Protect your car against theft

The national body with the responsibility of coordinating the response to the problem of vehicle theft is the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). This is a not-for-profit corporation that liaises between local and national law enforcement, the FBI, the manufacturers, and the insurance industry. It's also responsible for establishing lines of communication with the public to ensure you help out. After all, if owners walk away from their vehicles leaving the keys behind, this helps the thieves. The manufacturers can have put every possible security measure in place, but it ultimately comes down to the majority protecting their property. If you're tempted to rely on the comprehensive auto insurance policy, remember the premium rate rises every year. The reason is the volume of claims. If you contribute to the total by making a claim yourself, the quote when you come to renew is not going to make comfortable reading.

Check the NICB site for the latest list of the vehicles it's easiest to steal. If at all possible, don't buy anything in the top ten for your state. One emerging factor is the ability of professional thieves to steal the key codes for specific vehicles. In the first three moths of 2012, there have been about one-hundred thefts a month using replacement keys and stolen codes. The NICB is working with the manufacturers to repair this security breach.

More generally, it comes down to you to protect your own vehicle. Remember, if you claim, the premium rate will rise sharply the next time you're looking for cheap car insurance. This is not good news in these difficult economic times. So use your common sense and park where there's a reasonable level of security. Many makes and models come with alarms fitted as standard. Think about adding some technology to prevent a thief from driving your vehicle away and, if the immobilizing device is defeated, a tracking device to find where it's gone. The more you protect yourself, the higher the discounts and so the easier to find cheap car insurance.

Auto insurance quotes and identity theft after an accident

Even minor auto accidents are stressful. Your prized vehicle has been damaged. You may feel shaken physically. You may feel angry, whether with yourself or the other driver. This makes it easy for you to say too much. Let's start with a simple rule. Although it costs you nothing in a no-fault state, making any type of admission of fault is a bad idea in all the at-fault states. This goes double if the other driver or passengers are holding devices that may be recording what you say. Say as little as you feel possible in all the circumstances. This protects your position until you have a chance to think calmly about what happened.

In a recent survey, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found about 40% of drivers were prepared to share all the information on their driver's license. About 17% admitted they would allow the other driver to take a photograph of their license. Although this may sound a convenient way of exchanging information, this opens you to identity theft. The information on the license is one of the standard tools used to establish your identity for telephone and internet transactions. Giving other people your home address and license number potentially allows others to assume your identity. Indeed, 25% of respondents said they would always pass on their home address and 30% would give their personal telephone numbers. Neither disclosure is legally required. The law only instructs you to give your name and proof of insurance. The only telephone number you need give is that of your insurer.

What can you do to protect yourself and maintain auto insurance quotes?

In 2011, there were more than 9 million reported cases of identity theft. This seriously disrupts your life, damages your financial reputation and leaves your credit score on the floor. So don't expose yourself to the risk of further losses by saying too much. Keep yourself safe after the accident and, by so going, keep your auto insurance quotes lower when renewal time comes round. More importantly, if everyone keeps their losses within reasonable limits, everyone's car insurance quotes stay lower. So whether for selfish or altruistic reasons, take care.

Pros and cons of additional black boxes offered by auto insurance companies

You are the kind of person that does things right the first time. You did your comparison shopping, got your insurance quotes. You have a clean record, and think you are getting the most car insurance discounts possible. However, your still wondering is there anything else I can do to get cheap car insurance. Maybe...are you willing to put your driving to the test?

Technology is allowing insurance companies to add another tool to their arsenal that helps them decide if you are a good driver or not. Your driving record may be spotless, but not flawless. Just because you have no tickets, no points, and have been accident free for a number of years, you still may exhibit risky driving patterns. Or, you may be as safe a driver as you think you are.

Most new models (over 80 %) have black boxes already installed at the factory. Moreover, the US senate passed a mandate for cars built in 2015 to have a data recorder that monitors at least 15 different variables leading up to a crash. You can check your owner's manual to find out if you car is equipped with an EDR (event data recorder). EDR's record you speed at the accident, how long it took safety equipment to engage--like airbags to deploy, how the brakes were applied and more. This data belongs to the owner of the car. They can only access the data after an accident and if you give them access or they own the car. If your car is totaled and the insurance company pays you, your insurance company owns the data and can analyze it.

However, if you want the chance to get the best safe driver discount you can opt to have the insurance company add an additional black box to your vehicle, which will sends them data about your driving habits in real time. It will record your momentum around curves, driving speeds, breaking distance, application of the brakes, average distance verses speed and more. IT does not record your GPS. While some of the advertisements say your premiums will not go up if you employ an insurance company black box, that generally is limited to the current contract. At renewal time, if your driving proved to be more risky than you thought, you will see a premium increase. However if your driving is truly safe then a black box is a great way to get cheap car insurance.