Are you tired of robbing Peter to pay Paul to pay car insurance each month? Your situation is no different than many other consumers in South Carolina. Numerous car insurance companies battle for your insurance dollar, and it can be difficult to compare rates to find the best price available.
If you are insured now or are looking for a new policy, you can use these techniques to find the best rates and still get good coverage. Choosing the best insurance company for you in Bamberg is not rocket science. South Carolina drivers just need to understand how to shop for car insurance online.
Shopping for lower car insurance rates can be challenging if you don’t understand the most efficient way to do it. You could spend your day driving to agents in Bamberg, or you can stay home and use the web for quick rates.
Most of the larger companies belong to an insurance system where prospective buyers submit one quote, and each participating company then gives them pricing based on that information. This prevents consumers from doing repetitive form submissions for each company you want a rate for.
To find out what other companies charge click here (opens in new window).
The one downside to using this type of form is buyers cannot specifically choose which companies you want to price. If you prefer to choose from a list of companies to request quotes from, we put together a list of the cheapest car insurance companies in South Carolina. Click here to view list.
Whichever way you use, make darn sure you compare the same quote data on every price quote you get. If you use different coverage information it will be nearly impossible to decipher which rate is best in Bamberg.
Take these ten policy discounts and save
Car insurance is neither fun to buy or cheap, but you might find some hidden discounts that could drop your premiums quite a bit. Some of these disounts will be visible when you complete an application, but a few must be asked for before you get the savings. If you do not double check each discount possible, you may be paying too high a price.
- Telematics Data Discounts – Drivers who elect to allow driving data collection to analyze their driving habits through the use of a telematics system such as State Farm’s In-Drive may see discounts if their driving habits are good.
- Payment Discounts – By paying your entire bill at once rather than spreading payments over time you can actually save on your bill.
- Multiple Vehicles – Purchasing coverage when you have multiple cars with one company qualifies for this discount.
- Own a Home and Save – Just owning your own home can save a few bucks due to the fact that maintaining a home requires personal responsibility.
- Defensive Driver Discount – Completing a course teaching defensive driver skills could possibly earn you a 5% discount depending on where you live.
- Responsible Driver Discount – Insureds without accidents may receive a discount up to 45% as compared to drivers with claims.
- Multiple Policy Discount – If you can bundle your auto and home insurance with the same insurance company you will save nearly 15% which can help you find .
- Senior Citizens – Drivers over the age of 55 can get a small decrease in premiums.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Maintaining low annual mileage could be rewarded with discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
- Good Student Discount – Getting good grades may save as much as 25% on a . You can use this discount normally up until you turn 25.
As is typical with insurance, many deductions do not apply to all coverage premiums. Some only reduce specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. Despite the appearance that you could get a free car insurance policy, you’re out of luck. Any amount of discount will positively reduce your overall bill.
To see a list of insurers that offer the discounts shown above in Bamberg, click here to view.
The coverage is in the details
Knowing the specifics of your policy can help you determine appropriate coverage for your vehicles. Car insurance terms can be difficult to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. Below you’ll find typical coverages found on the average car insurance policy.
Comprehensive protection
This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive can pay for claims such as fire damage, hitting a bird and damage from getting keyed. The maximum payout your car insurance company will pay is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider dropping full coverage.
Liability
Liability coverage will cover damages or injuries you inflict on other’s property or people by causing an accident. Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You commonly see limits of 25/50/25 which means a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a per accident bodily injury limit of $50,000, and a total limit of $25,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Occasionally you may see a combined limit that pays claims from the same limit without having the split limit caps.
Liability coverage protects against claims such as repair costs for stationary objects, structural damage, legal defense fees, medical services and repair bills for other people’s vehicles. How much coverage you buy is your choice, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible. South Carolina requires drivers to carry at least 25,000/50,000/25,000 but drivers should carry more liability than the minimum.
Medical expense coverage
Med pay and PIP coverage provide coverage for bills like EMT expenses, funeral costs, nursing services and hospital visits. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover you and your occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal Injury Protection is only offered in select states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Uninsured or underinsured coverage
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage gives you protection when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include hospital bills for your injuries as well as damage to your vehicle.
Since many South Carolina drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (25/50/25), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is very important. Frequently these limits do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Coverage for collisions
Collision coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision coverage pays for claims such as hitting a parking meter, sideswiping another vehicle, scraping a guard rail, backing into a parked car and damaging your car on a curb. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. You can also choose a higher deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Buy online or local, you save
Budget-friendly car insurance is possible both online and from local agencies, and you need to price shop both to have the best rate selection. Some car insurance companies may not have rates over the internet and many times these regional insurance providers only sell coverage through independent insurance agencies.
When getting , do not skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There have been many cases where someone dropped liability coverage limits and learned later they didn’t have enough coverage. Your focus should be to purchase plenty of coverage for the lowest cost, but do not skimp to save money.
In this article, we presented a lot of information how to shop for car insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may even find the lowest prices are with a small local company. These companies can often provide lower rates in certain areas compared to the large companies like Allstate, Geico and Progressive.
Additional consumer information websites
Additional information is available on the website for the South Carolina Department of Insurance through this link. South Carolina consumers can find disaster information, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, view agent and company licensing information, and read industry bulletins.
Additional helpful sites include FindNewCarInsurance.com and this list of insurance agents in Bamberg.