Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Greetings Thrifty Friends,

Right now all states have some kind of mandatory auto insurance laws. That means if you drive, and chances are you do, auto insurance is an unavoidable expense. So how do we minimize it?

Below are six big factors that could affect your insurance premium.

Keep pinchin' those pennies,
Penny

P.S. Looking for money-savings tips, information helpful to women, and some good-natured fun? If so, take a moment or two and check out the Mommy Blogroll to the right and visit some of the best "Mommy Blogs" online.

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TODAY'S THRIFTY TIP:

1. Get Married. Insurance companies see married people as a better risk. Lower rates are not guaranteed, however. Choose a mate with a bad driving record, for example, and your rate could actually increase.

2. Improve Your Credit Score. Research shows that people who have good credit also tend to file fewer auto insurance claims. This usually results in insurers giving them a better rate.

3. Reduce Your Mileage. If you're on the road less often, you're likely to be involved in fewer accidents. That results in lower rates. But insurance rates are usually only lowered when you drive 10,000 miles per year or less.

4. Get Out of the City. Living in the city results in higher rates.

5. Time To Grow Up. Insurers care a lot about your gender, and your age. That's because statistics show that men have more accidents than women. And teens are considered a higher risk than any other age group.

6. Your Car. Insurers watch what car thieves target. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau's "Hot Wheels" report, the top three most stolen cars in the U.S. for 2010 were the Honda Accord, Honda Civic, and Toyota Camry. Convertibles are more costly to insure because of the ease with which thieves can rip open their roofs.