Tis The season to buy a new car! will my auto insurance cover me when you leave the lot?

It's the end of the year and it's a great time to buy a new car. I doubt Santa wants to deliver a new car to your driveway so do him a favor an pick one out for yourself and drive it home. You'll get a high five and a thank you from the old man for helping him out on that delivery.
Most dealers are in a hurry to get the old cars off their lots at the end of the year and that means a lot of incentives are available. Often you will see discounts from manufactures and low interest rates. Many times the dealers will include both!
If it's time to replace your old car now is a great time to buy. But, keep in mind if you are swapping out an old car with a new one that change will impact your Auto Insurance too. The impact may be small depending how old your car is. Or if you are replacing an old car that you've been carrying minimum auto insurance on with a new car that now needs added coverage you could see a major increase in your rates.
When you are going car shopping it's an important time to get a quote from your auto insurance carrier too. Customers will often call me with a few makes and models they are thinking about buying.  With that information we are able to give them a good estimate for their new auto insurance rate.
If  you are on a budget you will want to consider the insurance as part of your new car costs. Let's say you replace an old car that you carried minimal coverage on. That means you didn't carry comprehensive or collision. With all cars that are being financed you will need to include those two limits. The comprehensive which covers if the car is stolen is usually inexpensive. Unless we are talking about an exotic sports car. In that case if you have enough money to buy one of those cars you probably aren't going to sweat the expensive auto insurance. Now, if you haven't had collision on a car in awhile you are probably looking at doubling the cost of your insurance. If your driving record isn't spotless it could cost you even more. The collision coverage will pay to replace or repair your car if it's in an accident. That coverage is also required by lien holders. You don't have the option of leaving that coverage off unless you are paying cash for the car. Even if you are paying cash just keep in mind if you decline the collision you are on your own to fix the car if you have an accident.
Some people also ask if their insurance will cover them if they drive off the lot after buying the car. Many companies do cover you. If you have a company that covers you in your car or any other vehicle you drive than you are good to go. You just need to call the company over the next week and add the car on. There are auto insurance companies that only cover you on the car that is listed on your policy. In that case you will need to add the car on before you leave the dealer. Additionally, if you are replacing an old car that has minimum coverage you will want to add the new car on with comprehensive and collision before you leave the lot. If you are worried about not getting someone over the weekend you can call before you go down and buy the car. All your insurance company will need is the VIN and the odometer to add the coverage. If for some reason the purchase falls through you can always change the insurance back.
Just as you would shop the cost to buy a car at multiple dealers you will also want to get a quote on auto insurance. That's why it's good to call an agency like mine because I can shop over ten auto insurance carriers at one time and find you the best auto insurance rate. Enjoy the holidays by rolling around in a new car and don't forget to get some insurance quotes from me before you make the purchase. 951-395-0754