I’m a bit concerned because I’m marrying someone who has a poor driving record in Waterloo, IA. With this, can I expect that my insurance rate will go up?

Joan

Waterloo, IA

If your fiancé has a poor driving record, you can expect that it will affect your insurance premium after you get married. Your car insurance policy covers you, your spouse, any other named insured under the insurance policy, and any licensed driver in your household. If any of those people in your auto insurance policy have a bad driving record, it will significantly affect your insurance rates.

If his driving record is really bad, you may want to consider additional strategies to lower your premium. If you arrange to buy all of your insurance policies which includes your homeowners policy from one company, you may benefit from multiple car and/or multiple policy discounts. Normally, in Waterloo, IA, your future spouse can take driver safety courses to improve his driving record. Furthermore, with your combined income, you might be in a position to raise your deductibles to keep your premium down.

Your fiancé may also be eligible for a low mileage discount by using public transportation for his commute to work. If all else fails, you may have the option to use a “named-driver exclusion” clause after you’re married to exclude your spouse from your insurance policy. This means that your spouse is not covered by your insurance company to drive your car. Your spouse could insure his car separately, and if it is an older model, waive collision and/or comprehensive coverage. Lastly, your insurance agent can discuss all of your policy options with you and make suitable recommendations.

I’m in college away from home and it’s not exactly a normal college town that I live in. There’s hardly any public transportation, and that’s what I’ve used all of my life, so once I got here I had to buy a car. I’m trying to figure out ways to save on car insurance, and I’ve come to getting an alarm system. What kind do they give you discounts for?

Benjamin

There are three kinds of alarms.

Some people, when thinking about alarm system discounts for auto insurance, think that they apply to just any type of alarm system, and they don’t. Insurance companies are smarter than you think. They know that an alarm system on a car that just involves the headlights blinking and a whirring noise isn’t going to make anybody feel alarmed. I know that when I’m at home at night and hear a car alarm go off outside, it never occurs to me that somebody might actually be trying to steal a car. Most people ignore such alarms in the same way.

That’s why, if you want a car insurance company to think you’re serious about getting an alarm equipped on your student car and cheap driver insurance, then you need to follow their rules when it comes to installing an alarm system on your car. Like I said above, there are three separate types of alarms.

• Noisy ones. These are the ones that go off like an ambulance. They can also be pretty hard to activate. My friend’s alarm on her car can be activated by opening a door from the inside after the car has been off for a couple of minutes. The only time I’ve heard my alarm go off on my car is when I accidentally push the big red button instead of the unlock button. Don’t push big red buttons.
• Mechanical. These are the kind that you will find on most cars. They lock the steering wheel.
• Electronic Immobilizer. These are the best kinds, although a little rarer. They immobilize the car making it to where it cannot be started, even by hot wiring.

The kind that the insurance companies like best is the last one, but that isn’t the only requirement for your alarm system. You have to have an active one. That means that it is always ready to detect theft. If you get a passive one, then you have to activate it every time you leave the car, which leaves a lot of room for the fickleness of human memory.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.