Auto Insurance Canada

Summertime is here, the winter but a bad memory! One of the features of summertime in Canada is the sight of convertibles once again becoming commonplace. Very few car owners can say they haven’t daydreamed at one point or another of cruising down the highway, wind whipping in their hair and the horizon stretching in front of them!

However, for the pragmatists amongst us, issues such as practicality and car insurance premiums invariably come into any purchasing decision. Do convertibles or soft tops cost more to insure? The perception is that they do, let’s see if this holds true.

First off, how are car insurance quotes for a particular model calculated in the first instance? All insurance quotes are based on empirical evidence of claims made for that type of vehicle, rather than the characteristics of the vehicle itself!

So the same holds for soft tops, whether or not they are claimed on more than their hardtop counterparts is what decides whether their premiums are higher or not.

Insurance comparison website Kanetix, (who also offer price comparisons for our US based readers) undertook some research on this very issue, and the results they found surprised many. Using their free online car insurance comparison tool, they came to the following conclusions. For the following models a price comparison was completed.

·         Audi A4 Cabriolet
·         Pontiac G6 GT Convertible
·         Toyota Solara SLE Convertible
·         MINI Cooper Convertible
·         Ford Mustang Convertible

For each vehicle, the number of quotes provided ranged from 9 to 12 from the various insurers available through kanetix; and in each case the average quoted price was less for the convertibles than their non-convertible version.

If this wasn’t suprising enough in itself, it was actually found that buying a convertible may actually help you save in certain cases! Differences of almost 2 per cent less to up to 10 per cent less than their ‘hard-top’ counterpart were observed. An expensive myth to be sure!

As to why the soft tops cost less to insure, we again return to the issue of less claims made. Perhaps the fact they are only driven during the summer months and avoid the winter driving conditions make for less claims, in any case it is a myth and an expensive one too!

So if you always dreamed of burning down Highway 66 in a soft top, get multiple quotes from competing suppliers for car insurance via Kanetix, and see whether or not buying a convertible will necessarily hit your pockets! And even if the softop doesn’t work out, be sure to compare quotes on your current vehicle, and see if you can find the best car insurance for your personalized needs!

And remember, the quote you receive for your convertible may also be the Cheapest Auto Insurance !

Recession chic is in, it’s official. As the global economic downturn begins to bite, consumers everywhere are looking to penny pinch. Price sensitivity is at a level retailers became unaccustomed to in the boom years, slowly but surely we are turning to cheaper options in our everyday lives.
But in the rush to save pennies, we must not forget the adage, that if you always pay peanuts, you will sometimes get monkeys. With this in mind we examine whether the cheapest auto insurance is always the best option for individual consumers.
By choosing the cheapest quote we take into account only the price. Quite apart from the price, the current economic climate has introduced new concerns for consumers looking to purchase insurance policies. A few high profile bailouts of prominent institutions now mean the man in the street is worrying about the financial integrity of his or her insurance provider.

A good starting point is to look up an online ratings agency, which will help you to ascertain the financially soundest companies. Many insurance providers are publicly traded companies folks, so the information is out there for those who seek it! It is good to remember that the financially strongest companies may also be the most competitive when compared-more on that later.

Once you have reassured yourself that your would-be Insurance providers won’t be disappearing into a hole in the ground tomorrow, you can start the next phase of your research.

When we purchase insurance we all hope that the next time we need to interact with our provider is upon renewal. But accidents will happen; so it is important that you take this into account when researching.
A quick telephone call to your jurisdictions insurance regulators office will allow you to uncover any major complaints made against a particular company, and certainly separate the customer service wheat from the chaff.

Consumers now have access to information such as rankings on overall customer satisfaction, claims payment history, pricing, and communications via the internet. Use these resources to see who offers the best customer experience. There are a myriad of consumer sites in cyberspace where consumers share their customer service experiences and these will help you get a feel for who is popular amongst your auto insurance purchasing peers.

All that is left at this point is to seek out the the auto insurance quote that suits your personal needs. Kanetix.ca is a free online price comparison service that has been helping Canadians search for their best auto insurance provider since 1999.

Kanetix.com is the sister site of Kanetix.ca and is now offering the same service to US based customers via their free user friendly service. Not only is the service free, but it allows you to get multiple personalized quotes from competing insurers by only entering your information once. So you can search for not only the cheapest auto insurance policy, but one that corresponds to your individual needs.

Personalized auto insurance quote?

In closing, it’s clear that the cheapest auto insurance quote may not always be the best option, as it only takes pricing into account. Your personal profile and expectations are what will determine what the best quote for you is, therefore robust research and a personalized price comparison are the tools you need to choose the best policy for your needs at the cheapest price.

There is a old saying that you should only believe half of what you see, and none of what you hear. This could easily be applied to Car Insurance, heres a quick rundown to help you seperate fact from fiction!

“The colour of your car affects your premium”

Whether your car is a sober grey or a kaleidoscope of colour, it will not in any way affect your premium.

To use an analogy, insurance providers are colour blind. So don’t fret too much about choosing the yellow Ferrari over the red, it will not affect your premium!

“2 Door vehicles cost more to ensure than 4 door vehicles of the same make and model”

On a case to case basis, this may or may not be the truth. The truth is that the amount of doors on your vehicle is largely irrelevant.

Premiums for individual vehicles are calculated with reference to the claims history unique to that make and model.  The real factors are the accident frequency, safety ratings, and incidences of theft and vandalism for each make and model of car. 

So, depending on the claims history, a four door may cost more to insure than a 2 door and vice versa.

“Parking Tickets will increase your premium”

You may breathe a sigh of relief, luckily for most of us, this is not the case.

What will affect your premium is unpaid tickets. Unpaid tickets affect your ability to renew your license, and may ultimately lead to a suspension. Needless to say, this will definitely increase your premium.

“Speeding tickets will increase your premium”

It all depends. Get your first minor speeding ticket (up to 50km/h over the speed limit), and chances are your premium will not be adversely affected. However, once they start piling up, insurance companies will take heed and increase your premium in all probability.

Unsuprisingly a major speeding ticket (more than 50 km/hr over the limit) will almost certainly lighten your wallet.

“If you are not at fault, you don’t have to pay your deductible”

It is the insurance company who have the final say as to whether or not you pay your deductible.

The police may well have deemed you not to be criminally responsible for the accident, but until the insurance company have investigated and ruled the accident not to be your fault, they have a right to waive your deductible. Until this is decided, you may have to cover the cost of any repairs yourself.

“All insurance companies charge the same rates so it doesn’t matter who you insure with”

Probably the most widely held (and expensive) myth. Insurance companies like any other enterprise are competing for a limited amount of paying customers, and as such their rates vary, in many cases greatly.

For any given individual driver profile and car model, it is safe to say you will never find two identical quotes from different companies. The way each company calculates their premiums vary greatly. Some put greater emphasis on driver experience, some on claims history, and so on and so forth.

It pays to compare and shop around, try the auto insurance comparison tool at www.kanetix.ca . It is a quick an easy comparison tool which will give you rates from multiple competing insurers.

Keep your car uncluttered – don’t have electronic devices, valuables, laptops, backpacks or purses, packages, or anything at all important inside your car and on display. Avoid tempting vandals and thieves with inviting items in full view. If you are consistently careless about this, your auto insurance rate will likely suffer one day.

Always take your keys with you - even if you are just dashing into the house to grab something, turn your car off and take your keys with you. Don’t leave your car running when going to the corner store, warming up the car in the winter, stopping at gas stations, or when going to the bank machine (bad for the environment too). Don’t leave a set of spare keys inside the car; experienced car thieves (i.e. car insurance rate increaser’s) know where to look for them.

Roll up all of your windows and lock your doors - you can always air out your car later, if you are worried about your car getting stuffy. It’s better to have a stuffy car than no car at all and a higher auto insurance rate later. This rule of course, doesn’t’ apply when you have children or animals in the car. Lock your doors when your car is in your driveway, parked on the street, in the parking lot at work, and even if you go for a quick run to the corner store for some milk. When driving, be cautious about traveling through non-major and dimly lit streets, but, if you have to, make sure you keep your eyes open and your doors locked.

Parking. Park your car in your own private locked garage if you can, rather than on the sidewalk or even in the driveway. If you have more than one car, consider keeping the more valuable one in the garage. Make sure to park in well-lit areas. If you know that you will not be returning to your car until later at night, it’s worthwhile to consider parking in a safer parking lot.

When you approach your car at night, always have your keys ready, and if possible, carry a flashlight with you. Before you start your car, make sure to take a look in the backseat and around the car and lock the doors once inside. Be wary if your car is parked between large vehicles, like vans or SUVs, to avoid being ambushed. It’s better to spend the money on parking at an attended lot than to park in a deserted street where there are no passerby’s, attendants, or witnesses. Remember, besides your auto insurance rate, or even your car, it’s ultimately your safety that should be your first priority.

Consider the type of car you buy in the future. If the make and model of car that you’re considering for purchase has a bad history of car theft, then it’s very likely that your auto insurance rate will be significantly higher than it would be with a car that has a lower auto theft rating. Consider your choice from this perspective.

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Curious if there’s a better car insurance deal out there for you? Check your rates through kanetix car insurance shopping. You’ll get multiple quotes from multiple car insurance providers. It just might be worth your while to switch providers.

Cheaper Auto Insurance at Your Fingertips If only there was a magic wand that you could wave, or enchantment that you could say, that would make all your auto insurance fees go away! Unfortunately, we don’t live in a world where insurance-disappearing magic happens, nor is there a patented 10 step guide that will get you cheaper auto insurance. In the mean time, here are a few tips and pointers that can be quite helpful if you are looking for cheaper auto insurance.

1. Getting a Policy. There are a few things to remember when you get a policy. First, don’t settle for average car insurance or the first insurance company or policy that you happen to find. Check up on a few different companies to see what kind of coverage they offer and at what kind of prices.
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