The Perks of Auto Safety When You're Talking About Auto Insurance

When you think of auto safety, what do you think of? You probably think about things like air bags and seat belts. You might even make the hop and think about things like car alarm systems, parking under bright lights and making sure your car has those nifty little finger pad activated locks on the doors that make sure your car is never going to pull a Thelma and Louise without you. But have you ever stopped to think about the effect that auto safety can have on your auto insurance?

Yeah, it makes sense if you think about it. Your auto insurance company is in the business of making money, not giving it away, and they're not eager to pay out claims if they don't have to. So, if a customer were to, say, find a way to make it so their car wasn't stolen or damaged in an accident and they didn't have to file a claim anytime soon said insurance company would probably be very grateful-grateful enough to offer them the chance to save a little money if they kept doing it!

And so was born the concept of safety discounts. Auto insurance companies offer a wide variety of discounts for vehicle safety features, many of which you as a driver have probably never heard of. For example, most insurance providers offer a hefty discount for:

1) Anti-lock braking systems
2) Seat belts
3) Air bags
4) Fuel switches and engine switches (both of which prevent your vehicle from starting if a thief that doesn't know where the switch happens to be tries to drive off with YOUR car)
5) Car alarms
6) GPS tracking systems (but buyer beware-most of these can quickly be removed from the dashboard and tossed on the side of the road by a security savvy thief)

How much money can these safety features save you on your auto insurance? That depends on your insurance carrier. Unfortunately, since no one has ever been able to standardize auto insurance to make every provider in the United States offer the same coverage there has also never been any action taken to regulate the discounts that insurance companies provide. Talk to your insurance provider.

While you're discussing auto safety discounts with your auto insurance provider, make sure you ask them about other discounts as well that they might not advertise. You'd be amazed at what will save you money when it comes to your car insurance. For example, did you know that just for not getting a ticket in the last five years you can get a discount? How about the fact that teachers and scientists pay the lowest insurance premiums in the country? Insurance companies offer some pretty strange discounts, but you'd be amazed at how many you qualify for if you just take the time to ask.

Auto safety should be common sense when it comes to protecting your car and your family, and if it happens to come with the side benefit of putting a couple more bucks into your vacation account courtesy of your auto insurance provider-well, who's complaining?

Clifford F. Berman is the CEO of QuoteScout.com. Since its launch in 1996 the company has specialized in matching consumers requests for insurance quotes with multiple insurance quotes from both local agents and national insurance carriers. For more information, please visit them on the web at QuoteScout.com.