Comparison shopping for Jacksonville auto insurance is nearly impossible for people who are new to comparing rates online. Consumers have so many choices that it can turn into a real challenge to find the best price in Jacksonville.
How to Lower Your Auto Insurance Cost in Jacksonville, Florida
Performing a rate comparison can take time and effort if you don’t utilize the fastest way to get free quotes. You could spend the better part of a day driving to insurance companies in Jacksonville, or you can stay home and use online quotes to get the quickest rates.
Many popular insurance companies participate in an industry program that allows shoppers to submit one quote, and every company returns a competitive quote determined by their information. This saves time by eliminating form submissions for every auto insurance company. To find out how much you can save on auto insurance click to open in new window.
One minor caviat to comparing rates this way is that you can’t choose which providers you want pricing from. So if you prefer to pick specific insurance companies for rate comparison, we have a listing of companies who write auto insurance in Florida. Click to view list.
Whichever method you choose, make darn sure you compare identical quote information on every quote. If your comparisons have different liability limits it’s not possible to make a fair comparison and find the cheapest car insurance in FL.
Cut your auto insurance rates with these 5 discounts
Companies that sell car insurance don’t always advertise all available discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we took the time to find both the well known and the harder-to-find auto insurance savings. If they aren’t giving you every credit possible, you’re just leaving money on the table.
- Senior Discount – Older drivers may qualify for better auto insurance rates.
- Passive Restraint Discount – Vehicles with factory air bags can receive discounts up to 30%.
- Early Switch Discount – Select companies give a discount for switching to them prior to your current policy expiring. It’s a savings of about 10%.
- Anti-theft Discount – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems prevent vehicle theft and will save you 10% or more.
- Multiple Cars – Buying insurance for all your vehicles on the same auto insurance policy could earn a price break for each car.
It’s important to note that most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. Most cut specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. So even though it sounds like it’s possible to get free car insurance, you won’t be that lucky.
To see a list of providers with the best auto insurance discounts in Florida, click here to view.
You are unique and your auto insurance should be too
When it comes to choosing the best auto insurance coverage for your vehicles, there isn’t really a one size fits all plan. Everyone’s needs are different.
These are some specific questions could help you determine whether or not you might need professional guidance.
- Is my babysitter covered when using my vehicle?
- Can I still get insurance after a DUI?
- Am I covered when using my vehicle for business?
- Are all vehicle passengers covered by medical payments coverage?
- What companies insure drivers after a DUI or DWI?
- Can I afford low physical damage deductibles?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but a few of them apply, you might consider talking to an agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, complete this form. It only takes a few minutes and you can get the answers you need.
Even more information can be found at the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website. Consumers can read state legal mandates and laws, learn about specific coverages, and find out industry alerts.
Educate yourself about auto insurance coverages
Having a good grasp of your auto insurance policy aids in choosing which coverages you need for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Medical costs insurance – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage pay for short-term medical expenses for EMT expenses, doctor visits, ambulance fees and pain medications. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. Coverage applies to both the driver and occupants and also covers being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal Injury Protection is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision – This coverage pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first have to pay a deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers things such as fire damage, damage from getting keyed, rock chips in glass, theft and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The highest amount a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Collision coverage – Collision coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. A deductible applies and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision coverage pays for claims such as hitting a mailbox, sustaining damage from a pot hole and rolling your car. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. Another option is to increase the deductible to bring the cost down.
Liability car insurance – Liability coverage will cover damages or injuries you inflict on other people or property that is your fault. Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have policy limits of 50/100/50 which means $50,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a limit of $50,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability coverage protects against things such as structural damage, medical services and court costs. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford. Florida requires drivers to carry at least 10,000/20,000/10,000 but you should think about purchasing higher limits.
UM/UIM Coverage – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage gives you protection when the “other guys” either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered claims include hospital bills for your injuries and also any damage incurred to your vehicle.
Since many Florida drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (which is 10/20/10), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked.
Keep this in mind
When buying insurance coverage, never reduce needed coverages to save money. There have been many cases where someone sacrificed uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. The aim is to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest price.
Drivers change insurance companies for any number of reasons including policy cancellation, poor customer service, delays in responding to claim requests and delays in paying claims. Regardless of your reason, choosing a new company is easier than you think.
We just covered some good ideas how you can shop for auto insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. Consumers could even find that the biggest savings come from some of the lesser-known companies.