Cheap Local Auto Car Insurance Quotes Online

In a perfect world, your 18-year old would be in college (on a full academic scholarship), living in a dorm, eating healthfully, studying hard and earning a 4.0 GPA.  She’d have a part time job working in her desired field, a car that she bought herself and insurance that she pays for.  She does her parents proud, doesn’t she? 

Well, welcome to the real world, where your 18-year old is not going to college, is still living with you (and eating you out of house and home), sleeps till noon every day, and doesn’t even have the prospect of a job.  Oh, and she wants to borrow your car on Friday night and would like to know if you can lend her $20 for gas. 

You can’t just toss your adult daughter out on her ear, as much as you’d like to, nor can you just remove her from your car insurance (much as you’d hoped would be the case when she turned 18).  No, she’s yours for all of her faults and foibles.  And as long as a licensed driver is living in your home, you must maintain car insurance on him or her.  There is no requirement or restriction imposed by an insurance company that a child is too old to be kept on a policy or that she needs her own. Point her in the direction of finding  cheap car insurance.

That being said, there’s also no requirement that says you have to keep supporting said moocher, er, licensed driver.  Of course, that’s entirely up to you.  It’s called tough love.

Every car is classified in a certain way by the insurance companies – passenger, convertible, truck, luxury, high performance, sports car, etc.  You may not be aware of this but the car you drive or are considering buying may be in a category that you’d not expect it to be and you may be paying extra for insurance because of that.  Many foreign cars, especially, are considered high performance cars by U.S. insurance agencies, despite the fact that you bought it for its safety rankings and the quality of the workmanship.

Insurance companies typically use one or more of the following items to classify your car: 

• Type and size of engine
• Car manufacturer
• Style
• Model name or series number
• Restraint system
• Type of transmission
• Horsepower
• Wheel base
• Weight/height
• Exhaust system
• Cosmetic accessories such as spoilers or wings  

Every insurance company has a different set of guidelines for that determination, so it pays to shop around with different insurance carriers to get auto insurance quotes.  And if you haven’t yet bought the car, ask about insurance for a different model, maybe an earlier year, or without features that change the classification.

Sadly, this question demands another of those “it depends” answers… your particular insurance company may or may not extend coverage to a rental vehicle.  One thing is for certain, before you walk into the car rental agency and sign on the dotted line, you should put in a call to your regular car insurance carrier and ask a couple of questions … namely, does my discount auto insurance include rentals.  You will want to ask about limitations on your existing policy, including whether or not you can rent for business purposes, as well as for pleasure. 

You may also want to inquire about the possibility of adding a “rental rider” or buying a non-owner’s policy in addition to your existing policy, especially if you tend to rent cars quite often.  Non-owners policies typically don’t cover collision or comprehensive, but they do cover liability as well as medical payment and coverage for uninsured and underinsured motorists.  If that is the case, you will still have to arrange for collision/comprehensive through the rental agency.

If your insurance company does not offer rental car coverage, your next step before buying it at the rental agency counter is to contact your credit card company.   Provided the entire rental charge is paid using that particular car, you may not need to buy the additional coverage. 

Sadly, this question demands another of those “it depends” answers… your particular insurance company may or may not extend coverage to a rental vehicle.  One thing is for certain, before you walk into the car rental agency and sign on the dotted line, you should put in a call to your regular car insurance carrier and ask a couple of questions … namely, does my discount auto insurance include rentals.  You will want to ask about limitations on your existing policy, including whether or not you can rent for business purposes, as well as for pleasure. 

You may also want to inquire about the possibility of adding a “rental rider” or buying a non-owner’s policy in addition to your existing policy, especially if you tend to rent cars quite often.  Non-owners policies typically don’t cover collision or comprehensive, but they do cover liability as well as medical payment and coverage for uninsured and underinsured motorists.  If that is the case, you will still have to arrange for collision/comprehensive through the rental agency.

If your insurance company does not offer rental car coverage, your next step before buying it at the rental agency counter is to contact your credit card company.   Provided the entire rental charge is paid using that particular car, you may not need to buy the additional coverage. 

You’ve still got a lien on your car, and discover that it was recently stolen.  You’re probably wondering whether or not the gap insurance you were required to buy will be of any help in this instance?  

Well, that answer depends entirely on the final disposition of your car.  If your stolen car was never recovered, and each insurance carrier may have a different requirement for deeming a car stolen, then your gap insurance is applicable and you should file a claim as soon as your primary insurance makes payment. 

If your stolen car was recovered, but was damaged to the point where your insurance company is considering it a total loss, then your gap insurance would kick in.  Additionally, your insurance company would have to pay out the ACV (Actual Cash Value) to your lien holder in satisfaction of the comprehensive claim.  Once that happens, you can put in your gap claim with your gap insurer to pay the difference of your lien balance.  

If, however, your stolen car was recovered and repaired under your comprehensive coverage, your gap insurance isn’t applicable.  In other words, you’re out of luck.  But hey, you did get your car back!

Tip:  If you haven’t already, take a few minutes to compare free auto insurance quotes online and determine if you could pay less for the coverage you need.

Life has a tendency to catch up with everyone occasionally.  If you’re lucky, when that happens, the consequences will be minimal and you can go on about your business.  But what happens when you get caught with your pants down, so to speak?  Maybe your car insurance payment was due and you found the bill tucked in among your dry cleaning receipts, and only noticed it because you ran out of clean shirts.  Oops!

Your insurance company may be required by the state to notify you of a pending cancellation to your policy.  But then again, they may not.  The ramifications for non-payment of insurance, beside the obvious, of course, may be a fine from the state motor vehicle authority for failure to have car insurance (even if only for a single day!), an increase in your insurance premiums for allowing your insurance coverage to lapse (even if only for a single day!) or even denial of insurance. 

State laws and insurance company rules and regulations differ, so there may or may not be a grace period between the date a payment is due and the date a policy is cancelled.  One thing is for sure, as soon as you’re aware of your mistake, you better get on the phone to your insurance  company, with credit card number or check book in hand. Be prepared to call around for auto insurance quotes.

Come on… have you ever known an insurance company to give anything away? Grace periods, and whether or not you’re entitled to one, vary among insurances companies, and in some cases, are entirely dependent upon state laws.

In general, if you already have car insurance coverage with an insurance company, you can simply add a new car to your existing coverage and that will take immediate effect. In most instances, you cannot take possession of the car (especially one that’s been financed) without evidence of valid car insurance. Occasionally, if you’re trading in a car, you may be able to extend your current coverage until a new policy is written incorporating the new car, but again, that’s dependent upon your insurer and/or your state.

If you’re curious about whether or not there’s a grace period for a new car, before you consider driving that car off the lot, it’s important to know the facts, so call your insurance company or the state regulatory body that governs insurance.

The best (and safest and smartest) course of action is to have affordable auto insurance coverage in hand before you drive that car away. Accidents, right out of the dealership parking lot, have been known to happen… and it always seems there’s a news crew just waiting for a story like that. You don’t want your 15 minutes of fame that way, do you?

You’ve tried everything you can think of to get that deadbeat relative (a.k.a. moocher) out of the house – you put a lock on the fridge, stopped buying groceries, canceled the cable television, and turned the heat waaay down – but he still refuses to leave.  The last thing you want to do is be stuck paying extra money for him to drive when you could be enjoying cheaper auto insurance rates.  So you make sure the car is always locked up, and the car keys are kept safe and sound.  Isn’t that good enough? 

In most cases, the answer is no.  Most insurance companies require that any licensed driver living within your household must be listed on your auto insurance policy.  Some insurers are permitted (by state mandate, so you need to check with your state insurance agency) to exclude a moocher, upon request.  You’ll likely be required to sign a waiver attesting to the fact that you will not allow said moocher to drive your car for any reason and in the event of an accident with said moocher driving – even an emergency beer run – you acknowledge that your insurance coverage will not apply. 

But that’s not always the wisest course of action.  Even if you can exclude a moocher from your car insurance policy, consider the “what ifs” and what those “what ifs” could cost you. 

Laws governing car insurance vary from state to state, and the carrying of an insurance identification card is no different.  If you are pulled over by a law enforcement agent in N.J., for example, you’ll be requested to provide your driver’s license, car registration and insurance card; failure to produce an insurance card will result in a penalty.  On the other hand, if you’re pulled over by a state trooper in Maryland, he’ll ask only for your license and registration.  That might lead you to believe that it’s okay not to carry an insurance card, but you never know when you’re going to need to show proof.

It’s always a good idea to have evidence of your auto insurance coverage with you, either in your wallet or in your vehicle.  Certainly, if you’re stopped for some reason and are given a ticket for failure to produce your insurance card (and you’ve got insurance) you can fight it.  But is that worth the hassle, time and inconvenience?  Probably not.  And of course, if you’re in a car accident, you’re definitely going to want to have your insurance information handy.

When you drive out of state, you must conform to the driving laws of that state.  If the production of an insurance card is one of those requirements – and you don’t have an insurance card as proof that you have car insurance – for all intents and purposes, you are an uninsured driver in that state.

Bottom line:  Don’t leave home without your insurance card.