Cheap Car Insurance – Tips To Reduce Your Car Insurance Costs 2018

Cheap Car Insurance – Tips To Reduce Your Car Insurance Costs 2018

One of the best ways to keep your auto insurance costs down is to have a good driving record.

Listed below are other things you can do to lower your insurance costs. 

1. Shop around

Prices vary from company to company, so it pays to shop around. Get at least three price quotes. You can call companies directly or access information on the Internet. Your state insurance department may also provide comparisons of prices charged by major insurers. 

You buy insurance to protect you financially and provide peace of mind. It’s important to pick a company that is financially stable. Check the financial health of insurance companies with rating companies such as A.M. Best (www.ambest.com) and Standard & Poor’s (www.standardandpoors.com/ratings) and consult consumer magazines.

Get quotes from different types of insurance companies. Some sell through their own agents. These agencies have the same name as the insurance company. Some sell through independent agents who offer policies from several insurance companies. Others do not use agents. They sell directly to consumers over the phone or via the Internet.

Don’t shop by price alone. Ask friends and relatives for their recommendations. Contact your state insurance department to find out whether they provide information on consumer complaints by company. Pick an agent or company representative that takes the time to answer your questions. You can use the checklist on the back of this brochure to help you compare quotes from insurers.

2. Before you buy a car, compare insurance costs

Before you buy a new or used car, check into insurance costs. Car insurance premiums are based in part on the car’s price, the cost to repair it, its overall safety record and the likelihood of theft. Many insurers offer discounts for features that reduce the risk of injuries or theft. To help you decide what car to buy, you can get information from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (www.iihs.org).

3. Ask for higher deductibles

Deductibles are what you pay before your insurance policy kicks in. By requesting higher deductibles, you can lower your costs substantially. For example, increasing your deductible from $200 to $500 could reduce your collision and comprehensive coverage cost by 15 to 30 percent. Going to a $1,000 deductible can save you 40 percent or more. Before choosing a higher deductible, be sure you have enough money set aside to pay it if you have a claim.

4. Reduce coverage on older cars

Consider dropping collision and/or comprehensive coverages on older cars. If your car is worth less than 10 times the premium, purchasing the coverage may not be cost effective. Auto dealers and banks can tell you the worth of cars. Or you can look it up online at Kelley’s Blue Book (www.kbb.com). Review your coverage at renewal time to make sure your insurance needs haven’t changed.

5. Buy your homeowners and auto coverage from the same insurer

Many insurers will give you a break if you buy two or more types of insurance. You may also get a reduction if you have more than one vehicle insured with the same company. Some insurers reduce the rates for long-time customers. But it still makes sense to shop around! You may save money buying from different insurance companies, compared with a multipolicy discount.

6. Maintain a good credit record

Establishing a solid credit history can cut your insurance costs. Most insurers use credit information to price auto insurance policies. Research shows that people who effectively manage their credit have fewer claims. To protect your credit standing, pay your bills on time, don’t obtain more credit than you need and keep your credit balances as low as possible. Check your credit record on a regular basis and have any errors corrected promptly so that your record remains accurate.

7. Take advantage of low mileage discounts

Some companies offer discounts to motorists who drive a lower than average number of miles per year. Low mileage discounts can also apply to drivers who car pool to work.

8. Ask about group insurance

Some companies offer reductions to drivers who get insurance through a group plan from their employers, through professional, business and alumni groups or from other associations. Ask your employer and inquire with groups or clubs you are a member of to see if this is possible.

9. Seek out other discounts

Companies offer discounts to policyholders who have not had any accidents or moving violations for a number of years. You may also get a discount if you take a defensive driving course. If there is a young driver on the policy who is a good student, has taken a drivers education course or is away at college without a car, you may also qualify for a lower rate.

When you comparison shop, inquire about discounts for the following:*

Antitheft Devices
Auto and Homeowners Coverage with the Same Company
College Students away from Home
Defensive Driving Courses
Drivers Ed Courses
Good Credit Record
Higher deductibles
Low Annual Mileage
Long-Time Customer
More than 1 car
No Accidents in 3 Years
No Moving Violations in 3 Years
Student Drivers with Good Grades

*The discounts listed may not be available in all states or from all insurance companies.

The key to savings is not the discounts, but the final price. A company that offers few discounts may still have a lower overall price.

Olma manual wind vintage watch

Olma manual wind vintage watch

One of our favorite vintage watch auctions featured a double and a good friend and I decided to share the bid and watches. The two were both manual wind Olma watches, and looked like they were in good condition. My first vintage Swiss watch was an Olma not counting my Swatch collection that has 25-year old models.

Classic watch face featuring lumed hands (they still glow once the lights are off)

Side view

Another side view of the watch

The watch's back showing it to have the following features: anti-magnetic, waterproof, incabloc, stainless steel. Fortunately, there were no other stuff etched at the back of the watch (the other one didn't either).

The watch crown features the Olma logo (signed crown).

I have not opened the watch to see the movement but this is likely one of those with 18,000 bph. I have timed it only once so far and it performed very well with only a very slight gain over the period I observed it. That period turned out to be a very solid 55.5 hours.

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Chocolate review: Meiji The Chocolate Vivid Milk

Chocolate review: Meiji The Chocolate Vivid Milk

The Clairvoyant spotted some chocolate bars at the Japanese products section of the supermarket. We don't usually get milk chocolate but we were curious to taste this new bar from Meiji. It is marketed as a dark milk chocolate with 54% cacao content (its there in the box).

The packaging design on this one is quite interesting as it seems to be as close to artisan chocolate as Meiji has come so far.

The information on the back are in Japanese but one can deduce that there is info here about the origins of the cacao used for the chocolate as well as its characteristics (see the graph?).

Here's a close up showing what the local distributor thought was a translation of "vivid". That was unnecessary since the English was clearly stated in the package.

Here's another close-up of the other part of the back prominently showing the chocolate to be "Made in Japan"

The packaging of Japanese products is always interesting and can be a delight to behold. Opening the box reveals three bars of chocolate wrapped separately. But notice, too, the design of the inside of the box.

Opening one reveals another interesting design; this time on the chocolate bar itself.

Meiji did very well on this chocolate. It is a smooth milk chocolate. Not too sweet with just the right bitterness for its claim as a dark chocolate. I forgot how much one cost but it is about triple that of a Meiji Black bar. However, I think this 50g bar is priced just right for its quality.

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Chocolate review: Sander Chocolate Venezolano Sal Marina

Chocolate review: Sander Chocolate Venezolano Sal Marina

The recent trip by the Clairvoyant brought us some excellent chocolates from Venezuela. These were from a lawyer-friend from their office in Venezuela, who usually gifts us with chocolates whenever they meet for their firm's annual meeting.

"Sal marina" translates directly into "sea salt"

Details on the chocolate at the back

Details on the maker

Ingredients

This was probably the most fragrant chocolates we've had. We noted that although the packaging was quite simple, the chocolate spoke for itself, and proved the saying "don't judge a book by its cover." Indeed, one cannot judge this chocolate by the packaging as it was smooth and sweet-smelling. This is an example of a chocolate you should eat slowly so you can enjoy it longer. :)

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Shachihoko Japanese Restaurant, Circle Mall, Marikina

Shachihoko Japanese Restaurant, Circle Mall, Marikina

We finally got to go to Marikina again to try out one of the many restaurants in the city. There are actually several areas where you can have good meals in the city. These include Lilac Street, the streets near and around City Hall, Gil Fernando Avenue, and the Circle Mall in SSS Village.

I usually pass the Circle Mall of SSS Village en route to my office via the Tumana route and have been curious about this ramen restaurant.

We had an early lunch and arrived in time for the restaurant to open business for the day.

We were the only customers so it was easy to take photos of the restaurant. The main dining area is on the 2nd floor.

Nice clean set-up with ample space for groups

They had lunch sets (bento) and typical Japanese desserts, which were presented to us when the waitress handed us the menus (opened to these pages).

Menu

Ramen and udon items in the menu

Donburi or rice toppings for people on the go

Other Japanese food favorites on the menu

I had the Shiroi Ramen, which was delightful though a bit on the creamy side. That's gyoza near my bowl. We usually order gyoza to go as additional viand on the side whenever we have ramen.

The bar set-up at the first floor allows customers to observe the kitchen.

Shachihoko serves good food and the service was also good. To be honest, the ramen is good though not at the level of the more authentic restos (e.g., Ikkoryu Fukuoka, Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, etc.). It should satisfy your Japanese food cravings though and it is on the more affordable side.

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Enicar ultrasonic manual wind vintage watch

Enicar ultrasonic manual wind vintage watch

I consider myself lucky to have acquired this watch through an auction. Enicar watches in good condition are hard to come by. I saw one being auctioned in another Fb page that was badly corroded despite the gold plating. This one looks great and functions very well.

The watch currently is strapless as I have not had the time to get an appropriate one for this piece. A nato or zulu strap did not seem to be suitable for this one.

Vintage watch face showing what I consider a very good patina.

Side view

Side view showing the crown

The watch back showing it to be of stainless steel, and the watch to be anti-magnetic. It doesn't say waterproof so have to be careful with this one especially during rainy days.

I already observed this a few times and on a full wind I can get 39 to 40 hours of accurate time from this Enicar ultrasonic. Again, not bad for an old watch. I will be posting again about this once I have found a suitable strap for this vintage piece.

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Preferred travel watch

Preferred travel watch

My good old Seiko Kinetic Titanium Auto Relay is still my preferred travel watch. I take this along with me whenever I am traveling to certain places for the first time. It is reliable and the kind of watch that few if any people will pay attention to ("hindi pansinin") whenever I am going around.

That's Amsterdam Central Station in the background of this photo taken from my hotel room.

Nevertheles, I now carry a back-up watch whenever I travel and that is usually something that I know to be reliable and preferably won't require a battery. If I know that I would be swimming or taking a dip in the beach then I always take one of my divers. My favorite would be my Swatch diver, which I have taken for swims in Palawan, Cebu, Bohol and Sarangani.

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