There are three factors used in determining premiums that many people don't realize, and may not be under your control. These are your personal credit score, neighborhood crime rate, and number of claims in your zip code.

The big insurers seem to take these into account more than the little guys....so if you suspect that one or more of these items might be the cause - look into smaller companies where underwriting is less computerized.

My car insurance dropped in half when I moved out of a neighboring town that shared a zip code with the high crime rate/low income county seat.

I found Geico to be the lowest. Give them a call

Try Hartford (we just switched and our car insurance dropped in half!). SIL has got good rates from AAA.

There are some consumer rating sites too. Most all of the insurances had tons of complaints though... the best was USAA insurance which is for military.

I'd just pick a few companies that have been recommended by friends (and KTers! lol) and compare those rates. They ask for so much info including SS numbers.. we didn't like giving that information to too many people.

What does your credit rating tell the agency? (That you can afford to buy insurance?)

We've stayed with State Farm for everything: home, condo, personal articles, auto, and umbrella coverage. I have wondered if our rate is good, but hesitate to get into the 'flypaper' of having agents contacting us.

Our 2005 X-Type (small sedan) Jaguar has only 15K miles on it and we haven't filed a claim in MANY years. Insurance is under $700/year with a $500 deductible. We're in a quite safe suburb north of Chicago.

I HAVE had to call about the ever-increasing home insurance coverage. That creeps up automatically by some percentage. It can get beyond what the house and furnishings would cost to replace.

Rule of thumb is the lower the credit rating the higher the probability of fraudulant claims.

Several years ago, we became angry that our insurance rates were skyrocketing, despite the fact that we had not made any claims. I made a chart of all our insurance needs (home, cars, bikes, etc.) and desired coverage. I sent a letter to every insurance company in our area and asked for their costs to meet all our needs. We were shocked at the differences in costs, and found we saved a good deal of money by switching companies.

Be sure your comparison shopping is for the same coverage! Good luck!

Check out Wawanesa....I tell everyone about them. They are about half the price of most other carriers. As long as you have a good driving record. They also don't make you use aftermarket parts, as some other companies do.

wanda, your plan sounds like a good one! I'm paying just over $1000. year for a 2007 small car I put only about 3500 miles per year on, and I've filed only one very minor claim in 20 years. I have an excellent credit rating, and I live in a very safe neighborhood of St. Paul MN. I have Allstate. I think I'm paying too much!! Anyone else from the area have local recommendations?

Check what you marked as your deductable. The higher the deductable, the lower the cost.

GEICO here.

ML

Start with a personal visit to your own insurance agent. We went and got many discounts-long term customer discount, multiple(4) cars, discount for both home and auto. Turned out we were getting a great price, we did "Progressive" online ,it was a lot of work, but their 4 estimates were all higher than our present insurer,Allstate. this is not a plug for them, just a suggestion that you start with your own company.

Sometimes brokers, not being tied to one company, can shop around and find better rates than one can get from a tied agent ... and one can check the offerings of the tied agents, as well, (e.g. Allstate, State Farm, etc., I think).

Read the contracts carefully, as the coverage may vary substantially, as well.

Also, the costs aren't the only consideration ... good idea to ask around among friends to learn what kind of experience one has with various carriers when one makes a claim.

Ask friends also about their premium rates - and coverage.

Check my Christmas gift.

If you could afford to replace your car if it were totalled, you might choose to carry no coverage in case of collision (i.e., that'll fix your car in case of an accident where no one else at fault). My car is 22 years old and I haven't had collision insurance on it for my 2 year ownership ... or on the '93 Taurus that I got about 4 years ago and was totalled within a couple of years (I have "no fault" insurance, so, the reason for the accident having been adjudged to be not my fault, my company paid their evaluated value of that make, model and year of vehicle) or the '90 Dodge Colt that I had for about 7 years ('98 - '05) before that.

Have you checked Consumer Reports? Some people swear by their gradings (and I think that some swear at them).

Maybe buy a/some share(s) of Berkshire Hathaway "A" or "B": the B shares, 1/30th of the value of the original "A" shares, sell for about $3,300.

Then buy your insurance from Geico ... and let some of your premium return to you as profit.

Since Berk Hath doesn't pay dividends, you won't have any ongoing income on which you'll need to pay tax (but the share values have grown nicely, over the years: the "A" shares, now selling for around $100,000. could have been bought for about $12.00 in '65, when Warren Buffett took over) and they last paid a dividend of about a dime a share in 1967.

Do you have a financial calculator? I figure that that investment of about $35.00 is one of the best investments that we all, as managers of our own private money, should make. When I enter "present value" as "$12" and enter the period of investment as "44 years", then enter "future value" as "$100,000", then ask for the rate of interest/growth involved ... it tells me that the average compound rate of growth has been >22% (if you figure 45 years to next year, it being now so close ... still >22%).

To calculate that figure on your regular calculator, enter "1.22 X 12 =" and it will show that after 1 year your value has grown to $14.64.
Press "=" again and it will show that after 2 years to $17.86; press "=" again and after 3 years to $21.79.
After 11 years - $106.939; after 19 years $524.829; after 23 years $1,162.67; after 31 years $5,706.05; after 34 years $10,361.32 ...

... and after 44 years ... sorry, it appears that I goofed, as it shows a result of only $75.685.637 ...

and it makes only $92,336.477 after 45 years, not the $100,000. - but it grows to $112,650.50 after 46 years.

So - to grow to $100,000. after 44 years means that the percentage rate was a bit higher than 22%! Not something that you'd complain about, I'll bet!

Caution: growth rates of stocks are not smooth: sometimes they grow quickly for a short while, sometimes take a large drop (e.g. over 30% for many during the past year) ... and sometimes drag along for substantial periods with little change.

However - you can see what the cost may be of delaying starting an investment program for just one year - as the chop-off is one year shorter, at the end. Unless you added more from time to time as you went along.

And how much tax have you been required to pay over those years? Since 1967 - nothing!

What's the most important component in building wealth?

For most of us, in most circumstances ... time!

ole joyful

P.S. I used Berkshire Hathaway by way of illustration: I'm not suggesting that that company's shares might be a good investment for your program. And future rates of growth (or loss) may vary substantially from past results.

o j