Free Car Insurance Quotes and Information

21st Century Group (formerly 20th Century) has found that drivers with degrees in engineering are lower risks than other drivers. If you have a bachelor's degree in any number of engineering or science-related fields -- biochemistry, mathematics or mechanical engineering, for example -- you can get a discount on your auto insurance premium if you buy from them.

21st Century sells auto insurance in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, and offers the "engineering and scientist" discount in all of those states. If you're a scientist or an engineer with a good driving record, you can save between 10% and 30% on the company's base rate, according to Ric Hill, vice president of corporate relations.

A base rate is the average amount of claims paid plus the insurance company's claims-processing fee. For example, if the company's base rate is $400, you could save between $40 and $120.

"Our company's founder saw that educators, scientists, and engineers have lots of characteristics that seem to show that they're the best drivers," says Hill. "Engineers, for example, being accustomed to dealing with fine details, are somewhat meticulous, which means they take good care of their automobiles." 21st Century found that the same holds true for teachers and other scientists.

Source: MSN Money and Insure

This comes from the Scotsman.com and hopes to inform people that any modifications you do to your car, either appearence or performance wise, should be told to your car insurance provider. Most modifications are not covered by your insurance provider, and the driver (or policy holder) will be responsible for the costs incured for repairs to the aftermarket parts.

As many as 20% of UK drivers could be invalidating their insurance by modifying their vehicles and failing to notify their insurer of the changes, it was claimed today.

Research from Nationwide Building Society revealed that one in five admit to changing either the look or performance of their car, yet many are not aware that they are required to inform their insurer.

Failure to inform insurance providers about certain vehicle modifications can result in the invalidation of the policy.

The most common car modification in the UK is carried out to improve the appearance of the vehicle rather than the performance.

One in 10 respondents said they had made changes to the look of their vehicle including fitting a body kit or spoiler, non-standard alloy wheels or tinted windows.

Around 7% have made changes which affect the way the car drives including fitting a sports exhaust, lowering the suspension, fitting a micro chipped engine management system or re-boring an engine.

Car Insurance quotes are typically free from all major auto insurance providers. If you are told by an agent that you need to pay for a quote you are being lied to and should look else where for a provider.

The following is a list of the major car insurance providers who offer free online quotes:

1. 21st Century Insurance Company - This is my current insurance provider and one I highly recommend. They offer free quotes online and offer quick and easy payment online as well.
   
2. AARP Auto Insurance - This is auto insurance for adults over 50.
   
3. Auto insurance quotes from Esurance - Esurance revolutionizes the way people buy auto insurance. Also, their award-winning site is considered the fastest quote on the Web.
   
4. Car Insurance from Insurance.com - Insurance.com compares insurance from various companies and claims you can save up to $600.
   
5. Auto Insurance at Insweb - InsWeb's leading online insurance marketplace enables consumers to comparison shop for auto, term life, homeowners and other insurance products, and obtain actionable quotes for coverage from among more than 40 highly rated insurance companies. A free service, InsWeb helps consumers find the insurance they need and helps insurance companies find the customers they want.
   
6. Car Insurance from Netquote.com - Netquote offers free quotes on all major forms of insurance.

These are just a few online auto insurance providers, however they are the most well known. If you have any others, please don't hesitate to leave a comment on this post and list them here.

This is fairly sad, but definitely just. It's good to see that GIO Car Insurance took liability for this.

A 21-year-old left brain damaged and almost blind by a car accident when he was three was today awarded up to $7.5 million damages by a Sydney, Australian court.

Toby Daniel Sullivan suffered severe brain injury after an elderly man ran a red light and hit his parents' car at Beecroft, Sydney's north, in July 1986.

The three-year-old was left almost totally blind and with severe physical and mental impairments, and is now completely reliant on his family for care.

His parents sued the other driver's insurer, GIO, in 1997 when Toby was 18 and the impact of his injuries were able to be fully assessed.

GIO admitted liability for the accident.

In the NSW Supreme Court today, Justice Greg James today ordered GIO Insurance pay Mr Sullivan between $6.5 and $7.5 million, saying he had suffered great physical
and emotional pain as a result of his injuries and faced a significantly diminished quality of life.

The following comes from the San Jose Mercury News and offers some good advice on saving money, not only on car insurance, but on general driving.

• Say no to the drive-through -- Walk from the lot into McDonald's and
the calories expended might burn off one pickle on a Big Mac. What's more
important is what your car is burning with nothing to show for it; idling in a
drive-through (or anywhere) gets you zero MPG. Parking will make for a much
happier meal. Assuming you idle, say, a total of 10 minutes a day (don't forget
the bank and post office), turning off the ignition can save you about 40 bucks
a year.

• Get the junk out of the trunk -- Dead weight takes a toll on
fuel efficiency. If you're hauling the hubby's hardly used golf clubs (20
pounds), a towing chain (15), and three cases of beer that were too cheap to
pass up (60), you're looking at the makings of an interesting night, but also
about eight wasted gallons of gas a year, which amounts to more than $16.

• Work behind the wheel -- The standard IRS allowance for 2004 was
37.5 cents a mile, but driving to and from work isn't deductible. Schedule a few
breakfast meetings or happy hour sales calls so you're not just going between
home and the office, and you can deduct the miles for those detours. One 20-mile
work trip a week will mean a $375 write-off -- and a third of that back in your
refund -- at tax time.

• Take it easy -- Road rage isn't just bad for your ticker, it
hits the wallet as well. Aggressive driving, like speeding and an
accelerate-brake-accelerate-brake approach, lowers fuel efficiency by 33 percent
on the highway and 5 percent in the city. If your driving is equal parts urban
and rural, you'll shave 19 percent off your mileage by saying, ``Serenity
now.''

• Cover your health only once -- Speaking of well-being, unless
you're part of the cast of ``Jackass,'' there's no reason to shell out for
health insurance twice. Folded in with liability insurance (which covers other
drivers and cars and is essential), medical payments coverage for you is
included with most auto policies. Ditch it if you already have health insurance.
The medical portion usually makes up an estimated 8 percent of premiums, or
enough to cover at least a few co-pays.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported on Thursday that two bills which planned to change the current no-fault system were shot down in senate hearings. Minnesota has had their no fault car insurance system in place since 1974 and it's drivers pay on average of $800 a year.

Two bills overhauling Minnesota car insurance laws suffered defeats
Wednesday in the Senate Commerce Committee, leaving intact the no-fault
insurance system some blame for making policies here more expensive than in
neighboring states.

Minnesota is one of 10 states with no-fault auto insurance. It means that drivers in accidents have their damages paid by their own insurance company regardless of who is at fault.