Changing Your Address

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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In offering advice, there's no point in complaining about the way the system works. All you can do is explain what insurers do and then suggest the best way of trying to deal with it. For better or worse, insurers take your ZIP code into account when setting the premium rates. For a moment, let's say a word in praise of California. In 1988, Proposition 103 forced insurance companies to place more weight on your driving safety record, your years of driving experience, and the number of miles you drive every year than any other factor, including the ZIP code. Breaking the linkage between premiums and the ZIP code still took years - the insurers fought tooth and nail to prevent implementation of the Proposition. But it is now in force and Californians benefit. Shame about the rest of America where the practice of redlining continues, affecting not just insurance but banking and, even, where shops choose to locate or deliver to. That this is racial profiling under another name is ignored.

We now come to the difficult part. Neighborhoods get a bad reputation for a number of different reasons. In this case, it's not so much ...
... the why as the result that concerns us. Those that can, move away to a "better" area. This is great for those individuals but it accelerates the downward trend of the area. The only ones left behind are those who cannot move. The tax take drops. Local services suffer. A ghetto is born. So, if you are a renter, can you afford the rent in a ZIP-code area with lower insurance rates? It might be worth paying a bit more on the rent and saving on the vehicle insurance. You come out even on the move. If you own or cannot afford the rent elsewhere, can you afford a lock-up garage in a better ZIP-code area within easy walking distance. Although walking is not usually considered the best way of getting around a city, this may save you money.

Now let's look from the other point of view. If you have been offered a job in a different part of the state or out of state, check out where you are going to live before accepting the job. This means looking around the area on the map and checking out the ZIP codes with the insurers. The advantage of this site is you can get multiple car insurance quotes based on different ZIP codes. The use of the site is free and you can quickly find out whether there are going to be problems with insuring your vehicle in the new area. You may be looking at longer commute distances. You will have to balance the increase in the premium rates against the extra cost in gas against the higher property values in the better areas. Whether you are thinking of moving out of or into an area, this article should emphasize the need to get as many car insurance quotes as possible. Shopping around finds the cheapest rates.

Find Marcus Stalder's other contributions at http://www.insurwebsite.com/articles/changing-your-address.html where he gladly shares his opinion on many different subjects and helps people around the globe find a better understanding of the things they're interested in.