Friday, August 22, 2008

Cheaper Auto Insurance Rates -- Effects Of Your Zip Code

By Chimpuriche Chihunrumnanya


The fact that a person's zip code affects his/her auto insurance rate isn't as apparent as the effect it has on their home owners' policy. But it does have a huge effect.

Getting this clear is important especially when you're about to buy or rent a new home. What you might save in buying a home in a certain location might become totally insignificant when compared with the extra you pay for an auto policy. Let's see why...

1. We all know that your annual mileage partly determines the risk an insurer carries by insuring you. If you live far from places you drive to daily, your mileage will be a lot higher than if you lived a lot closer.

Take your place of work as an example: If your home is 10 Km from your office and you drive there five days a week, you'll accumulate twice as much mileage as your neighbor whose office is just 5km away.

Secondly, the area you live in will determine whether you'll have access to standard mass transit. Using the mass transit will definitely help you cut down your rate.

2. If your home is in a high crime zone, you'll definitely get higher rates. This is because you are exposed to a higher risk of theft and vandalism.

This simply means that taking some time to calculate the effect of house A and B on your auto insurance rate is very important if you're about buying a new home. You might save a few hundred dollars on a house only to pay a lot more in auto insurance premium dollars over 20 or more years.

If you've already bought a home, take some time to do thorough comparison shopping to locate insurers who are more favorably disposed to your zip code. Their rates will vary from negligibly to widely.

And, if you're shopping for a home, it will be a smart idea to also compare auto insurance quotes for the different zip codes. Remember, if your zip code adds $250 to your annual auto insurance premium, you'll pay $5,000 extra over the course of 20 years!

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