact your state to re-register your vehicle (if you unregistered it when it went into storage) at the same time you get your car insurance put back on your normally stored vehicle.

5 Questions To Ask When Getting a Quote:
save money with hidden discounts – including 1 secret discount.

You can save a bag of cash by getting auto insurance discounts.

Who doesn’t what to save money on their car insurance? I know I do. One of the best ways to save some cash on your auto insurance is through car insurance discounts.

Every company offers car insurance discounts. However, not every company offers the same ones. That’s why it’s important to be prepared when getting a quote. You don’t want to give your auto insurance company any more money than you have to.

I’ve prepared a list of questions to ask each prospective insurer so you get the most discounts possible. Ask each car insurance company the appropriate questions whenever you get a quote from them…

Question 1:
I’m a safe driver. Can I get a discount?

Some companies call this one a ‘Safe Driver Discount.’ It’s big. If you stay clean with no at-fault accidents and no tickets, you will have better rates on your auto insurance. Savings could be 10-50%, depending on how many incidents you have. Stay safe and you’ll enjoy keeping that extra cash. But don’t forget to shop your policy every 18-24 months. You could still be losing a lot of money with an expensive carrier, even if you’re a safe driver.

Question 2:
Do you offer a multiple car (multi-car) discount?

If you only have one car to insure, you can skip this one. But if there are multiple cars in your household, then make sure you mention it. Most agents will automatically add this discount to your policy, but it never hurts to ask. It can be a 10-25% discount. And if they don’t offer it, let me know in the comments – every auto insurance company should.

Question 3:
Do you offer a multiple policy (multi-line) discount?

This is another big one. If you carry more than one policy with your insurer, you can usually get a discount on your car insurance. This is also true for other policies. For instance, if you pick up an auto policy AND a homeowners policy from State Farm, you could get a 10% discount on each policy. Sometimes it pays to keep both car insurance and renters/condo/homeowners policy at the same place.

Question 4:
What about my Defensive Driving or Driver Education?

Most auto insurance companies offer a discount for taking defensive driving. Percentages vary between insurers. Regardless, if you’ve taken a driver safety course recently, then make sure your company gets a copy of the certificate.

Question 5:
Do you have a discount for my job (teacher, engineer, etc.)?

Car insurance is a numbers game. Actuaries sit behind desks with calculators and reams of data to determine which people have lower risk versus other people. Each car insurance company does it differently – but some companies have determined your job can lower your risk for an accident. Ask your potential insurer if your job gives you better rates.

Now – Check online and see if you need to replace your current car insurer.
These 3 minutes can save you few hundred $$ per year.

Most people don’t think about it, but your tax return can improve your insurance premium.

Tax Refund for Your Insurance Premium

Your tax return can do a lot more for you than just being spending money. For those that use it wisely, they can benefit from it for a much longer period of time than the enjoyment of a shopping splurge will last. For example, by using it in the following three ways for your car insurance you can save yourself money for years to come. You may even end up saving more in the long run than the amount your tax refund was.

Switching Insurance Companies or Payment Plans

A lot of drivers don’t bother looking for better insurance rates with other companies because they can’t afford to pay the required two months down that it takes to switch. However, they could if they paid for it with their tax refund. By sacrificing your tax refund to make a down payment on a less expensive car insurance premium, you would find yourself with more money in your pocket each month thanks to a smaller monthly payment.

You can also use your tax refund to switch from a monthly payment plan to paying your insurance in full for the term. Many insurance companies offer a “paid in full” discount and you will also save yourself those monthly payment plan fees or monthly EFT draft fees that get tacked onto your monthly payment every month.

Fix Your Credit Score

Everyone knows by now that your credit score affects your car insurance premium. So one way you can put your tax refund to good use to help your premium, is to use it to pay off outstanding debts or get caught up on you bills that are negatively affecting your credit.

By using your tax refund to help increase your credit score, you could be seeing better insurance rates as soon as your next renewal.

Fix Minor Car Damage

Instead of filing a claim for damages you did to your own car, use your tax refund to pay for them yourself. Yes, you purchase car insurance so that you don’t have to pay for stuff like that, but each claim you file negatively affects your record. By keeping it off of your C.L.U.E. report, insurance companies can’t use it when they determine your car insurance premium, thereby usually securing you a lower premium.

It’s that time of year again to look for cheaper car insurance.

Start the New Year with cheaper car insurance

Now that the holidays are over and we have all mostly recovered, it is time to do your annual checkup on your policy to see if you can’t get find cheaper car insurance rates. Yes, this will take time as you will need to contact different insurance companies and insurance agents for different quotes. But, the savings will be well worth it.

Of course, if you want to save yourself a lot of time you can always use our site to get insurance quotes. All you have to do is enter your information once and it will bring up quotes from multiple insurance companies. Definitely a good time saver.

Making Sure It’s Actually Cheaper Car Insurance

To make sure the quotes you are getting are indeed for cheaper car insurance and not just for less coverage, you need to make sure you have your current car insurance coverages in front of you. You can find your current coverages on the declaration page of your insurance policy. If you no longer have that page, you will need to get a copy from your current insurance company or insurance agent.

You need this information so that you can tell the company or agency you are getting quotes from what coverages you need. This is not to say that you can’t lower your coverages, but you want to first make sure you are getting a better price with the new company you are looking at compared to your current company.

Tossing Unused Coverage for Cheaper Car Insurance

Sometimes we purchase items that we end up really not needing and insurance coverages are no different. For example, you may have purchased rental car coverage when you first got your insurance, but now you have two vehicles and don’t really need a rental car if you can’t drive one after an accident. Or maybe you purchased towing coverage, but ended up with AAA later down the road. Now you have double towing coverage and probably hardly ever use either one.

It’s coverages like these that you can drop off of your policy to give you cheaper car insurance. Those non-required coverages that are optional.

The one thing you need to do before calling around for new insurance though, is to contact your current insurance company and see if they can’t get you a cheaper car insurance rate first.