Sick and tired of paying out the nose to insure your vehicles every month? You are in the same boat as many other Vermont consumers. With consumers having so many options, it can be impossible to pick the most affordable car insurance company.
It’s a good habit to shop coverage around at least once a year because prices trend upward over time. Even if you think you had the lowest price six months ago other companies may now be cheaper. So just block out anything you think you know about car insurance because you’re going to learn the proper way to save on car insurance.
Buying car insurance in Shelburne is easy if you know what you’re doing. If you have insurance now or are just looking to switch companies, you can learn to find better prices and possibly find even better coverage. Vermont drivers just need to learn the best way to compare prices online.
How to Lower Your Car Insurance Cost in Shelburne, VT
Reducing your insurance rates doesn’t have to be difficult. The only thing you need to do is take a couple of minutes getting comparison quotes from different insurance companies. This can be accomplished in just a few minutes using one of these methods.
- The easiest and least time consuming way consumers can make multiple comparisons is an all-inclusive rate comparison click here to open form in new window. This method prevents you from having to do separate quotes for each company. Taking the time to complete one form will return quotes from many national carriers.
- A slightly less efficient method to obtain and compare quotes online is spending the time to visit each individual company website and complete a new quote form. For example, we’ll assume you want to compare rates from Liberty Mutual, State Farm and GMAC. To get rate quotes you would need to visit each site and enter your information, which is why the first method is quicker.
For a list of links to insurance companies in Shelburne, click here.
- The most time-consuming method of getting rate comparisons to local Shelburne insurance agencies. Shopping for car insurance online makes this process obsolete unless you want the personal advice only provided by licensed Shelburne agents. It is possible to get prices online and still use a local agent.
Whichever way you use, be sure to compare the exact same coverages and limits for each comparison quote. If each company quotes different values for each quote it’s not possible to decipher which rate is best in Shelburne.
Lots of discounts mean lots of savings
Companies that sell car insurance don’t always list every discount in a way that’s easy to find, so we break down some of the more common and the more hidden savings tricks you should be using. If you aren’t receiving every discount you qualify for, you are throwing money away.
- Multiple Policy Discount – When you combine your home and auto insurance with the same company you will save at least 10% off all policies.
- Defensive Driving Course – Taking a defensive driving course could cut 5% off your bill and easily recoup the cost of the course.
- Paperless Signup – A few companies may give you up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up on their website.
- Student Driver Training – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to take driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
- Sign Early and Save – A few companies offer discounts for switching policies prior to your current policy expiration. It can save you around 10%.
- Multi-car Discount – Buying coverage for more than one vehicle on one policy qualifies for this discount.
- Accident Waiver – A handful of insurance companies will forgive one accident before raising your premiums as long as you don’t have any claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
- Life Insurance – Larger companies have lower rates if you buy life insurance from them.
- Anti-lock Brakes – Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control prevent accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
It’s important to understand that most credits do not apply the the whole policy. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like comprehensive or collision. Just because it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, it doesn’t quite work that way.
To see a list of providers with discount car insurance rates in Vermont, click this link.
Are insurance agents a thing of the past?
Some consumers just want to buy from a local agent and that is a personal choice. Educated insurance agents are trained to spot inefficiencies and help file insurance claims. The best thing about comparing rates online is you may find the lowest rates and still choose a local agent.
To help locate an agent, after submitting this simple form, your insurance data is transmitted to agents in your area who will give you bids for your insurance coverage. You never need to drive around as quotes are delivered straight to your inbox.
Selecting a company needs to be determined by more than just the premium amount. Any agent should have no problem answering these questions:
- Does the agency provide any after hours assistance?
- Are claims handled at the agent’s location?
- Do they assist clients in filing claims?
- Are they properly licensed to sell insurance in Vermont?
- Are glass claims handled on-site or do you have to take your vehicle to a repair shop?
- How are they compensated?
- How many years of experience in personal lines insurance coverages do they have?
Choose the right insurance agency
When searching for a reliable agent, there are two types of insurance agents that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Insurance agencies in Shelburne are categorized either independent or captive. Either one can write coverage properly, but it’s important to know the difference between them because it can influence your selection of an agent.
Captive Agents
Captive agents can only place business with one company such as State Farm, AAA, Farmers Insurance or Allstate. They are unable to shop your coverage around so they have no alternatives for high prices. Captives are well schooled in insurance sales which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums.
Independent Insurance Agents
Independent agents are not locked into one company so they can insure your vehicles with any number of different companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. To transfer your coverage to a different company, your agent can switch companies and you don’t have to find a new agent.
When comparing rates, you should always include price quotes from several independent insurance agents for maximum quote selection.
The following is a list of independent insurance agencies in Shelburne who can help you get price quote information.
Titus Insurance – 4281 Shelburne Rd – Shelburne, VT 05482 – (802) 985-2453
Palmer Insurance – 331 Shelburne Hinesburg Rd – Shelburne, VT 05482 – (802) 985-3303
To view a full list of insurance agents in Shelburne, visit this site.
After receiving good answers for all questions you ask and locked in a price quote, chances are good that you have found an insurance agent that can service your policy. But keep in mind once you purchase a policy you can cancel a policy whenever you wish so don’t think you are locked into any particular company for the entire policy term.
Additional detailed information can be read at the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation website. Visitors are able to read consumer alerts, discover disciplinary actions, find out which companies have the most complaints, and find out industry alerts.
Also read more on these car insurance answers and this link which helps you find a Shelburne agent.
The fine print in car insurance ads
Vermont consumers can’t get away from ads for the lowest price auto insurance by Progressive, Allstate and Geico. They all have a common claim of big savings if you move to their company.
How does each company make almost identical claims? It’s all in the numbers.
All companies have a preferred profile for the type of customer they prefer to insure. An example of a profitable customer might be profiled as between 25 and 40, has no prior claims, and has a high credit rating. A driver that hits that “sweet spot” will qualify for the lowest rates and therefore will save a lot of money.
Potential customers who are not a match for this ideal profile will be charged higher premiums and ends up with the customer not buying. The ads state “people who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save money. This is how insurance companies can confidently make those claims. That is why it is so important to quote coverage with many companies. It is impossible to predict which company will fit your personal profile best.
Coverage specifics
Having a good grasp of your policy can be of help when determining appropriate coverage at the best deductibles and correct limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be impossible to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Shown next are typical coverage types found on the average car insurance policy.
Insurance for medical payments
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for expenses for EMT expenses, prosthetic devices and dental work. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or if you lack health insurance entirely. Coverage applies to all vehicle occupants and will also cover getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not an option in every state but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance
This coverage gives you protection when the “other guys” either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered claims include injuries to you and your family and also any damage incurred to your vehicle.
Since a lot of drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (Vermont limits are 25/50/10), their limits can quickly be used up. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is very important.
Coverage for collisions
This coverage pays for damage to your vehicle from colliding with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage pays for things like colliding with a tree, damaging your car on a curb and crashing into a ditch. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. Another option is to choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Liability auto insurance
Liability insurance provides protection from damage or injury you incur to a person or their property that is your fault. Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You commonly see limits of 25/50/25 which means $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000.
Liability can pay for claims like court costs, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, loss of income, medical expenses and medical services. How much coverage you buy is your choice, but consider buying as high a limit as you can afford. Vermont requires drivers to carry at least 25,000/50,000/10,000 but you should think about purchasing more liability than the minimum.
Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You need to pay your deductible first then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive can pay for claims like hail damage, theft and rock chips in glass. The most your car insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Compare but don’t skimp
Throughout this article, we presented a lot of information how to save on car insurance. It’s most important to understand that the more rate quotes you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even find the lowest premiums are with a smaller regional carrier. These companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive and Geico.
When buying insurance coverage, it’s a bad idea to buy less coverage just to save a little money. In many cases, consumers will sacrifice physical damage coverage and discovered at claim time that it was a big mistake. Your aim should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
Low-cost car insurance is attainable from both online companies and also from your neighborhood Shelburne agents, so you should compare both to have the best rate selection. A few companies may not provide online quoting and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.