Reader’s Question:

Is there even such a thing as a cheap car insurance quote?

Henry

Baltimore, MD

Cheap car insurance may seem like a contradiction in terms, but getting a cheap car insurance quote is not such a remote possibility. There are generally three things that affect how high or low a quote is. First, there is the amount of risk you as a policyholder may be to the provider. Second is how much cost the provider incurs to operate its business. Finally there is the estimated amount of losses from claims that the provider expects may happen within a year of doing business. A cheap car insurance quote will then be a matter of getting the right combination of all three factors.

Among the three, the first one is probably what you can most actively influence. You can get closer to achieving that cheap car insurance quote by maintaining a clean motor vehicle record and making sure your car has standard safety features. The second and third factors are largely external. A cheap car insurance quote is more likely to come from a small company with a small overhead. It is also more likely if you reside in a less populated area where the traffic situation and crime rate is not as dramatic as metropolitan areas.