After talking to quite a few people, I’ve found that while it’s certainly easy to work with a local agent, dealing with a reputable online car insurance company really isn’t bad either.

The agents telling you to purchase locally are really just looking out for their best interests – after all, they’ve invested in being a part of the community and in the area while online companies don’t need to maintain nearly as much staff or as many separate offices.

You’ll frequently get better prices if you purchase your auto insurance policy online, but I’ve found that you can get a local agent to be more accommodating.

Whether you buy your car insurance online, over the phone, or through a local agent in your town is ultimately going to come down to your preference, but buying car insurance online is indeed safe, just make sure you check out the company offering you a policy before you sign up and make sure they’ll be around to cover you should you ever need them.

One of the important things to realize is that what may be the cheapest car insurance company in one area won’t be in other parts of the country.  For example, in Nebraska, State Farm has some of the most competitive rates (if you have a clean driving record) while Geico and Progressive have some of the cheapest insurance rates on the East Coast.

So how do you get the cheapest rates?  Simple, you can either call around, get an independent insurance agent to shop around for you, or simply fill out an online form and get quotes from multiple different companies.

Here are a few tips to helping you get the lowest auto insurance rates:

• Take A Defensive Driving Course – Taking a defensive driving course can be a great way to get your insurance rates lowered and they’re offered by most cities of at least 50,000 people.  The insurance companies like it because it shows you’re willing to take time out of your busy schedule to learn how to be a safer driver.  Call and ask to find out how much you can save ahead of time but most people find it to be worthwhile.
• Raise Your Deductible – This is probably the easiest way to lower your insurance rates.  Just raise your deductible.  While it may sound nice to have a $250 deductible on your vehicle, you’re probably also paying a premium for it.  Most people tend to go with a $500 deductible but if you really want to save money, for the $1,000 deductible and once your vehicle reaches a certain age, you can drop collision coverage altogether
• Maintain Good Credit – One of the lesser known factors for how your car insurance rates are determined is your credit score, but if you have bad credit, you could be paying more for car insurance than you should be.   Do your best to keep your credit score high (above 650)
• Have All Your Insurance With The Same Insurance Company  – Most insurance companies give discounts to those who have multiple policies.  For example, if you have two cars and a house, you’ll probably find you can get the best rates by having them all insured by the same company. 

What about those who are considered “high risk” or have a bad driving record due to multiple tickets or accidents?   Well, then you may have to go with some of the lesser known companies that specialize in high risk auto insurance.  While your rates won’t be low as long as you’re considered high risk, the rates you’re quoted can vary by thousands of dollars a year so be sure to get quotes from several different companies.

Trying to determine the best car insurance company is no easy task.  Not all insurance companies operate in all states and what might be a great company for me, might turn out to be a terrible choice for you.

However, I’ll try to cover what to look for, and I’ll give you a list of some of the best rated companies.

Just because an insurance provider spends a lot of money on advertising doesn’t mean they’re actually the best or even all that good.  For example, the only one you’re likely to see plastering the air waves with their advertisements that ranks in the top 5 in customer satisfaction is State Farm (#2 in 2009, Amica was #1 if you’re curious).

Two methods for finding out who is good to work with in your state is to head to your state department’s insurance website and check out the consumer complaint ratios.  Just about every insurer is great to work with if you never have to file a claim, the consumer complaint ratio tells you who’s still their for you when you need them the most.

If you have a body shop you trust or know someone who works at one, you can also ask them who they recommend.

Doing a search online yields plenty of lists with rankings and isn’t necessarily as reliable as you’d hope.  For example, the first one I found rated eSurance as the best insurance company.  However, they had a clear commercial stake in recommending them as the best, and a little bit of searching reveals that eSurance doesn’t perform all that well in independent third party reviews.

Two that consistently get the best ratings are Amica Mutual and Erie Insurance.  I did have Amica in the past and can personally attest to them being extremely easy to work with and their rates were excellent.  The only reason I switched (I have State Farm now) was because I bought a motorcycle and they wanted no part in insuring a vehicle that has virtually no safety features, goes 0-60 in 3 seconds, and tops out around 166 mph.

The Top 5 auto insurers according to J.D. Power and Associates (2009):

• Amica Mutual
• State Farm
• Shelter
• Auto-Owners
• Erie Insurance

Notable exceptions:  Allstate, Geico, American Family, Progressive, Nationwide, Esurance.

Two others that get extremely high ratings are the USAA, but it’s only open to U.S. military personnel and their familes, and New Jersey manufacturers Insurance which is only open to assocation members.  If either are available to you, you’ll probably want to use them.

While a lot of standard insurers like the State Farms and Allstates of the world will insure a collector car, you’re likely to get coverage more appropriate for your collector if you choose one of the collector auto insurance companies.

First of all, let’s cover how collectors and classics should be insured since it’s different than your standard daily use vehicle.

The vehicle you take to and from work today very likely has an “Actual Cash Value” policy.  That means should there be an accident, the amount of money you get will be paid on a depreciated “book” value.  The older the car is, the less it is going to be worth.

For obvious reasons, that’d be useless in the collector world since the majority of them are already pretty old and essentially worthless based on that model.

Stated Value can be a better choice, but since it can also depreciate, it’s probably not what you’re looking for.

What you want is an auto insurance company that will insure your car based on Agreed Value. You and the insurer will agree on the value of the car and that’s what you’ll get should you ever be in an accident.

Of course, there are plenty of guidelines and restrictions that come along with that so I’m going to go over the common ones so you know what to expect.

No “Daily Driver” Vehicles - The majority of speciality insurers (can’t think of any off the top of my head) will refuse to insure your car if it’s going to be a daily use vehicle.  They’ll require that you have other means of transporation for daily use.

Mileage Restrictions – The mileage you can rack up on your car is going to be limited, usually to about 2,500 miles a year to qualify.

Public Interest – Some policies get really restrictive and will only insure your vehicle for “public interest” events.  That means things like car shows and parades and while it’s in transit to and from such events… and that’s about it.  You shouldn’t need to resort to this, but just be aware that it does exist as a restriction in some cases.

You’re not going to be allowed to race and expect the car to be covered.  So just keep that in mind, if you’re at the track playing around and you put it in the wall, all of that is coming out of your pocket.

Also, commercial transportation of goods or people isn’t going to be allowed so if you were thinking of opening a bed and breakfast and using a GT-350 to take people to and from the airport as a courtesy car, you’re going to need a different policy.

What’s a Collector?

While there are cars that are obvious classics and worth of the “collector” or “antique” designation like the iconic ’57 Chevy, the Ford Model T, and the  Ferrari 250 GTO; there are plenty of other cars that qualify.

The rule of thumb typically applied is a car that is at least 25 years old.  There are exceptions of course, especially in the exotic market.

For example, anything that rolls out of the plant at Bugatti, Saleen, or Pagani will qualify as a collector even if it still that “new car smell” and has only seen the test track because so few are made.

The easiest way to find out if your beauty qualifies is simply to call up the insurance company and ask.

I do recommend going with a speciality insurer for a few reasons.  The first is because they’ll insure your vehicle based on Agreed Value.  The second is that the speciality classic car insurers tend to have far lower premiums than standard auto insurers on classics, collectors, antiques, and exotics.

Here are some of the big collector car insurers to look into – all of them offer “Agreed Value” insurance policies:

• Hagerty
• Heacock
• Grundy
• American Collectors
• Classic Auto Insurance
• Rally
• Condy & Skelly
• Sneed

When it comes to car insurance, there are certain things we all know.  If you get in an accident, full coverage means that after you pay your deductible, your insurance company will pay the rest for repairs or for replacement of your car.

If someone gets hurt, liability insurance pays that.

However, there are several things that are often covered on your auto insurance policy that you might not know – here are my top 7 (these assume you have full coverage):

1) Pet Injuries

Even I was a little surprised to learn this one.  Pet injuries are common in even minor accidents because Rover typically isn’t strapped in by the seat belt like you.  Your insurance will typically cover the vet bills up to a certain amount, $600 seems to be common, which in the animal health world is usually enough to patch Rover up and make him good as new.

2) Friends

Imagine this – your uninsured friend borrows your car to go pick up a pizza and instead of picking up the pizza like he’s supposed to, he runs it into a light pole instead.

Now what?  Fortunately, as long as you’re insured, since it’s your car, you’re covered even if they aren’t.

3) Lockouts and Flat Tires – Roadside Emergencies

A lot of vehicles make it downright hard to lock yourself out of your car these days… that doesn’t mean you can’t do it, though.  Heck, I did this about two weeks ago with the engine running (and it didn’t have an auto unlock feature).

If you have roadside assistance on your car insurance policy, this will be covered, as will flat tires or even if you manage to run out gas on the highway.

It pays to ask here.  Sometimes it’s built right into your full coverage policy, but others will have it as an inexpensive add on.

And it’s not just auto insurance companies like State Farm, Progressive, Geico, American Family, and Allstate that offer it – even my cell phone provider (Verizon) has an “emergency roadside assistance” option I can add to my monthly plan.

4) Windshield Replacement

This isn’t covered by all insurers, but many do.  If you get a crack on your windshield, it’s not as safe as it was because it’s structural integrity has been compromised (that’s a fancy way of saying it’ll break easier if it hits anything else).

Some policies will cover it without any out of pocket costs to you – others will cover it if you pay a small deductible (smaller than your actual deductible).  However, if you have a chipped or cracked windshield, it never hurts to ask your insurance company if they’re willing to foot the bill.

5) Meteor Strikes

Okay, you’re vehicle probably isn’t going to get hit by a meteor, or even blown up by terrorists, but if it did, you’d be covered… usually on the comprehensive portion of your policy.

The comprehsnsive policy also covers you if you hit a deer or other large animal that damages your car.  If you have full coverage, you have comprehensive coverage, if you have liability only, you don’t.

6) Sales Tax On A Replacement Vehicle

Here’s the list of states that require your insurer to pay for the sales tax on your new or used replacment car: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin

Even if you’re not in one of those states, ask anyway.  Most insurers will pay it if you ask.

7) Car Rental Insurance

If you rent a car, the rental agency is going to offer you an expensive daily insurance policy.  It’s a major money maker for them.  However, if you have full coverage on your vehicles, you might already be covered or it’s very cheap to add to your policy – far cheaper than the insurance offered through rental agencies like Enterprise and Hertz.  Take the couple minutes to call up your insurance agent and ask, it might save you a hundred dollars or more.

In the world of auto insurance, you’ve got options… plenty of them.  There are dozens of providers, and many more who do specialty coverage.

Today I’m going to break down the difference in full coverage and liability only insurance.

Liability Coverage

Each state has their own minimum guidelines for liability coverage that is required before you can legally drive your car.

It’s broken into three numbers, typically expressed like this:

25/50/25

The first part covers injuries and medical payments.  It’s the amount that your insurance company will pay for injuries sustained by a single individual.  In the example above (I used Nebraska’s minimum requirements), that means you need to have at least $25,000 in coverage to pay for any injuries to one person caused by you if you’re found to be at fault in an accident.

The second number refers to the maximum amount that your insurance company will pay for all injuries in an accident.

The third number is to cover property damage (the other persons car, for example).

Using the numbers above that means $25,000 of bodily injury coverage per victim, $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident and $25,000 of property damage coverage per accident.

Remember that the legal minimum is just that, the very least required by law.  In most cases you’re going to want more than that, a lot more.

Let me explain.

Let’s say you’re in an accident with a Porsche 911 Turbo with two people in the car and there are injuries and you’re only covered by the legal minimums.

Let’s say both people are injuries the first person only has minor injuries and their injuries are total $2,000.  The other person is more seriously injured and has $100,000 in bodily injuries.

The insurance company will cover all injuries of the first person since it’s covered by your $25,000 per person.

The second person, however, has $75,000 in injuries your insurance company won’t cover.

Let’s also say the car is totaled… I’ve got some bad news for you, you just wrecked a $125,000 car and you only have $25,000 in coverage for property damage.

You’re now on the hook for $175,000 ($75,000 from injuries sustained to person 2 and $100,000 for property damage).

That example might be a little bit extreme, but a good percentage of cars, like a Ford Explorer, on the road cost more than $25,000 to replace.  Keep in mind medical costs are typically the biggest cost in a serious accident so make sure you set those well above the legal minimums.

Full Coverage

Now let’s talk about “full coverage” car insurance.   Full coverage actually refers to a combination of three policies: collision, comprehensive, and liability.

Legally, you’re only required to have liability insurance.  However, if you have a loan on your car, then you’re required to have full coverage.  It’ll be written into the terms of your loan.

Collision covers just what it sounds like.  It covers damages to your car in the event of an accident where you’re at fault.  If you only have liability coverage, the other person’s car is covered by the property damage portion of the policy (provided you have sufficient coverage), but your car isn’t covered at all.

Comprehensive coverage can also be referred to as “other-than-collision” coverage.  I’ve also seen it called the “acts of God” policy, but you’re never going to see a policy referring to anything as an “act of God”.

The comprehensive policy covers things like theft, fire, and weather related damage.  Comprehensive also kicks in if you hit a deer or other animal that causes damage to your car.  I’m not sure why an animal collision goes under comprehensive and not collision, but that’s where it goes – I think the logic is that an animal collision is less likely to be your fault than a vehicle collision.

Full Coverage Or Liability Only – When To Make The Switch

Making the decision to switch from full coverage to liability only coverage is a decision only you can reach.  However, my rule of thumb is that once your vehicle is worth less than $2,000, as long as it’s paid off, you can drop full coverage and just stick with liability.  Above that and you’ll probably want to keep full coverage on your car.

If you’ve made it to this page, you’re probably giving serious thought to the idea of buying some kind of exotic car if you haven’t done so already.

So in this guide, I’ll do my best to give you the resources you need to insurance one of the exotics.

They Cost More To Insure

You’ve probably assumed as much, but any exotic car is going to cost a lot more than you’re used to for insurance… especially if you want full coverage.  Not only are the parts for the car expensive in the event the vehicle is damaged, the massive horsepower and speed many of them can achieve makes them a risky proposition for any insurance company

Perceived Risk

You’d think for companies whose business is risk, they’d be willing to take some chances, right?  As it turns out, not so much.

Most regular auto insurance companies simply won’t underwrite a policy on anything truly exotic.  Heck, they start to get a little weak in the knees when you ask them to insure a luxury or mass market sports car (Ford Mustang, Dodge Viper, Chevy Corvette, etc).

It all comes down to perceived risk.  They figure that if a car is capable of being driven at high speeds, it will be.  They’re assuming (and often correctly) that you want a car that will go fast so you can drive it fast.

That means you’re more likely to wreck it… or wreck someone else.

And on some cars, the parts to repair it range from extremely difficult to impossible to find (they’d have to be custom machined).

Oh, and keep in mind that taking your car to the track for “performance testing” isn’t going to be covered by anyone.

Getting The Best Deal / Getting A Policy At All

For some cars, the following tips will help you get the best price on your insurance policy.  For some, they’ll be the only way to get a policy… at all.

Mileage – To qualify for most policies, you’ll have to agree to drive it less than 10,000 miles a year.  If you can do that, some collector car insurers will take you.

Security – Security is a must.  If you own a highly desirable car, it’s highly desirable to steal.  That means it’ll need to be stored in a locked garage and when it’s out in the untamed wild, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got a company approved security system.  Ask your insurer, but they usually want Lojack or some kind of engine immobilizer to be included.

Are You A Safe Driver? – If you’ve got a sketchy driving record, you’re shooting yourself in the foot here.  You’re taking a difficult task and making it nearly impossible.  You want to have a clean driving record – no accidents – no tickets.  Keep the high speed driving to the track, ok?

Owners Clubs – Every car on the list below has an owners club.  Join it.  They’ll be able to point you in the right direction for someone who will insurance the car you’re driving.  I know – it needs to be insured before you can drive it at all so call them up and ask who you can get insurance through.

You can also find insurance online and I do have some resources posted on this site, most of them are mass market auto insurers, though there are a few speciality insurers, and it’s free to get a quote so you could give it a try – when you do, post in the comments and let me know who covered you.

Hard To Insure / Unisurable Cars

This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, but owning any of these cars is going be expensive… for many of them, you’ll only be able to get basic liability insurance and only through a specialty provider and even that will be expensive.

Also, keep in mind that the high end of many mass market manufacturers (BMW, Mercedes, Acura) will be on this list as well.

Then again, if you can afford to buy one of these cars, you should be able to assume the risk yourself, right?

• Aston Martin
• Bentley
• Bugatti
• Delorean
• Ferrari
• Land Rover
• Lotus
• Lamborghini
• McLaren
• Porsche
• Rolls Royce
• Saleen

Many people who own their own snowmobiles are well aware of what a great idea it is to purchase snowmobile insurance. Although some people simply take out auto insurance plans on their snowmobile, an insurance plan that is specifically designed to protect snowmobile owners has a lot of advantages over coverage that is not specific to this unique sports vehicle. Having snowmobile insurance can mean that in the unfortunate event of a crash or collision, you will be able to afford the repairs needed for your snowmobile, your safety gear, and even to yourself.

Snowmobile insurance plans usually cover crash and collision damage expenses, but there are many other costs that certain insurance providers will cover. There are plans that will cover over a thousand dollars of safety equipment damage after a crash. This means, for example, that if the goggles you are wearing when you are in an accident are damaged, your insurance will cover the cost of buying new goggles. This kind of plan makes it financially possible to protect yourself at all times so you can stay safe even while you are still struggling to recover from the costs of an accident. There are plenty of other snowmobile related costs your insurance may cover, and some plans even offer to pay a percentage of your tuition for snowmobile safety courses.

Like auto insurance plans, different snowmobile insurance plans offer varying degrees of coverage for things like medical bills relating to injuries you received while using your snowmobile, so it is a good idea to shop around. No two snowmobile insurance plans are alike, and each one has slightly different features, so don’t assume a given plan covers all of your needs. Some snowmobile insurance plans only cover the cost of repairing damage to your vehicle in the case of a crash or a collision; but other plans have a much wider range of features.

Putting some effort into making sure you are getting the most coverage for your costs can often turn out to pay off in the long run. Take your time comparing the different snowmobile insurance plans available in your area and in your price range. The more you know about what different plans offer, and what kind of coverage you can reasonably expect from a plan within your budgetary restrictions, the better equipped you will be to pick an insurance company and an insurance agent who can offer you the kind of snowmobile plan that will best suit your needs. Being able to spot a good deal is half the battle of finding a great snowmobile insurance plan.

I know I was – I got my first one before I turned 25 and it cost twice as much to insure my bike as it did my car… and I had a spotless driving record!

This is due to several factors which may not be immediately obvious, but make quite a bit of sense once you learn more about the business of insurance in general and about motorcycle insurance in particular. If you are contemplating the purchase or lease of a motorcycle, make sure you are aware of how much insurance for your bike may be. All too many people buy a motorcycle for pleasure only to find the unpleasant surprise of high insurance rates they have to pay.

With motorcycles, it’s not just the high end bikes like carbon fiber Ducati and Aprilia bikes that are expensive.  Your run of the mill Harley, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, or Honda can end up costing a pretty penny to insure just as easily.

Insurance rates are generally priced according to the statistical odds that a customer will file a claim. If you look like you will not need to take advantage of your insurance coverage, an insurance provider will offer you a great policy at a low price because the odds are they will make money off of your policy anyway. If you look like you will be quite likely to file claims and collect money from your insurer, a company will charge you more for coverage in order to make sure they don’t lose too much money on you. Insurance, in general, is a business quite similar to gambling in that it is all about odds and the possibility of a lucky, or unlucky, payout.

Motorcycles are fairly dangerous to ride, which means that as an insured biker you will be more likely to make a claim than somebody who drives a very safe car like a Volvo station wagon. This makes you a liability in the eyes of an insurance company due primarily to the kind of vehicle you are insuring. There is not much you as a rider can do to get a low insurance rate, but there are a few steps you can take to make sure that you are getting the best policy for your money.

You’re going to want to make sure your health insurance coverage is adequate to cover any injuries you might suffer when you’re riding.  Your medical coverage from an accident on a bike is going to be extremely low because instead of safety equipment like seat belts, crumple zones, and airbags, you have a helmet (you’re an idiot if you don’t wear it) and a leather jacket.   Simply stated, if you’re in an accident, it’s highly likely you’re going to get hurt and your car insurance provider doesn’t want any part of paying for your medical expenses.

Having a clean license and a history of safe driving will help an insurance company see you are a responsible person who will be unlikely to cause accidents. Taking a defensive driving course or a series of classes on motorcycle safety will also look great on your record. By keeping safety in the forefront of your mind as you bike, you will be doing everything you can to make sure that companies want to insure you.

If you have ever rented a car for a short period of time, whether during a vacation, a business trip, or while your own automobile was being repaired, you have probably faced the question of whether to take out insurance at the rental agency desk when you rent the car. Paying your rental company for insurance on your rental car is necessary sometimes, but not always. In fact, much of the time rental car insurance ends up adding some fairly steep fees onto your rental even though the coverage you’re paying for may be completely redundant.

To know whether you need to write a check for the hefty chunk of change that many automobile rental companies collect for insurance coverage, all you need to do is spend a bit of time finding out exactly what kind of coverage you already have. In many cases, your regular auto insurance policy is more than sufficient to protect you financially if you do damage a rental car (if you have full coverage). Anyone who owns an automobile of their own has an insurance policy that gives them some level of coverage in case of damage to the car from an accident, theft, vandalism, or other mishap. It varies a bit from policy to policy, but most of the time this same coverage will apply to a car rented in the policy owner’s name. This means that if your car is fully insured, any rental car that you drive will probably be just as well covered as your personal automobile.

Of course, before you turn down added rental insurance at a rental car agency, make sure you have spoken to your personal insurance agent or a representative from the company that holds your policy to make absolutely sure your policy covers rental cars. If your auto insurance doesn’t cover your rental, you could be left holding a bill for tens of thousands of dollars. This kind of costly mistake can be easily avoided just by making one phone call in advance. Even if you are not planning to rent a car in the near future, it is not a bad idea to find out today whether your policy covers rental cars. That way, all the necessary information will be there for you when you need it.

Even if your regular insurance plan doesn’t adequately cover rental cars, you don’t necessarily need to pay the high insurance fees that a rental agency will probably charge. There are plenty of options to make sure your temporary wheels are covered in case of a collision or other cause of damage to the car. In fact, you can get a much better rate than a rental agent is likely to offer you even if you don’t own a car of your own. There are specific policies that insurance companies offer for customers who rent cars frequently. A non-owner auto liability insurance policy provides affordable and usually quite comprehensive protection for rental drivers who do not own cars. If you don’t have personal automobile insurance that already covers rentals, one of these can offer you the security of knowing you are fully covered without the steep prices of rental agents’ insurance packages.

Just remember that rental insurance is a major source of profit for rental agencies so they’re certainly going to make it sound like you absolutely need it even if you don’t.

Whether you find out that you need to take out a non-owner auto liability insurance policy, or whether you discover that you don’t need to pay anything above what you already do for insurance, a bit of forethought and planning can save you a lot of money at the rental desk. Your rental car may be temporary, but the savings will be permanent.