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You've just bought your first new car and now you need to get car insurance for that vehicle. You're not sure what to do and you want to make sure you get the most affordable rate. You don't want your lack of knowledge to cause you to have to pay more for your car insurance than what you have to; especially since you need to put very expensive fuel in that car to keep it running.

Fortunately, lack of knowledge doesn't have to get in your way. There are some basic things you should know about buying car insurance for the first time. They are not difficult and you'll find that the difference between knowing these things and not knowing these things means more money you can keep in your pocket or use to put fuel in your car. It doesn't matter how you choose to use that money. What matters is that you're not unnecessarily paying it on a car insurance premium.

How much you need

Chances are you have financed this car and the lender requires you to have full coverage insurance. This covers everything from bodily injury to collision in case you are in an auto accident with that car. Although the lender requires full coverage, you can have different degrees of coverage based on what you can afford.

For example:

- You can choose to go with a policy that has a $500 deductible. What this means is that this is the amount you have to pay to repair your car in case you are in a collision with someone or some thing. If the bill to fix the car is $3,000. The insurance will pay the remaining $2,500 after you have paid your $500 deductible.

That seems easy enough, doesn't it? It is pretty simple. However, it is important for you to determine how much you can afford in regards to your deductible. You can actually save money on your premium each month if you can afford a higher deductible in case of an accident. The higher the deductible, the cheaper the premium, but you don't want to go beyond what you can afford.

How to save

Once you've determined how much you need, this is the point in which you can work on saving money. You need to first comparison shop by checking with the different providers to see what types of premiums they have for the amount of coverage you need. You also need to ask them what is covered under the insurance, what the limitations are, when the coverage begins and ends, how much coverage you get, and how you file a claim.

Once you find good prospects, you can then ask them what types of car insurance discounts they offer. If you are a college student, they may offer a discount. They may even offer an additional discount for good grades. You can also do such things as open a life insurance policy with them to get a multi-line discount.

If you're ever in doubt, contact your state's department of insurance and ask them tips regarding how you can save on car insurance. They will gladly give you that information. You may even want to talk with the insurance providers regarding a discount if you allow them to automatically deduct your premium from your bank account each month. You have many different areas to compare and many discounts and policy alterations that can work to your advantage. Use them and see how much money you can save. You may actually be surprised how much money you can have in your pocket versus how much could possibly go into your insurance premium.