Karena Nafstad found auto insurance for her 2002 Jeep Liberty at a rate $400 lower than she’s currently paying. But the 31-year-old from Minneapolis is not sold quite yet. It’s through warehouse club Costco. “Something about getting my insurance where I get my cheese in bulk doesn’t feel right to me,” she remarked via e-mail. She wants to know how to pick the best auto insurance for the money.

Insurance.com reports that auto insurance rates in Minnesota actually increased 2.9 percent in the second quarter compared to the first quarter, with the average lowest rate quote of $1,583.

Shopping for auto insurance is becoming more complex, with options such as pay as you drive entering the market. Here are some tips from St. Cloud independent insurance agent Shawn Wensel, president elect of the Minnesota Independent Insurance Brokers of America:

Shop around because different companies have different discounts and different surcharges.

A higher deductible saves insurance premium money.

As rule of thumb, go liability only if the vehicle worth less than $3500

Newer vehicles with safety features will typically be cheaper to insure. For example, the SUV’s and vehicles that have higher weight are safer so have lower premiums versus a compact car.

Look at liability limits to be sure they are high enough to protect financial assets. If you have multiple vehicles, you can usually stack or double no-fault limits at low cost. Minnesota requires that you have $20,000 personal injury protection. If you have multiple vehicles you can actually double those to $40,000 or $60,000—that can be just a couple extra bucks per month.

How do you save money on car insurance? Where have you found the cheapest rates?

This entry was posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 at 10:30 am and is filed under saving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.