Cheap Car Insurance and How You Drive

When you are looking for cheap car insurance  the insurance company will take into account your driving record. If you have had a history of driving infractions such as at-fault accidents, moving violations, driving under the influence (DUI), and even parking tickets, then these will be recorded on your driving record. Many states allocate a certain number of points for each infraction and as they accumulate then the worse your driving record looks.

Car insurance companies often check the motor vehicles department to review a driver’s record but then assess their own point system to reflect your risk as a customer. The number of points determines the premium charged.

Part of this point system includes your credit score. The better your credit history of paying bills, loans, financial stability and the like the lower your insurance risk, and the lower your rates. Before applying for car insurance check the accuracy of your credit score and correct any mistakes.

When you apply for insurance and want to get cheap rates the company wants to determine if you meet their standards to be insured at all, and also to determine how likely you are to have a claim.

Be careful to include all your driving citations and violations in your application. Anything left out could be treated as fraud.

Your rates will vary according to your risk potential. In order to obtain cheap car insurance, obviously you are better off with a clean driving record. Remember that when you are driving – it will affect your insurance costs for a long time!

Insurance companies vary in how they assess risk and how they evaluate applicants. Different companies use your driving record in different ways to assess your rates. When searching for cheap car insurance be sure to check around with as many companies as you can in order to get the lowest quotes.

A risk assessment occurs not only when you are insuring your first car but at any time when you change vehicles, change the amount of coverage, renew your policy, make a claim, or any time when the insurance company decides to audit and review its policy holders. This can vary by state and it may be likely that companies seldom review driving records.

In order to keep your car insurance as cheap as possible be sure to drive carefully to avoid accidents and violations. If you feel you get rated unfairly, check that your driving record has been recorded correctly and, again, shop around for your best buy in cheap car insurance.

Driving hazards like texting and driving, drinking and driving, road aggression (road rage), eating and driving, and driving in bad weather are all things that can add up to some very dangerous driving. Check out the driving statistics below and then be sure to enter your zip code above for free auto insurance rates!

How dangerous are the roads? Well, with cell phones, computers, GPS systems, angry drivers, sleepy drivers, and even the weather to pit your driving skills against, you may think that you need an armored Humvee to make it through the mean streets alive. However, armed with the information in this infographic, you can at least be aware of the various challenges that you’re up against every time you get out on the road.

No one can control another driver. The most we can all do is be the best drivers that we can be and try to avoid the hazardous behaviors listed below. Even one accident can result in significant increases in your insurance premiums. Even worse, more and more municipalities are cracking down on moving violations like texting while driving, resulting in heavy fines and even jail time for repeat offenders. The bottom line: there are a million ways you can make a little mistake and end up paying a big price out on the road, but the people who pay the ultimate price are the ones who die in traffic accidents – and no one wants to be responsible for that.

Cell phones have changed the world in so many ways. They connect people across the country and even the world. They let us contact emergency services at the drop of a hat, no matter where we are, which can save lives. Unfortunately, using cell phones while driving is a main reason why people need to call for help in the first place. Cell phones are responsible for 24,000 injuries per year and 995 deaths. That’s right – using your cell phone while driving could be fatal.

Texting drivers are even more dangerous than drunk drivers. Drunk driving only makes you 4 times more likely to crash your car (although we all know that there’s no “only” when it comes to car crashes). Texting while driving increases your chances of crashing by a factor of 8! That’s twice as bad as getting behind the wheel drunk – and no one would do that! So why do so many of us think nothing of doing a little texting while in motion? It’s because we don’t realize how dangerous it is.

In terms of distance, a drunk person needs an estimated 4 extra feet of braking distance compared to a driver who hasn’t had anything to drink. Meanwhile, texting drivers need 70 extra feet! That’s insane! Nobody has an extra 70 feet to spare when driving around – maybe on the highway, but definitely not in the town or a city. To make matters worse, 21% of drivers admit to texting while driving and a whopping 46% of teens admit to texting while driving. Yup, that’s pretty much half. If you ever pass a teen driving a car, flip a coin (don’t do it while driving!). There’s a 50/50 chance that the teen you passed is a texter.

Technology isn’t the only thing out there trying to kill you on your morning commute. The weather is also a powerful foe. We’re all taught to alter our driving habits according to the weather and leave ourselves extra time to arrive at our destinations, but with the hurried pace of modern life, we seldom do so. This bad behavior results in more than 1.5 million weather-related accidents every year. And that number only accounts for the 43% of accidents that actually get reported. The remaining more-than-half are under the radar but still end up causing property damage and injuries/death. Of the numbers we do have access to, 673,000 injuries per year are attributable to weather, with 7,400 deaths.

Everyone knows that alcohol and driving don’t mix. We’re told again and again how dangerous it is to drink and drive, but we seldom come face to face with the statistics behind it. For starters, almost 11,000 people die every year in accidents related to drunk driving. Of those, more than 3 youths die every day. The average for a drinking and driving-related death is 1 person every 50 minutes. That means that when you leave your house for your standard 8-hour work day, by the time you drive home, 9 people are dead from accidents connected to drinking and driving. These deaths make up about one third of all traffic deaths.

Even if you’re not drinking alcohol, splitting your attention between the road and a tasty food or beverage selection can be dangerous. Studies show that eating or drinking increases your chance of an accident by 80%. What’s worse is that 70% of people eat while driving and 80% drink while driving. Eat before you get on the road!

There are many other causes of accidents and deaths out there, but what does all this do to your insurance costs? Well, for starters, the average cost for an insurance policy in America is $1,567. Of that annual fee, 40% of it goes to cover liability costs. This may be connected to the fact that 1 in 6 drivers is uninsured – that’s a staggering number, especially given how many Americans lack health insurance and how expensive medical costs can be after an accident.

Speaking of costs associated with accidents – even just one accident causes a more than 10% jump in your auto insurance rates. Two accidents bumps it up to about 30% more. If you even get to 4 accidents, count on your auto insurance just about doubling.

You don’t have to pay more than you should for auto insurance though. To see how much you might be able to save on your auto insurance just enter your zip code in right now for free auto insurance quotes!

Be ware of driving hazards since once you can avoid the driving hazards you can obtain cheap teen auto insurance.

How Points on your Driver’s License Affect Your Auto Insurance Premiums?

You know that sinking feeling you get when a cop car pulls up behind you and flashes its lights, and the officer broadcasts (so passersby can hear) that you should pull over?  If you do, you are probably one of the millions who have been ticketed for a moving violation.  In most states, moving violations, like running a stop sign, running a red light, speeding, illegal u-turns, unsafe lane changes, etc., will earn you points.  These aren’t the kind of points you get to trade in for goods and services.  If these add up in a short period of time, these are the kind that can cost you more money for your insurance and possibly cause you to lose your driving privileges.

While the details vary from state to state, most point systems typically work in one of two ways:
•    State system 1: Each ordinary moving violation counts as a single point, but two points are assessed for speed violations that are far in excess of the speed limit.  A license is suspended when a driver receives four points in a year, six in two years, or eight in three years.
•    State system 2: Two points are assessed for minor violations such as an illegal turn or slightly exceeding the speed limit.  Three, four or five points are assigned for more serious violations, such as running a stop sign or a red light.  A license is suspended if a driver gets 12 points over three years.

Some states also assess points for accidents if you are at fault. 

If you get a ticket for a moving violation, check the vehicle code violation number with which you are charged—it should be written on the face of your ticket.  Then call your department of motor vehicles and ask three questions:

1.    Will the violation add points to your record?
2.    How many points do you currently have on your record? (That might require a trip down there to get a printout.)
3.    How many points does it take to have your license suspended?

Insurance Rates
Most insurance companies regularly review your record and may raise your premium if you get a certain number of points. Some states, such as California, do not allow insurance companies to raise your  car insruance premium for getting only one point on your record.  In other states, drivers can be assessed two different types of points, driver’s license and insurance points. Call your insurance company to find out their policies.  Depending on the laws in your state and your insurance company’s policies, your insurer will likely allow one moving violation every three to five years. Anything more than that and your premiums increase. Accidents will raise your premiums, as well, if you were at fault. The auto insurance rates may go up as much as twenty to thirty percent depending on the severity of the accident or the number of points for your moving violation. 

How to Avoid or Remove the Points
•    Contest the ticket
One way to avoid moving violation points, (something you’ll want to do, especially if you are getting close to having your licensed snatched), is by contesting the ticket. (You might want to consult the national edition of Nolo’s Beat Your Ticket for some potentially winning strategies.) But there is another way.

•    Traffic School
If you pay your ticket and go to traffic school, the points from the traffic offense will not go on your record.  While traffic school may involve spending up to eight hours in a classroom listening to a lecture and watching films about gory accidents, it can be well worth it to avoid the increased insurance premiums.  It may seem like an inconvenience, but it is a path that provides more certainty than contesting your ticket in court.  How often you can attend traffic school varies by jurisdiction.  Some allow attendance once a year; others are stricter at once every eighteen to twenty-four months.  If you were ticketed for driving at least fifteen miles per hour over the posted speed limit, local law may prevent you from attending traffic school at all. 

Some states, such as California , allow you to complete online traffic school, but others require you to sign up through a court clerk or even to appear before a judge.  When you’ve completed the class, you receive a certificate to prove you’ve taken it.  Some traffic schools go out of their way to attract customers by injecting humor into their curriculum.  You get the same basic information, but with a twist, to make the day go a little faster.

•    Defensive Driving Classes
In some areas, you can take defensive driving or other types of drivers’ education classes to have points removed from your license once they are on there.  Check with your state’s department of motor vehicles for your options.

No insurance company wants to insure a bad risk and one of the strong indicators of that risk is whether or not the insured has been convicted of a number of moving violations because these bad habits may lead to accidents.  Accidents create claims, which cost the insurance company money.  Your best bet to keep your insurance rates down, of course, is to avoid getting moving violations at all.  No one is perfect and insurance companies do understand this, but you must understand that they will ask you to pay for your transgressions.

Only to the single ticket, you can pay for it and then forget, is a parking ticket.

Everything else has the potential to a double whammy: first you stress and the fines of ticket themselves employ, then you worry about the impact on your insurance rates it can be.

Of course, the laws in each State are different, and not a comprehensive list of cards that will affect your insurance rates, it is not. Their insurance hear not about each issue, you will receive, at least not immediately, and it will look at all the same way.

Some cards are simply not value lost sleep.

Here’s a quick primer on when worry and worry to make. (Keep in mind, though, there are always exceptions, and check with your insurance provider instead of assumptions only Internet research based) Injuries, and a few minor injuries moving violations are worse than not moving in a short period of time to move, can catch as much as a larger insurer’s attention.

The tickets will affect almost always your insurance rates:

Speed up, if it is not your first ticket in three YearsCausing a AccidentRacingDriving without InsuranceDriving with a revoked or suspended LicenseDriving under the InfluenceFleeing PoliceDriving the wrong way on a highway or a one-way street

Make less cheap car insurance, if you get these cards:

Their first speeding ViolationDriving in an HOV LaneDriving on an expired LicenseDriving on a restricted license (for example, if you are a young driver, which is to drive only during the day) seatbelt ViolationExpired RegistrationBroken tail light or cracked Windows, loud exhaust system, etc.Failed to secure a LoadLittering.

Their first ticket may not matter.

Each insurance company has a different method for the determination of prices, but many will forgive speed up ticket or small moving violation if it is exceptional.

“A person who has a clean driving record less likely a ticket for a moving violation are affected,” says Kip diggs, a spokesman for State farm insurance. “For this good driver, the ticket as something extraordinary is.” “More injuries caused the driving records more exactly be investigated.”

Insurers consider generally for new points on your record every six months (when the most guidelines come to renew). An injury remain usually for three years on your driving record (again, all varies from Member State), so if you only caught speeding up, that your prices once not changed, and has an eye on your speedometer for the next three years.

Depending on your state a ticket traffic school go also instead of payment might. You could pay as much for the school, how would the ticket, but you will avoid the evil side effect of increased insurance premiums. (See “your ticket numbers by picking litter.”)

How about a mobile ticket?

In many States a ticket for talking on your cell phone or even SMS affects your insurance rates while driving not currently. But this type of injury is relatively new and insurers are still to gain experience, Carole says Walker, executive Director of the Rocky Mountain information Insurance Association.

More States make laws to adopt that illegal to talk on the phone and SMS while driving, are insurers expected to map these violations as serious.

California drivers says tickets for talking on the phone or SMS get while driving, but the tickets do not carry any points, Pete Moraga, spokesman for the insurance information network of California. Most Member States use a point system to keep track of your driving record. Points to check if a driver is a moving violation, how to speed up or what commits an accident. Insurers use some a points system in determining the prices, although it is not necessarily with the DMV version.

In California, “it is this ticket legislation, which would now and it would an injury which would put a point on your plate”, says Moraga.

This means that it would impact rates also include insurance, as it already in some countries.

“The effects of the injuries caused by State can vary,” says diggs. “SMS is a good example: it is not illegal in all States, and in some it is illegal, but the injury prohibits insurance.” “And it may vary by individual companies and how they have decided to write their review rules.”

Speeding tickets and auto insurance rates

The above are just views, and not necessary what your insurance company would apply- however, insurance companies are in the business of making profits and hence you need to remember that you need to avoid speeding tickets. From persoanl expereince my son was charges $100/- extra each month for a speeding ticket and still regret speeding. This ticket has been on my account for 6 years -he had never involved in an accident, nor has the insurance company paid a single dime in claims on my behalf. Count how much it cost – $1200 per year and so in 6 years $7200/- Of course, I compared auto insurance online and got cheap teen auto insurance quote here, making a great savings,

Andy Jenkins : How would speeding influence car insurance rates?

Speeding and Car Insurance Rates
Response : Speeding, especially for young drivers or teens is very common. Most drivers drive faster than posted speed limits, at least now and then, and many speed every time they get behind the wheel. It doesn’t seem to matter that average speed limits across the country are higher now than they were a decade ago.

Most drivers push beyond the posted speed limits, whether they are running late, not paying attention to their speed. Of course when you have a new sports car just for the thrill of riding fast. Clearly, there are not enough highway patrol officers to give speeding tickets to all those who speed. This means the odds of not getting caught and ticketed always favor the speeder.

Until they do get a speeding ticket, most drivers give little thought as to how this may affect their car insurance rate quote. They may be in for an unpleasant surprise! They will have to pay an expensive increase in their auto insurance rates, in addition to the ticketed fine, once they get their speeding ticket. In cases of extreme speeding, a driver’s cost of car insurance could actually double, even on a first offense.
Why do insurers often raise your car insurance rates after only one speeding ticket? It’s simple. Numerous studies by highway safety experts show that “the faster you go, the more deadly it is,” says Jeanne Salvatore, spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute (III), an industry trade group. “There’s a higher possibility you’re going to cause a lot of damage to people or property,” Salvatore says.

If you’re cited for speeding, your insurer may attach a temporary surcharge to your policy for three years. One large auto insurer may raise your rate by up to 26 percent the first year, then gradually lower that surcharge and drop it completely after three years, as long as you have no more moving violations.
The size and duration of the increase varies depending on several factors, including:
• Your driving record and your relationship with the insurance company. Some insurers waive the surcharge if the customer has had a long relationship with the company and previously had a clean driving history.
• Where you live. Insurance is regulated by the states, and different states have different laws regarding the cost of car insurance. Some states don’t allow insurers to impose a surcharge for first-time speeding tickets, while others require insurers to raise rates for some speeding violations. For example, a single male driver who lives in Phoenix and receives one speeding ticket will experience an average rate increase of 16 percent, but the same driver will pay no more if he lives in Philadelphia.
• How much you were exceeding the speed limit. An analysis by USA TODAY found that 10 percent of ticketed drivers in 2002 were “extreme speeders”—drivers who exceeded 90 mph, or 15 mph above any speed limit. Extreme speeding is considered reckless driving, a major violation. Even a first-time citation can more than double the cost of car insurance and inflate your car insurance rate quote.
Speeding may also affect insurance rates other than just your auto insurance.General auto insurance companies may look at your driving record when deciding whether you’re a high-risk customer and could charge you higher rates for life, health, disability or long term care insurance.

Once upon a time in the ancient past—at least 30 years ago, anyway—there were a series of public service ads on television and radio with the overall message, “Speed kills.” One displayed a clock and then showed a car speedometer pushing 65. “Don’t try to catch this hand [the clock] with this one [the speedometer],” the announcer advised.

In other words, it might be better to be late than dead or seriously injured. It’s been a long time since there was a public campaign aimed at getting America’s drivers to slow down and save lives. But that doesn’t mean speeding is any safer. Speeders are still more likely to have accidents, injuring themselves and/or others, than drivers who obey speed limits.
An increase in car insurance rates caused by speeding is troublesome, but the increased risk of death or serious injury is even worse.

Parents of teenagers and young drivers should always explain to them the dangers of speeding. Speed less on the road but speed up to get cheap auto insurance quotes.

Happy Motoring.
Thanks.
Kamlesh.