Being a college student is not one of the most manageable tasks around. You will always need to be on the go, getting yourself to class and work and then grabbing a bite to eat before you try and get a few hours of sleep after studying.
When you add a full social life into the picture, you can understand how imperative it is to have a reliable car that will get you everywhere you need to go without worrying about breaking down and costing you the money you do not have.
The good thing you can obtain as a student is specialized car insurance policies designed to cover you in all instances. Some insurance carriers will give you a discount for being in a specific college if you have a good driving record. However, for the most part, since drivers between the ages of 16 to 19 are the highest-risk drivers on the road, you can bet that the policy will reflect this risk with increased rates.
If you are over the 19-year-old threshold, you will be more likely to get a student discount. Before you jump in and choose a car insurance policy, let’s review a few things you must look over and understand before making a final choice.
- Know What You Need – You can get four basic types of car insurance, so make sure you know what you need before signing policy contracts. You may not want to pay for comprehensive insurance if you have an old beater that barely gets down the road. Still, if you are driving in a brand-new car that you got for graduation, you will want to opt for the best policy possible to make sure you are covered if something should happen.
- Compare Your Options – You will want to go online to a comparison website, like the one found at iSelect, and let them do all the major legwork for you. They will ask you for basic information and then match you with some of their partner sites. Those sites will send you offers for the insurance type you want, leaving you to read through them and choose the one that best fits your needs.
- Let’s Talk Deductibles – If you cannot pay for the premiums on comprehensive insurance, you can adjust the amount of the premiums, or excess, that you have on the policy. The higher the deductible is set, the lower your premiums will be. However, you need to be very careful when doing this because it can come around and haunt you later if you do have to file a claim. The amount you set will be how much you have to come up with. It is best to only adjust this by the amount that you need to be able to pay for the coverage you want, and no more. You may take a big chance, so know your budget and limits.
There is much more to it than that, but if you do not know the process you must go through to get an auto insurance policy, you may want to read more in-depth articles. For now, though, if you follow these three essential tips, you will never need to worry about your car insurance because if you have done all the steps, you will have the best policy for the least price.
You will want to do this yearly and check for discounts as you age. The insurance companies will not generally give you any discounts automatically, so check into them. Plus, you may find a company that is running a better deal for the upcoming year, which is why you need always to take the time to check them all out through the comparison site that you have been using. You do not owe your business to anyone, so if you want to switch companies, go ahead and change without feeling bad about it.
