Buying, selling, trading in and insuring cars are all major tasks you will likely face at some point if you own or plan to own a car.

Which means you might want to be a little educated before you head to the dealer or the online ads looking for a vehicle – or buy the vehicle and then try to figure out the best car insurance plan for your budget.

A lot of information is out there for you to sift through, searching page after page of company-sponsored information, or finding blog posts that give you half the material you really need.

If you are serious about expanding your knowledge on the basics of auto insurance coverages and their premiums, visit www.theautoinsurance.com. The free articles and infographics on the site provide plenty of background information about comparing insurance companies, what factors could increase your policy, and even interesting facts like the average cost ($150) of a speeding ticket in the United States and how much more that ticket will cost you in increased insurance premiums over three years (about $900). The site also allows you to compare multiple insurance quotes from top companies.

As you head out to purchase your new car, make sure you check out the top automobile safety picks for 2010 – the vehicles that scored the best on the crash test dummy tests. Also brush up on your knowledge of what car dealers might do in an attempt to get you to pay more for the vehicle – like adding customer service fees, or extended service contracts covering items that probably won’t break.

Having all this knowledge at your fingertips will help you to secure the best financial deal and safe products – for your car purchase, and your insurance coverage. And having a good knowledge of the industry is important before you start shopping.