Worksheet For Acquiring Low Cost California Auto Insurance
By James
To get good cheap car insurance in California, you have to consider a number of options first. Do you know if you need only liability, or do you need to cover your own car with comprehensive and collision?

1. Liability only?
Liability insurance covers the guy you hit, and is the only car insurance required by California law. The law only requires you to get $15,000 worth of insurance to cover bodily injury, $30,000 to cover all bodily injuries, and $5,000 to cover damage to the other guy's car. Usually written as 15/30/5. If this is all you get, you can get very cheap car insurance. However, carefully consider the below additional options.

2. Collision
Collision insurance covers any damage that happens to your own car, no matter whose fault it was. You will only need this if you have a car that is worth, say, more than $10,000.

3. Comprehensive
This covers anything that happens to your car other than a crash, such as theft. Again, only consider this if you have a newish car still worth a bundle or a car that is susceptible to theft.

4. Uninsured and underisured motorist
This car insurance will cover yourself if you are hit by someone who has no insurance, or who is underinsured. If someone with the minimal amount of liability car insurance hits you, and they do more than $5,000 worth of damage to your car, then this insurance will cover the rest.

OK, so now you're more acquainted with the general options

you have for car insurance in California, what the law requires, and enough information to decide on other forms. So how do you actually find low cost insurance?

1. Comparison
First and foremost, after you decide what kind you need, you will want to compare several California companies side-by-side to see who offers the cheap rates. Some of this will also depend on whether you chose liability only or if you have some of the options that cover yourself. If you only want liability, you don't have to find a company that is high quality as you only want to comply with the law.

2. Ask for a very high deductible
The deductible is the amount of money you pay when something happens before the takes over. So if you have $6000 worth of damage, and a $1000 deductible, then you pay the first $1000 and insurance pays the remaining $5000. A higher deductible means cheaper monthly policy premium.

3. Ask about special discounts
You can sometimes get a cheap rate from California car insurance companies if you meet certain qualifications, such as having airbags and security systems installed, although this is highly variable depending on the company.

Carefully consider your options and what kind of car insurance you actually need, and then keep in mind the possibility of asking for a high deductible. Doing this, you should be able to get a cheap policy from most California car insurance companies.