by S. Nicole Thomas
Nine Ways To Lower Your Auto Insurance Costs
You may not realize it, but the insurance rates you pay for your car can vary dramatically depending on the insurance company, agent or broker you choose, the coverage is you request and the kind of car you drive. Listed below are a number of things you can do right now to lower your insurance costs.
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1. COMPARISON SHOP. Prices for the same coverage can vary by
hundreds of dollars, so it pays to shop around. Ask your
friends, check the yellow pages or call your state insurance
department (phone numbers are on back page). You can also
check consumer guides, insurance agents or companies. This
will give you an idea of price ranges and tell you which
companies or agents have the lowest prices. But don't shop
price alone. The insurer you select should offer both fair
prices and excellent service. Quality personal service may
cost a bit more, but provides added conveniences, so talk to
a number of insurers to get a feeling for the quality of
their service. Ask them what they would do to lower your
costs. Check the financial ratings of the companies too.
Then, when you've narrowed the field to three insurers, get
price quotes.
2. ASK FOR HIGHER DEDUCTIBLES. Deductibles represent the
amount of money you pay before you make a claim. By
requesting higher deductibles on collision and comprehensive
(fire and theft) coverage, you can lower your costs
substantially. For example, increasing your deductible from
$200 to $500 could reduce your collision cost by 15% to 30%.
3. DROP COLLISION AND/OR COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE'S ON OLDER
CARS. It may not be cost-effective to have collision or
comprehensive coverage's on cars worth less than $1000
because any claim you make would not substantially exceed
annual cost and deductible amounts. Auto dealers and banks
can tell you the worth of cars.
4. ELIMINATE DUPLICATE MEDICAL COVERAGE'S. If you have
adequate health insurance, you may be paying for duplicate
medical coverage in your auto policy. In some states,
eliminating this coverage could lower your personal injury
protection (PIP) cost by up to 40%.
5. BUY A "LOW PROFILE" CAR. Before you buy a new or used
car, check into insurance costs. Cars that are expensive to
repair, or that are favorite targets for thieves, have much
higher insurance costs. Write to the Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety, 1005 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22201
and ask for the Highway Loss Data Chart.
6. CONSIDER AREA INSURANCE COST IF YOU ARE MAKING A MOVE.
Costs tend to be lowest in rural communities and highest in
center cities where there is more traffic congestion.
7. TAKE ADVANTAGE Of LOW MILEAGE DISCOUNTS. Some companies
offer discounts to motorists who drive fewer than a
predetermined number of miles a year.
8. FIND OUT ABOUT AUTOMATIC SEAT BELT OR AIR BAG DISCOUNTS.
You may be able to take advantage of discounts on some
coverage's if you have automatic seat belts and/or air bags.
9. INQUIRE ABOUT OTHER DISCOUNTS. Some insurers offer
discounts for more than one car, no accidents in three
years, drivers over 50 years of age, driver training
courses, anti-theft devices, anti-lock brakes and good
grades for students.
About the Author
Copyright © 2005 ISecureDbet. Get more finance tips and debt management advice from http://www.isecuredebt.com and visit the new credit secrets report http://www.isecuredebt.com/debt-free-book.html
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Why you should sign up for our FREE Home Owners Insurance Newsletter...
Quality information is hard to come by these days, let alone expert advice on home insurance that can effect your every day lifestyle. The advice in these newsletters is local, its professional, and its usable.
Whether you are looking into home owners insurance options, just bought a new home, are a first time home buyer, or are just looking to get a better understanding of homeowners insurance this newsletter will give you the information you need have before consulting with a homeowners insurance professional. You will learn about the following topics that affect your home insurance plan and much more as part of your FREE consumer newsletter:
- How much home insurance do you need? We'll look at all the determining factors and show what may be the best route for your home insurance needs.
- Credit Scoring. The secret to insurance costs might be buried in your credit report. "Insurance Credit Scoring" is a whole new ball game that changes all the rules. We'll give you the info you need to understand how credit scoring is affecting your homeowners insurance.
- Extra / Special Needs Coverage. We'll show you areas that you might want to consider covering for your own personal homeowners insurance needs that you may not have considered.
- How does insurance work for you? We invest a lot of time and energy into researching insurance options, but how wisely do we actually use the coverage? Here are some key ways to get the most out of your homeowners policy
Become an Educated Consumer and sign up for your free homeowners insurance newsletter today.
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Rates on 30-Year Mortgages Fall Again (AP)
AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages fell for a sixth consecutive week as lower-than-expected employment gains helped keep the lid on inflation worries.
Mutual Fund Firms Angle for Advisor Loyalty (NewsFactor)
NewsFactor - Many times, personalization and CRM efforts are aimed toward customers or end-users of products and services. Often, though, they are aimed at channel partners, which, in the case of mutual-fund firms, are financial advisors.
Fannie restatement may take a year (FT.com)
FT.com - Fannie Mae's estimated $9bn earnings restatement may take a year to complete, the Securities and Exchange Commission's chief accountant told policymakers on Wednesday at Congressional hearings held to discuss the recent accounting scandal at the mortgage finance provider.
Weekly Home Mortgage Rates (AP)
AP - Weekly Home Mortgage Rates
Small comfort for big investors in settlement (FT.com)
FT.com - How much money can individual investors expect from the 2003 settlement between US regulators and investment banks accused of painting an overly rosy picture of stock prospects during the dotcom boom?
Mortgage Applications Increase, Rates Dip (Reuters)
Reuters - Applications for U.S. home mortgages
increased last week as U.S. consumers took advantage of a sharp
drop in interest rates to refinance their existing loans, an
industry group said on Wednesday.
Real Estate Funds May Still Make Sense (AP)
AP - Real estate has been one of the stock market's strongest sectors the past two years, leading to stellar returns for funds focused on this asset class. Some analysts think that performance may be coming to an end, but most agree real estate deserves a place in your portfolio for the long haul.
Tokyo Stocks Finish Mixed, Dollar Higher (AP)
AP - Tokyo's benchmark stock index finished lower Wednesday as individual investors shifted money from blue chips into the red-hot small companies sector. The U.S. dollar rose against the Japanese yen, but fell against the euro.
W.House Questions Fannie, Freddie Value (Reuters)
Reuters - The White House on Monday called for
a new, stronger regulator for government-sponsored housing
enterprises, saying a problem at one of the giant mortgage
funders could spread throughout the financial system.
Consumers Kept Eye on Debt in December (AP)
AP - Consumers kept a watchful eye on their debt and boosted their borrowing at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in December, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.
Ameristar Earns Respect (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool - The average investor has a huge advantage over Wall Street analysts. The Wall Street guy has to take a given set of companies and assign values to every company in that group. But as individual investors, our job is much simpler: We don't need to find every single stock that goes up; we just have to pick the high-percentage opportunities that make sense to us and hit them hard.
De-Commissioning Your Insurance Policy (Reuters)
Reuters - (Linda Stern is a freelance writer. Any opinions in the
column are solely those of Ms. Stern. You can e-mail her at
lindastern).
Some Strategists See Home Building Peak (AP)
AP - Home builders have been among the best performing stocks over the last several years as consumers took advantage of historically low mortgage rates. But with monthly data suggesting a slowdown in sales of new homes and economists predicting an eventual rise in rates, it may be time to eye these stocks more critically.
Bush Seeks Cuts to Boost College Grants (AP)
AP - To get larger college grants to poor students, the Bush administration wants to shrink guaranteed aid to banks and end a popular loan program.
New Century Profit Up, But Shares Sink (Reuters)
Reuters - New Century Financial Corp. ,
one of the largest U.S. subprime mortgage lenders, on Thursday
said profit rose 6 percent as loan volume jumped by more than
one-third.
House Subcommittee to Hold Fannie Hearing (Reuters)
Reuters - A U.S. House Financial Services
subcommittee will hold a hearing on accounting problems at
mortgage funder Fannie Mae next week, the committee
said on Wednesday.
Countrywide Financial Misses Views (AP)
AP - Countrywide Financial Corp., the country's largest residential mortgage lender, saw its fourth-quarter earnings drop 39 percent.
Intuit's Free Tax Filing Gamble (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool - Let's face it. Tax preparation and filing can be a long, stressful, and expensive ordeal. Popular software programs such as Intuit's (Nasdaq: INTU - News) TurboTax and TaxCut by H&R Block (NYSE: HRB - News) have eased the frustration with self-filing because the programs guide the user through each step of the process. The competition for your tax business is heating up. Companies are slashing prices-- in some cases to zero -- to gain a competitive edge.
Daimler's New Investor (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool - No one invests a billion dollars lightly. That's what makes the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai's recent massive investment in DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX - News) so interesting. Ultimately, though, the Middle Eastern state's interest in the German-American automaker does not mean that individual investors should jump on board as well.
Countrywide Profit Falls 39 Percent (Reuters)
Reuters - Countrywide Financial Corp.
, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, on Wednesday said
fourth-quarter profit declined 39 percent, as earnings from
mortgage banking fell by about two-thirds.
Boeing Forecast Overshadows Earnings Drop (AP)
AP - Boeing Co.'s fourth-quarter earnings sank 84 percent but the aerospace giant impressed Wall Street on Wednesday by forecasting a big jump in commercial airplane deliveries next year, reflecting a resurgent market and its own improved prospects against Airbus.
Stocks Close Higher; Google Jumps (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. stocks gained on Tuesday, helped
by a surge in Dow component American Express Co. , while
the outlook for tech stocks brightened after the closing bell
as Google Inc. blew away Wall Street expectations.
American Express to Spin Off Finance Unit (Reuters)
Reuters - American Express Co., the global
credit card and travel services company, said on Tuesday it
will spin off its less-profitable personal finance unit,
boosting earnings prospects and its stock to the highest level
in more than four years.
American Express to spin off Financial Advisors unit (AFP)
AFP - American Express Co. said it would spin off its Financial Advisors unit as the company focuses on its credit card and travel businesses.
Counting Trees on Plum Creek (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool - Something's been bugging me about timber REIT Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL - News) ever since fellow Fool Bill Mann first wrote about it in "A Tale of Timber and Love" back in May 2004.
Amex to Spin Off Financial Advisers Unit (AP)
AP - Financial services giant American Express Co. said Tuesday it will spin off its financial advisory business so it can focus on the faster-growing charge and credit card, payments processing and travel businesses. Its shares rose more than 6 percent.
Aflac Net Income Rises on Japan Sales (AP)
AP - Aflac Inc.'s fourth-quarter earnings rose more than fivefold as revenue grew 21 percent, helped by better-than-expected sales in its medical and ordinary life insurance categories in Japan.
Reports: Economic Growth on an Upswing (Reuters)
Reuters - The U.S. economy is showing signs of
faster growth, according to reports released on Monday on the
Midwestern and New York City economies and U.S. personal
income.
AFLAC Quarterly Earnings Rise (Reuters)
Reuters - AFLAC Inc. said on Monday its
quarterly earnings rose, aided by increased sales in its
medical and ordinary life insurance categories in Japan.
US personal income surges 3.7 percent, on Microsoft dividend (AFP)
AFP - US personal incomes soared a record 3.7 percent in December, largely as the result of a one-time 30 billion dollars dividend payment from Microsoft.
Dow Closes Up 63 While Nasdaq Gains 27 (AP)
AP - Successful elections in Iraq and a bevy of merger and acquisition deals pushed stocks higher Monday in moderately heavy trading, with beaten-down tech stocks enjoying the largest gains.
Incomes Jump Record 3.7 Percent in Dec. (AP)
AP - Personal income, boosted by a large dividend payment from computer software giant Microsoft Corp., shot up by a record 3.7 percent in December. That helped to boost consumer spending during the all-important holiday season by 0.8 percent.
Income Up Record 3.7 Pct on M'soft Payout (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. consumer spending advanced
solidly in December as personal income shot up a record 3.7
percent on a big dividend payout by software giant Microsoft
Corp., a government report showed on Monday.
Italian taxpayers hit in the wallet with wave of tax hikes (AFP)
AFP - Italian taxpayers will be hit in the wallet with a wave of tax and tariff hikes as of February 1 representing an average additional burden of 98 euros (128 dollars) a month, three times the income tax cut promised by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government.
Microsoft Dividend Boosts Personal Income (Reuters)
Reuters - The $32 billion special dividend
Microsoft Corp. paid to shareholders last month
boosted U.S. personal income in the fourth quarter, but had no
effect on gross domestic product data released on Friday, the
Commerce Department said.
Health Savings Accounts Hurt Poor, Care - Report (Reuters)
Reuters - Health plans with high patient-paid
deductibles, embraced by many Republicans as a market-based
solution to quell soaring medical-care costs, lead to poorer
quality care and increasing patient debt, a study released on
Thursday said.
Cirrus Logic Posts 3rd-Quarter Profit (Reuters)
Reuters - Cirrus Logic Inc. , whose
chips are used in a wide range of consumer electronics, on
Wednesday reported a quarterly profit compared with a year-ago
loss, after an income tax benefit and other items.
Senators Offer Fannie, Freddie Bill (Reuters)
Reuters - Republicans in the U.S. Senate on
Wednesday introduced legislation to create a new federal
regulator with the authority to close mortgage funders Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac.
When Debt Is Too Good to Be True (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool - Imagine it -- an interest-only mortgage, which offers you lower monthly payments than a traditional mortgage. You pay only interest on the loan for the first several years. Then, you either refinance (ideally after your home has appreciated in value), pay off the loan in full, or start making payments on the principal (payments that can be much more than you'd have paid with a traditional mortgage). These mortgages are becoming popular lately, but borrowers are too often failing to consider that their home's value might fall, leaving them owing more than their home is worth. ...
Drudgery. Tedium. Personal Finances! (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool - There's so much unpleasantness involved in keeping financial house -- receipts that multiply like bunnies, the incessant parade of bills, ever-changing tax laws, retirement account acronyms, and a forest's worth of "consumer agreements" that become obsolete before trash pickup. I'm not sure which is more stressful: Trying to make smart money decisions or getting through the accompanying paperwork.
Fannie Will Not Pay Execs Cash Bonuses (Reuters)
Reuters - Mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae
on Friday said it would not pay cash bonuses to
executives for 2004, marking the latest in a string of moves to
preserve capital after billions in accounting errors.
Who Has the Keys to Your Credit File? (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool - Guess who has the keys to your credit file? You already know that banks, credit card companies, mortgage lenders, and car financiers size you up by your credit record. But they aren't the only ones taking a peek.
Home Equity Loans Gaining Ground (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool - Pity the poor credit-card-issuing companies, such as MBNA (NYSE: KRB - News), J. P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM - News), American Express (NYSE: AXP - News), Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF - News), and Citigroup (NYSE: C - News). According to a recent BusinessWeek article, the seven top card issuers have been growing at nearly 30% over the last year but are expected to screech to only 19% over the next year.
Do You Have a Money Attitude? (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool - You're younger than 40 years old and are overwhelmed by the myriad financial questions you have. When you do make a choice, you doubt the wisdom of your ways. You, according to a survey by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc., are a "worrier."
Senate Bank Chair to Seek Strong GSE Regulator (Reuters)
Reuters - Any "meaningful" bill to reform
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must include three provisions the
mortgage finance companies most opposed last year, the chairman
of the Senate Banking Committee said on Wednesday.
Housing Starts Climb, Top Expectations (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. housing starts rose 10.9
percent last month, beating expectations and marking the
biggest jump in more than seven years, as groundbreaking
activity increased across the nation, a Commerce Department
report showed on Wednesday.
Sallie Mae's Quarterly Earnings Rise (Reuters)
Reuters - SLM Corp. , a student loan
company also known as Sallie Mae, said on Wednesday its
quarterly income rose, helped by increased lending.
Lucent Profit Falls 50 Percent, Sales Lag (Reuters)
Reuters - Lucent Technologies Inc. on
Wednesday said quarterly earnings fell by half as increased
sales of wireless network products and services failed to
offset a sharp decline in demand for network gear used by
traditional phone companies.
Are You a Financial Bore? (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool - When was the last time you took a critical look at the machinations of You, Inc.? How long has it been since you reviewed your entire debt load -- including credit cards, mortgage, car loans, and monthly poker game losses -- and figured out what percentage of your income you pay in interest? Did you increase your 401(k) contributions the last time you got a raise? Are you constantly looking for ways to cut costs in your daily operations? Do you think about the return on invested capital with every purchase that you make?
National City Profit Rises 76 Percent (Reuters)
Reuters - National City Corp. , the No. 8
U.S. bank, on Tuesday said fourth-quarter profit rose 76
percent, as a one-time gain, increased deposit fees and fewer
bad loans offset a big drop in mortgage banking.
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