Paying your bills can take a big chunk out of you’re checking account, which is why it is so important to take a close look at where you are spending your money. One major category of spending for most households are insurance, and you probably carry many types, including homeowners or renters, health, life, and auto. Today, we would like to help you lower your cost of auto insurance in Colorado.

Increase Your Deductible: One feature of your insurance policy is the deductible, which is the amount you need to pay before your insurance company will cover the rest of the repair bill. Usually, the deductible comes into play only when you are making a comprehensive or collision claim for which you are at least partly at fault. To save money, you should consider increasing the amount of the deductible, which will decrease the amount of your insurance premiums.

Drive Safely: Your insurance rates are tied to your driving record, and infractions tied to your driver’s license can increase your premiums. In addition, making insurance claims can also increase your premiums. The longer you drive safely without any accidents or moving violations, the lower your car insurance bill will be.

Compare Quotes from Different Companies: As your independent agent, we can help you gather auto insurance quotes from many different leading insurance providers in the area. Not all providers charge the same amount for the same policy, and we can do the work of gathering quotes on your behalf. Then all that is left for you to do is to look over the policies and choose the one with the lowest cost. Get an instant quote online or contact us today to get started!

An auto insurance policy can only be purchased from an insurance company licensed to sell insurance in your state. If you live in Florida, you have to buy a Florida auto insurance policy. If you live in Texas, you have to buy a Texas auto insurance policy.

Even though you have to buy insurance coverage in the state in which you live, your insurance coverage extends to other states or even other countries. If you are involved in an accident while hundreds or thousands of miles away from home, you are protected up to the limits of your policy.

So, when you decide to pack up the car and take an extended road trip from your home in Maine to Minnesota, you are covered in Massachusetts, New York, Ohio and every other state through which you may travel. If you decide to take a swing north through Toronto, you will be covered if you have a crash.

Think how messy it would be if your auto insurance only covered you while you were within the boundaries of your home state. If that was the case, you would have to buy a separate policy for every state you planned to visit or risk driving without coverage. If you happened to live in one state and commute to work in another, it would require a second policy. Give our leaders and legislatures a little credit for allowing auto insurance to travel with you.

While car insurance functions in essentially the same way no matter which state you buy it in, there are some differences based on the insurance requirements in each state. You may be required to carry more liability coverage or the average premium may be higher in one state as compared to another. If you move to another state, you have a limited period of time to take the necessary steps to obtain coverage in your new state.

If you’re a long-time car owner, you probably realize that the term "pre-accident condition" is a myth, and that the minute your car is in an accident, it’s lost some value, no matter how good the repairs are. With so many companies out there now providing detailed car history reports, you can rest assured that whomever you sell or trade your car in to will know all about any accidents in its past, too. There is sometimes a way to recoup some of that depreciation cost by seeking "diminished value compensation" from the insurance company of the party who caused the accident.

First off, you will almost never qualify for compensation for the decreased value of your car if you are at fault in the accident. Whether an insurance company has to pay you for the decreased value of your car in an accident when someone else is at fault depends greatly on the laws of your state. If your state does allow this type of claim, you will need to contact the insurance company yourself–they will very rarely offer to pay this type of compensation up front without you seeking it. In some cases, you might not get compensation until you seek legal counsel or file a complaint with the insurance commissioner for your state.

Diminished value claims are relatively uncommon at this time, and as such, they are tricky to navigate. It helps to talk to someone who knows your state’s insurance laws backwards and forwards. As your independent agent, we can tell you whether or not it’s worthwhile to make a claim and how you can increase your chance of success, so contact us today!