Getting a Colorado Car Insurance Quote

Car insurance is a significant portion of the cost of owning a vehicle in Colorado as in most states. To compare quotes regardless of where you live, simply enter your ZIP code into the FREE tool above!

Every state in the Union except New Hampshire requires a certain amount of liability insurance as a statutory requirement. Colorado requires the following minimums as cited on the Colorado state website:

• $25,000 per person for bodily injury liability – your legal responsibility in an accident for bodily injury to others
• $50,000 per accident for bodily injury liability – total required for all injuries in an accident
• $15,000 per accident for property damage liability – your legal responsibility in an accident for damage to the property of others
• Medical Payment (Med-Pay) coverage –At least $5,000 of coverage for immediate medical costs must be offered, protecting you and your passengers at the time of an accident. The insurance company must include this coverage unless the consumer purchasing the insurance rejects the coverage in writing. This coverage is ordinarily at a minimal cost and helps at a vital time.

Things to Consider When Purchasing Car Insurance

When choosing car insurance, it's necessary to consider the following:

• Types of insurance needed – liability and coverage for your own property
• Your own needs, based upon your financial condition, requirements of lenders, and state laws.
• Particular insuring conditions – to acquire riders and options unique to your circumstances
• Premium costs
• The company offering the coverage and its reputation
• Complaint history of the company offering the coverage

For some of this information, it is possible to access The Colorado Division of Insurance: rating will give you the statistics with regard to ratings. Complaints can be accessed at complaint ratios.

Saving Money on Auto Insurance

Shopping around is necessary to get the best price on auto insurance as much as any other service or commodity.

As with other types of purchases, you need to have a good idea of the bases for prices. The following areas are considered when figuring the cost of car insurance:

• Age – because experience and health make a difference in the way an individual drives
• Gender- statistics show that men and women drive in different ways
• Marital status- a person with a stable marriage tends to be more careful in driving habits
• Driving record – Traffic incidents indicate driving habits and can predict trends in driving
• Credit- Your credit rating can indicate your care with your own possessions
• Location where you live – small towns have less traffic and therefore fewer accidents/urban areas on the other hand have more traffic and more accidents
• Kind of car you drive – some vehicles have better repair histories than others and survive accidents with fewer injuries than others
• How much you drive and why you drive – long commutes and paying passengers can create the possibility of more claims than a very small amount of driving for pleasure only

There are ways of saving on auto insurance that can reduce your premiums:

• Be wise about your deductible – what can you afford out-of-pocket at the time of an incident that will help reduce your out-of-pocket expense?
• Check insurance costs as a result of your car's safety and security rating. For example, recently in the metropolitan areas of Colorado, law enforcement alerted individuals to the high incidence of theft for Honda Civic automobiles. Cars that are expensive to repair cost more to insure.
• Safety devices such as anti-lock brakes, automatic seatbelts, or more protective airbags can affect your insurance premium.
• Driver's education courses, not only for new drivers, but also for older drivers, can also help lower your premiums.

New Drivers Can Increase Your Insurance Premiums

If you're in the position of having a child reaching the age when the State of Colorado allows driving privileges, you're probably dreading the hit your insurance premiums are going to receive.

Here are some statistics that will explain why- from the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association:

• In 2012, the last year for which statistics were compiled, 2,823 teenagers, aged 13-19 died in motor vehicle crashes. Even with this staggering statistic, 68% fewer teens have died since 1975.
• Roughly, two of every three teenagers killed in 2012 were males.
• Teenagers accounted for 8% of motor vehicle crash deaths.
• June and July 2012 had the highest numbers of crash deaths of any months of that year-typically, these are summer months in our hemisphere and mandatory school attendance is not required
• Over half of motor vehicle crash deaths among teenagers occur on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday-an argument for extended school days?
• In fatalities, female teenagers were less likely to have BAC levels of 0.08 or higher than male teenagers-one reason for gender variation in rates
• AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reported that the risk of 16 or 17-year-old drivers being killed in a crash increases with each additional teenage passenger in the vehicle.

Since insurance companies base a portion of their rates upon the age and propensity of drivers to be involved in accidents, those insuring teen drivers need to carefully shop and examine the car insurance they purchase for a family that includes one or more teen drivers.

Colorado's Graduated Law for Licensing of Teen Drivers

Colorado has established a graduated licensing law for teen drivers that requires the prospective teen driver to apply at a Driver's License Office and produce the following:

• State or county certified birth certificate
• Social security number
• Pass both the written and vision screening tests
• Complete an Affidavit of Liability form signed by a guardian who holds a valid Colorado Driver's License-this assures compliance with insurance laws, and allows supervised driving
• Provide a course completion statement from an approved driver education course within 6 months before applying for the instruction permit

A simplified version of Colorado's graduated law may be found here.

Teens can apply for this type of permit at the age of 15 years to 15 years, 6 months.

At this point, the teen can begin the required 50-hour supervised driving hours. Ten of those hours must be nighttime hours. After holding the permit for a full year, a driver's license may be issued. Other rules apply for teens at other ages.

Restrictions applying to teen drivers are:

• No cell phones while driving-a good rule for all of us
• No passengers under 21 until the driver has held a valid driver's license for at least one year
• No more than one passenger may be in the front seat of the vehicle, and the number of passengers in the back seat may not exceed the number of seat belts provided.
• Driver and all passengers under 18 must wear a seatbelt.
• No driving between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. until the driver holds a valid driver's license for at least one year.

Saving Money while Insuring Your Teen Driver

Discounts may apply when insuring a teen driver. For best prices, the teen driver should be carried upon the same automobile policy with his or her parents. Furthermore, many insurance companies offer a discount of up to 25% for teens who carry a B average or better.

For a brief examination and comparison of rates for your young driver, begin with the Colorado Division of Insurance website Auto Insurance Premiums Report. This will help sort out the lowest premiums in your particular area for the person you wish to insure.

After that, contact at least three insurance companies to determine exact premiums for the automobile(s) you intend to insure. The variations in rates by gender, driving record, type of car, and number of vehicles insured require exact quotations to be sure that the rates are comparable.

Be certain to examine the companies carefully as well as contact the insurance agency, if any, that sells that type of insurance in your area. Make certain that you will be able to establish a relationship with that company and/or agent that will satisfy your insurance needs.

Enter your ZIP code into the FREE tool below to start your search today!