Below are some tips to reduce your auto insurance bill, prevent
substantial premium increases and avoid becoming assigned risk.

Claim Reports: You know about credit reports, you should also
know about claim reports. C.L.U.E.® (Comprehensive Loss
Underwriting Exchange), is a claim report service provided by
ChoicePoint, Inc. ChoicePoint, Inc. states on their web site
“C.L.U.E. is a claim history information exchange that enables
insurance companies to access prior claim information in the
underwriting and rating process. C.L.U.E. Personal Property
reports contain up to five years of personal property claims
matching the search criteria submitted by the inquiring
insurance company. Data provided in C.L.U.E. reports includes
policy information such as name, date of birth and policy
number, and claim information such as date of loss, type of loss
and amounts paid.”

Tip: C.L.U.E. reports contain information on claims history by a
residence address. Just like credit reports, a C.L.U.E. report
may have errors. It is advisable to obtain a copy of your
C.L.U.E. report at ChoiceTrust.com to check your report for
errors.

Credit reports: Insurance companies are now looking at credit
reports to determine future premiums. They have determined that
people with better credit scores have fewer claims.
Consequently, if you have a poor credit report you may find
yourself paying more for car insurance.

Tip: Always make at least the minimum payment for your bills on
time, particularly your insurance bill.

Glass Coverage: Most auto insurance salespeople recommend “full”
glass coverage for an additional premium, when you purchase
collision coverage for your car. They remind you how much it
costs to replace all your windows if broken by a vandal. What
they do not tell you, and it is unlikely that they would even
know (I would only trust the answer from an underwriter, not a
sales representative), is whether your insurance company will
use a previous glass claim to increase your future premium and
whether they will report your glass claims to C.L.U.E.

Some insurance companies will report glass claims to C.L.U.E.
and then use these claims to raise your premium or even worse,
cancel your car insurance policy making you assigned risk with a
substantial premium increase. Allstate notified me that after
four claims in less than five years, they terminated my auto
insurance policy and then offered to sell me coverage in their
Indemnity Company with a shocking premium increase. These claims
consisted of two claims for a broken windshield, one for a
stolen and recovered car and one accident.

I had a sports car and had to endure a total premium increase
over a period of four years of approximately $12,000 and remain
claim free before I became eligible for coverage outside of the
assigned risk pool. I wrote a letter to the president of
Allstate complaining that they should not have considered my
glass claims when canceling my car insurance because the glass
claims were made under a separate part of the policy for which I
paid a separate and additional premium. Allstate responded in a
letter stating “Although this claim activity does not indicate
that you were directly at fault in each loss, the frequency and
severity of the above losses was not within our range of
acceptability. After careful review, I regret to inform you that
we cannot reverse our original decision regarding the above
policy. We have however continued to offer coverage in our
Indemnity Company.”

Tip: Check with the underwriting department of your insurance
company to see if they will consider glass claims when assessing
premiums or if they report glass claims to C.L.U.E. If yes, do
not make a glass claim. The two windshields which Allstate
provided me with were aftermarket windshields which would have
cost me less than $300 each. During the last 30 years of my
driving history, I have experienced two broken front
windshields, one broken rear windshield and two broken side
windows. While the financial risk of totaling a car can be
substantial, the financial risk of replacing a windshield is
comparatively insignificant. It does not make sense to file a
glass claim if it will increase your premium. You may even want
to decline this coverage altogether and save the premium.

Tip for leased vehicles: Some lease agreements require that the
car be returned with an OEM windshield. If you lease a car and
replace a front windshield using your “full” glass coverage,
insist that the insurance company provide you with an OEM
windshield from the manufacturer. If you pay for the windshield
yourself, check your lease agreement carefully to see if you
must use an OEM windshield from the manufacturer or if you can
use an aftermarket windshield. Some people with leased cars who
have replaced a windshield with an aftermarket windshield are
shocked, when they return their car, to find that the leasing
company is charging them $800 for a new OEM windshield, even
though the aftermarket windshield is in perfect condition.

Car Rental & Towing Coverage: While it may be a good idea to
have this coverage, it is not always a good idea to use it. Some
people have realized that this coverage is not just available
when an accident has occurred. For instance, some people have
used the car rental coverage when their car was in a repair shop
or the towing coverage when their car broke down on the road. As
with glass coverage, using this coverage may be the same as
filing a claim.

Tip: Check with the underwriting department of your insurance
company to see if they will consider rental or towing claims
when assessing premiums or if they report these claims to
C.L.U.E. If yes, do not use car rental or towing coverage unless
you have had an accident, in which case it will be part of the
accident claim. If you are concerned about towing costs when
your car breaks down, you can buy one of the roadside assistance
memberships such as the one available from AAA which provides
additional benefits not provided by your automobile insurance
policy

Philip Franckel
http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/tips-to-avoid-car-insurance-premium-increases-becoming-assigned-risk-3321.html