If you own a car, motorcycle or any motorized vehicle, you need insurance to cover those unfortunate accidents that may happen. No matter how careful you are, bad things happen.

Perhaps the driver of the car behind you is a little too busy talking on the cell phone and not really paying attention or you happen to park your car near a tree that falls on your vehicle.

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Sometimes, you may have a minor fender bender that you can pay for out of pocket or the damages may just be cosmetic and you decide not to repair the damage. One thing you don't want to do is make a bunch of small claims.

Each time you make a claim, there is a possibility of the claim showing up on your motor vehicle report. A motor vehicle report (MVR) is similar to a credit report for your driving history. Just as having a lot of debt can decrease your credit score and cause you to pay higher interest rates, a bad driving record can cause you to pay higher insurance rates.

How can you save money on your auto insurance?

High Deductibles. If you have money set aside to cover unexpected expenses, I recommend maintaining a high deductible. I carry a $1000 deductible on my vehicle. A deductible is the amount of money you are responsible for before the insurance company will start covering the damage. The higher your deductible, the lower your insurance rate will be. Be careful when you choose your deductible! If you can only afford to pay $250 out of pocket, don't choose a $1000 deductible.

Drop Extra Coverage. It may not make sense to carry anything more than basic liability coverage on your vehicle. There are several rules of thumb to determine whether or not you need to carry Collision and/or Comprehensive coverage. If you still have a loan on your vehicle, your lender will require you to carry Collision and Comprehensive coverage until the loan is paid off. If your vehicle is more than 5 years old and/or less than 10 times the amount you pay to insure the vehicle, you probably don't need to carry the extra coverage.

Discounts. Make sure you are taking advantage of all the discounts that are available to you such as: being a safe driver and insuring your car and home with the same company.

Maintain Your Credit. Most insurers will most likely want to check your credit when you apply for a new policy. Maintaining good credit will help you get the best rates.

Shop Around. Shopping for auto insurance may seem about as interesting as going to the dentist. Thanks to the internet, this process is a lot easier and you don't have to contact multiple companies. There are sites such as InsureMe that allow you to put in your information one time and they will submit it to multiple insurance companies for you. I recently used them and it took me less than 10 minutes to enter my information and I received several instant quotes.

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Many property owners find that the cost of homeowner’s insurance can make it difficult to lead the lifestyles that they want. While it is possible for them to afford monthly mortgage payments and bills, high insurance costs reduce the amount of money that they can invest and save for retirement. In following these steps, though, finding the cheapest homeowner’s insurance should be easy.

Shop Around When You Buy Your Homeowner’s Insurance

Comparison shopping is one of the most important things that you can do when buying homeowner’s insurance. You might think that all insurance providers are alike, but the truth is that rates can vary substantially. Conducting some research can help you determine which policies meet your budget requirements.

Bundle Your Policies With the Same Provider

Lots of companies offer discounted rates when you buy multiple policies from them. Bundling your homeowner’s, auto, health and other insurance policies can help you save a lot of money. If you buy flood, fire, earthquake and other policies for additional protection, be sure to ask your provider if you qualify for discounted rates.

Raise the Deductible on Your Homeowner’s Insurance Policy

Raising your deductible by a few thousand dollars can lower your monthly payments. Choosing your deductible is kind of like walking a tightrope. You want to be sure that your deductible is low enough to help with any home repairs, but you also want it high enough to lower your monthly payments.

Make Home Improvements

Many insurance companies give homeowners discounts when they install security systems, replace old windows and upgrade fire detectors and sprinkler systems. Contact your insurance company to discuss home improvements that will help you reduce your monthly payments. Doing so can lower your bill and increase the value of your house.

Review Your Homeowner’s Insurance Policy Annually

You will get the cheapest homeowner’s insurance if you review it annually and make any necessary changes. This is especially true if you have extra coverage for high-cost items in your home. The computer that was worth a couple of thousand dollars 10 years ago might be worth very little today. You can cut costs by eliminating items that you do not want to cover anymore or reevaluating items to make sure you do not overpay.

This post was written by Barbara Waltz one of the founders of 247QuoteUs.com , an online resource blog and insurance quote comparison guide.

Image Credit: emdot

I'm finally back home in Atlanta from working on Hurricane Ike storm damage in the Houston area. Visiting Houston was certainly an experience. I’ve never seen so many cowboy hats, Wrangler jeans and cowboy boots. Given the circumstances, most people were really nice and courteous. I can’t count the number of sodas and meals I was offered. While I enjoyed the city, I am more than happy to be back home sleeping in my own bed, using my own bathroom and driving around without having to use a GPS.

What did I learn while I was in Houston?

Traffic Sucks. I thought our traffic in Atlanta was bad but we have nothing on Houston. I guess I didn’t realize how large the city really is. They have numerous freeways but from my experience, they were all congested. I know the city probably took on additional residents due to people fleeing from areas that were hit pretty hard by Hurricane Ike and that probably added to the congestion. The first week I was there, traffic was extremely unbearable due to the number of traffic lights that were damaged or were without power. Remember folks, if the traffic lights are out, treat the intersection as a four –way stop and be courteous to your fellow motorists. I almost had a pretty bad accident within four hours of being in the town due to someone who failed to stop.

There is no place like home. It was nice to get away to a different place for awhile but after the first week, I was ready to return home. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed and using your own bathroom. I’m really weird about germs so I bought a big can of Lysol and sprayed down the room. I tried not to think about what the previous guests may or may not have done in the bed I was sleeping in or if housekeeping really took time to clean and disinfect the bathroom.

Gas is important. You never really know how bad you need gasoline until you don’t have it. Several of the gas stations in the area of my hotel had gas at the station but they had no power to the pumps. Luckily, my company had enough foresight to have a gas truck come to the hotel each morning. (Nope, it wasn’t just for me; there were about 30 of us from around the country staying in the same hotel).

You need a lot of insurance. In talking with several of the homeowners near the coast, I realized that you need to have three different insurance policies for your home. You need to have a policy for wind damage, a policy for flood damage and a policy for interior contents if you want to be completely protected. Most of the homeowners I spoke with did not carry flood insurance so they have to pay for damage to the first floor of their homes out of pocket. (Note: If you live near the coast, make sure you have an extra plump Emergency Fund). Even if you don’t live near the coast, you need to make sure you have an Emergency Fund for those tough times.

I’m off to sort through the mountain of mail I’ve accumulated over the past three weeks while I’ve been gone. I’m going to start three separate piles; one for bills, one for junk and miscellaneous. I’ll be off work until next Monday so I have plenty of time to sort through it at my own pace.

Stay tuned to SingleGuyMoney and make sure you have subscribed to the RSS feed. Some upcoming articles include:

• September Net Worth Review (It's not pretty folks!)
• September Blog Review
• Damage photos from Hurricane Ike
  

Looks like there's about to be another drain on your wallet. Two of the biggest auto insurers are looking to raise premiums in about 20 states and the other insurance companies will likely follow. The premium increase comes about after two years of price reductions.

The insurers are looking to increase costs due to rising repair costs and rising medical costs resulting from injuries from automobile accidents.

How can you minimize the impact to your wallet?

Shop around. Shopping for insurance is about as exciting as going to the dentist. Unfortunately, just like having healthy teeth and gums, shopping for the best rate is necessary for having a healthy wallet. Don't want to waste time completing multiple insurance quotes? Consider using a site like InsureMe.com to fill out one single form and will submit your information to multiple carriers. You can then view the quotes for different companies side-by-side.

Review Coverage. Are you paying for coverage you don't need? Do you have an older vehicle that's paid for? Do you really need to carry Comprehensive and/or Collision coverage? If you feel that you do need comp and/or collision coverage, consider choosing the highest deductible you can afford.

Maintain your credit. 92 out of 100 companies polled in a recent survey by the research firm Conning & Company use your credit score to determine whether to issue a policy on your car and/or home and at what premium. Insurance is based on risk and many insurers feel that if you've been irresponsible with your credit, you will not only file more claims; but more expensive claims. Not sure where to check your credit? Consider using a service like Equifax 3-in-1 Credit Watch Service or Suze Orman's Fico Kit Platinum.

Take a few minutes out of your busy day to shop around for your auto insurance; you could save a boatload of money.

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Are you currently upside down on your car loan? What would happen tomorrow if you were to wreck your car and the damage exceeds the value of the car? Your insurance company would probably "total out" your car. When a car is totalled, the insurance company is only obligated to pay for the current market value of your vehicle; not what you owe on the loan.

For example, if you have an accident and the damage to your vehicle is $10k but your vehicle is worth only $5k, your insurance company will probably only pay $5k minus your deductible, if applicable. What happens to the additional $5k you owe? You are still responsible for the balance whether you still have the vehicle or not. You will need to either pull the $5k out of your savings or roll the loan amount into a new car loan. Congratulations, you are now even more upside down.

How do you get upside down in a car loan?
It's really simple. You go to a car lot. You buy a shiny new car and take out a loan. If you don't put any money down, as soon as you drive off the lot, your car has depreciated in value and you now owe more on the vehicle than it is worth.

How do you protect yourself from being upside down?

• Pay in cash. Save up and only buy as much vehicle as you can afford to pay in cash.
• Down Payment. If you are not able to pay for your the vehicle in full, you should at least make the largest down payment possible.
• Short Term Financing. Just because the bank will let you carry a car loan for 6, or even 7, years doesn't mean you have to. Experts suggest the longest term you should carry a car loan is for 36 months. If you cannot afford the payment for a 36 month loan, you probably can't afford the vehicle.
• Interest Rate. If you are financing your vehicle purchase, you should shop around to make sure you are getting the best rate on your car loan. If you are a member of a credit union, I would check with them first. Credit Unions usually have the best rates on auto financing.

What if you are already upside down?

• Protect Yourself. Make sure you have GAP coverage. Gap coverage covers the difference between the loan balance and what you owe on your loan. There are numerous gap coverage companies out there so you need to be sure you know what they will cover and if there is a maximum amount they will pay. I purchased Gap coverage when I bought my last car because I knew that I would be upside down. It was offered when I took out the auto loan and cost an additional $400. I also purchased additional coverage thru my auto insurance company although they will only pay up to 25% over the value of the car loan.
• Extra Payments. It's best to make extra principal payments to knock down the balance of your car loan. Not only will you pay less in interest, you will eventually get "right side up" on your loan.

Once you are no longer upside down on your car loan, use the above tips to protect yourself from getting upside down again. Once you've paid off your auto loan, go ahead and open a savings account to save for your next vehicle. That car payment you were sending to the loan company can now be sent to your savings account.

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Image Credit: SqueakyMarmot

I just received my automobile insurance renewal packet and for the first time, I really reviewed what coverages I have and what I am being charged for those coverages.

This is another area of your finances where it is important to pay close attention to what you are getting for your money. Many people stay with an insurance company so long, they don't bother to shop around for a better rate. Shopping for insurance is about as fun as going to the dentist but just like going to the dentist, it is necessary.

I just realized I am getting a number of discounts such as:

• Multiple Policy. I have my homeowners insurance, auto insurance, rental property insurance and umbrella policy with the same company.
  
• Paid in full. I save enough money in my freedom account to be able to pay my insurance premiums in full. I take the total amount of the premium for the year and divide it by 12. I then take that amount and have it directly deposited into my savings account each month.
  
• Good Payer. The insurance company I am with has not had to send my a cancellation notice as I pay my policy in full prior to the due date. As long as I continue to do this, I will keep getting the good payer discount.
  
• New Car. My car is less than 2 years old so I am getting a discount on my insurance premium. This is one discount I would mind not getting if my car was older and paid off.
  

When was the last time you obtained a rate comparison for your auto insurance? Been awhile? Start shopping around today!!! Don't know where to start? Try these sites:

Insurance.com - Instant auto insurance quotes from the top insurance companies. Customers saved an average of $451.
InsureMe.com - Instant quotes on auto, health, home or life insurance.

The one I am speaking of will not protect me from the rain but it will protect me from a major financial storm. I had been meaning to look into purchasing an Umbrella policy for a long time. An Umbrella policy protects you above and beyond your homeowners and auto insurance policies if your are sued.

For example, you are involved in a major auto accident and seriously injury or kill someone. You get sued and the case goes to court. The judgement is for $800,000. You only have $300,000 liability coverage on your auto policy. Where does the other $500,000 come from? Guess what, anything you own could be taken away to settle the debt.

I thought I did not need an Umbrella policy because I did not have significant assets and I thought the policy would be really expensive. I did a little research online and learned that I should have the extra coverage; especially since I own a rental property. I called my insurance agent and he provided me a quick quote based on my existing policy relationships. The extra coverage would only cost about $200 a year. I did not need to think too long to make my decision. $200 for an extra One Million in coverage? I'll take it....