1 Top 5 Best Insurance Companies

When setting financial goals, we often include building a healthy savings fund and starting a lifefree of debt. The more ambitious among us would look for ways to invest and grow their money. For those who are more cautious and would like a safety net in case things do not go as planned, getting insured is a definite must before they can consider themselves financially stable.

Insurance protects you from unexpected expenses and emergencies, but not everyone is comfortable with the idea of applying for one. Some of them even think insurance agents are merely out to get them for a commission.

But not all insurance providers are there to take advantage of you or your money. There are actually some good and reliable insurance companies out there. It is just a matter of finding a provider that could meet your specific needs.

MSN has recently released a list of the best insurance companies based on customer and claims satisfaction, value for money, along with recommendations and renewal rates. The insurance providers that have won the favor of loyal customers so far are as follows:

1. USAA
USAA, which caters exclusively to military men and their families, is an auto and home insurance provider with mainly positive reviews. In the survey conducted by MSN, customers reported a smooth claims process, the availability of various plans and discounts, and good policies with no sudden rate hikes. The company also offers affordable home insurance packages. 

2. Erie Insurance Group

Erie Insurance Group provides attractive auto insurance rates locked in within a year even if you make a claim within the said period. The provider has won the loyalty of long-time customers for reasons such as rates do not increase after your first accident, and deductibles with your plan can be reduced if you register no accidents or moving violations. Their car insurance package even covers pets injured in a car crash

3. Amica Mutual

One of the oldest auto insurance providers in the US, Amica Mutual is backed by a history of delivering outstanding car insurance policies to its customers. Being a mutual insurance company, Amica is owned by policy holders. It offers low auto insurance rates and impressive customer service. It is, in fact, one of the few large insurance companies that consistently get high rankings for customer satisfaction. Aside from auto insurance, Amica Mutual also specializes in homeowners, marine, and personal liability policies. 

4. American General
American General offers comprehensive life insurance packages to provide plan holders with income replacement, mortgage payoffs, or education funds. The insurance provider offers very low premiums to small business owners and large families, with different insurance terms available. Customers reported how their complaints have been addressed promptly and adequately, thus increasing American General’s customer satisfaction scores.

5. Kaiser Permanente
     Kaiser Permanente scored the highest for top health insurance providers. It registered high scores in claims satisfaction and customer renewal score. The company offers a selection of individual and family health insurance plans in ten states. Pricing is relatively higher over other health insurance plans but plans are mostly for the long term.

0 How to Cut Your Insurance Costs?

There are many factors involved in getting the least expensive car insurance.  Much of it depends on your own driving record, but other factors go in to the insurance company’s final decision on pricing.  Besides keeping down your accident rate, there are other ways to lower the cost of your insurance.  Here are five ways to keep down your insurance costs to get the best deal on your auto insurance.

1.      Determine the Car With Lowest Insurance Rate

Each year a list is released with the cars that have the lowest insurance costs.  These cars are determined by their cost to repair, drivers statistics, theft statistics, and more.  This year the list was filled mostly with SUV’s, the Ford Edge topping the list.  (the rest of the list can be found at http://www.carinsuranceguidebook.com/the-ten-cheapest-cars-to-insure-in-2013-2).  If you are thinking of purchasing a new car and hoping to keep insurance rates down, looking in to what cars will cut your insurance cost is an important part of your search.  While the list has the average for cars that will cut your cost, it is best to check in with your prospective insurance companies. 

2.      Insure More Than One Car/Driver

When multiple cars and drivers are listed under the same insurance policy, companies often lower the auto insurance cost for each car/driver.  In this case, if you are wanting your college age driver to start paying their own insurance, it may be better to have them pay you in order to keep them and their car under your insurance policy.  The insurance company will be making more money from you while you save more from them.

3.      Driving Course

Some insurance companies will lower your insurance rate if you take a defensive driving course.  Completion of this course can also help lower incidentals from your driving record.  To find out the appropriate course to take and how much it will end up lowering your insurance cost it is best to ask and agent from your insurance company.  The classes cost money to take and it is important to ensure the cost of the class will end up positively effecting the cost of your insurance.

4.      The Less You Drive the More You Save

This is not true only of gas money but also of money you can save on insurance.  Insurance companies ask you questions such as how many miles you drive to work each day and if you take public transportation or ride a bike, you can cut down significantly on your insurance costs (along with helping out the environment).

5.      Lower Costs for Good Grades

For drivers in high school and college, insurance costs are often much higher as they don’t have a driving record to speak of yet and younger drivers statistically get in more in accidents.  It is a good idea to inquire with your insurance company about lower costs for drivers with good grades.  Since younger drivers are usually the most costly, this option with insurance companies can be extremely helpful in cutting costs.

For more information on how to cut your insurance costs visit www.carinsuranceguidebook.com.

7 Auto Insurance Quotes - Various Things to Be Considered Before Taking the Policy

Insuring your valuables is the need of the hour as there is no guarantee of any safe future. It saves your money and gives you a helping hand in the time of financial need. Auto insurance also provides safety towards any hindrance to your vehicle due to man-made or natural calamities. It gives monetary aid to mend or get back your vehicle if any damage has happened while on the road till the duration of the policy.

There are many banks and insurance companies providing numerous kinds of policies for their customers. In many states auto insurances have become a mandatory at the time of buying vehicle. The vehicle dealers in collaboration with a reputable policy firm insert the insurance along with the vehicle papers. Sometimes the annual premium amount of the policy is given as a bonus point to the buyer of the vehicle.

While buying auto coverage you have to consider many points before signing the forms. The most valuable point to be covered is the amount of the premium. Different firms generate various quotes and to select the most suitable among them, your budget and needs has to be considered.

The points on which the amount of insurance depends:

• The manufacturing year of the vehicle.
• The model of the car.
• IDV of the vehicle.
• Cubic capacity of the vehicle.

Some of the kinds of coverage formatted for vehicle insurance:

• Comprehensive or damage coverage: this policy covers all the damage occurred due to natural factors like earthquakes, storms and floods. Man-made destruction like theft of the vehicle or vandalism.
• Collision coverage: collision with another vehicle or in case of rollover of the vehicle, the damage done gets paid by the companies.
• Personal accident policy: in case of a road accident, medical bill of the insurance holder is paid by the insurer.

The modes of buying the policy are numerous, but online purchase has many added benefits. Many companies have devised their own websites, which are safe and quite easy to deal. Their customers can gain a lot of information as per their convenience. Insurance firms give the detailed format of the policies they have introduced.

Online buying is cost effective and sometimes there are additional bonuses of getting a concession in some of the policies. Auto insurance can be easily acquired by going through all the sites of well known firms and banks. Your valuable time will be saved and you can get a well planned policy by browsing through all of them.

Before taking the positive step, there are some features which have to be studied minutely such as the term period, the added benefits and finally the quotation or the premium amount to buy the coverage of your favorite vehicle.

Precautions to be taken while signing the policy:

Taking on short term policy will be beneficial if you are in a habit of selling your vehicle often. Long term coverage saves a few dollars on your premium amount. Try to look for a policy that covers the main important plans connected with it.

There is a tool available on websites, which can be used as a calculator to compare the quotes of different companies. This online gadget will help you to find a perfect solution that suits your budget. You just have to feed the information about your vehicle and it will display the perfect figure of your premium.

Online purchase would safeguard you from cunning agents, who may dupe you by giving non selling plans for their own benefit. The insurance quotes given on the website are never faulty and will give you the best answer to your confused mind while buying auto policies.

Author's Bio:

Kris has been working for one of the best insurance company in Austin. He also writes about how people can make smart buying choices with the help of free insurance quotes.