Step #1 - Look at Your Budget
Before you can even decide what constitutes affordable car insurance, you must first know how much you can afford. Therefore, you'll need to look at your monthly budget. If you do not utilize a monthly budget, this is a good reason to change that. There are many online resources to guide you through the budgeting process. With a budget in place, you'll have a clear idea of how much money you can put toward car insurance every month. This will help you eliminate quotes that do not fit within your budget.
Step #2 - Assess Your Needs
The next step is to assess your needs. What you want to do here is figure out how much insurance you really need. As an example, let's say you are driving a 10-year-old sedan that's completely paid off. Provided the car isn't extremely valuable, you will not need to purchase collision and comprehensive coverage. There are other sorts of extras that you may or may not want to include in your policy. Those extras include things like glass coverage, roadside assistance, additional travel insurance, and so on.
Step #3 - Assemble Your Quotes
This step is your key to finding affordable car insurance. One of the basic principles of car insurance is that the more quotes you can assemble, the more likely you will be to find the best rate possible. We suggest getting quotes from at least five or six companies. As a side note, we make assembling your quotes as easy as possible. All you need to do to get started is enter your zip code into our free search tool. With just a few minutes of your time, you can submit your information to multiple insurance companies with a single form.
Step #4 - Compare Your Quotes
When your quotes arrive, simply print them out and compare car insurance rates them side-by-side. Though you can do is straight from your computer, we recommend printing paper copies. Laying those paper copies out on a table makes for easier referencing as you go through each line.
Step #5 - Purchase Your Policy
By the time you're done comparing quotes, you will know which policy is right for you. At that point, it's time to purchase. However, keep in mind that your chosen payment method will affect your total overall cost. To get the cheapest car insurance rates, pay the entire balance upfront. If you cannot afford to do that, then pay using as few installments as possible. Every installment payment you make add fees and surcharges to your total cost. You will not pay any of those fees or surcharges if you can pay the entire balance in one lump sum.
So there you have it; five steps to affordable car insurance. Whether you already have a policy or you are looking for your first one, do not pay more than you have to. Follow these five steps and you'll be fine.
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