Top Ten Websites for Auto Insurance Laws

Searching all over the web to find out your state’s coverage minimums? Need to find out your rights as an auto insurance consumer? We’ve put together a list of some of the top websites for insurance law information.

1. Insurance Information Institute
http://www2.iii.org

At the Insurance Information Institute you can find out how auto insurance works, determine how much coverage you need, and learn the steps of filing a claim. You can also explore statistics for things like teen driving, driving and cell phones, etc, and watch videos of what to do after an accident.

2. Auto Insurance Remedy
http://www.carinsurancerates.com/

At Auto Insurance Remedy you can review the lists of minimum coverage requirements by state, and read articles from some of the nation’s top insurance providers.

3. Consumer Action
http://www.consumeraction.gov/caw_insurance_auto.shtml

At this federal government site you can find links and contact information for your local insurance regulator, and read tips on finding insurance that complies with state laws. Consumer Action also helps you know your rights as a consumer, and provides advice on staying safe while researching auto insurance online.

4. About.com on Auto Insurance
http://personalinsure.about.com/cs/vehicleratings/a/blautominimum.htm

About.com has good articles on anything you want to know about insurance, by a real life auto insurance expert! This link is to a list of state minimums, with lots of in-article links to state law information, and an educational video.

5. Wikipedia on Auto Insurance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_insurance

While you should always visit your state’s official site for your specific insurance minimums and insurance consumer rights, Wikipedia has a comprehensive article covering auto insurance and auto insurance laws around the world. The article also contains good general information on coverage levels and insurance terms, and links to articles by reputable sources. If you are completely new to auto insurance, Wikipedia is an excellent place to start!

6. CyberDrive Illinois

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/vehicles/mandatory_insurance.html

At the official website for the Illinois Secretary of State (Illinois’s DMV), you can review Illinois state minimums, find out where to purchase Illinois auto insurance, and read about vehicle codes and laws that affect Illinois drivers.

(Note: We’re based in the Chicago area, so we’re including these two Illinois government sites – #8 and #9. Every state has different laws and regulations, so we recommend that you go to your state’s specific website(s) to get the appropriate information.)

7. Illinois Department of Insurance
http://insurance.illinois.gov/

The Illinois Department of Insurance provides news and articles for consumers, businesses, and insurance providers. Stay up to date on the latest insurance laws in Illinois, and know your rights as a consumer of auto insurance.

8. Accurate Auto Insurance
https://accurateautoins.com/

Accurate Auto Insurance provides definitions of insurance terms and descriptions of insurance laws via their helpful “Insurance Information” articles. A leading provider of Illinois auto insurance, Accurate specializes in guiding the consumer who is new to auto insurance, or who has had past auto insurance troubles.

Hopefully this list helps you find the information you need about your state’s insurance laws, and provides you with the knowledge to help make purchasing auto insurance online a safe and painless process.

This list was compiled by Accurate Auto Insurance.

Believe it or not, companies actually create psychological profiles about the drivers and the cars they drive. When you think of how emotionally connected people can be to their cars, this makes a lot of sense. Do you ever feel that your car is a kind of projection of your own personality? Of course. The things we buy and show to the world often reflect our own images of self, and the way we want others to see us. So, it only follows that excessive horsepower could be correlated with the driver’s own aggressive tendencies. Conversely, low horsepower may signal a more practical, less risky personality.

Are colors also important predictors of accident risk? You might think so. For one thing, colors could vary in their visibility to other drivers and pedestrians. Colors might also match up to personality types like “red equals bold and aggressive”. But the truth is that, as far as we can tell, insurance companies do not explicitly factor your car’s color into rate calculations. There is some debate as to whether your car’s color can be determined by its VIN number, which the insurer could use even if you didn’t state the color; but we couldn’t find any conclusive evidence that this routinely used in evaluating insurance rates.

Insurance companies base some of their rate decisions on historical data about accident frequency, injuries, property damage and repair costs related to specific vehicle models. A particular model that consistently shows more collision, liability and medical costs than any other mid-size sedan will reflect those costs in relatively higher premiums for that model.

Body styles enter into rate calculations as well. Of the top-20 2010 car models with the highest premiums, four are 2-door convertibles (“ragtop” sports cars), and nine are 2-door coupes (“hardtop” sports cars). Nearly all of the top 20 have either 8-cylinder or 12-cylinder engines. And bearing names like Porsche, Mercedes and BMW, you know they carry high price tags and hefty repair costs. Conversely, the models with lowest premiums tend to be small, practical SUVs and minivans.

So let’s get to it (drum roll please). With credit to a recent study by Quadrant Information Services, the ten car models with the highest average premiums are:

1. Porsche 911 Carrera GT2: $2944
2. Mercedes S65 AMG: $2863
3. Porsche Panamera TurboAWD: $2837
4. Mercedes CL600: $2755
5. Audi R8: $2752
6. Porsche Panamera S: $2745
7. Mercedes SL600: $2716
8. Porsche 911 Carrera Turbo: $2706
9. Mercedes CL65 AMG: $2700
10. BMW M6: $2689