Do you know where your car insurance policy is? I'm not talking about the little card you carry around, but the run down of what your auto insurance policy is and what it covers? When was the last time you looked at your policy to see what you are getting for the money you are paying out? If you can't answer that question, it has likely been too long. You could have less than adequate car insurance or be wasting money on coverage if you don't pay attention.
Have you moved?
One of the most common things people forget about when it comes to their car insurance is to make sure that they move the address on their car insurance when they move. Thanks to online bill paying, many move a time or two and don't ever tell their auto insurance company. This means you may be covered for what is needed in the state where you used to live, but not for the state you are in now.
Auto insurance needs differ by state. Make sure your insurance policy is up to date for the state you live in so you know you are not breaking the law.
What's in the policy?
Once you have your policy in hand, it's time to carefully read over all the items that are on the list to make sure you understand the coverage you are paying for and that you need it all. If you aren't sure what some of the things you are paying for mean, you should be able to use a simple Internet search to sort out all the car insurance terms that are used in a policy.
Are you getting your money's worth?
Next, it's time to do a little comparison-shopping. You don’t want to be paying more than you need to for coverage. You need to find out what other companies are charging for the same items you are paying for now.
The first way you can do this is the hard way. This would involve looking up all the insurance companies in your area and calling them one at a time, asking them to send you a quote.
A much better way to do this is to instead use an online insurance broker. This is a company that will allow you to enter what you want from an insurance policy and then send it out to a number of insurance companies, letting them do the work and send quotes to you.
Once the quotes come in, compare what you have with what is available.
If you find there are better rates to be had you can either leave your current company and go with one of the better rates or talk to your company. Many insurance companies will be flexible with rates to keep your business if you let them know you are considering taking your business elsewhere.
About the Author
Steve Sikes is an MBA and writes articles on insurance and other financial products. To read other educational articles on insurance at the InsuredItAll Learning Center or to get free insurance quotes for auto, home, health, life or long term care insurance, you will want to visit <a href="http://www.InsuredItAll.com">www.InsuredItAll.com</a>
