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One of the best ways to save on California car insurance is to seek out liability only, which is what is required by law. Liability insurance protects only the person you hit, and not yourself. However, there are a few things you should consider before buying only liability insurance.

The minimum auto insurance required by California law is 15/30/5, defined as $15K in bodily injury, $30K total in all bodily injuries, and $5K in car damage. To the guy you hit if it’s determined to be your fault.

So if you seek out car insurance like this, you will be able to get a low cost policy from many California companies, providing you do not have a driving record riddled with accidents caused by you. But you need to keep one thing in mind about this.

If you cause more damage than your liability insurance will cover, you are technically liable for the rest. In other words, the person may sue you. And if you have something they can get, such as an asset like a house, expensive car, or large bank account.

If you have something valuable, the person you crash into may try to take it if you don’t have enough liability insurance. And they may win.

So in this case, you would be well-advised to buy considerably higher liability coverage, such as 100/300/50, which will then increase the cost of your policy but may avoid losing everything in the long run, depending.

If you buy liability only, you will then be looking at some of the cheapest car insurance rates you can get. The other kinds of major insurance in California are comprehensive and collision, which you may want to consider in addition to liability if you have an expensive car.

Comprehensive covers everything but a crash, such as theft, and collision covers crashes, no matter who’s at fault. If you have an old clunker, don’t bother, but if you have a newer car that still has considerable value, consider tacking these two onto your insurance plan as well. Of course it goes to say that over time, as your car decreases in value, you may want to consider dropping both of them.

Since liability is the only insurance required in California, you can get low cost rates if you decide to only go with that, taking careful consideration of whether you should buy more or not depending on whether you have large assets, and also whether you should purchase collision and comprehensive as well.To get more free tips on getting the most out of cheap California car insurance and to compare rates, go to http://www.cheapcaliforniaautoinsurance.org.

Comprehensive Collision Insurance is one of the auto insurance policies most people have heard of but few could describe fully.

Apart from describing what it is even more people are foggy on whether they should have it, how much to have, how long to carry it, and if or when they should drop it.

These are all important questions to know, not only from a financial standpoint but from a legal one because of state law requirements of having proper insurance coverage.

To simplify this explanation I’ll describe each insurance term separately. First I’ll explain collision insurance. Collision insurance covers your car if someone hits or you hit someone’s car. In addition it also covers you if an object such as a tree, rock other physical item hits your car causing damage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for damages to your car other than a collision. For example, water damage, fire, vandalism or theft, etc. Note, you’re covered for all damages minus whatever deductible you have. If you finance your car it’s mandatory that you carry enough comprehensive collision insurance to cover the cost of the car. Not doing so would be a violation of your financial or lease contract.

However, if you pay cash for your car or you own the pink slip on your car, you have the choice as of whether you should have this insurance on your car. One of the main reasons in deciding this is the age and value of your car.

If your car is over 5 years old and you’re a safe driver you may want to consider taking more of the risk on yourself by raising your deductible. Doing this could save you hundreds or may even thousands of dollars a year. You could take those savings and place them in an interest bearing savings account in case you need it for any repairs down the road. Meanwhile it’s earning interest for you instead of your insurance company.

If you own a clunker you’ll almost always save big money by dropping your collision coverage.

You must also take under consideration that no matter how much damage your clunker has in an accident, the insurance company will never pay you more than the cars value. That’s why you should drop the Comprehensive and Collision if you own a low market value car.

These are a few of the things you should know before shopping for or comparing insurance or if you need an insurance quote quick.Roy Primm has written dozens of articles showing others the latest tips to saving money on their auto insurance. Check his tips out before you get your next quote at Car Online Insurance

If there’s anything that’s gotten more publicity in recent months than the Cash for Clunkers program, nobody around here knows what it is! Cash for Clunkers made a splash in the media when it first hit the dealerships, and as the clock ticks down on the program’s life span more and more people are running out to hand over their car keys. Before you hand over yours, make sure you’re ready for the change in your auto insurance rates.

See, the fact that your auto insurance rates are going to climb is something that most people don’t think about when they’re thinking about Cash for Clunkers. Remember, the whole deal behind the program is to give people $3,000 to $4,000 in credit for their broken down cars (as long as they can huff and puff their way to the dealership) so that owners can pick up a nice new model that will reliably get them up and down the road.

That means that there’s a very good chance the new car, bought and financed through the dealership, is going to cost a lot more than their old clunker was worth. Remember, the cost of your car factors in when auto insurance companies are figuring out how much they’re going to charge you for the privilege of being insured. That means that while your old clunker was fairly cheap to insure, your new car is going to cost you a little more.

You also need to remember that when you finance a car through any lender, including a dealership, you’re going to have to hold up your end of the bargain when it comes to your auto insurance. Roughly translated, that means you’re going to have to make sure you have full coverage on your vehicle(s) at all times. Having comprehensive and collision coverage as an option is going to be a thing of the past-your lender wants to make sure that their investment is going to be protected if something happens and the car has to be totaled.

All of this sounds like common sense, but the fact that no one has advertised the potential hazards of taking on a car payment AND a higher insurance payment in one swoop means that there are many drivers out there who didn’t plan ahead and now are struggling with the added burden on their monthly finances. Cash for Clunkers is a wonderful program if you just need that extra boost to push yourself over the top and get that new car, but if your finances are already struggling it’s probably an added burden you don’t really need.

Before you go out and sign on the dotted line, make sure you do the math.Anthony M. Peck is the Senior Developer, Software Project Manager, and Director of Business Development for QuoteScout.com. For more information on auto insurance rates and Cash for Clunkers visit them on the web at http://www.QuoteScout.com.