How much is car insurance in Atlanta?

In Atlanta, the weather can turn a difficult enough commute on jam-packed highways into a disaster. Rain, tornadoes and ice lead to falling trees and accidents with other cars and trucks. In short, a lot of damage and injuries happen every year in the expanse that makes up the Atlanta area.

A handful of insurance items are useful to carry on a typical Atlanta driver’s insurance policy. To help drivers receive payment for accidents involving uninsured motorists, Georgia requires drivers to carry uninsured motorist bodily injury and damage coverage.

Make sure that you buy sufficient coverage to protect yourself from lawsuits if you are at fault for an accident. You may have to sell everything you own to pay back people you harm or property damage you cause.

On the offensive line, consider how much coverage you need to cover yourself, your family and your own property, including cars.

Once you decide how much coverage you need, it is time to go shopping. Fortunately, Atlanta car insurance costs that you get online allow easy comparison shopping.

In addition, quoting sites generally are programmed to prompt you to buy at least the required legal minimum coverage. That means you can focus on what’s more important — picking the right carrier for you.

Cut Insurance Costs

After receiving quotes, you might want lower rates. The good news is that there are ways to save money. In Atlanta, there are some great ways to cut insurance costs.

1. Take safe driving classes
2. Combine coverage with homeowner’s/renter’s insurance and other vehicle insurance
3. Shop around among different carriers
4. Compare insurance quotes
5. Get discounts for high school/college students’ good academic standing
6. Get an alarm
7. Keep the subscription to monitoring systems
8. Keep up with changes in your driving habits. For instance, if you drive 15,000 miles to work every year and take a telecommuting job, call your insurance to adjust your mileage. Driving less is equated with fewer accidents.

One Way NOT to Save on Auto Insurance

Every state has a minimum legal limit for insurance that drivers must carry.

Some carriers advertise minimum coverage as a way to spend less money on coverage. What they do not disclose is that this costs more in the long run.

For instance, in Georgia, minimum coverage stipulates drivers carry $25,000 bodily injury per person and $50,000 per accident bodily injury. This means that if you are responsible for a 6-car pileup your insurance will only cover up to $50,000 in injuries and probably only the minimum $25,000 in property damage.

The first tip is to review costs of new cars. Even not-so-luxurious cars are hitting the $20,000 and up range these days. Of course, to make matters more complicated, Atlanta is a city in love with its pricey cars.

So, insure for at least your own asset value, so that in the event you cause an accident your insurance covers you. It’s best to avoid skipping proper insurance coverage in favor of getting sued down the road. Lawsuits are stressful and costly.

Knowing When to Drop Coverage

It is important to not just buy minimum coverage. Yet, there is also the risk of becoming over-insured. Let’s say a driver has a 20-year-old car that’s been paid off for decades now. It is worth barely $1,000.

If you are on this end of the driving spectrum, congratulations, you can save more money.

At this point, if you were to shop for collision and even comprehensive coverage, your deductibles and cost of coverage outpace the benefits of insurance.

For instance, if you have even the minimum collision coverage, it could run a few hundred dollars.

The minimum deductible would probably take you over the value of the car. Even if you did pay the deductible and your coverage, the payout may not allow you to replace the car.

It makes sense for a lot of drivers to instead set this money aside in a savings account. This way, if anything destroys their car, they can go out and buy another one.

Yet, there is another school of thought, where people feel it is necessary to always carry collision and comprehensive coverage. It is up to individual preference whether to keep either of these lines of coverage.

Motorcycles, Motorboats and RVs

Lots of people in the Atlanta area enjoy the forests, lakes and beachfront that Georgia and neighboring states offer. The Intracoastal Waterway, for one, gives boaters a unique vantage point for checking out the Georgia and Florida coastlines — from the water. When shopping for auto insurance, be sure to include quotes for boating and other motor vehicle coverage too.

Many shoppers save big by buying multiple policies from the same carrier. Even if you only have one car, chances are you live indoors. For instance, you could see about buying your next renter’s or homeowner’s insurance policy from the most competitively priced insurer. It almost always help reduce rates even more.

Check Insurance Rates Regularly

Many consumers get comfortable and hunker down with the same insurance carrier for years. After all, who wants to shop for coverage twice a year? The answer is people who like to save money shop for auto insurance every time their policy comes up for renewal.

What commonly happens is that new customers receive the benefit of a good teaser rate.

Those long-time customers may foot part of the bill.

Most consumers wrongly assume that they have the most competitive rates because of some notion of customer loyalty in the pricing. That’s not really the case. Instead, car insurance costs sometimes rise when consumers are too complacent with the same carrier.

Factors for Insurance Costs on a Car

1. Likelihood of getting stolen
2. Safety ratings
3. Overnight parking in a garage, off street or on street
4. Cost of replacement parts
5. Annual mileage and yearly commuting distances

In short, any factors that increase the likelihood of accidents, injuries, damage and death to drivers, their passengers and other motorists increases insurance rates.

For instance, the more someone drives, the greater his or her likelihood of getting into an accident.

If a driver parks on the street, then it makes the car more vulnerable to thieves. In general, drivers who park off street and in their own garage might pay lower rates.

Though, insurance company factor costs based upon the neighborhood where individuals park too. Some neighborhoods have more luxury cars than other areas, and it translates into higher insurance costs in general.

Take the time to evaluate the costs of insurance in various areas within Atlanta. Get as many quotes as possible. One way to use quoting services to your advantage is to input different variables into the system.

This way, you will find out what you can change to make for more affordable coverage. Though, be sure to always tell the truth. If you lie and go to file a claim, insurers may deny benefits because you were less than truthful with them about your information.