If you’ve never shopped for , you can be overwhelmed thanks to the incredible selection of car insurance companies competing for your business.
It’s smart to compare prices every six months because car insurance prices tend to go up over time. If you had the best price a year ago there may be better deals available now. There is lot of inaccurate information about car insurance on the internet, but I’m going to show you some great ways to reduce your car insurance bill.
If you have car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to cut costs considerably using these tips. The purpose of this article is to help you learn how to get online quotes and some tricks to saving. But Illinois consumers must comprehend the way insurance companies sell online and use this information to your advantage.
There are several ways to shop for car insurance, and some are more efficient than others. You can spend countless hours discussing policy coverages with local insurance agents in Carpentersville, or you could save time and use the web to get prices fast.
Most major companies participate in a marketplace that allows shoppers to only type in their quote data once, and each participating company can give them a price for coverage. This prevents consumers from doing form submissions to every company.
To fill out one form to compare multiple rates now click to open in new window.
The only downside to doing it this way is buyers cannot specifically choose which insurance companies you want pricing from. So if you prefer to choose specific insurance companies for rate comparison, we have a page of the cheapest car insurance companies in Illinois. View list of Illinois insurance companies.
However you get your quotes, ensure you are comparing apples-to-apples deductibles and coverage limits for each quote you get. If you are comparing different liability limits you will not be able to make a fair rate comparison in Carpentersville. Even a minor difference in insurance coverages could mean much higher rates. And when comparing car insurance rates, know that having more price comparisons increases your odds of finding a lower rate. Not every company does prices over the internet, so it’s necessary to compare price quotes from them, too.
You have control over your car insurance costs
Multiple criteria are used when premium rates are determined. Some are obvious such as traffic violations, although some other factors are less apparent such as your marital status and annual miles driven.
The list below includes just a few of the factors used by your company to calculate your prices.
- Choose high IIHS safety ratings and save – Cars with high safety ratings tend to have lower insurance rates. Safe vehicles reduce the chance of injuries and lower rates of occupant injuries means lower claim amounts and thus lower rates.
- Liability insurance limits should be high – The liability section of your policy will protect you when you are ruled to be at fault for an accident. Your policy’s liability insurance provides legal defense coverage which can be incredibly expensive. It is affordable coverage compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so insureds should have plenty of protection for their assets.
- Never go without car insurance – Going without insurance is a quick way to trigger a rate increase. Not only will rates go up, getting caught without coverage could result in fines or a revoked license.
- Too many car insurance claims drive up prices – If you file claims often, you can pretty much guarantee either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Car insurance companies in Illinois provide discounts to insureds who are not frequent claim filers. Auto insurance is meant to be used in the event of major claims that would cause financial hardship.
These discounts can reduce car insurance rates
Car insurance is expensive, but there may be some discounts that could drop your premiums quite a bit. Some discounts apply automatically at the time of purchase, but some need to be specially asked for before you get the savings.
- Seat Belt Discounts – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to buckle up can save a little off the medical payments premium.
- Auto/Home Discount – When you combine your auto and home insurance with the same insurance company they may give you a discount of nearly 15% which can help you find .
- Save with More Vehicles Insured – Buying insurance for all your vehicles with the same company can get a discount on all vehicles.
- Telematics Discount – Policyholders that allow their car insurance company to track driving manner through the use of a telematics system such as In-Drive from State Farm or Allstate’s Drivewise system could possibly reduce rates as long as the data is positive.
- Life Insurance – If the company offers life insurance, you could get lower car insurancerates if you buy a life policy as well.
- Passenger Safety Discount – Factory options such as air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can qualify for discounts as much as 30%.
- Driver Training Discounts – Taking time to complete a course in defensive driving can save you 5% or more and easily pay for the cost of the class.
- Lower Rates for Military – Being deployed in the military may qualify for rate reductions.
You should keep in mind that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the overall cost of the policy. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as comp or med pay. So when the math indicates adding up those discounts means a free policy, you aren’t that lucky.
Some companies that have some of the discounts shown above may include but are not limited to:
Before purchasing a policy, check with all companies you are considering how many discounts you can get. Depending on the company, some discounts may not apply to policyholders in Carpentersville. To locate insurers that offer some of these discounts in Carpentersville, follow this link.
Do I just need basic coverages?
When it comes to buying the right insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a “perfect” insurance plan. Everyone’s situation is unique.
For example, these questions may help you determine if you would benefit from professional advice.
- What are the best liability limits?
- Are split liability limits better than a combined single limit?
- Does my vehicle need full coverage?
- How many claims can I have before being cancelled?
- What can I do if my company denied a claim?
- Are all vehicle passengers covered by medical payments coverage?
- Can I rate high risk drivers on liability-only vehicles?
- Do I need medical payments coverage since I have good health insurance?
- What is covered by UM/UIM coverage?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but one or more may apply to you, you might consider talking to a licensed agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form.
When to contact a local insurance agent
Some people would rather buy from a licensed agent. A good thing about comparing insurance prices online is that drivers can save money and get lower prices but also keep your business local.
To find an agent, once you fill out this quick form, the quote information is immediately sent to local insurance agents in Carpentersville who will gladly provide quotes for your coverage. You won’t even need to search for any insurance agencies since price quotes are sent to you instantly. You can find the lowest rates AND a local agent. In the event you want to get a price quote from a specific car insurance provider, feel free to jump over to their website and complete a quote there.
Finding the right provider should depend on more than just the bottom line cost. The following questions are important to ask.
- Will vehicle repairs be made with aftermarket parts or OEM replacement parts?
- Is working in the agency their full-time job?
- Will one accident increase rates?
- Do they offer rental car reimbursement?
- Can they provide you with a list of referrals?
The following is a short list of car insurance companies in Carpentersville that may be willing to give comparison quotes.
- Pacchini Insurance – 22 Meadowdale Shopping Ctr # A, Carpentersville, IL 60110 – (847) 428-2700
- State Farm Insurance – 1670 S Kennedy Dr # 2, Carpentersville, IL 60110 – (847) 426-0099
- Parr Insurance – 1670 S Kennedy Dr, Carpentersville, IL 60110 – (847) 428-4816
If you wish to find licensed insurance agents in Carpentersville, please visit this directory of Carpentersville, IL car insurance providers.
Upon receiving good responses to any questions you have in addition to an acceptable price estimate, chances are good that you have found an insurance company that can provide car insurance coverage.
Don’t give up on lower rates
Drivers change insurance companies for a variety of reasons including delays in responding to claim requests, lack of trust in their agent, questionable increases in premium and being labeled a high risk driver. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch choosing a new company is easier than you think.
Cheaper car insurance can be sourced from both online companies as well as from independent agents in Carpentersville, and you should be comparing both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers may not have price quotes online and usually these smaller providers work with local independent agents.
We just covered quite a bit of information on how to reduce car insurance premium rates online. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. You may be surprised to find that the most savings is with an unexpected company.
Additional reading for car insurance information
Additional detailed information is located at the Illinois Department of Insurance website. Illinois drivers can report car insurance fraud, read industry bulletins, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.