Going through your car insurance policy to work out which aspects are crucial and which you can let fall by the wayside is not something that most people enjoy doing.  It can feel like wading through molasses while wearing a blindfold.  Who would want to put that as top of their to-do list on a Saturday afternoon?  But if you treat it more like a puzzle that you can solve with just a few helpful hints then maybe you'll be more motivated to do it.  And if you add in the prospect of saving money on your car insurance premiums, I'm sure you're feeling a whole lot better about the prospect. 

The key is knowledge.  Once you have a grip on the different aspects of your auto insurance quote you can then confidently choose which options you are prepared to forego in order to get a discount on your car insurance premium.  While the whole car insurance industry is awash with jargon there are a few basic terms that you need to understand.

Here is a snapshot of the key terms that you need to know about:

Bodily Injury Coverage – the funds that an insurance company would pay for damages caused to another individual involved in a motor vehicle accident. 

Collision Coverage – this covers the cost of repair or replacement of the insured’s car no matter who caused the accident.

Comprehensive Coverage – this is for the cost of repair or replacement of the insured’s car for reasons other than an accident.

Property Injury Liability or Property Damage Coverage – this covers any costs associated with damage to property as a result of a motor vehicle accident.  In many cases this is mandatory.

With Collision Coverage you can choose the level that you pay in the event you need repairs or replacements if your vehicle collides with another vehicle or property. This amount is called the deductible and basically the higher the deductible you elect, the lower your premiums will be.  How does it work?  Just like medical insurance, you pay the deductible amount, sometimes called an excess, first and then the insurance company pays the remaining repair costs. 

Comprehensive Coverage encompases things like damage caused from falling objects, fire, certain natural disasters, theft and vandalism. Deductibles work the same way as with Collision; the more out of pocket costs to you, the lower your car insurance premium will be.

Liability coverage – either bodily or property damage – kicks in if in the course of an accident there is damage to either another person or property.  For example, if you drive into the back of another driver or your foot slips off the brake onto the gas pedal and you plow down a mailbox. Your liability coverage will kick in and pay for the damages that you caused with your insured vehicle.

Your car insurance needs - the amount you are prepared to spend versus the coverage you need to sleep well at night - are going to be different from your next door neighbour.  And that's why insurance companies offer so many variables.  Each car insurance company has different variations on what they offer with their car insurance policies based on their research into what they feel their customers want and also based on what other companies are offering.  They want to be different to create an edge over their competitors.  While it maybe confusing for you to sort through the different variables available, having so much choice is a good thing because it means you can usually find a policy tailoured to your situation and you will be able to save money by not paying for extras you don't need.

You can save money on your car insurance premium.  Get the information on car insurance that you need so that you can be confident you are choosing the right policy and saving as much money as you can.  Visit the Car Insurance Information site.