In the past, car insurance was not a necessity, as some people went for it and some did not. However, today an auto coverage policy is one of the crucial things in your life, if you own a car. People need proper coverage, no matter how luxurious or modest their car is.

The way people buy insurance has also changed. In the past, buying a car insurance just meant to meet your neighborhood agent and ask him for it. But now, it is somewhat different, as you have got lots of other options at your disposal from where you can get your vehicle insured, with some entirely new coverage choices.

Buying car insurance: Which method to choose?

When you want insurance for your car, you might be puzzled as from where you should get it. Should you deal with an insurance agent or should you go online? You can choose among different options for getting your car insurance. This includes:

Buying from captive agents
Buying from independent agents
Buying online

People, who prefer personal services and like to form face-to-face relationships, should certainly purchase their policy from an agent. But, since there are different agents, they need to decide which one is the best for them.

Among these, some are called ‘independent agents,’ who sell insurance for numerous companies and some are ‘captive agents,’ who sell insurance for just one firm. Let us see the different features of these agents, so that you can decide easily and quickly the right agent for yourself.

1. Buying from captive agents

You should buy your coverage from a captive agent, if you are dedicated to a specific insurance firm. Since captive agents deal with only one company, they will know all the different insurance options offered by that company. And, thus they can assist you to build the right package based on your needs. However, captive agents may take more time to respond to your questions and to know your needs as compared to independent agents who work for commission.

2. Buying from independent agents

You should buy a policy from an independent agent, if you want to check out the different insurances provided by different companies, as independent agents deal with several companies and not just one particular insurance firm. This way you can get a better rate.

And, since independent agents are not directly employed by any one firm, they would not push one specific product and will tell you the right things about all the insurances. Thus, independent agents can aid you to find inexpensive coverage for your car. However, since they work for commission, they are under more pressure to grab a deal as soon as possible.

3. Buying online

The third option is to skip insurance agents completely and to work directly with the company online. However, for this you have to do most of the work yourself. You have to conduct a thorough research on different coverage providers, what they offer, the rates of their insurance, and what all their policies covers. Then, you can talk to the company, that best fits your needs to procure the coverage itself.

Among these, some insurance companies that employ agents do not necessitate you to work with them and a few of them do not employ agents at all. Buying auto insurance online is one of the best options for you if you do not have much time and want to get inexpensive car insurance, as it saves you from paying commission to an insurance agent. If you are not sure about your car insurance needs, then buying car insurance online, without an insurance agent can cause you to buy the wrong, too little, or too much insurance.

Select your type of coverage

Besides deciding which company to go with, you must also consider which policy you want. There are three main types of policies, including traditional, usage-based, and per-mile car insurance. So, have a look at these three car insurance coverage programs before you settle for one particular car insurance.

1. Traditional auto insurance

In this type of auto insurance, the insurers determine the quotes for the policy with the help of various personal factors, such as your age, driving history, gender, credit score, etc. Generally, the more risk you have as a driver as per these factors, the more high your insurance rates will be. In this, you can opt for a minimum coverage amount as per the state law or else you can select from a long list of different types of auto insurance coverage.

2. Usage-based auto insurance

As opposed to the traditional car insurance, where insurers presume your driving skills depending on a list of different risk factors and your accident history, usage-based car insurance providers offer you car insurance by seeing you in action in real. In this type of car insurance, like Allstate’s Drivewise or Progressive’s Snapshot, you get a telematic device, which you have to plug-in your car. This device records how you drive and your driving behavior, especially your bad driving habits like accelerating or hard braking.

So, if the device records that you are a low-risk driver, then you can save your money with usage-based car insurance. However, if it records that you frequently drive late at night or you drive fast, then it would not help you save money with your car insurance. Additionally, many usage-based car insurance programs are not available in each state. Therefore, if you are devoted to one insurance company, then you may have to switch your company, in case you move to a different state.

3. Per-mile auto insurance

Per-mile auto insurance providers also use a telematic device, but they focus on just one thing, that is how little or how much you use your car. However, this car insurance type is still new and is not available in every state. Among others, Metromile is the best provider of per-mile car insurance and is available in seven states until now, which are California, Illinois, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington, and Virginia.

Additionally, per-mile providers use the same elements as traditional insurers in determining your car insurance rates, but you can save some money through its telematic device. If you do not use your car much and use it only for emergencies, then your premium may be cut significantly. However, if you normally drive your car, then there are fewer chances of you saving money from it.

Shop around

No matter how you purchase your insurance, whether you go for a dedicated agent or you directly sign up with a car insurance provider, you must shop around in order to get the best rates. Do some homework and do not just settle for the first deal that comes your way. This is because rates for the same policy can differ from one company to the other by thousands of dollars. Therefore, comparing different car insurance offers is the best possible way to land up a good deal.

Car insurance estimate: How much do you need?
Every car buyer goes through a checklist before buying his or her brand new car. The most important aspect of the list is the auto insurance and the car insurance estimate. A car insurance acts as a protection for your car as a whole. Your insurance officer may offer you a varied range of auto insurances depending on the type of vehicle you own, the amount of coverage you need and the number of years you wish to have the protection for, in return of a yearly amount, known as the insurance premium.

When you incur a car accident, the cost of damages the car bears is covered by the car insurance you opt for, this, however, does not include any damage incurred above the overall auto insurance amount.The value of your auto insurance estimate is calculated by the IDV or the Insured Declared Value of your vehicle; the IDV is the maximum amount the insurance company is going to pay for the damages your car incurs. The amount of IDV roughly equals to the actual market price of the car you own or the showroom price of your car. The IDV thus is not a constant value and keeps changing periodically.Upon renewal of your car insurance after a year, the value of IDV will decrease because of the amount of depreciation charged on it after a year.

What are the damages covered by the car insurance?

The car insurance will not cover all the damages your car faces, during the life of the insurance. Coverages in the US are usually seen in a cluster of three numbers separated by a dash, for example, 20/50/30 or 100/500/100. The first two numbers are usually seen for medical coverage. For 100/500/100 the insurance company policy will pay $100,000 per person up to $500,000 combined for all people. The last number covers damages made to the property, that is any other vehicle or property you hit in an accident.

A comprehensive auto insurance plan will mainly cover the following types of damages:

Liability Coverage:

The coverage also commonly known as casualty insurance, mainly covers bodily injuries and property damages, that is damage to your car. The amount of insurance will, however, vary from one jurisdiction to the other. The insured is also allowed to increase the amount of the insurance coverage (before the loss), to cover any loss incurred during the accident.

If in an unfortunate circumstance, you hit a telephone pole with your car. In such a case, the liability coverage covers the expenses of the damage caused to the pole. It, however, does not cover any other expenses related to the damage being caused such as disruption of services claimed by the Telephone company.

A bodily coverage covers the insured from possible injury during the accident as well as covers him or her from any third party damage caused by accident. The coverage covers the court costs and damages the insured is being sued for.

Full Coverage

Full coverage covers both collision and comprehensive damages done to your vehicle. The collision coverage covers the vehicle involved in collisions, by paying out for the repair of the damage incurred or by paying out the cash value of the vehicle in case the vehicle is not repairable.

Comprehensive coverage covers the vehicle from damages not ordinarily considered as collision damages. The damages covered by this coverage are damage due to theft, vandalism or impact with animals. Additionally, a lot of insurance companies also include ‘Act of God’ damages that is any damage caused by event or events caused to factors that are beyond human control, such as cyclones, tornado, tsunami etc.

Apart from the main coverages mentioned above, insurance companies in the US also provide the following coverages:

Damages done by uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM)
Loss of use
GAP coverages.
Lease/Loan Payoff.
Emergency Road Service Coverage.
Mechanical Breakdown Coverage
Custom Parts and Equipment Coverage.

How can you calculate a car insurance estimate?

You can follow these simple steps, to correctly get your car insurance estimate:

Before buying a auto, narrow down on your choices.
Determine the amount of coverage you’d ideally be needing. If you are buying a new car, you should go for insurance that covers collision and comprehensive damages as well. This is however not mandatory in case of a used auto.
Compare insurance quotes for your vehicle. Different companies will have different insurance costs for your vehicle depending on the type and market price of the model. Comparing the quotes will help you narrow down to the best insurance for your auto.
Make the final choice, based on the comparison chart.

What should your ideal car insurance estimate be?

There are a lot of factors that affect your car insurance estimate. Ideally, you should choose a plan and amount, which covers most of the possible damage that your auto may incur in the lifetime. The amount of insurance you chose typically should be higher than the actual cost of your overall auto.

The ultimate car insurance estimate will ultimately depend on your own choices and individual situation. It is always advisable to look at a wide range of options and companies offering auto insurance after calculating the car insurance estimate. Comparing insurance quotes, and what they cover with each other will ensure you get the most out of your auto insurance.

Looking for the car insurance estimate? You’ve come to the right place. At InsuranceEstimate.net, we’ll help you compare the most competitive offers from USA leading car insurance companies. You’ll get the policy that suits you best while saving time and money.

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This is legally mandatory in order to drive within the province, as it covers damages caused by your vehicle to another person or their property.Although the minimum is currently $200,000, it is wise to seek a higher coverage amount, as stated above. Alberta also requires drivers to have accident benefits coverage, as this covers the passengers of a vehicle, in the event of injury or death. Regardless of who may be at fault, this kind of insurance will cover medical and rehabilitation costs, funeral expenses, death benefits, and income replacement, depending on the situation. Accident benefits will also give you uninsured motorist coverage, in the event that you are involved in an accident with an uninsured driver.Although third-party liability and accident benefits insurance are the minimum requirements necessary to drive in Alberta, there are other types of coverage that may interest you. Collision coverage, for example, will cover any repairs to your vehicle that have been caused by an accident with another vehicle or an object. Best of all, the repair or replacement of your vehicle is covered, regardless of whether or not you are at fault for the damages.Comprehensive insurance goes a step further, by covering damages to your vehicle that were not the result of an accident or collision of any kind. This insurance protects your vehicle from threats including fire, theft, vandalism, and environmental or weather-related damages. This is the greatest degree of coverage available through an auto insurance policy.If you don’t need such extensive insurance coverage, specified perils insurance offers a happy medium. Specified perils insurance offers more protection than collision insurance, but is not quite as extensive as comprehensive insurance. This type of insurance covers damages caused by the perils that you specifically name within your policy, which are not the result of a collision. This way, you can choose what you’re insured for, and whatever perils are not named specifically will not be covered.Trust the Team of Experts at InsurEye Auto insurance does not have to be a scary or difficult process. At InsurEye, we are passionate about helping our clients find the best possible insurance prices, for policies that suit their specific needs. Whether this is your first time shopping for insurance, or you’ve done it multiple times in the past, it is our hope that we can find you a better price, without sacrificing coverage. See how much you can save on auto insurance in Alberta with the help of InsurEye!