When you look around right now, it’s easy to get depressed. You know people who have picked up pink slips. There are houses in your area that have been foreclosed and they are just sitting there like rotting teeth in your neighborhood because no-one’s buying. And what are those guys doing up there in Washington? Well they seem to be doing nothing that’s really going to help the ordinary people of America. They are carrying on with the same old, same old arguments. Tax cuts solve all our problems. We’ve got to spend billions to rebuild America. Like tax cuts are going to help you when you’re unemployed, and planning something to build is going to make for new work opportunities tomorrow. Well, for once, there is some good news. The Stimulus Package has hundreds of pages and thousands of plans but there’s one that might turn out to be a “good thing”. Now don’t you go holding your breath because what it says in something produced by Washington may not work out on Main Street. But let’s look on the bright side for once. This one may just pay off.

If you have the cash or access to credit or you totaled your last vehicle and the insurers paid out a fair value, you’re looking for a new car or truck. Well, hold off for a few days to see how this pans out. The Stimulus Package potentially allows you to deduct sales or excise taxes if the car you buy costs less than $49,500. If confirmed, you can take advantage of this as an above-the-line deduction so long as your personal income as a single person is less than $125,000, married couples qualify when their aggregate income is less than $250,000 – that’s most of us, right? There will be no need for you to itemize to make the claim. So exactly how much will you save? Well, those eager beaver tax experts have been burning the midnight oil so here goes with an example.

Suppose your state has a sales tax of 5% and you spend $40,000 to buy a vehicle, you can deduct $2,000 from your gross income. This offer is limited in time. You have to buy between the date the bill is signed into law and December 31. The hope is this will encourage you to go buy a new car sooner rather than later. Not only will you save money but it will help Detroit as well. So, if you do take advantage of this deal, the terms of your financing package will require a new auto insurance policy, probably with comprehensive and collision included. To get the best deal, you need to hit the online sites to get the maximum number of quotes. Remember, you’re not looking for the cheapest car insurance policy on the planet, you’re looking for the best value-for-money policy on the planet that will give you the best protection for the lowest possible premium.

Parents always say they never regret having their kids. It kind of goes with the territory. Love conquers all (eventually). But whilst you’re living through it all, it seems like you’re struggling from one crisis to the next. Like when they first learn to drive. Despite your better judgement, you let them drive the family car. Later you buy them something to run around in. But, when they’re starting off, you add them to your own auto insurance policy (and say prayers).

Jack and Joan had two teenaged children who pestered them to drive the family car on special occasions. When that use grew to be expected, one car wasn’t enough so the first cheap, fixer-upper that never got fixed joined the family car on the driveway. They talked over the problem with their agent. “He was kinda laid back about it all,” Joan said with a smile. “He warned us that kids always have a run of accidents. Ours were no exception.” Jack leaned over to interrupt. “It was a bad two or three years. Everytime they went out, we never knew whether they would come back in one piece.” Margaret was nodding in agreement. “We found ourselves turning to Christ more often. We had the Pastor bless the cars when the kids weren’t around and held prayer sessions on a regular basis. There were five small fender benders. Nothing too serious, and never a scratch on the kids.”

“Praise the Lord!” Margaret’s smile of relief said it all. “And every time the auto insurance came round for renewal we were expecting a hike. But the company held the line.” “It was all down to the agent who showed us how to get the discounts to keep everything smooth until they could get policies of their own at good premium rates.” Later, there were all the worries about dropping out of college, surprise pregnancies and marriages. But that’s another story. This one says find a good auto insurance agent who can help you through the teenage years. Other than that, trust in the Lord to see you through.

Whenever you set up a system, it’s only as strong as the weakest link. Sometimes, the cause of the problem is inside the organization. Other times, the problem is a conflict of interest in the middleman. Whatever the reason, you can get trampled on unless you stand up for yourself. Most days, when you’re driving on the freeway, you get to see the wreckage from accidents. You pass by because it’s not your problem.

Auto insurance companies pick up the pieces. At least, that’s what all the ads say. Out of interest, I tracked down one of the drivers to see how it really goes down. Jessica from Dallas was making her usual commute when she was rear-ended. She was lucky. It flipped her over but she was unhurt. She did everything by the book. Waited with her car until the police appeared. Gave her statement and was later cleared of all blame in the report. Everyone who saw her car thought it was a total loss. Even the guys who came on the tow truck shook their heads and congratulated her on her escape without injuries.

“They dropped me off at an approved car rental agency. One telephone call to my auto insurance and I was driving again.” She shook her head with a distorted smile. “I never thought there were going to be problems. Roadside assistance had worked perfectly. I was in a rental car. The wreck had been cleared from the road. I was expecting a check for a replacement vehicle within days.” Except when the word came from the “certified” repair shop, it was ‘repair’. “Everyone thought they were nuts. Repair a car that badly damaged and you’ve got one problem after another and no-one wants to buy it secondhand. But they kept on like a broken record. Repair, repair. Guess they needed the business. I asked the agent to give me the name of another “certified” repair shop. They took one look at the wreck, laughed and called the claims assessors. After haggling, it was agreed a total loss.” When you’ve got health problems, you look for a second opinion from a different physician if you don’t get the answer you want. The same holds true for auto insurance. Repair shops make money when they repair. You have a right to challenge the first shop’s assessment. Jessica got her check. It was a hassle but she struck to her guns and won out in the end.

This is a good year for drivers in California. Way back when in 1988, Proposition 103 received more than enough support from voters to pass. Basically, voters wanted car insurers to set rates based on the driver’s record and the number of miles driven. Three years ago, the Commissioner for Insurance introduced new rules prohibiting the use of ZIP codes as the primary factor for determining car insurance rates . These rules came into force July 14. This is one battle won for consumers’ rights. The war goes on. Zip codes remain a dominant factor in other states. Similarly, insurers also check out your credit score. Almost every company seems to think that people with low credit score make bad drivers.

So what’s going on? Well, it’s all about how to define risk. All the factors go into the melting pot. How old you are, where you work, where you live, whether you own or rent your home, whether you own the car outright or have a car loan, what make and model of car, and so on. This personal information is included in your credit history. It gives the companies a snapshot of who you are. Is it fair to look at this information? Unfortunately, yes. Just as a loan company wants to know more about you before making the offer of a loan, car insurance companies want a better idea of whether you take care of your financial affairs before agreeing to pay out if you get in a traffic accident.

The first step in setting the auto insurance rate is whether you qualify for any discounts. For example, most companies offer discounts if you can pay an annual premium rather than by monthly or half-yearly installments. Then comes the math work. There are statistical methods to determine the risk of you getting in an accident. If you’re a late payer who gets into trouble with liens and mortgages on your property, if you rent rather than own, you may not take as much care of your property as others. Add in lack of consistency in employment and multiple lines of credit getting close their the maximums, and you’re considered a higher risk driver. It may not feel fair. It probably isn’t completely fair. But that’s the way insurance credit scoring works.

So, before you go online for your next car insurance quotes , check out your credit score and, if necessary, repair the score. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to get free copies of your credit reports. Use that right and get your credit score into shape before getting quotes.