Stop Skyrocketing Winter Auto Insurance Rates

Insurance claims are always higher in winter - whether its for your home or car. For your house, the dangers are bursting frozen pipes, roofs collapsing under snow and ice, as well as flooding due to snowmelt. Winter dangers to motorists seem obvious - slippery roads, impaired vision, black ice - but these days people who've never seen freezes before are having to learn how to drive in dangerous conditions. Furthermore, the answers to these winter dangers aren't so obvious.

Here's our guide to surviving winter driving.

Sunglass -Use Your Shades

Believe it or not, Earth is closest to the Sun in the winter. Since this powerful solar light bounces off the slow and ice so well, things are often a bit too bright on the road in the winter. How many times have you tried to fiddle with that overhead screen trying to block out the sun, craning your neck and doing Tetris with a panel the size of an envelope? And the whole time, can you really concentrate on driving?
It's way smarter to invest in a good pair of sunglasses.

Better to pay for eye shades than for car damage, medical bills, and a higher premium.

Snow Tires: Are they worth it?

If you've got snow and/or ice, yes!
Snow tires, also called winter tires, have special treads that cut into snow and ice, giving your vehicle better traction in slippery wintry conditions.
Unfortunately, snow tires do cost a few hundred dollars. However, snow tires do save you on your insurance!
To get the most value out of them, take them off at the end of winter and put on regular tires for the next 9 or so months.

Sandbagging - or some sort of abrasive material

When you get stuck somewhere slippery - snow, ice, sand, or mud - it helps to have something to put under the tires that will give you some traction. A bag of cat litter or street salt will do.

Avoid Potholes

Across the United States in 2010-2011, winter has been full of freezes - way more than normal. Traditionally, this has meant increases in food prices as crops fail and harvests suffer. However, tough economic times and low state revenues have made it an especially bad year for potholes already, and the winter freezes have only made it worse.

Potholes can cause damage to automobiles all by themselves, impacting wheels, tires, axels, and suspension. Add to that all the collisions that occur because of a pothole and you're looking at thousands of dollars of damage.

Climatologists say that severe winter weather is likely to continue worsening because of climate change. Economists aren't too positive about economies either. Expect potholes to continue getting worse.

Make sure your tires are fully inflated and your shocks, brakes, and suspension are in good condition.
Try to keep an eye out and avoid potholes. And be sure not to swerve into a collision!

Get a good policy!

Winter is the time when you really need a good auto insurance policy. Look into Collision insurance and Comprehensive-Other than Collision coverage as well. Even though the snow and ice are really to blame, your auto insurance might hold you responsible for a crash. Make sure you are covered for these unfortunate incidents at a reasonable price using online auto insurance quotes.