Have you ever wondered why there are so many rumors about crooks and thievery in the world of insurance? It's because all too often people buy insurance trusting their auto insurance agent to know what's best for them, only to find out after the fact that it wasn't what they needed at all! That kind of information tends to go hand in hand with some unexpectedly nasty (and rather expensive) surprises, which means it pays to know what you're getting into before you sign on the dotted line.

The first thing you need to know about buying auto insurance is that the auto insurance rates you see advertised on billboards and hear about on the radio are usually lowball figures that don't include the full amount of coverage you want under your belt before you go out on the roads. These are usually the rates that they would be able to give a car that was decked out like an armored truck with a street value of less than $1,000 and a driver with a golden driving record who only wanted minimum liability while they were out on the roads.

Many drivers are unpleasantly surprised to find that their auto insurance rates are going to be considerably higher than they expected them to be in the first place because they don't bother to find out what's being advertised before they decide to buy.

The second thing you need to know is that minimum liability usually isn't enough. Many people will advocate only putting minimum liability coverage on your car if it's used and you don't currently have a lien, since over time you may end up paying more in premiums than the car was worth. That's something you want to consider carefully, however, since the amount you may end up paying in liability claims has absolutely nothing to do with the value of your car-and a single trip to the ICU after an accident can leave the amount of money your auto insurance is willing to pay in liability claims dead in the water.

Next, you need to know exactly what your liability auto insurance is going to cover. More importantly, you need to understand that liability isn't going to pay a dime to fix up your car after you've been in an accident! Liability is designed exclusively to cover the costs of the other cars and drivers involved, which means you're going to be responsible for your own repairs and, if your car is totaled, the expense of replacing an entire vehicle on your own dime.

Finally, you need to know that your auto insurance agent(s) may or may not know everything there is to know when it comes to discounts and saving you money on your auto insurance. There are hundreds of ways you can save money on your insurance coverage, and if you don't know all of them you're paying too much. Do some research before you go shopping around for an insurance policy and you'll be in a prime position to get the coverage you need at a price you can afford.