Cheap Car Insurance for First Time Drivers

For anyone to drive on the roads in a country, they must have motor insurance. Most states and countries require one to have the minimum required type of car insurance. This type of insurance is referred to as third party insurance.

As a first time driver, one should comply with the required transport laws. Whenever one goes for insurance, it is important to shop around for the type of insurance that suits inexperienced drivers. In most cases, young or new drivers are given higher premiums in insurance. The reason for the high premium rates is because new drivers tend to take some time before they can gain experience in driving.

It is possible to get cheaper insurance even if one is an inexperienced driver. First, one needs to know the types of insurance available and their specific coverage.

Liability Insurance

Liability coverage covers for the damages that someone may cause while driving. There are two types of liability coverage. They include:

• Property damage coverage: This cover takes care of any damage a driver may cause to another person’s property while driving his or her car. One will not be required to pay from his or her pocket of any expenses that will come as a result of a car hitting and destroying gates, garages among other private property.
• Bodily injury liability: This cover takes care of anyone who is injured as a result of a motor vehicle accidents. The specific costs covered under this coverage include legal fees, the injured person’s medical charges, and their lost wages. There are further two limits, with one applying to each injured person and the other to each accident.

Liability insurance does not cover the driver nor his car, and that means they need to enhance the cover so as to be protected. It is, however, available in all states and can be taken for any vehicle

How to know if a type of coverage is cheap

To get a cheap car insurance, a new driver should pay attention to some tips. They include:

• Including only themselves as the driver or at least minimizing the number of drivers registered under a policy. When the number of drivers insured increase, one pays higher premiums for the cover.
• Taking a one off payment, rather than going for monthly payments, may end up saving a first-time driver up to 30% of the total payments made
• Keeping the mileage accurate: First-time drivers should be able to keep a record of their car mileage. Most people taking their first drive in cars may not know how many miles they cover annually. It is important that they note the fact that insurers use the mileage to calculate the premiums. As such, drivers are required to provide an approximate annual mileage to the insurer.

To know the distance a driver covers, he or she can approximate the distance between the house and place of work or school. Weekend visits to friends, shopping malls and relatives should also be included to provide appropriate mileage information. The mile estimates can be calculated from weekly to monthly and finally yearly mileage.

Covers that protect a driver in case of injury

• Personal injury protection: This is an insurance cover that protects the driver from injury in the event of a car accident. The coverage helps a driver by paying the health insurance deductible for those who have health insurance. It also takes care of medical fees that exceed one’s health insurance limits. Even in extreme scenarios of death, Personal Injury protection cover takes care of the funeral expenses. It is however not available in all the States in the US.
• Medical Payments Coverage: This is an enhanced coverage similar to the Personal Injury Protection Coverage. It takes care of other passengers who may be in the car during an accident. It also covers the members of the family who may be driving the car when an accident occurs. The medical fees of the passengers in the car and the family member are covered under the Medical Payments cover.

Coverage to protect a driver’s vehicle

In most cases, insurances either cover a third party or the driver. The vehicle remains uninsured. However, there are some covers a first-time driver can take to protect his or her vehicle in the event of an accident. These covers include:

• The Guaranteed Asset Protection: cases of vehicle theft and accidents can be covered under the Guaranteed Asset Protection cover. One is issued with a fair market value for the lost or damaged car.
• The Collision cover: This cover aids in the repair or replacement of a car after a collision. The costs may be covered for a collision with another car or object.
• The comprehensive cover: This coverage is a bit distinct from the other two. First-time drivers who wish to cover for other damages other than car accidents can get this cover. It pays for instances such as car theft, damages from trees, riots, water or other falling objects.

The Underinsured and Uninsured Motorist Coverage

First-time drivers may opt for protection against drivers who have not been insured. In the case where a driver gets hit by a driver without any coverage, there will be compensation for the car damage or injuries inflicted on the driver. There are two types of insurance under this coverage:

• Uninsured motorist cover: This coverage caters for bodily harm or car damage caused by a driver who has no coverage at all.
• Underinsured Motorist cover: This coverage caters for bodily harm or car damage caused by a driver who does not have high insurance limits that can cover your car damages or body injuries.

Tips to find Cheap Insurance

First-time drivers have the critical decision of finding affordable vehicle coverage. Some tips may help in securing good but cheap insurance for their vehicles. They include:

• Purchasing safer vehicles: Some vehicles in the market have safety features which make one get discounts when insurers are calculating premiums.
• Considering multi-line coverage- first-time drivers may opt to insure multiple properties under the same insurer so as to get discounts for them.
• Enrolling and successfully completing driver training courses: some insurers will always give discounts to vehicles whose drivers have completed a driving training course.
• Exploring more on discounts for teen drivers: Most first time drivers consist of teenagers. They are expensive to insure, but insurers are giving out discounts to teenagers with good results at school or from driving schools.