Free Insurance Quotes and Other Ways to Find Insurance Deals
By Kirk Bangstad
Find My Insurance Policy Columnist

Receiving online insurance quotes is one of the best ways to become better informed of your insurance rate options. These days, buying insurance without comparing rates online is a recipe for getting ripped off. Apart from going online when bargain hunting for insurance, there are a number of other ways to knock a few dollars off of your insurance premiums.

The Math of Insurance
The insurance industry doesn't vary a lot by the type of insurance offered. Mathematical formulae are used to calculate risks using a number of variables that help set a range of acceptable insurance rates, guaranteeing that companies will profit given the proper sales volume. Once the ballpark price ranges have been determined, insurance companies set their rates as high as they can based on what the market will pay. There are two ways that you can use this information to save money on insurance.

First: Determine Your Risk
First, if you know what variables are used to set rates, you can determine whether you fall into any of the low risk categories. Pointing out those low risk qualities on the form used to estimate insurance rate quotes may save you money. For example, if you are an older driver between fifty and sixty five, you may be able to get a discount on your auto insurance. That age group apparently presents a lower risk for automobile accidents than other age groups. If your child driver gets good grades, you may also be able to decrease your auto insurance rates. Kids who do well in school apparently get into fewer accidents than their less ambitious counterparts.

Second Step: Compile Insurance Quotes
The second way to save money on insurance is to get a better sense of the entire competitive insurance market. The more price quotes you know, the better you'll be able to determine who is offering a cheap rate, and who is trying to rip you off. Today, that work is done for you online. Most insurance companies offer free online quotes these days. You can find home insurance quotes, health insurance quotes, car insurance quotes, life insurance quotes, among many others. Many of these quotes are compiled on websites that sift through a large number of quotes and present you a list of the best values.

Now that you have a few hints to help you find lower insurance rates, go online and see what deals you can dig up.

About the Author
Kirk Bangstad is a Senior Columnist for FindMyInsurancePolicy.com. He holds a B.A. in government from Harvard University.