Monday, April 6, 2015

8 Easy Routes to Cheaper Car Insurance

Car insurance is one of the most expensive costs involved in driving a car, and it's not something you can avoid - a minimum level of insurance is required by law. That doesn't mean you have to blindly pay whatever your insurer quotes though, as there are several simple things you can do to reduce the cost of your premiums.

1) Shop around and buy online: Figures show that many people simply renew their current policies without shopping around. The internet makes it easy to compare prices from different insurers, so why not take advantage of this? Plus, you'll usually get a discount of 10% or more just for buying your policy online.

2) Policy type: do you really need a comprehensive policy with all the extras? Going for a third party fire & theft policy can reduce your premiums hugely, and is definitely worth considering if your car isn't an expensive model.

3) No claims discounts: Nearly all policies feature a discount that increases for every year you don't make a claim. The higher the discount available, the more you could save. Also look at insurers offering a 'no claims bonus for life' feature, where your current discount level can be fixed forever, even if you have to make a claim somewhere down the line.

4) Excess: The excess on a policy is the amount of a claim you have to pay before the insurer pays the rest. Choosing to have a higher than standard excess level will usually mean lower premiums.

5) Security: Fitting your vehicle with an alarm, immobiliser, or other security devices can lead to premium reductions. Parking you car off-road, for example on a driveway or in a garage, will also mean a cheaper policy.

6) Pay annually: Many insurers charge you interest for the privilege of paying in monthly installments. Pay annually if you can afford it to avoid this, or look for one of the companies who don't charge extra for monthly payment.

7) Mileage: The more mileage you run up every year, the more your insurance will cost. Even if you can't reduce your mileage, make sure you're not overestimating how much you actually do drive, and give your insurer an accurate figure.

8) Drivers: The more drivers you have on your policy, the more it will cost. Reduce the number of people insured to drive your car to the minimum possible, and try to get the policy in the name of a driver with the lowest risk profile. For example, if a car is driven by both a man and a woman, insuring it in the woman's name will often result in a cheaper quote.

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7 Easy Ways To Slash Your Auto Insurance Costs

Here's 7 easy ways to get the best possible auto insurance deal.

* Multiple Quotes

Get multiple quotes - use the internet and call a few brokers. It's easy to gather some good comparison quotes.

Remember to get different types of quotes e.g one from a direct-sell insurance company; another from an offline broker who keeps a database of quotes; and a couple from the internet.

Cheapest might not mean best. Will they pay out if you make a claim ? How financially secure ? How reputable ? Check around with family and friends, and look for online reviews.

* Different type of car


Insurance costs vary depending on car type. Obviously, that $100k sports model costs more to insure than your average runabout. If you're planning to buy a new car, check insurance costs before you buy. I once set my heart on a beautiful, high performance, highly tuned Pontiac.

Luckily I checked the auto insurance before I bought it, because I couldn't get insurance. Every broker, every insurance company flat turned me down because I lived in a high car-crime area. So I had to forget the car of my dreams until I moved up-town.

* Age and Value of Car
Maybe you're buying a used car ? Maybe your car saw better days a few years ago, and now values much lower ? So why pay for high-priced auto insurance ? In particular, do you still need fully comprehensive coverage ?

A good rule of thumb multiplies insurance premium by 10, and compares that figure with your car value. So if you're quoted $1000 premium and your car is worth less than $10,000 you may want to think if comprehensive represents good value. If you drop collision and/or comprehensive coverage, you should get big savings.

* Higher deductibles (excess charges)

Most auto insurance companies use deductibles to keep policy cost down. Deductibles, or excess charges, show what you pay before your auto insurance policy kicks in. Try requesting quotes with different levels of deductibles, and see how your quotes vary.

Most internet quote forms contain a box where you can specify preferred level of deductibles. Ask your broker his recommended level. For example, going from $250 to $500 deductible can slash your insurance costs by 20% or more. Go to $1000 and you save a lot of money. But you must pay the deductible if you need to make a claim !

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* Multiple Insurances


I guess this might come under the 'Get Multiple Quotes' heading, but it's still worth mentioning separately. You usually get an insurance break if you buy multiple policies with the same insurer.

This might mean multiple vehicles, or homeowner and auto insurance. Either way it's worth asking about multi-policy discounts.

* Low Mileage

More and more people work at home. No more commuting. Fewer business trips. Low mileage on your car. Maybe you do travel to work, but car pool ?

Either way, look for low mileage discounts.

* Good Driving Record

A good driving record always reduces your auto insurance costs. Keep a clean drivers license. Don't speed, don't drive dangerously, and you'll save money (apart from other benefits !)

* Bonus Tip

Okay, I said '7 Ways...', but here's some extra tips. Fit anti-theft devices to your car. Go on an advanced driver training course. Use daytime running lights. If you're a college student away from home, consider adding to parents policy.

This short article covers the things you must consider when shopping for auto insurance. Follow these tips and you'll slash your auto insurance costs.

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7 Auto Insurance Tips

1> Raising your deductible
Deductible is the amount you pay from your pocket before making an insurance claim. The disadvantage of raising your claim is when you make a claim, you will pay more. However, if you are a safe driver, you will overtime save more money by raising your insurance deductible. Look at your previous insurance claim history and make a discreet decision for yourself.

2> Older Auto - Drop comprehensive / collision coverage.
If your car is not worth much, why pay for comprehensive and collision insurance coverage. You can visit a myriad of online sites to find true worth of your car. Additionally your insurance broker might be able to pull up the true worth of your vehicle.

3> Taking advantage of low mileage
Some auto insurance companies will give discounts if you drive less than a certain number of miles or drive less than a certain distance to work.

4> Moving - Consider insurance costs.
If you are considering moving, it will be a good idea to call your insurance agent and get his opinion on the insurance costs in the new city or state.

5> Low profile vehicle
Your vehicle will also determine your overall insurance costs. Some of the cars are favorite for thieves since they fetch a good price. Some cars are more expensive to repair. It makes a lot of sense to do adequate amount of research before you make your auto purchase.

6> Make sure your vehicle is correctly listed by your insurance agent.

Many manufacturers offer somewhat similar model names for vehicles but insurance costs may vary. Additionally 2 or 4 door or the wrong model can impact your auto insurance quote.

7> Have your insurance broker check other insurance company discounts.

A lot of companies will offer discounts if you and your spouse are insured with the same insurance company. Additionally, if you seek home insurance, life insurance, auto insurance from the same insurance company, you will get some discounts. Check with your insurance agent on saving money.

>>>FIND THE RIGHT INSURANCE FOR YOU AND YOUR CAR HERE<<<

4 Reasons To Get An On Line Auto Insurance Quote

Whether you are looking for a new auto insurance plan, or just want to see what is out there, getting an on line auto insurance quote is a great idea. There are a variety of great places you can go online that will offer you free auto insurance quotes with no hassle whatsoever. If you have not got your instant auto insurance quote, the following are four great reasons you need to give it a go.

Reason #1 - It’s So Easy! - One of the best reasons that you should get an on line auto insurance quote is because it is so easy. No need to flip through your phone book looking for places to call or to spend your day on the phone trying to get a quote from a company. You can get your quote online without a bunch of hassle and it is so much easier than trying to call someone up. Online you can just simply enter your information and then get a great quote back on auto insurance.

Reason #2 - It Can Save You Big Money - Getting an instant auto insurance quote online can also save you a great deal of money. Often you will find that the quotes you get online are much cheaper than you could get anywhere offline. Many companies actually offer special online rates if you go online to get one of their auto insurance quotes.

Reason #3 - It’s Totally Free - Another reason you should get your on line auto insurance quote is because it is totally free. There are a variety of places that you can find free auto insurance quotes, and you will have no obligation whatsoever when you get a free quote online. Since it is totally free, there is no reason not to find out how much money you could be saving on your auto insurance.

Reason #4 - It’s Fast - Getting your auto insurance quote online is also very fast. You can get an instant auto insurance quote that will allow you to know how much you could save in just minutes. Why spend time waiting forever on hold with a company on the phone, when you can get an instant quote online.

If you need an insurance quote, and on line auto insurance quote is definitely the best way to go. They are easy, free, fast, and can save you hundreds of dollars on your car insurance. What are you waiting for? Your quote on car insurance is just a few seconds away.

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3 Warnings Before Switching Auto Insurance Companies

We've all been bombarded with ads, emails, commercials, and billboards saying how much we can save on our auto insurance by switching to another company. It's a competitive industry. Just  because another company is offering a better rate doesn't mean you should rush to call and cancel your insurance and switch. There are a few things you need to make sure of before you do.


Here are a few things to watch out for before you switch your auto insurance to another company.

If you've been with one company for many years and they offer a credit that waives the first accident you have, you may want to stay or see if the other company can match it. Sometimes this is referred to as good driver discount or a longevity discount or accident forgiveness. The company rewards you for your loyalty by waiving the first accident you have.

This discount can be pretty significant. Since most accidents can raise your rate by 40% for 3 years the potential savings could be several hundreds of dollars over that 3 year period. But when you switch companies, you lose this credit you've built up. If you have an accident with that new company how much are you going to regret not having that accident forgiveness by seeing your rates jacked up by 40%?

Another thing to be mindful of is to make sure the company you are switching to is not offering you just a teaser rate for the first 6 months to get your business and then bump you up 6 months later once they've got you on their books. Since auto insurance is a profitable industry, companies may offer you a low ball rate to get you to switch and then once they've got you increase your rates at the renewal. If the rate the new company quotes seems too goo to be true do more research. Check out insurance forums or search Google for "XYZ insurance + Reviews."

Watch out for hidden fees. This is one that can surprise you. Some companies charge you for making monthly payments - usually $3-$5 a month. Over the course of a year that comes out to $36-$60. That one fee can take a big bite out of your potential savings so make sure you factor that into the rates you are comparing. Make sure you are really saving money when you switch.

Two other things to keep in mind when shopping around for auto insurance are the new company's website and hours of operation. Make sure their hours work with your hours. If they are only open from 8-5 and you work 8-5, when are you going to be able to call them if you have a question or need to make a claim? If you do all your business online you want to make sure the company you are looking at has a capable website that can help you 24 hours a day.

You can save money by shopping your auto insurance around. Just be sure to keep in mind the things I've mentioned to make sure the deal you're looking at is really a great deal.





Saturday, March 31, 2012

Interesting post on Pintrerest
The Pinterest Business Model

Pinterest is ideally suited for affiliate marketers. The network serves a mostly female audience that loves to shop. The way to make money off them is to post, or “pin”, items that would be of interest to these women and link those items with an affiliate link. This is why you see so many pins with items from Amazon.com. Ten times out of ten, that Amazon link will be an affiliate link.

Before you go blasting Pinterest with your Amazon links, you need to do a couple of things.

Cloak The Affiliate Links

If you’re going to post affiliate links to Pinterest, you must cloak the links. Pinterest uses a service call Skimlinks that scans their network for affiliate links, and then change those links to their affiliate ID!

You should cloak your link with a custom short URL. I wouldn’t recommend using a well known service like Bit.ly or Tiny URL. Chances are, Skimlinks have them in their database of links to skim. The best link cloaking service to use is LinkTrackr.

Not only does LinkTrackr allows you to monitor clicks and conversion, you can wrap the links around a custom short URL that will be outside the Skimlinks database. This ensure that your affiliate links won’t be changes to the Pinterest affilate ID, and you’ll get credit for the sale.

In the above pin, you can see I’ve used LinkTrackr to link the GoPro with my own JCLink.me URL that redirects to my Amazon affiliate link. Notice at the end of the URL, I added a “pin” sub ID. This is how I track where the traffic comes from.

Host The Images On Your Server

You should host all the images you pin on your server. Pinterest links all the images back to their source. If you’re pinning items right from Amazon, clicking on the image will take a user to Amazon. Since you can’t link an image with your affiliate ID, it’s best to send the user to the site where you host the image and post the link there.

Don’t Spam

The Pinterest spammers use bots to automate the process of creating accounts and posting pins. I don’t recommend you do this. Like Facebook, Pinterest will get better at detecting and banning spam pins. You should take a long-term view if you want to make money off Pinterest. Spend an hour or so a day and post pins of stuff you love. Link those pins with a LinkTrackr link and keep building. In a month or so, you’ll have a Pinterest page with thousands of items all with affiliate links, and should make some decent coin from it.

Happy pinning!