Sick and tired of trying to scrape together enough money to insure your vehicles every month? You are in the same boat as most other car owners in Louisiana. Big companies like Geico and Progressive persitently shower you with catchy ads and it is challenging if not impossible to ignore the flashy ads and do the work needed to find the best deal.
It’s a great practice to compare rates quite often since insurance rates trend upward over time. Just because you had the lowest price a couple years back you can probably find a better price now. You’ll find quite a bit of inaccurate information about car insurance on the web, but I’m going to show you some solid techniques on how to find cheap car insurance.
Be sure to get all your discounts
Companies don’t list all their discounts in a way that’s easy to find, so we researched some of the more common and the harder-to-find savings tricks you should be using. If you aren’t receiving every discount you deserve, you’re just leaving money on the table.
- Defensive Driver – Taking part in a course teaching defensive driving skills could cut 5% off your bill and easily recoup the cost of the course.
- Anti-lock Brakes – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems are safer to drive and will save you 10% or more.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Low mileage vehicles could be rewarded with a substantially lower rate.
- Military Rewards – Being on active duty in the military could be rewarded with lower premiums.
- Seat Belt Usage – Requiring all passengers to wear their seat belts can save up to 15% off your PIP or medical payments premium.
- Drivers Ed for Students – Cut your cost by having your teen driver enroll in driver’s education in high school.
- Payment Discounts – If paying your policy premium upfront rather than paying monthly you can actually save on your bill.
A little note about advertised discounts, some credits don’t apply to the entire policy premium. Some only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. Just because you may think you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you won’t be that lucky.
For a list of insurers offering car insurance discounts in Lafayette, click this link.
Comparison of Car Insurance in Lafayette
Finding lower car insurance rates is not rocket science. Just invest a little time to compare quotes online with multiple companies. This can be accomplished in several different ways.
- Probably the best way to get quotes for comparison is to use a rate comparison form like this one (opens in new window). This method prevents you from having to do a different quote for each company you want a rate for. Just one form compares rates .
- A more time consuming way to compare prices requires a trip to the website for every company you want to comare to complete their respective quote request forms. For example, let’s say you want rates from Nationwide, Liberty Mutual and Allstate. To get each rate you have to go to every website to input your insurance information, which is why the first method is quicker.
For a handy list of car insurance company links in Lafayette, click here.
- The least efficient method of comparing rate quotes is to spend your day driving to and from local insurance agencies. Shopping for car insurance online can eliminate the need for a local agent unless you want the trained guidance that only a license agent can provide. However, consumers can compare online quotes but buy from a local insurance agent and you’ll learn how to do that later.
It’s up to you how you get prices quotes, just ensure you are comparing exactly the same coverages with each company. If your comparisons have unequal deductibles or liability limits then you won’t be able to find the best deal in Lafayette.<img class="alignright" style="padding-top:15px" src="https://www.carinsurancediy.com/wp-content/uploads/ci175-46.jpg" alt="lower rates in Louisiana” />
Lower the Price of Insurance with These Tips
Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that come into play when calculating the price you pay for car insurance. Having a good understanding of what influences your rates allows you to make educated decisions that may reward you with lower car insurance prices.
The list below includes a few of the “ingredients” companies use to determine rates.
- Safer occupants lowers premiums – Vehicles with good safety scores can get you lower premiums. Safer cars result in less severe injuries and any reduction in injury severity means less money paid by your insurance company passed on to you as lower rates.
- Don’t let your coverage lapse – Allowing your car insurance policy to lapse is a quick way to trigger a rate increase. Not only will rates go up, but being ticketed for driving with no insurance may earn you a steep fine or even jail time.
- Sex matters – Statistics demonstrate that women are safer drivers than men. However, this does not mean women are better drivers. Women and men cause accidents at about the same rate, but the men have costlier accidents. Men also statistically get cited for more serious violations like reckless driving and DUI. Young males are most likely to cause an accident and therefore are the most expensive to insure.
- Where you live can impact rates – Residing in a small town is a positive aspect when it comes to car insurance. City drivers have more traffic problems and a longer drive to work. Less people living in that area means a lower chance of having an accident and also fewer theft and vandalism claims.
- Proper usage rating affects rates – The more miles you rack up on your car in a year the higher your rate. Almost all companies charge to insure your cars determined by how the vehicle is used. Vehicles used primarily for pleasure use can get a lower rate as compared to vehicles used primarily for driving to work. Double check that your car insurance policy is rated on how each vehicle is driven, because it can save money.
- How your age affects price – Mature drivers are more cautious drivers, tend to file fewer claims and are safer drivers. Young drivers tend to be more careless in a vehicle therefore car insurance rates are much higher.
Local Lafayette agents and car insurance
Some people would prefer to buy from a licensed agent and that is a personal choice. Agents are trained to spot inefficiencies and help you file claims. The best thing about comparing rates online is the fact that you can find the lowest rates but still work with a licensed agent.
By using this form (opens in new window), your coverage information is submitted to agents in your area who will battle for your coverage. You don’t have to leave your computer because quoted prices will be sent straight to your inbox. How cool is that?!
Deciding on an insurance company shouldn’t rely on just the price. Some important questions to ask are:
- What insurance companies do they recommend if they are an independent agent?
- What insurance companies do they work with?
- Do they carry Errors and Omissions coverage?
- Are claim adjusters local or do you have to take your car somewhere else?
- Who are their largest clients?
- Which company do they place the most coverage with?
- Can glass repairs be made at your home?
The following is a list of car insurance companies in Lafayette that are able to give price quotes.
Farm Bureau Insurance – 101 Toledo Dr, Lafayette, LA 70506 – (337) 235-7531
Farmers Insurance Group – 103 Songbird Ln, Lafayette, LA 70506 – (337) 989-2335
Robison Insurance – 3 Flagg Pl, Lafayette, LA 70508 – (337) 983-0669
State Farm Insurance – 2014 W Pinhook Rd # 301, Lafayette, LA 70508 – (337) 289-1810
Farm Bureau Insurance – 101 Toledo Dr, Lafayette, LA 70506 – (337) 235-7531
Direct General Ins Agency – 2037 NW Evangeline Trwy, Lafayette, LA 70501 – (337) 235-5838
Allstate Insurance – 2801 Kaliste Saloom Rd # 500, Lafayette, LA 70508 – (337) 981-9714
Upon getting satisfactory answers to any questions you have and a good coverage price, you’ve probably found a company that will provide car insurance coverage.
Quote often and quote early
As you restructure your insurance plan, it’s not a good idea to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are many occasions where an insured dropped physical damage coverage only to discover later that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your aim should be to purchase plenty of coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
We just covered many ways to shop for car insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more providers you compare, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. Drivers may discover the biggest savings come from some of the lesser-known companies. Smaller companies may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates than their larger competitors like Allstate, Geico and Progressive.
Learn more about car insurance in Louisiana
More detailed Louisiana car insurance information is available at the Louisiana Department of Insurance website. Louisiana consumers can file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, find a variety of consumer forms, and read industry bulletins.