Car
If you live in the Sunshine State and you want to cut down on your auto insurance costs and remove unnecessary coverage types from your policy. Although you can certainly make some alterations to your auto coverage, there are some things that are non-negotiable when it comes to auto coverage in Florida. Keep reading to find out exactly what the legal minimum insurance types in Florida are.
What You’ve Got to Keep in your Florida car insurance
There are basically two kinds of insurance that are required by law for anyone who lives in the state of Florida. At the time of the vehicle registration, you need to have PIP and PDL insurance.
- PIP or Personal Injury Protection – minimum of $10,000
- PDL or Property Damage Liability – minimum of $10,000
What You Can Cut
In addition to getting first month free car insurance, there are a couple of different auto insurance types that you can cut from your policy if you want to save money. While you are not legally required to have the following types of insurance, you should only remove them from your policy if you are prepared to assume full financial responsibility for all vehicle repairs in the future. The insurance that you can legally cut from your policy includes:
Collision Insurance: Collision coverage applies in any collision situation, whether it happens in traffic or in your own driveway. Collisions may involve other vehicles, animals, or stationary objects like buildings. Any damage that your vehicle sustains in the collision will be covered if you maintain this type of coverage.
Comprehensive Insurance: Comprehensive insurance is sometimes called “other than collision” insurance because it is designed to apply to most vehicle damage that happens due to non-collision causes. While it does not apply to wear and tear damage, it does apply to most other things. Theft, vandalism, and weather damage are all covered under the comprehensive portion of your insurance policy.
By removing collision and comprehensive insurance from your policy, you can save a significant amount on your premiums. However, it is important that you weigh the short-term savings against the benefits you may experience in the long term. For example, if your vehicle is stolen and the comprehensive coverage pays for a replacement, you will typically be compensated thousands of dollars for that new vehicle. The savings that you could experience on a monthly basis may not be worth missing out on much-needed compensation when the major disasters happen later!
3 Unexpected Things That Can Affect Your Car Insurance Rates
When you shop for auto insurance, you may think that the only things that affect your premium are your driving record and the type of car you have. However, insurance companies use all kinds of information to determine how much you’ll pay for a policy. Here are some surprising things that can affect your auto insurance costs.
Insurance
Where You Live
You may not know this, but many insurance companies arrive at your premium by considering where you live. They consider factors such as weather and crime in each zip code and charge more or less accordingly. For instance, those living in the state of Detroit, or Michigan might pay about $4,500 a year to insure their vehicles. That’s because of the high level of crime and other problems in their local area. Therefore, if you want to lower your car insurance rates, think about whether you’d like to move to another neighborhood.
Your House Claim History
You may think that your house has nothing to do with how much money you pay for auto insurance. However, as some car insurance companies compile information about you, they also gather information about your house’s claim history for the past several years. By looking up a C.L.U.E. report (named for the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange), they can determine, for example, that you have filed claims for wind damage as a result of hurricanes. They may decide to charge you a little bit more to protect your car in the event of further damage to your home, as your car will of course be parked in the vicinity. You can find your own C.L.U.E report on the LexisNexis Personal Information Site.
Your Education
Any adult with any education level is able to drive a car if they earn a license, regardless of how long they stayed in school. However, some insurance companies consider drivers’ level of education when arriving at rates for those seeking auto insurance policies; those with college degrees may get lower rates than high school graduates, for example.
There are some companies who don’t use the above things to arrive at your premium, so be sure to ask questions so you can buy cheap car insurance with no down payment. Now that you know about some of the unexpected things that can affect how much you pay for car insurance, talk to an insurance agent about which insurance company might be right for you.
