Friday, January 15, 2010

Finding Competitive Auto Insurance Rates Online

By John Bellafonte

Most states require all motorists to acquire insurance to protect both themselves and other motorists. The two purposes for auto insurance include insuring your liability to others and insuring against harm others inflict on you or your car. This is known as collision coverage. State law requires you to purchase liability insurance but the amount you require should depends on the value of your automobile.

Collision insurance includes losses to your vehicle when involved in an accident. When involved in an auto accident there are many concerns, but generally an accident report will show who's at fault, the damage to the respective vehicles and if anyone was injured. Bodily injury is another story because every party involved in the accident, including pedestrians, are taken into consideration for a insurance claim.

When one of the drivers involved in an accident does not have coverage, the costs of damages must be recovered from other sources. Depending on the state, there may be a fund available to help absorb some of these costs. With the proper insurance coverage in place, the insured drivers provider may also help to cover some, if not all of the costs.

Auto insurance premiums will therefore be higher if this rider is in place to help absorb the cost of an accident with an uninsured motorist. While the act of operating a motor vehicle without insurance is a very irresponsible one, the costs still have to be provided for. This puts the burden on the responsible motorist that has insurance in place by adding to their monthly premiums.

With many people on the road, operating a motor vehicle without insurance, the providers must have a way to recover their losses when an accident occurs. The increased premiums allow them to do just that. Uninsured and underinsured drivers make up a small portion of people on the road today.

According to the Independent Research Council (IRC) in January 2009, approximately one driver in six operates a motor vehicle without insurance. In addition to that, the number of uninsured motorists decreased on a national scale from about 14.9% in 2003 to 13.8% in 2007. During the same time frame, the auto insurance premiums have increased about 1.5% due to safer cars, a decrease in accidents, and fraud fighting efforts, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Having a rider for uninsured motorist on your policy is generally a good idea even if the state does not require it. This can alleviate any issues should an accident occur involving you and one of them. The premium will not be much more than a policy without it, and the peace of mind that comes with it is invaluable.

In summary, the auto insurance industry needs to stay competitive while maintaining or increasing profits. Because of increased competition, you should find the insurance companies have found they can no longer raise rates just to increase profits. They have to justify increases with a better product or increased service but, either way, the consumer wins.

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