Owning an automobile can be expensive. Aside from monthly car payments, automobile owners must be able to afford gasoline, maintenance, and auto insurance. The cost of auto insurance varies for each person. Persons with older vehicles and a good driving recount may incur a small expense. On the other hand, if you drive carelessly and have received numerous traffic violations, your monthly auto insurance may exceed $200. Adopting good driving habits is necessary for lowering insurance premiums. Yet, some people have not made this connection. Judge the top five reasons that contribute to high monthly premiums.
• Choosing a Low Deductible: Before an insurance company will cover the cost of an auto accident, the driver must pay a deductible. Deductible amounts vary. On average, drivers can decide either a $250 or $500 deductible. Naturally, drivers are more inclined to decide a policy with a cheaper deductible. However, there are advantages to paying a higher amount. For starters, paying the higher deductible will save you money. If your driving record is horrible, and you are already paying considerably more for an auto policy, choosing a $500 deductible could save you $50 to $75 a month.
• Add a Teenager or New Driver: When a teenager reaches the age of 16 and acquires a driver’s license, many parents consider adding the child to their auto policy. This decision is advantageous for the driver, but does not benefit the parent. If the teenager attempted to receive his or her own policy, they would probably be unable to afford coverage. On average, teenagers and new drivers receive higher auto insurance quotes. On the flip side, the teenager will save money if insured under their parent’s policy. Yet, parents can interrogate a monthly increase.
• Buy an Expensive Car: Monthly auto insurance premiums are based on a vehicle’s worth. For this matter, if you purchase an older car, premiums are low. On the other hand, if you choose to buy the most expensive vehicle on the lot, with a lot of extra accessories and features, your auto premiums will be higher. Additionally, sports cars have higher premiums because these cars are usually driven at a faster speed, which increases the risk of accidents.
• Multiple Accidents and Traffic Violations: Auto insurance companies recognize that accidents and moving traffic violations will occur. Thus, insurance premiums will not greatly increase from a single mishap. On the contrary, if you have several moving traffic violations or involved in many accidents, your insurance company will likely increase your premium, or refuse to renew the policy. Once dropped from an insurance company, acquiring affordable coverage with another company may be difficult.
• Failing to Shop Around: When shopping for an insurance company, comparing quotes is valuable. Each insurance company has different criteria for establishing premiums. Larger companies such as Allstate and Nationwide offer titanic services, but they also have higher premiums. On the other hand, smaller, privately owned insurance companies offer the same gargantuan coverage for a fraction of the cost. Shop around. Whenever possible, request online quotes from multiple companies. Periodically review your driving record and attempt to receive a lower premium.
Filed under Progressive Insurance by on Feb 26th, 2011. Comment. 
Shopping for motorcycle insurance really isn’t any more complex than looking for any other type of insurance. The rider must be sure that he or she maximizes discounts to get the lowest price, but does not compromise coverage. Many people think that cheap insurance is wonderful, but insurance that doesn’t shroud the rider properly is very costly. The purchaser must insure that comprehensive coverage is available if he or she wishes to replace the vehicle at cost. All too often riders think that merely purchasing the suitable requirement (liability) is enough to get by. While it is true that legally covering the other person in an accident is enough, what about the replacement cost of your vehicle? Not having a motor vehicle is a bad area and can often result in job loss. So the best thing you can do is make distinct that you know the appropriate coverage for your bike. The best coverage is one that you can afford. This means that if you atomize your motorcycle with only liability coverage, you can afford to either do without it or buy another motorcycle with cash. If you can’t do either of these things, you need to capture comprehensive coverage.
Next you need to make a list of potential discounts for your insurer. As a potential customer you should be entitled to discounts. Often you can get good driver discounts, training discounts, student discounts, marriage discounts, fresh motorcycle discounts and many more types of discounts but only if you have a list of what you are suited for and work with an insurance company that offers these discounts. You would be surprised what discounts you are great for. Some insurance companies give discounts for purchasing on-line or even getting grand grades in school. But many potential customers think that they are only entitled to a bundling discount or marriage discount. There are tons of insurance discounts if you know the system and what you are qualified for. So a good shopper starts with a list of potential discounts before going out to look. You can easily catch a list on-line.
Finally you should see 3 agents from the major insurance companies. These would be Geico, Allstate and Progressive. Geico and Progressive should provide a motorcyclist with a very comprehensive list of discounts. Geico and Progressive lead the nation with the most motorcyclists insured in the United States. They have perfected motorcycle insurance and the marketing of it. I recommend you check with Allstate because they have made substantial progress in getting motorcyclists insured and they want to gain more market share. In cases like this, they may be willing to undercut any price you bring for Geico or Progressive. This can have positive effects for you as the potential client. As the economy has worsened, insurance companies are in an all-out war for new customers. This can only benefit you as a person looking for insurance. Good luck in this task and save a bundle.
Sources:
SC Dept. of Insurance
Michigan Secretary of State
Filed under Progressive Insurance by on Dec 15th, 2010. Comment.
Or should I say… GEICO Cavemen slated to become a TV sitcom?
It’s true! Those insulted cavemen from the Geico Insurance commercials have a sitcom in development with ABC.
The cavemen ad campaign came about in 2005, with characters created by the Martin Agency, the same people behind the proposed Caveman sitcom. The premise of the Geico commercials is simple… and kind of unique. 2 cavemen, played by Ben Weber and Jeff Daniel Phillips are for, whatever reason, alive and well today, and are offended by Geico’s claim that geico.com is “so easy, a caveman could do it.”
The initial commercial, which was simple and to the “point” spawned at least 3 additional commercials, including my personal favorite (in a love to hate kind of way) that shows the Geico spokesperson who originally made the claim that geico.com was so easy a caveman could use it apologizing to the cavemen while browsing a menu at a fancy restaurant. Like in every commercial, the caveman is disgusted and that’s the big laugh. At least, I consider that’s what they’re going for.
Like all things that annoy me to death, I figured the supposed-to-be-long-dead-yet-here-they-are-bugging-the-crap-out-of-me-cavemen’s days were limited. Apparently, I was ghastly, and evidently, I’m in the minority wanting them to go away.
This year Geico launched a website, a highly interactive one at that, taking residence in the cavemen’s apartment. This website, located at http://www.cavemanscrib.com invites you in and lets you play around with things in the apartment, including changing the music on the iPod, knocking the power out trying to microwave some dip, and even walking into the bathroom while a caveman is taking a shower. It’s like I’ve died and gone to Heaven, let me tell you. I’m sure there’s even more to do at the caveman’s crib; I couldn’t stomach sticking around any longer to find out.
The Internet and commercials, though, do not true annoyance make. Surely, a sitcom based on the caveman characters couldn’t be a reality. Couldn’t be… but is.
ABC isn’t just talking about it, they already ordered the pilot. The tentatively named “Cavemen” is one of 14 pilots being produced by Touchstone Television for the 2007 spring season. I think it bears repeating… the pilot will indeed be written by Martin Agency, the creators of the cavemen for the Geico commercials.
The residence of the new Cavemen sitcom is not exactly a long shot from the commercials – they are Neanderthals who live in novel times (Atlanta, 2007 to be exact) who don’t wish to be treated any differently than the rest of us. And isn’t that just completely understandable… after all, they’re only supposed to be Tedious.
And there it is: The evolution from commercial, to website, to sitcom. I wonder if it’s those Nielsen families that are responsible for all this…
At any rate, how long do you think this show can pull off the same caveman reaction to the same modern day prejudice? Will Geico advertising be sprinkled throughout the exhibit, making it less a sitcom and more a really long, painful commercial?
On the upside, if they’re ever at a loss for guest stars, perhaps they could get the gecko to produce a nice cameo!
As much as I’d stay away from this note if it were on, I’m morbidly curious to see if it does get picked up. It’s the masochist in me, I’m tellin’ ya!
Filed under Progressive Insurance by on Dec 15th, 2010. Comment.
