Three Tips For Keeping Your Auto Insurance Deductible Low
Auto insurance plans come with many different options and levels of coverage. This includes the auto insurance deductible, the rate, and the perks of the policy. Keeping the deductibles low can happen in three ways, depending on how one goes about purchasing and maintaining a policy.
Right off the top, it’s important to understand that an auto insurance deductible is closely tied to the rates that people are paying to the carrier. Typically, policies that have lower rates have higher deductibles.
A common practice for many customers is to take a higher deductible so that their auto insurance plans will feature rates that make them feel comfortable. On the other hand, there are those who will choose a much lower deductible because they are comfortable paying a higher rate to carrier in their premiums.
How does one make absolutely positive that they can get the combination of rate deductible that they want? Well, insurance providers do run credit checks on potential customers, and a credit report tells them a great deal about their customers. Credit reports even inform the types of policies and pricing that the customers can get.
A credit check is actually a portion of an insurance report that many carriers will request on potential customers. If a customer’s credit score is too low for the carrier’s liking, the deductible offered to the customer may be higher than normal.
Customers should get the free credit reports they are entitled to every year so that they know the state of their credit when applying for auto insurance. Having the ability to give an agent a credit score of the top of one’s head helps the agent give out ballpark figures on policies.
Finally, a good driving record affects both the rates and deductibles that come with certain policies. While the easy answer is to pay a higher rate and get a lower deductible, a poor driving record may cause a driver’s options to be narrowed in scope.
Though it is most common to simply pay a higher rate to get a lower deductible, one’s driving record could lessen options and raise costs significantly.
Insurance providers have proprietary policies on how far back in a customer’s driving record they look. If anyone is unsure what their driving record says, they should ask to see a copy at their local law enforcement agency, and they should ask about their carrier’s policy on checking driving records.
Keeping auto insurance deductibles low is a matter of knowing the policy of the carrier, keeping track of one’s credit score, and understanding one’s driving record. Each of these things can keep deductibles low.
