One of the best ways to keep your insurance rates from rising is to avoid getting into accidents. Even a low-speed fender bender can cause your insurance rates to rise. And where do a lot of those fender benders happen? In parking lots. One study found that 14% of all damage claims happened in parking lots. And you’re arguably at the highest risk for a parking lot crash when you’re backing out of the space into traffic. How can you avoid backing out into traffic? By backing in to the parking space in the first place.
When you back into the parking space, you have to go past the parking spot, so you get a clear look at how much room you have and can safely maneuver your car in. Then, when you’re ready to leave, you’re already facing out, with a clear view of everything coming your way. It’s no wonder that the back-in parking method is promoted by certain corporations and driver training programs. If you make a habit of backing in to parking spaces, you’ll avoid accidents, and that can help you avoid insurance rate hikes.Keep Up With Your Vehicle Maintenance
Have you been putting that oil change off for hundreds of miles? When was the last time you had your tires rotated? Are you risking a ticket for a tail light that you just haven’t had time to replace? If you haven’t been maintaining your car as well as you could have been, you’re risking a surprise rise in your auto insurance payments.
Why is auto maintenance so important to the insurance company? For one thing, you’re risking traffic tickets and accidents. A car that’s not well maintained is probably not the safest car on the road. That’s why you’ll get a ticket for that burned out traffic light, and it’s why your insurance company will consider you risker than the person who gets all their oil changes on time. And if you get into an accident – even if the other driver is at fault – the insurance adjuster may be able to argue that you put yourself at risk by not properly maintaining your vehicle.
However, if you get caught up an all your auto maintenance and keep your car in great shape, not only will you be safer and prevent an insurance increase, you may even qualify for a discount if you show the insurance agent your records and receipts.Pay Your Bills On Time
It’s not just your auto insurance bills that you have to worry about paying on time. Auto insurance companies can check your credit report when they’re deciding your rate. Not all of them do it, but many do. If you’ve let your credit card bills slide since you first signed up with your insurance company, you may notice an increase in your premiums when it’s time to renew your insurance.
Paying all your bills on time will help keep credit report clean, but that’s not always enough. Be sure to request a copy of your credit report from all three agencies annually (you get one free report from each agency every year) and check it over for mistakes. Also, keep your eyes open for any signs of identity theft, as that can cause many problems beyond a raised auto insurance premium.
At the gas pump, the grocery store, and many other places, you often see prices rise and there’s nothing you can do about it. But you can often keep your auto insurance rates from climbing if you know how to avoid the things that drive your rates higher.
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Sunday, July 3, 2016
