Be sure you have the most affordable car insurance policy your budget will allow. 

 The year 2008 is bringing in a ton of new choices when you start shopping for a new car. Some of these changes may not be available to you until 2009, but be aware—change is coming.

During the 2008 ICE Show(International Consumer Electronics) Ford introduced a new technology they are going to add to new vehicles in 2008. This system is along the same lines as OnStar, and its called 911Asist. This program takes away the middleman, such as the OnStar operator, and directly connects you to a live 911 operator when your air bags are deployed. This system is also coming with a 10-second delay for the driver to disconnect from 911 if there is not an emergency.

Ford has also decided to expand their Sync program to nearly all Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles.

There is also a new type of weather related radio station, that is supposed to be able to interupt any am/fm radio station you are listening to, as well as, cds; to give you news about bad weather in your area. This is supposed to go along with a GPS tracking system, that knows exactly where you are in junction with hail, rain, tornadoes, and other bad weather.

Ford is trying to make their customers feel like they are surrounded by one huge security blanket when you are driving one of their vehicles!!!

Of course, when you purchase a new car in any year, you must also purchase a new Texas Car Insurance policy. Be sure you have enough insurance coverage to keep you safe if you are ever involved in an accident.

When you are shopping for Texas Car Insurance you have many, many different companies to choose from. Whether you are shopping on line, on the phone, or driving around town your options are sky-high.  Texas Car Insurance agents are more than happy to answer your questions, go over your new purchased policy, and what all you are covered for. If you choose a large insurance company, many times it is hard to get through to actually speak to your agent, that is way these large firms have opened local agencies to better help their customers. These smaller insurance agenies are usually open 5 days week, you can also make appointments with your agent for late afternoon and in some occasions on the weekends. Making your payments each month have become alot easier with the smaller agenies. You don’t have to worry about sending your payment through the mail, you can just drive to your local agency and pay your premium directly to your agent or leave it in the drop box if the offoce is closed. In the end it is always a good idea to speak with a Texas Car Insurance agent before you sign anything, just to make sure you are getting the best deal that fits your needs. Just because you find a cheacp Texas Car Insurance company doesn’t mean they are the best for you. Do some research before you sign a contract with any company, even the large well known Texas Car Insurance companies.

Your life can be very overwhelming after you have had an accident or your vehicle has been stolen. This loss can also disrupt your life. It’s important to follow your Texas Car Insurance policy when making a claim. You will probably have thousands of questions running through your mind, so you don’t forget those questions make a list, that way when you talk to a claims representative you can ask your questions.

There is certain information you are going to need when filing a claim. Make sure you report your accident or your stolen vehicle immediately. You will need the following when making your report: name of vehicle owner, the date the accident happened or your car was stolen, type of damage occurred, where the incident happened, injuries, who all was involved, what condition your vehicle is in, what authorities were notified.

Most Texas Car Insurance companies have a number of ways to report your claim. No matter what way you choose and is the easiest for you, a claim representative will be assigned to your case. He or she will be your main contact person until everything is resolved. Texas Car Insurance companies usually have a special claims number you can call, some even have the option of filing a claim online, or you can call your local insurance agent for help.

After you have filed your claim your claim representative will contact the other parties that were involved to get all sides of the story and try to determine who was at fault. There will be an investigation to try an determine the faults. Your claim representative will then determine what coverages will need to be applied, inspect your vehicle to determine the amount of damage, try to prepare an estimate of the cost it will take to repair the damages, and discuss your options.

Once the claim process has been completed the payment will be sent to the repair shop and your agent will complete all the necisary paperwork.

With the holiday’s fast approaching, many of us hurriedly making plans for traveling or planning the annual Christmas Eve Party. Whatever your plans are this holiday season make sure you are well prepared. Here is a list of tips to help when planning a get-together.

1. Make sure you are honest with your guests when planning a party. If you invite people who are known to over drink themselves, tell them you are not excepting anyone to drink then drive themselves home. They will need to make arrangements to either ride with someone, call a taxi, or have someone come and pick them up.
2. You could also try to designate drivers. These people will agree to only drink non-alcoholic drinks and volunteer to drive the guests who have been drinking home.
3. Offer non-alcoholic drinks to the non drinkers or the volunteer designated drivers. Make a fruit punch with real fruit, have smoothies, or Christmas Coffee Eggnog.
4. Its always a good idea to serve plenty of food when serving alcoholic drinks. Choose food with high carbs or proteins like meats and cheeses. Try not to serve foods that are high in salt. The salt will make a person thirsty and make them want to drink more.
5. Try not to be pushy with the drinks. People may drink a drink that was offered so they don’t appear to be rude.
6. Adults can have fun lots of ways other than drinking, try planning a few adult friendly games or activities to keep the main focus off of drinking.
7. Also, if your budget allows for a bartender, hire one. Never allow your guest to mix their own drinks. This could turn disastrous real fast. If you can’t afford a bartender or just don’t know any mix the drinks yourself, you can buy inexpensive books at most supermarkets or liquor store that gives you step by step instructions on how to mix your own drinks.

When hosting a party for any occasion and are looking for suitable designated drivers, make sure they are covered by a Texas Car Insurance company. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to your friends on their way home after they have left your house.

Many people lose their lives or take other lives each year because of drinking and driving. Many people believe eating or drinking certain things will help a “drunk” person sober up faster. This is not true. The following 3 myths will explain some of the ins and outs of drunk driving and how to acknowledge a “drunk” person. Do not allow ANYONE who has been drinking to drive anywhere, only if the person only “drank one”. It doesn’t matter, you could possibly be saving your friends life or the life of an innocent bystander.

• After drinking you can sober up by drinking black coffee, taking a cold shower, taking a walk outside or just exercising. This is NOT true.  There are many factors that come into play when a person has been drinking such as: their weight, how much food is in their stomach,  ans how much the person drank. Your body needs at least on hour to sober up for every drink you have had. For example if you drink 3 cans of beer you need 3 hours to sober up, if you had 2 shots of liquor you need 2 hours to get the alcohol out of your system, and if you had 1 glass of wine with dinner, you need to wait one hour before driving anywhere.
• NO matter what you drink, whether its beer, wine, or hard liquor you can still get drunk the same way. Did you know that one 12 oz. can of beer, 5 oz of wine, and a 1oz shot of liquor all have the same amount of liquor? Just remember when you are out drinking, some drinks have more than one shot of alcohol in them.
• You can not tell if someone is sober just by looking at them.  When some people are to drunk to drive they can hardly stand up, slur their words, and don’t make since when they are talking. A person who has drank a similar amount of alcohol, may never stumble or slur their words, BUT are still incapable of driving a vehicle safely. It is never safe to drink and drive, even if you think you can make it.

When someone has been drinking their ability to think properly has been impaired as well as their ability to react to certain mistakes in a certain amount of time.

Do you still wait for your monthly bills to be delivered to your mailbox or your post office box? Well that waiting time is coming to an end. When shopping for Texas Car Insurance inquire about an Easy Pay Plan. Most Texas Car Insurance companies offer this program to their customers who don’t want to wait on their monthly statements to arive. Easy pay plans will save you all the hassles of waiting, purchasing stamps, and hoping your payment gets back to your insurance company on time and in good condition. If you sign up for an automatic bank draft, East pay plan, this could be another way to save you money. Texas Car Insurance companies will offer a discount to have your monthly payment drafted from your checking or savings account each month. You could also get another discount for paying your premium in full or paying it faster than each month. You can also choose the date and amount of money is drafted from the account of your choice. The most important reason to sign up for this plan is to insure that your payment is made on time each and every month without fail.

Texas Car Insurance companies use a scoring system to determine how much your monthly or yearly premiums are going to cost you. A lot of Texans know that their premiums are based on their age, gender, type of car owned, driving record, credit score, and so on. What some people may not realize though is that some Texas Car Insurance companies don’t even look at a customers credit score, thus the reasoning they put together and insurance score, that looks at elements from your credit report, but not at your credit score. Some Texas Car Insurance companies look at:

1. Payment History: How many late payments have you made or how many payments have you missed?
2. Credit History: How long have you been using your credit?
3. Current account balances: Have you had high credit card balances in the past and are they lower now?
4. Number of accounts: How many credit cards do you have or installment loans?
5. Inquiries: How many inquiries have you had from lenders?
6. Do you have any bankruptcies, collections, or foreclosures on your credit report?

Most Texas Car Insurance companies look bank on your history at least 3 years, some go back to 5 years. Insurance companies are also very understanding when families go through difficult times including, loss of a job, large medical bills, or even divorce, when developing their insurance premiums for their customers.

One thing to remember is that Texas Car Insurance companies do not consider the following when giving quotes to their customers:

1. Ethnicity
2. Religion
3. Nationality
4. Income

No one likes to think about accidents. Most of us have had one accident or another. They are scary and in worst cases can severly injur or even kill a person. There are several steps you as a driver can take to make sure you are cautious and prepared to be behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.

1. When you approach an intersection, whether its a two-way and four-way, look several times both ways before you proceed to drive through. Stop signs or stop lights are dangerous areas. Come to a complete stop at a stop sign and look carefully. When stopped at a stop light and the light turns green, watch the other cars around you. Especially the ones in the direction that has a red light now. Some drivers speed up when the light changes yellow to avoid having to stop. Make sure you don’t get hit by a speedy or impatient driver.
2. Pay close attention when you are driving to yourself, other drivers, people walking, and the driving conditions around you.
3. Maintain a safe distance from the cars in front of you. A good rule is to stay at least 3 seconds behind the car in front of you to insure you have an adequate amount of stopping time. A way to check this is to locate a non-moving object such as a street sign or a bridge. When the car in front of you passes your object count slowly how many seconds it takes you to pass. If it is less than 3 seconds slow down a little.
4. Have your car checked regularly to make sure it is running properly. You don’t want your car to break down in stopped traffic or traveling down the highway. This alone can pose as a perfect condition for an accident.
5. Drive carefully on dangerous roads. Bridges ice over faster than highways do. Watch your speed and locations when the weather is bad or the roads are worse. Snow, rain, and fog also make it harder for a driver to see making wrecks easier to happen.
6. Speeding is a serious problem on major highways and even on rural country roads. Watch for speed limit signs and follow the maximum allowed speed. Leave a few minutes early to ensure you have enough time to get to your destination without having to rush or speed. If you are running late call ahead and advise the other party that you will arrive shortly.
7. When on a multi-laned highway, change lanes with caution. Look in all your mirrors and signal way ahead of time so the drivers around you know what your intentions are.  

As most of us know, discounts come pretty regularly when shopping for Texas Car Insurance. Some of us get discounts for unknown reasons, or the agent is just looking for a reason to pull you in. Texas Car Insurance is a requirement when driving down the road. Whether you pay $100 a month or $400 a month for you insurance policy, it is the law in Texas. When you are shopping for insurance its not necissarily how many discounts you do or do not qualify for its what your final price is going to be. You are the one paying for your Texas Car Insurance, so make sure you are paying for what you want. Below is a list of compiled disounts and questions to ask when you are shopping for Texas Car Insurance.

1. $1000 Deductible
2. $500 Deductible
3. Multiple cars on the same policy
4. No accidents in the past 5 years
5. No moving violations or tickets in the past 5 years
6. Driver Safety cources
7. Defensive and driver training classes
8. Security features on your cars
9. Low Yearly mileage
10. Driver and passenger airbags
11. Anti-lock Brakes
12. Automatic lights
13. Good Students with Good Grades
14. Multiple Policies with same company(Home and Auto, home and life, auto and life)
15. Students off to college and their car at home
16. Long-time customer

Remember this is your hard-earned money that you will be spending every month as long as you are driving around. Make sure you choose the company that is right for you, and also fits into your budget and covers you and your assets fully.