Protect Your Car From Theft and Save Your Auto Insurance Company a Fortune

Yeah, okay, so if you're walking through the mall one day and someone decides to...liberate your car from the oppression of your parking spot your auto insurance company is going to pick up the tab to have it replaced (assuming you had the good sense to put comprehensive insurance on it to begin with). That doesn't mean you particularly want someone with more criminal skills than sense driving through town with your license plates. The best offense is a strong defense, and the best thing you can do to nip car thieves in the bud is protect your car from being stolen in the first place.

There are huge numbers of options out there when it comes to protecting your car from not-so-well-meaning thieves and making your auto insurance provider happy. It's really just a matter of finding the one that works best with your vehicle. Take a look at some of the hottest choices for auto safety out on the market:

1) Door locks. No, it's not particularly sophisticated, and having a lock on your door isn't exactly something you can brag about to your friends; after all, they have one too! Regardless, locking your door is the first step in vehicle protection. A study done by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department revealed that just locking your doors when you get out of your vehicle can reduce your chance of being a victim of theft by up to 60%.

2) Car alarms. Most people don't pay a whole lot of attention to car alarms these days, but for the thief trying to grab your car and get gone before anyone realizes they're there the small bit of attention a car alarm can bring may be enough to have them strolling casually by.

3) GPS Tracking Devices. The bad news is that most of today's thieves are in the know when it comes to technology like a GPS tracking device. The good news is you may be able to find your car before the thief has the chance to disconnect your system-and your auto insurance provider is probably going to cut you a discount on your premiums just for putting one in.

4) Fuel Cut Off Systems. This is a neat little device you put in your car or truck that you install that will cut off fuel to the engine if the switch is not flipped when you start the vehicle. The switch is small, subtle and located right under the dash so that anyone who didn't know it was there would have a very difficult time locating it.

5) Kill Switch. This works a lot like the fuel switch by preventing the electrical current from reaching the coil or carburetor. The car won't start unless the hidden switch is activated. Ideally, by the time the thieves locate the switch (or it occurs to them to look) you'll have already noticed someone's trying to take your car for a Sunday stroll-and you'll be able to save your auto insurance provider a small fortune in replacement costs.

Be sure to check with your dealer if your car is still under warranty and you want to install any built in security device to be sure it won't nullify your dealer protection policy; some dealers tend to take it personally when you start playing with the inner workings of their masterpiece.

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.