Some car owners tend to get surprised when they learn about different insurance rates for different car types. From their point of view, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a small car or a hot rod as long as they have a good driving record and don’t get in trouble in traffic. Even so, for auto insurance providers, it’s a whole distinct perspective and they will charge you with different premiums depending on the type of car you’re trying to insure. In this perspective, you should bear in mind the following characteristics of each car type and make your decisions correctly if you want your auto insurance budget to be limited:

Small cars

Small cars are generally quite cheap and rather comfortable in the conditions of a big city with heavy traffic. They typically have low engine volumes, top speed, get stolen quite rarely and are inexpensive to handle at repair. Nevertheless, auto insurance can sometimes be a bit costly for small cars because they tend to get damaged very bad during accidents. The laws of physics aren’t on small cars’ side during collisions because the smaller object tends to get the most damage regardless of the safety features the manufacturer has included. Due to this costly claims tend to arise more often with such vehicles, and the insurers respond with respective pricing.

Medium sized cars and family vehicles

Medium class cars are typically regarded as the safest and the cheapest to insure. Of course, it depends on the particular make and model, but the general rule is that these cars are quite safe, have low repair costs and theft rates, and tend to get damaged much less than smaller vehicles during an accident. As a result, you will usually get the best auto insurance rates for this car type.

SUVs

SUVs are certainly very comfortable and give you a whole different perspective in traffic. However, it’s the size that we all love that can be a problem with these vehicles. Due to their size and increased mass as compared to other vehicle types SUVs tend to produce more damage during accidents, especially involving other cars. The third party liability in case of an SUV is likely to be higher because the other car tends to get damaged quite bad and there are likely to be injuries as well. Added to the higher repair costs for such vehicles SUVs are usually more expensive to insure.

Sports cars

Sports cars often seem as an advantageous option for car buyers since they are both cool and cheap. However, when it comes to insuring a typical sports car, you will actually have a hard time finding cheap auto insurance because insurers tend to classify such cars as high risk. Increased top speed, engine volume, elevated theft and accident rates as well as the likelihood to produce a very serious car crash all contribute to high auto insurance rates for sports cars.

Luxury vehicles

It’s logic that expensive luxury cars will cost more to insure than other car types. Nevertheless, it’s not because they are costlier to purchase – insurers have other reasons to charge higher rates for such vehicles. First of all, they are usually very costly to repair, often requiring exclusive and overpriced repair parts that are hard to find in an ordinary repair shop. Moreover, such vehicles are often targeted by car thieves and burglars due to their value and exclusivity. So don’t expect to get cheap auto insurance for any luxury car.

Let’s clear the decks for action on this topic. Although we all know opinion polls are not very reliable, there’s one consistent finding we can all agree with. When asked, more than half the drivers in America are angry they have to share the roads with drivers who text while they should be watching the road. Unfortunately, this anger dos not translate into effective action to get control of the problem. Yes, there are distracted-driver laws coming on to statute books across America but, so far, there’s little enthusiasm in the law enforcement community for enforcing them. For example, the maximum fine for texting while driving in Oregon is $142. The problem for the police is whether they should increase the number of vehicles on patrol. It might be better if these were unmarked and equipped with cameras providing clear evidence the offense was committed. So, at a time when state and city budgets are under pressure, is harassing texting drivers a high priority, or should the increasingly limited resources be dedicated to responding to reports of violent incidents?

Law enforcement is a difficult area when it comes to budgets. The GOP is generally supportive of policing strategies that improve public safety through zero-tolerance plans to lock up repeat offenders. This focuses attention on the cost of maintaining the prison service and a fast-response approach to picking up people involved in violent incidents. Given many senior law positions are elected, the police chiefs do not want to be seen upsetting the electorate, most of whom drive. This leads to low priorities in identifying drivers without insurance or a valid driving license, and even lower priority to catching those driving without wearing seat belts or while talking on their cells, texting, and so on. These are considered a “natural” part of driving and most officers turn a blind eye to offenses.

This is frustrating because the evidence of falling safety standards due to distraction is just as clear as the injury reductions when seat belt laws are properly enforced. In part, this more casual approach to safety is due to the enhanced design of modern vehicles. Drivers and passengers feel more safe so they care less about driving while distracted. Ironically, the people who care the most are the auto insurance companies. They are seeing the number of claims rise and it’s all down to the negligence of their drivers. That’s why there are some interesting new proposals on offer.

For teen drivers, some insurers are offering discounts if there’s a camera fitted inside the vehicle showing a continuous record of driver behavior. With both parents and insurers allowed to view in real time, this allows enforcement of simple rules like no texting, no distracting passengers in the back seat, and so on. If the rules are broken, the driving privileges can be withdrawn. The evidence now emerging from these insurer initiatives is encouraging with the general standard of driving improving. So, when you are getting the next round of auto insurance quotes, remember to check out what discounts are on offer if you allow technology to be fitted to your vehicles to monitor the way they are driven. Keep thinking, auto insurance quotes, discounts and safer driving for all. That’s worth sacrificing a little of your privacy.

If you ask a Libertarian for an opinion on people who hold their hands out for federal government or state aid, the printable version of the reply is likely to refer to such people as scroungers who should pay their own way through the hard times. The Tea Party is also hot on the subject, asserting the perils of Big Government. If it’s too quick to step in to help citizens in trouble, why should those citizens take any precautions. They can just sit back with their hands out and, sooner or later, the Government will put some money in it. Everyone on the right points to the private insurance industry and pushes the notion everyone should pay for cover and never be allowed to rely on tax dollars for support. There’s a slight change of tone when a disaster hits the home of a Libertarian. Then there’s criticism of the slowness of the response by federal government. Such is life for the flip-floppers.

For the more rational members of the community, there’s no such thing as too much help if there’s a disaster. The more Government or state aid, the more quickly the community can be put back on its feet. This help should not just look at the big picture of repairing roads and bridges so people can move around again. It also comes down to the individual level for those most in need. Not surprisingly, the federal government recognizes there are whole swathes of the population who either cannot afford health insurance or will end up underinsured – this includes those who think they are lucky enough never to be affected by a natural disaster. This brings us to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This federal agency has the responsibility for coordinating the response to any disaster. It can be man-made like an explosion at a nuclear power plant, an erupting volcano, or a hurricane producing a major storm surge. If the scale of the resulting disaster is more than a state can reasonably be expected to deal with on its own, FEMA steps in to offer its expertise.

This includes its Individual Assistance Program, designed to help those who are uninsured or underinsured. This aims to offer practical help to move home contents into storage, provide temporary housing while reconstruction work continues, and cover the cost of any medical treatment for injuries sustained in the disaster. Note you cannot claim twice under an existing policy and then under the FEMA program. If there’s overlapping cover, you have to decide which one to claim against. But if your cover is not going to be accessible because you cannot afford the high deductible or because you were underinsured in any event, the FEMA program will help bridge the gap. Indeed, the FEMA program can be the difference between having nothing and having some clothes to wear and somewhere to live while the situation is stabilized.

If you live in an area which is prone to flooding or seems to be getting more than its fair share of catastrophic weather events, you should look at the FEMA Individual Assistance Program. It may not be a substitute for conventional homeowners insurance quotes from a private insurer, but you should know what additional help is available when you getting your next homeowners insurance quotes.

The business of underwriting is all about estimating the risk of loss. In broad generalities, that means a red mean-machine driven by a teen is likely to be involved in an accident, whereas a family saloon driven by a homemaker with a baby in back is likely to arrive safely. Although stereotypes are not always helpful, there are some very detailed statistics showing which drivers are most likely to make claims. Not surprisingly, the people who only drive occasionally and at off-peak times when there’s little traffic on the roads have the lowest accident rate. When the statistics confirmed this common sense assessment, insurers wanted to offer low mileage drivers a substantial discount. Unfortunately, large numbers of people are dishonest and claim low mileage simply to get the discount. Faced with this problem, most insurers either refused a discount or only offered a token percentage.

Technology has now come into play. Many new vehicles leave the factory with on-board computing power and transmitters. In the more sophisticated vehicles, this allows the vehicle to signal a garage when maintenance work is required. This technology can also be modified to monitor when and how the vehicle is driven, transmitting the results to insurers. For vehicles without the basic technology installed, black boxes have been developed. They can be plugged into the vehicle’s electronic systems and collect all the relevant data.

This is Big Brother technology to tell the insurer exactly when you drive and how many miles you travel. But it solves the problem of dishonest reporting. So many insurance companies are now offering plans directly based on the mileage traveled in a week. This is of immediate benefit to homemakers and seniors who only make short trips during the day. The most honest of the insurers are offering up to 40% discount to those who use the vehicle the least. It also helps the environment by encouraging people to use private transport less. If people walked more, it would make us less dependent on imported oil. It also reduces pollution. With better air quality, people with breathing difficulties have a better quality of life.

Not everyone approves of this technology. It’s considered an invasion of privacy. Indeed, with the right software, the insurers and anyone else who has access to the data will know exactly where the vehicle has been driven. This could prove involvement in criminal activity or suggest infidelity. Of course, the insurers protest they have no interest in making this data available to law enforcement agencies or anxious wives. But there’s a case about to be considered in the Supreme Court where monitoring a GPS transponder evidenced involvement in drug dealing. It will be interesting to see what our highest court has to say about this use of the technology.

As an example of an insurance plan, State Farm are promoting a Drive Safe and Save Plan in Illinois. This is based on the installation of a plugin device called In-Drive. Effectively, this enables drivers to pay for their insurance by the mile. Car insurance rates can be significantly lowered if you are prepared to accept positive monitoring of your driving. Look for the option the next time you get car insurance quotes from the top insurers. Big savings are available.

It’s a curious fact that the federal government does very little to monitor the amount of crime. You would imagine the Department of Justice would be interested to follow the statistics of wrongdoing so that resources could be targeted where most needed. Instead, we have judicial statistics that record the number of cases coming before the courts – the tip of the iceberg with so little crime actually detected. The police admit to solving less than 10% of the burglaries reported to them. Yet the statistics show the number of burglaries has been falling. This surprising fact is explained in two ways. First, most people have the basic contents of a home so burglars struggle to find buyers for the goods they steal. Second, more than a quarter of our homes are now fitted with an alarm system, iron bars on the windows, and stronger doors. This makes it more difficult for the burglar to break in. Obviously, a determined thief will always get in but, if it looks too much hassle, most move on in search of a home where the owner has helpfully left a door or window open.

So let’s start with the good news. Most insurers offer a discount for people who fit security measures to reduce the risk of a burglary. Check with your current insurer to see what gives the biggest savings. Now come back to your home with a little more confidence. You may still find the worst has happened, but you have done your best to prevent it. Now the practicalities: did you have enough cover? Whether you are a renter or an owner, it’s worth paying the full rate to cover the replacement value of all your possessions. Walk through the rooms and make a list. It’s too easy just to think of the more expensive items like the television, your computer(s), cameras and music equipment. You will be surprised how quickly the value of the contents rises when you actually list all you have.

In fact, there should be two lists. One should be the everyday possessions, the other the expensive items. This can be jewelry, artwork and other collectibles. Take photographs of all the expensive items. For all the larger electronic and domestic goods, make a note of the serial numbers. Insurance companies are always more comfortable if you have proof of purchase – yes, it’s a good idea to keep receipts and instruction manuals should a claims adjuster ask for them. Receipts are also useful to show the original value. If you have no receipts, look for evidence of payments on credit card and bank statements. Even PayPal may show payment when you bought online.

Although this all looks a lot of hassle, you are smoothing the way should you come back to a burglarized home. Now you have a master list, it’s easy to find what’s been stolen. The claims check is also likely to arrive more quickly, which should make you feel a little better. Now spend some dollars to make your home a fortress and the next home insurance quotes will not rise too much. When you claim, remember this will be recorded in CLUE and A-PLUS so, when you next come to renew your homeowners insurance, all insurers will know about your claims history.