So what do you do if you have just had an accident on the road? If nobody is hurt, the first thing to do is exchange your contact and insurance details, then you have to make a claim.

As soon as you can, report it to your insurance company. Find an insurance claim form in your documentation or download a copy, then
carefully complete the forms.

Submit it to your company as soon as you can so that they can get the claim started. Ask if you can do an online submission or a verbal one. If you do it on line, keep a copy.

You company should contact the other persons company and hopefully take it from there.

If your car is damaged, they may send a loss adjuster to officially examine the vehicle and calculate the cost of repairs.
Good companies arrange to send the vehicle to their authorise repairer if it is close you your home.

In the case of serious accidents, make sure the police are informed and have released you after their scene examination.
Also, make sure you have witness names if you can get any, as this may help your case later if you were not responsible for the accident.

The premium for new drivers is going to be high simply because they have no driving record to base a premium upon.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, statistically, new drivers have four times more accidents than other drivers, with the highest number occurring for 16 year olds. This is because of their inexperience, but also because of immature driving habits such as speeding and tailgating. Immaturity behind the wheel also makes it more difficult for them to respond to potential hazards and take avoiding action. In 2008, about 4,000 13-19 year olds were killed on America’s roads, and 2,600 of them were males.

So, the response of Insurance Companies is naturally to make sure that the size of the premiums is enough to cover the cost of all the likely accidents.

However, not all Companies do their calculations in the same way – some offer better deals than others. Some are beginning to offer good discounts in the hope that you will stay with them for a long time beyond your early driving career.

The Golden Rule is always to shop around.

Here are a few tips

1.  Call at least three and if possible five companies including companies like All State

2.  Ask what special discounts you may be eligible for.

3.  Avoid having a sports car or anything that is likely to get stolen if you can avoid it (or be prepared to pay extra)

4.  Ask for a ‘good student’ discount of up to 10% if your grades are good

5.  Offer to do a driver safety course, or a defensive driving course

6. Take online safety course. For example, Nationwide auto insurance have a program recently called “SmartRide” that offers teenage drivers a discount of additional 5% on their insurance premium.

So, expect that the initial premium will be high, but remember that we all started once, and if you keep your driving record clean, you can expect the cost to fall in future.

If you are a veteran who has served your country, you should expect some benefits when you are discharged, and cheaper auto insurance for veterans is one of them. There are many companies that will offer some discounts, but the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) specialises in this field. USAA is a private insurer founded by veterans for veterans.
You can get to their website at www.usaa.com

In the same way that serving in the US Military may enjoy a discount of up to 15% on their premiums, veterans can be offered the same sort of deals. It is a way of the Insurance Companies saying ‘thank you’ for your service, but it is also good business for them. They know that you are likely to be a mature person who will be a responsible driver, who has a well developed sense of discipline and are therefore less likely to break the law. You are likely to be able to hold down a job and make your payments regularly, so this generally places you into the ‘low risk’ category.

However, being a veteran is only one of the factors that the insurance company will take into consideration. They will also take into account factors like your driving record, the vehicle you drive, how many miles you cover per year and where you live, amongst other things. All companies make the calculations using their own system, so even with a veteran discount some insurance companies will still be more expensive than others.

The best way to retain the low insurance premiums is to keep a clean driving record and this is no different for veterans. However, if you do have to make a claim and your premium goes up, you should still qualify for your veterans discount on the new amount.

When you are looking for a policy renewal, whatever you do, you must shop around. Check out at least five companies and get quotes – do it on line if you can so that you can be sure that you are getting a good deal.

What is a high risk driver? Generally speaking it is someone who has had one or more accidents in the past three years or someone in a high risk groups such as young males under 25 years old. Drivers with speeding tickets are very likely to be considered a higher insurance risk as well.

When calculating the cost of an individual policy, companies use the simple rule – the higher the risk, the higher the cost!

So what is the effect on the cost of auto insurance for high risk cases?

Well, a speeding ticket could easily increase your insurance premium by around 20% for the next three years, because some insurance companies keep track of your driving records and adjust your premiums accordingly.

Some States in the US classify accidents as ‘no-fault’ and ‘at-fault’, so that if you are seen as the driver responsible for an accident, then your insurance rates could rise by a considerable margin.

How can you keep your renewal premiums as low as possible?

1. If you are in a high risk group because you are a young driver, then check out www.autoinsurancefor.org/auto-insurance-for-teens for more information.
2. If you have had a traffic violation, or a speeding ticket, the best thing to do is to pay the ticket, but opt to take a defensive driving course. This will cost more initially, but you are likely to get it back in reduced premiums in future. That way you are demonstrating that you will improve your driving skills and that will keep you safer anyway.
3. If you have had one claim, you need to be very careful not to have to make a second one. This means taking the conscious decision to drive slower and more carefully. Keeping a clean driving record for a number of years is the best way to get your premiums down as low as possible for any driver.
4. Shop around for your renewal policy – even though you will have to declare all previous insurance claims, you may still be able to get a better deal with another company. There are some companies that specialise in insurance for high risk cases, and they can offer good deals to attract the new business, even though they know the risks are higher.
5. When you choose a new car, be careful to get one with safety features and security features, and avoid hot-rod racers and high performance cars.
6. Pay your premiums in full rather than monthly if you can afford it. This will save you up to 5% of the cost.

Everyone wants auto insurance cheap. All drivers need enough insurance to give them peace of mind when driving, but not to have to pay through the nose for it. If we have to make a claim, we need to know that your vehicle insurance will pay out for all of our losses.

Insurance Companies have a complex ways of calculating your premium that include factors about you and your lifestyle, the car itself and the features of the policy. That means that different people can be offered different prices for basically the same cover if one of them is seen as a greater risk than the other. Not all companies do their calculations in the same way, so the most important thing to do is to shop around. Get at least three quotes, and if possible more.

Whatever the cost if the insurance, there are many ways to make sure that you get good discounts off the basic rates, if you know how to do it.

Here are a few ideas:

About You:

1. Be a careful driver – the longer you have been without a claim, the more your no-claims discount could be.
2. Drive less – you may qualify for a low mileage discount if you do not use your car very often or average less than 40 miles per day.
3. Take a defensive driving course – these need not be expensive, but they can get you an insurance discount and make you a safer driver anyway.
4. If you are an older driver, over 50, ask for a discount.

About the vehicle:

1. Choose a car with insurance in mind – the faster and more attractive to a thief, the higher the premium is likely to be.
2. Safety devices on the car, such as anti-lock brakes, alarms, anti-theft devices, often attract discounts.

About the policy:

1. Raise your deductible amount – this is the amount you have to pay in the event of a claim. As long as you can pay it if you have to, this is a great way to reduce your premium.
2. Put more than one car on the same policy – there is often a multi-car discount.
3. Take out other insurances, such as home and contents insurance with the same Company – there is often a discount for multiple policies.
4. Pay in full rather than in monthly instalments – this is much cheaper if you can afford the initial payment.

If you follow just some of these tips, you can be sure that you will get your auto insurance for cheaper rates than if you had not thought about it in advance.

Let’s face it – auto insurance for teens and drivers under 25 is going to be more expensive than it is for over 25s.  Insurance is all about risk, and insurance companies know that teens and students are a high risk group because they tend to have more accidents and make more claims. Typical prices are 2.5 to 3.5 times the base rate depending upon where you live and whether you are male or female. The average cost of auto insurance for teens could be around $290 per month for a 16 year old female, and more for a male.

But, there is good news – here are some things that you can do to make sure you do not pay too much.

The car:

1. Choose you car wisely – flashy cars are going to be much more expensive to insure and are also more likely to get stolen.
2. Go for older cars with safety and security features because they are cheaper to insure.

You:

1. See if you can be added to your parents policy as a named driver – their premium will go up, but maybe not as much as if you get your own policy
2. Ask for a discount if you are a good student – some companies give discounts if you are getting B grades or better.
3. Take an approved drivers education course – it may cost to do it but you could get the money back in reduced insurance costs by up to 15%, and you also benefit from being a safer driver.
4. Keep out of trouble on the road – no speeding, traffic violations, accidents or DUIs (Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs). A good record will reduce your bill.

The policy:

1. Consider increasing your deductible amount if you can afford it – this is the amount you have to pay if you make a claim. If you can afford to increase it to say $1000 that can dramatically reduce your premium.
2. Choose a comfortable level of protection against collision damage and theft so you can stay on the road if the worst happens. You can reduce your premium by not including them in your policy.
3. As a last resort, you could take out only the legal minimum basic liability protection – but be aware that you and your vehicle would not be covered if you have an accident. Also, there will be a limit on the amount the insurance company will pay out if you cause an accident, so this could be very expensive in the long run.
4. Get on-line quotes from at least five companies in your state – shopping around will ensure the best value, but make sure you compare like for like and not just the headline rates.

After buying your car, the next most expensive item is the auto insurance. For teens, this may be almost as much as the vehicle itself, so it pays to choose your policy wisely.

Whether men think so or not, statistically women are better drivers! They also tend to drive a lower annual mileage than men.

Therefore, the insurance companies will generally make auto insurance for women cheaper than the same policy for a man. Female drivers have fewer accidents than men, do not get as many speeding tickets, and get fewer moving traffic violations. Accidents involving women drivers tend to be less serious because women are more likely to be wearing a seat belt and driving more slowly.

Since insurance is all about risk, and the lower the risk calculated by the insurance company, the lower your premiums are going to be.

So, starting with the knowledge that the premium for auto insurance for women is going to be cheaper, how can you make it cheaper still?

Here are a few ideas:

1. Consider what level of deductible you can afford – this is the amount you would have to pay in the event of a claim. The larger the deductible, the lower the premium – so if you agree to increase you deductible to say $1000, the premium will reduce dramatically.
2. Think about the level of liability insurance you can afford. The compulsory minimum varies from state to state. If you take out only the minimum, it will reduce your premium, but if it is insufficient to meet the costs of an injured third party in an accident, you could get sued for the rest of the money.
3. Ask for discounts if you have a good driving record, multiple cars, other insurance policies with the same company, a safer vehicle with immobilisers or air bags, satellite tracking, you are a non-smoker or senior driver.
4. If your vehicle is kept in a garage rather than on the street overnight premiums can be lower.
5. When you change your vehicle, choose one with a lower insurance rating.
6. Drive fewer miles per year – it may be possible, and could be healthier and more environmentally friendly. It will certainly lower your insurance premium.

Most important when looking for auto insurance for women is to shop around. Get quotations on-line from a minimum of 5 and possibly 10 insurance companies or use a price comparison web site. Go to your current insurer last, armed with other quotes and see if you can negotiate a better deal if you remain with them. They don’t like losing loyal customers.

Remember, the golden rule – the safer the driver, the safer the car, the lower the cost of auto insurance for women or men!