Iowa is one of the few states that does not require drivers to have car insurance. Iowa may not require you to have car insurance, but if you get into an accident, you must be able to show that you have enough money to pay for the damages.
In real life, this is a fine line, and most Iowans take the easy way out and buy car insurance, even though there are other, more painful ways to show they can pay their bills.
Also, if you borrow money to buy a car, your lender will make you buy car insurance.
So, it's clear that most drivers in Iowa want to find ways to save money and get cheaper car insurance.
Probably the most important thing you can do to keep your car insurance rates as low as possible is to keep your driving record clean. If you get a ticket for speeding, driving recklessly, or any other moving violation, you can be sure that your insurance rates will start to go up.
Your rates will go through the roof if you are found guilty of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI).
If you have a lot of tickets or convictions, a lot of accidents, or a lot of claims on your insurance, you may find that most companies won't insure you, and you'll have to get insurance from a high-risk company with sky-high rates.
The lesson here is that you should always drive in a safe, responsible, and legal way.
If you're younger than 25, you know that car insurance is expensive. Your rates will go down a little bit if you stay in school and get at least a "B" grade point average. If you do this, you could get a discount for being a good student. This could save you about 5 percent on your car insurance premium.
People over the age of 55 may be able to take a special refresher course for drivers. Not every insurance company has this kind of course, but if yours does and you pass it, you can often save 10 percent or more on your monthly premium.
If you only drive once in a while, you should ask your agent about a discount for low mileage.
If you drive an older car with little or no Kelly Blue Book value, buying collision or comprehensive insurance is probably a waste of money since your insurance company will only pay you the Kelly Blue Book value for your car no matter what.
Before you buy a car, you should ask your agent how much insurance will cost for the model you're interested in. Some car makes and models are much more expensive to insure than others, so you can save a lot of money each month just by buying the right car.
Your monthly car insurance premium can also go down if you choose the right deductible. Think carefully about your deductible, since you'll have to pay it out of your own pocket if you make a claim. However, the higher your deductible, the lower your monthly insurance premium will be.
Now it's time to go online and find at least three websites that let you compare car insurance policies from different companies. Don't compare things on just one site and think you've found the best discount policy. Since no one site compares all insurance companies, you will have to fill out forms on at least three different sites and then compare everything before you know which company will give you the best policy at the deepest discount price.
