Fighting rising car insurance rates

You may be in for a shock when you get your policy's renewal notice in the mail, because it looks like car insurance rates may be on the rise.

At the end of each quarter (every three months), Kanetix.ca takes a look at the car insurance quotes obtained from people shopping for auto insurance. For the second quarter in a row now, the average lowest quote has been higher in 2007 then the same 3-month period in 2006.

The study looked at the lowest auto insurance quote obtained by Ontario insurance shoppers during the months of October, November and December of 2007, came up with an average, and compared it to the same for 2006. With a 5.3% increase year-over-year, the latest Kanetix.ca study suggests that auto insurance will soon become more expensive for many drivers. This is significantly higher than the previous quarter, where a 1.5% increase was noted; the first increase since the start of the study (read the related article, Are auto insurance premiums on the rise?).

If you see your auto insurance rates increase, what can you do?

Plenty. The following are tips to keep in mind if your rates start to climb.

• Don't believe the myths about auto insurance premiums.
  Auto insurance premiums across insurance companies ARE NOT the same. What you are paying now with your current insurer is not the same as what you would get with another. In fact, each insurer's car insurance rates are so unique to them that it's safe to say that no two are alike.



• Shop around
  Get car insurance quotes instantly online. Through Kanetix.ca's online quote comparison service, drivers get quotes from competing insurers - so the shopping is done for you.



• Shopping around is for everyone, not only bad drivers
  This is a combination of the two tips above, but worthy of being stated on its own. Too often, drivers think that only those with bad driving histories have to shop around; not so much as to find a decent price, but to find coverage period. Everyone, good drivers or bad, should shop around to make sure they're getting the best price for the coverage they need.



• Compare apples-to-apples while shopping
  When you compare car insurance rates, make sure you're consistent and include the same deductibles, coverages (like collision and comprehensive), and limitations so you're comparing like-rates. At comparison sites where you can actually compare competing rates, they'll do this for you.



• Never pay for a quote
  Whether online, or offline, if you're shopping around for auto insurance you should never, ever pay to get a quote. It's simply shady. Online quote comparison services like Kanetix.ca do not charge you to get quotes from competing insurers and do not tack on fees to the quotes you see.