https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMuGbE4d3Z4

Hank gets fired!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoX6UjRj4Xo

SR22 Insurance Featuring “Hank”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3LROdm7has

Customer Service featuring “Hank”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-EOutjnZQQ

Bad Credit featuring “Hank”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzPWVtbeWPs

Mr Sav-A-Lot – Mint Tea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrrqyoG-Ac4

Pretty Packaging

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djv6FwNaUig

Gecko Smash!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6VuVjy7X5E

Fortunately there are auto insurance companies that specialize in classic cars. Often the same companies insure classic boats, modified cars, and sometimes even priceless heirlooms. Since these companies specialize in antiques and collectibles, they will be better able to determine the insurance value of your car, ensuring that the loss of your vehicle, should it occur, will not be financially devastating.

Several qualifications must be met for classic auto insurance. Most importantly, these insurance companies will not insure daily use vehicles. Often a limit of 5,000 miles per year is imposed, to allow for pleasure driving and short trips to shows (for longer trips the vehicle should be towed). This is the same limit enforced by motor vehicle divisions when you apply for historic license plates. Next you must check with the insurance provider to make sure your car really is an antique or collectible car. Some 1970s and 1980s models will not qualify, but if your car was made before 1972, you’ve got an antique on your hands, no doubt. Finally you must make note of all modifications, updates, and restorations made to the car. A classic car insurance agent is an expert who will know the true value of your vehicle, and can ensure that any repair work done to it uses the appropriate parts.

If you choose to go with a classic car insurer rather than a typical auto insurance policy, you may be surprised by how affordable your premium quote is. This is mostly because of the low miles the car will clock on the road – it is out of harm’s way most of the time, and therefore a very low risk to insure, even if it is worth $30,000 or more. Inexpensive classic car insurance can also be obtained for vehicles completely off the road for restoration or storage, covering theft, fire, and other non-collision losses.

So if you are thinking of restoring a car, it is probably unwise to do so if you must use that car for everyday driving. Your insurance company won’t cover the true value of the car, and you could be out all of your work in the case of an accident. But if you have a beauty that you can afford to limit the miles on, it may be worth keeping her off the streets in order to qualify for classic car insurance. With a low premium and the peace of mind that you are insured for the full value of your investment, you can better focus on your hobby.

While you probably wouldn’t want to change your life situation (i.e. marital status, home ownership) simply to lower your insurance rates, you could consider a safer, slightly older, or less valuable vehicle. You can also modify your vehicle to make it lower risk, for instance by adding an alarm. But chances are you already have a vehicle, and you want to keep the rates on it low without spending more money to do so. The easiest way to do this by maintaining your driving record – fortunately something you have a good bit of control over, and can work on doing every day.

Avoiding moving violations and infractions such as speeding and reckless driving is the easiest thing you can do to keep your insurance rates low. Moving violations happen when you break the law while the car is moving. Speeding, not using turn signals, running red lights, etc, are all preventable infractions that are completely up to you to prevent. Some states even consider a seat belt violation to be a moving violation. If you are not sure what is considered a moving violation in your state, you can get a free driver’s handbook from your local DMV. Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it. Driving the speed limit, driving courteously, and buckling up will prevent you from getting ticketed for a moving violation, and leaving a mark on your record, which lasts three years in most states.

Avoiding a criminal violation while driving is a no-brainer. DUIs and criminally reckless driving will get your license suspended and could even get you jail time, not to mention the ticket fines. These violations can stay on your record for ten years or more, and usually increases your insurance rates, probably requiring you to carry an SR-22. Here are some common-sense driving habits that will help ensure that you don’t get involved in an accident or moving violation:

• Don’t drink and drive.
• Don’t drive under the influence of drugs that affect your physical or mental faculties.
• Don’t drive when feeling high stress or extreme emotion.
• Don’t drive when you are fatigued.
• Drive according to the law.
• Drive defensively, anticipating trouble before it happens.
• Stay aware and alert behind the wheel.
• Minimize distractions like music or other passengers.
• Pull off the road and stop to attend to tasks, including talking on the phone, reading a map, having an intense conversation with a passenger, etc.
• Use courtesy and respect in your interactions with other drivers and the driving environment.

Avoiding an accident is a great way to keep your rates low, but unfortunately even the safest drivers will likely be involved in an accident at some point. We can’t control everything that happens on the road, and we certainly can’t control other drivers. However, safe driving at safe speeds can greatly reduce your chances of causing an accident. Tickets for causing an accident take many forms, but they will usually stay on your record for three years. If you find yourself the victim of someone else’s negligent driving, you may still see an accident (“not at fault accident”) show up on your record, though it won’t affect your rates as much as if you had caused an accident yourself. The only way to prevent this from happening is to always be vigilant and pay attention while driving. Your own safe driving could keep you out of harm’s way.

Finally, if you have been in an accident or received a ticket for a minor infraction such as speeding, you can still keep your rates low if you choose to go to traffic school. You may arrange this with the authority that issued the ticket, and upon completion of the course the infraction will be removed from your driving record. Traffic school usually costs about the same as a ticket (which you still have to pay), however your savings on insurance over the next three years will probably make it worthwhile. But be careful! Most states only allow one traffic school exemption every 18 months.

Following these simple safety suggestions will greatly reduce your risk of being involved in an accident or bring ticketed for a moving violation. Your clean driving record will reflect that reduced risk, bringing you lower rates and a more affordable premium payment.

This information is courtesy of Accurate Auto Insurance, providing low auto insurance rates to safe drivers and drivers with not-so-spotless records throughout Illinois.

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

Based on annual statistics, it seems that men are involved in more accidents than women. However, annual reporting does not take into account the fact that men drive more miles than women, on average, and are therefore “exposed” to traffic situations more often. In fact, when the statistics are reevaluated on an accident per mile basis, adult men and women come out nearly even! If that’s the case, why do insurance companies often charge men more money for the same coverage?

The answer is twofold. First, the risks associated with male teen driving are among the highest of any group. The insurance companies’ bias against teen drivers may continue unfairly into adulthood. After age 25 a marked decrease in men’s accidents begins. But not all insurance companies recognize this, especially if other factors in the driver’s record (previous accidents, ownership of a sports car) show a consistent pattern of poor driving. Regardless of whether a man’s risks go down when he hits that magic number 25, the fact still remains that he and his former teen peers were a group that has been proven more reckless, fast, and oblivious to the law than the average driver. Interestingly, female teen accidents have been on the rise. This is partially because of earlier licensing for girls (traditionally they would wait until they were married or got a job after high school) , but it is also possible that increased cell phone use, especially texting, has lead to a higher incidence of fatal crashes for young women. Because of these trends, male and female teens may soon be paying equal rates.

The second factor in men’s higher insurance rates is a persistently high incidence of fatal or otherwise catastrophic accidents. As mentioned above, men and women over 25 have nearly the same accident rate. But they do not get involved in the same types of accidents! Men of any age group are far more likely to be driving while intoxicated, to speed, to drive recklessly, and to flout the law. They also tend to drive cars that give them the psychological boost to commit these violations more often, perhaps, than if they were piloting the family station wagon around town. Moreover, the men of the house are not usually hauling precious cargo – the children – as often as women. All these factors mean that while women, bad drivers as some of us think they are, have a high incidence of fender benders in traffic, parking lot dings and other minor accidents, men are far more likely to be involved in an accident that kills a person, or causes major damage to property. This might not happen to every man, but the expense of covering such accidents must be recouped in the form of higher premiums for all men. In fact, women’s “accidents” are sometimes so small they go unreported, which skews the statistics; but they are also not costing the insurance company a dime. Men’s accidents more often result in some kind of claim against their insurance, raising their rates even higher.

It is unfortunate that men have to bear the burden of higher insurance rates, but each individual situation is unique. A man over 25 with a clean driving record (and no hot cars in the garage!) really can get a good deal on insurance. As more and more women hit the road, take up careers that require long commutes, and share the responsibility of shuttling kids with their husbands, accident rates will continue to even out, as will miles driven. Someday men and women may pay an even rate across the board. But until the DUI reports and crash photos of Camaros wrapped around trees stop pouring in, men will have to bear their gender’s burden of higher insurance rates.

This information brought to you courtesy of Accurate Auto Insurance, where Chicago auto insurance is available at the lowest rates for all drivers, regardless of gender!