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Car insurance is an expense that looms large in most everybody’s budget. Though you wait anxiously for your car to age enough to see significant reductions in your premium rates, you might be shocked to see them eventually creep upward instead. But there is hope, especially for those folks who pay their premiums in monthly installments. Use the Internet to get car insurance quotes and look for the more reasonable rates in Portland, Oregon. You can save up to 20% when you comparison-shop for your car insurance. It’s not hard to get a quote; often, it is simply a matter of entering some key information into one or more online insurance rate search applications to obtain quotes from a range of provider companies.
Customers who choose to pay the whole of their premium in a single annual transaction only have one chance each year to compare premium rates among companies and to switch when they find a better deal. People who decide to pay a monthly premium have a better situation. This is because they are allowed to discontinue their insurance at any time in the policy year as long as they give their present company the required notice.
But before you jump on this opportunity, check with your current agent to make sure there isn’t a deal-breaking fee involved in being cut loose early. Some providers include a “short-rate” adjustment factor in their policies. This means you will pay a higher final premium when you cancel before the end of the policy period. In most cases, you will be expected to give the provider advance notice, but this is not difficult. When you do give notice of premature discontinuance of their policy, be sure you correlate your final date on your old policy to the first covered day of your new policy. Check your policy or ask your agent about the length of the notice period required. Do not fail to include your name, address, and policy number in your notice letter.
Some of us, once we get into our rate shopping, will discover that we can not only pay less for our coverage, but that we can upgrade that coverage in the new policy. Resist the temptation to decrease the level of your deductibles and increase your liability coverage instead. If you have an accident and it causes injuries to someone in the other car(s), you may find yourself being sued for more that what you liability covers you for. If they win the case, you will have to make up the difference. That can be a real life-ruining bill to pay.
If you hold a checking account, choose the option (if available) to have your premium withdrawn automatically from your account. For anything other than annual premiums, this is undoubtedly the most economical way to go for premium payment. Most insurance companies will charge you for having a premium notice sent to your address. In most cases, this is not the case with automatic electronic withdrawals. This is just another way you can keep your insurance expenses to a minimum.
Should you choose to have your premium payment done through electronic withdrawal, and you decide at some point to switch providers, making the adjustment is not hard. Just phone the company’s 800 number and ask a representative if you need to fill out a form to continue automatic payment with another company. Then, in your notice of cancellation letter, be sure you state that you want to discontinue any such payments to your old provider. And don’t forget to file a copy.
Kaida Emery has worked with car insurance, and the companies that offer it, for over ten years and knows just how to save consumers money on their own unique policies. From her time as an inspector to her work as an agent for one of the most well known companies on the market, she strives to provide candid information to readers around the country.
