Insurance Rate Deals

In the days when I used to sell life insurance (uh, yup), I worked for a company that pushed term life insurance. I thought this seemed like a pretty good concept. You essentially set a term (example, 20 years, though you can have terms as long as 30 or even more) of coverage and payments and when that 20 years is up, you stop paying and stop coverage.

Advantages of this are several:

• you only have dependents when you are younger and they are not likely to live at home longer than 20 years.
• As you get older you pay off your mortgage and other things so your overall financial security rises.

But when I told people I was working for a company that pushed term life insurance they sneered at me. Term life seemed like an intuitively better idea than whole life to me. Why sneer?

Well, the answer to that is also obvious: you may die the day after the policy runs out, in which case you have paid a pile of money over the years and ended up losing every penny, with no benefit. That is frightening, certainly, and yet there is logic to the pro-term life insurance argument that I still like.

Is term life insurance short sighted?
Some people also argue that the pro-term-life-insurance argument takes advantage of people’s short-sightedness. When we’re young we perhaps naively believe we’ll have everything all paid off by the time we’re fifty and then we’ll live for a long time after that. Obviously, this is not true for everyone.

Add to this, though, the fact that term life insurance is cheaper over the short run and you have another factor that is both appealing yet possibly manipulative on the part of insurance companies.

Is term life insurance better for insurance companies than consumers? Or is whole life? Which one have you chosen? Why? Comment below and I’ll answer.

Finding the lowest insurance rate is really a matter of the consumer – you – positioning yourself as the lowest risk for auto insurance companies. Ask not what your auto insurance company can do for you but ask what you can do for your auto insurance company in order to lower the risk you present.

Aside from the onus we have put on you, here are some other important tips to reduce your insurance premiums.

Shop around and find the very best rates and coverage
The Internet makes it very easy to find the best auto insurance rates no matter what level of risk you present. The Internet makes this easier than ever before and on our site we link to some of the best auto insurance company insurance rate search engines on the web. Double check rates by discussing with family and friends to find companies they trust. In most states, insurance agents and companies are beholden to government regulation. There are a couple authorities to review, if you want to be completely diligent. They are as follows:

• The National Association of Insurance Commissioners offers consumer information on insurers in your state and area, taking into account complaints and more.
• No matter what rates an insurance company offers, make sure your company has a reasonable rating with rating companies such as A.M. Best.

Submit to a Higher Deductible
You can reduce the risk you represent to the auto insurance company by increasing your deductible. For example, taking on a deductible of $1000 (admittedly high) can reduce your rates by as much as 40%. While this is a personal gamble, this is not out of the realm of possibility if you have had one bad accident, you have decided it’s your last and you’re going to drive better but your insurance company has to merely follow company policy and render a maximum rate. Consider the possibility of reducing your insurance rates by taking on more risk yourself.

Get Driver Training – or Retraining
Getting training in defensive driving – and actually practicing what you learn – can go a long way tor educing your rates for the rest of your life. Many companies offer simple, straight out discounts for policy owners who have had defensive driving instruction. If you have had it in the past, incurred accidents in the meantime, take a course again and relearn what you missed the first time. Many, many insurance companies offer lowered rates to certified defensive drivers.

Reduce Coverage You Don’t Need
Many people opt for collision insurance on older cars when in fact the coverage is simply not worth it. The same goes for comprehensive coverage. A good rule: If your car is worth less than 10 times the premium, purchasing comprehensive auto insurance coverage or collision may not be wise.

Get all your coverage from the same company
If you have house insurance, life insurance or other protection get it all from the same company and ask them for a collective discount.

Here are some tips and tricks on finding the best rates from insurance companies.

Shop Around
The Internet makes this so much easier to do than has ever been possible in previous generations. You can double check your insurance agent’s work by asking friends and checking insurance company rates yourself. However, insurance agents and companies are beholden to government regulation. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has information to help you choose the best insurer in your state and area and they take into account consumer complaints.

With the increased competition and accountability available via the Internet it is getting easier all the time to compare house insurance rates through simple research online.

Raise your deductible and reduce rates
If you pay a higher deductible this will reduce the amount of risk the insurance company takes on. Calculate in your own mind a good ratio of risk to payout to overall cost accrued by paying too high a rate. If you raise your deductible from $500 to $1000 what are the chance you will end up incurring exactly $1000 damage (for example) compared to the payment reduction. If your rates are reduced by $50 per year and you think you’ll never pay out for any damages this is worth it over the lifetime of your home ownership. The decision is yours but paying a higher deductible will reduce your insurance premiums.

Buy from the same insurer for all policies then stay with the same insurer
Very often, insurers will offer a smart rate if you take out all your policies – home , auto, etc. – with the same company. Also, if you remain with the same insurer for periods of ten years, twenty years, etc., they are likely to offer you cut rates in exchange for your loyalty.

These are just a few of the ways in which you can reduce your house insurance. Some guides we sourced in this list and on which you may find additionally useful information are:
12 ways to save on house insurance
State of Missouri advice on home insurance

Handy list of factors that can affect your house insurance:
Cost of the house
Past claims
Operating expenses
Inflation costs and competing insurance rates from other companies
Number of miles from emergency departments
Proximity to city center
Construction of your home: especially, bricks vs. frame.