4 Ways To Avoid Auto Insurance Hassles And Keep Chaos At Bay

Looking to handle car insurance costs and lower risk on the road? Read on to figure out how you can protect yourself from roadside emergencies that can rack up your car insurance costs over time.

Certain big insurers have made a huge advertising deal out of showing you some kinds of chaos or "mayhem" situations that happen on the road and everywhere else. But with car insurance (such as is offered by Jake Pembrook Insurance Agency), you have some of the power to control your own risk through common sense and reasonable driving practices.

Good Vehicle Condition

One big tip is to keep your vehicle in top condition, and make sure that it's in good shape to operate well on the road. One excellent example is tires. Your annual safety inspection, if your state has one, may or may not catch worn tires, but by being proactive and replacing your tires early, you're protecting yourself from significant hazards on the road.

Keep Emergency Gear With You

Driving safer can come down to something as simple as having an ice scraper or washcloth on hand to clear your windshield. Having a road safety kit in your trunk will help you deal with flats, jumps, and other emergencies, and lower your risk of having to file a claim payout, after which insurance companies will generally raise your rates, viewing you as a higher risk.

Drive Defensively

This one may seem abundantly obvious, but too many people just don't practice it. Leave car lengths between vehicles. Look carefully while merging. All of these will protect you from some of those wildcard situations (some of which could have actually been avoided with good planning) that will leave you scrambling to get money from your insurance company.

Evaluate Conditions

A lot of motorcycle riders won't ride in the rain, sleet or snow, but the average car or truck driver doesn't seem to think twice about this. We can control our risk by choosing when we take elective trips away from our homes. In general, we don't have to go out in a blizzard or an ice storm. It may be tempting to get out of the house, but unless it's necessary, it's just leaving you exposed to a lot of those situations where you could have prevented vehicle damage or injury.

These are just some of the basics of making conscious decisions that can protect you from higher car insurance costs over time, not to mention all sorts of other problems.