"I've been doing research on the vehicle insuring process for US cities for the past year, and what I've discovered is that the buying/insuring process can vary greatly depending on which US City you live in."
In this article, I'll be covering 9 of the most interesting differences that I discovered for the following American cities: Austin, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Seattle.
Let's Get Learning ………………………
Tip #1 - Austin TexasOh to be young ………………… but then you have to go out and get a policy to insure your car - then it's not so great being young. 18-24 years olds in Austin are charged at higher rates due to their greater risk of accidents. Austin has one of the highest concentrations of this young demographic. Learn what discounts are available to keep your student policy rates down:Austin auto insurance
Tip #2 - Dallas TexasIt's sad but true, a car accident caused by an uninsured motorist (against you) will leave you with nothing. Your insurance won't pay to cover it because it wasn't your fault, and they don't have insurer to stick the bill to. So who pays? Well there have been successful legal cases where money was recovered from the other driver, but if the other person is an illegal immigrant (as can happen in Dallas) don't expect to be seeing anything. Instead, it pays to be safe by getting uninsured driver coverage:Dallas auto insurance
Tip #3 - Houston TexasDid you know that Hurricane Katrina triggered a huge population increase of refugees into Houston? After results from the next census come back, insurers could be raising rates significantly for areas that saw their population density increase dramatically (More densely populated ZIP codes are usually charged at higher rates).
There are things you can do to keep your Houston policy prices low though:Houston auto insurance
Tip #4 - Atlanta GeorgiaThe largest city of Georgia has seen a marked population increase over the last few years that has culminated in economic prosperity, but also an increase in crime. Most notably, the latest increase in car thefts has insurers raising rates for comprehensive coverage. There are things can do though to keep your Atlanta policy prices in check: Atlanta auto insurance
Tip #5 - Boston MassachusettsOne of the burdens of driving in Boston becomes apparent during Winter time. Slick parking lots and driveways result in parked car accidents (with non-moving vehicles). Unfortunately your Property Damage coverage won't reimburse you for this but there is another coverage type that can:Boston auto insurance
Tip #6 - Chicago IllinoisIt's unfortunate but true, Chicago drivers have to put up with higher policy rates due to the fact that the city of Chicago is one of the most densely populated cities in the US. Because of this, Insurers charge higher rates (for highly populated areas) to make up for the increased risk that the residents in this area are more at risk of a car accident, learn more about Chicago insurance oddities: Chicago car insurance
Tip #7 - Los Angeles CaliforniaGetting sued for a million dollars may sound far-fetched, but every year, hundreds of Los Angeles drivers face this horrific situation as the result of car accident. Does your policy protect you for a million dollars? Well, if you’re an Angelino driver, it definitely should. So do yourself a favor and learn which types of coverage you need to have in your policy to cover you: Los Angeles vehicle insurance
Tip #8 - Phoenix ArizonaA large percentage Phoenix residents are college-aged (18-24) and must pay higher rates to insure their cars, because they are higher-risk drivers. Students (or parents of one), can utilize over 40 different discounts to get those policy prices to a minimum:Phoenix automobile insurance
Tip #9 - Seattle WashingtonSeattle drivers making that long morning commute everyday (from suburb to city) are not only paying for it at the pump but also in their policy prices. Insurers charge long-distance commuters higher rates due to the statistical higher risk that they will be involved in and accident; But you can recoup some of these costs using little-known car insurer discounts: Seattle automotive insurance
I've been doing car insurance research for the past year and a half, and one thing that surprised me is how different the insuring process is form one US city to the next. The stark differences are sometimes appalling, so I decided to created detailed city-guides to iron out the auto insurance process for local city drivers.