6 Uncommon Facts About Your Auto Insurance

Understanding all of the coverages listed on the declarations page of any type of insurance can be difficult to accomplish, especially if it's tens of pages long. Who has time to read through it all? A good insurance agent will make sure you're aware of everything you're covered for and important exclusions stated on your policy, but even an agent doesn't have enough time to go down the list and discuss everything. Take a gander below at things you probably didn't know about your insurance policy.

Stack liability to lower costs. Your liability coverage on your policy is usually listed as xx/xxx—the first number is per occurrence while the second number is aggregate. If you have two or more vehicles and want to purchase higher liability limits to cover your assets, try stacking lower limits. This basically lets you multiply the limits per vehicle listed on the policy. 

Your insurance isn't rated by your credit score, it's rated by your insurance score. While your insurance score takes credit information into account, it's also looking back into your driving and claims history. What many people don't realize is that the policy is rated by the insurance score of the first named driver, so take this into account when shopping around.

Make sure you cancel your old insurance policy. If you decide to make a change and switch insurance carriers, make sure you contact your agent and go through the cancellation process. It can seem like a pain, but the insurance carrier will report you to credit bureaus for non-payment otherwise. 

If you can afford it, pay your premium in full. Paying your policy for the full term is a double whammy, because not only do you receive a discount for doing so, you also avoid any "administrative" and "convenience" fees that are associated with paying in monthly installments. 

Don't leave out your occupation and education. Virtually every insurance company out there offers discounts based on what type of education you completed and what your current occupation is. So, don't be afraid to answer those questions when they come up in the quote.

Be open and honest when requesting a quote. Before an agent can bind your auto insurance policy, they have to run reports on your driving history and insurance score. Many times, the agency is charged for running these reports, so they typically wait to run them until after they've gone over the quote with you. If you've had any accidents or tickets, be upfront about them. Otherwise the quote you've received might change at the last minute. 

Insurance is a complicated business, and many of the smaller nuances are left out of translation on the consumer end. The best thing you can do for yourself is do your due diligence and talk to your agent about any questions or concerns you have. To learn more, visit a site like http://tallahassee-insurancefl.com.