Shopping for car insurance can be a frustrating and a time consuming activity. Making sure you have the best coverage for the least amount of money requires you to shop many different agencies and compare plans. The best way to make the car insurance buying process go as smoothly and easily as possible is to shop online and compare free auto quotes, different companies, plans, and different car insurance rates from the comfort of your home computer.

Comparison Shop Web sites

Finding an online car insurance company is easy. Doing an Internet search for “auto insurance” or “auto insurance comparisons” in any online search engine will bring you results of companies that offer car insurance and allow you to compare plans and rates within that company and with their competitors. Have your personal information ready; name, DOB, drivers license, and phone number as well as the detailed information of your vehicle; make, model, year, and possibly the VIN number. All of this information can be found on your vehicle’s registration paperwork or its title.

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Imagine leaving your RV set up at a campsite and returning to find that a family of bears has moved in and, because they weigh hundreds of pounds and are not the best housekeepers, the RV is torn apart. Or accidentally flooding your neighbor’s coach with “black water” by mistakenly hooking your water connections up to the trailer next door. These incidents may sound far-fetched, but they actually happened to Progressive customers. Fortunately for them, they were covered because they had specialized RV insurance, but a lot of RVers wouldn’t be.

“Some people make the mistake of adding their RV onto their car insurance policy, only to find out too late that the car policy doesn’t cover a lot of things that can go wrong in an RV,” said Cathy Pelfrey, RV product manager, Progressive. “An RV is much more than a car—it’s a house on wheels. So an RVer really needs a specialized policy that covers more than what standard car insurance covers.”
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Certain professions seem to take less care on the road, new figures from moneysupermarket.com suggest.

A new poll from the financial website found that 25 per cent of army officers admitted to speeding in their cars over the past five years.

Meanwhile, just two per cent of au pairs said the same thing.

Generally, a trend towards speeding was linked by the research to workers in high-stress professions - with over 20 per cent of surgeons and barristers also saying that they had broken the limit.

Moneysupermarket.com’s data was derived from answers put by members of the public on car insurance applications forms.

Peter Gerrard, head of insurance research at moneysupermarket.com, commented: “As a reflection on their adrenaline fuelled and active profession, army officers are most likely to be caught hurtling down the motorway; for them two speeding convictions could raise their premium by a third.”

He added: “Our research reflects the trend in the motor insurance industry that people’s professions can be reflected in the cost of their premiums.”

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The price of everything is going up these days. Now you can add one more thing to the list, car insurance.

Crumpled metal and shattered glass often the result of accidents we see on the roadways every day. We are all required to have insurance in Michigan to cover the cost, but the experts says rates are going up.

Bob Pierce, MI assoc. of Insurance Agents: “Everything is interrelated in today’s economy, when prices go up in one arena they impact another”

Pierce says it’s hard to say exactly how much prices are going up because there are so many different factors in insurance rates but he says the reason for the increase is simple.

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Car insurance premiums for young men are now around twice that of women, the latest figures show.

Research from broker AA Insurance shows premiums for newly qualified young male drivers have continued to rise, while they have been falling for women.

The AA has calculated the average quote for a 17-year-old man driving a three-year-old Ford Focus CL 1.4-litre five-door in Cambridge is £3,462, while the same quote for a 17-year-old woman is £1,810 – almost half the amount.

Once the same driver hits 21, the quote falls to £565 for a man and £333 for a woman.

However, the high cost of insurance is reflected in accident statistics, the AA said.

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Where should I shop for my car insurance?

The growing number of comparison websites are a great tool for finding competitive insurance quotes, but it’s worth shopping around a few to find the best deal. No one site has every insurer, and some companies, such as Direct Line and Norwich Union, refuse to be quoted on comparison sites. Three of the best for car insurance are confused.com, gocompare.com and tescocompare.com.

Third party or fully comprehensive?

Third party insurance will only cover the other person’s costs if you have a crash. If you have an accident and it’s your fault – or you don’t get the other driver’s details – then you won’t get anything back. Comprehensive insurance will pay out in all situations, but costs more. You’re legally required to have car insurance, but if you’ve got an old car, it may not be worth paying for anything more than third party. If your car’s newer and more expensive, the extra cost is probably well worth it.

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Your car doesn’t just cost you money at the gas pump. The folks at Insure.com, a Web site that allows you to get quotes on all types of insurance from various companies, say what you don’t realize about your car insurance policy also may hurt your pocketbook. Here are a few tips for saving from Insure.com.

1. How much rates go up with claims varies: When an insurance company decides to raise your premiums because you make a claim, it doesn’t follow any concrete rules. If you make a claim and have a birthday before renewal time, your age might bump you into a higher-risk category along with the claim. Meanwhile, some insurance companies have “accident forgiveness” guidelines, which would cut you a little slack. Ask your provider how to qualify when you renew your policy.

2. If your odometer isn’t always churning, you should look for “usage-based” car insurance: It allows you to buy coverage based on how much you actually drive. If you don’t drive much, this can save you up to 60 percent on your insurance. Progressive is the first insurance company to offer “pay-as-you-drive” policies through its MyRate program. Your mileage will be measured by a wireless device installed in a car port. If your insurance company doesn’t offer usage-based coverage, inquire about “low-mileage discounts.”

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Erie Insurance has earned J.D. Power and Associates’ award for “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with the Auto Insurance Purchase Experience.” This award recognizes the top rankings in J.D. Power’s 2008 Insurance New Buyer Study, which assesses customers’ experience in purchasing a new auto insurance policy.

Erie Insurance is represented locally by Chaney-Buskirk Insurance, with offices in Wiley Ford and Fort Ashby, W.Va. Chaney-Buskirk Insurance offers a full line of property/casualty insurance products, including auto, homeowners and commercial insurance, as well as life insurance products and services from Erie Insurance. Chaney-Buskirk Insurance serves Allegany County, Md. and Mineral County.

The J.D. Power study examines the purchase behaviors and overall satisfaction of buyers who shop for a new auto insurance company. Three key factors are measured to determine overall satisfaction. In order of importance, they are: distribution channel (50 percent), price (29 percent) and policy offerings (21 percent).

Erie Insurance achieved the highest ranking with strong performance across all factors.

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Geico, the largest provider of auto insurance in the state, has agreed to withdraw a rate increase request for New York drivers.

The insurer had requested a rate increase with the State Insurance Department for Geico and Geico General, which together write more than 75 percent of the company’s auto insurance policies in the state. The withdrawal followed a discussion with the state Insurance Department on how higher gas prices are reducing the number of miles New York motorists drive.
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Company’s push into new market is part of aggressive plan to expand Canadian sales

TORONTO — Toyota Canada Inc. is considering entering the auto insurance market as part of an aggressive expansion plan that includes boosting its annual vehicle sales to 250,000 by 2010.

“If everything goes well, we want to [offer auto insurance] within a year,” Toyota president Yoichi Tomihara said.

“If the hurdle is higher we have to spend more time.” He added.

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