Sick and tired of trying to scrape together enough money to pay your car insurance bill each month? You’re in the same situation as many other Michigan drivers. You have multiple insurance companies to pick from, and even though it’s nice to have a selection, too many choices makes it more difficult to compare company pricing.
It’s a good habit to price shop coverage occasionally because rates change frequently. Just because you had the lowest rates two years ago you can probably find a lower rate today. Forget all the misinformation about auto insurance because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to one of the best ways to get good coverage at a lower rate.
Make smart decisions and save
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that go into determining auto insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels allows you to make educated decisions that could result in better auto insurance rates.
- More than one policy can earn a discount – Many insurers will give a discount to policyholders who carry more than one policy in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even though this discount sounds good, you still need to compare other company rates to ensure the best deal. You may still find a better deal by buying insurance from more than one company.
- Adjust deductibles and save – Deductibles for physical damage represent how much money you are willing to pay before your auto insurance pays a claim. Insurance for physical damage to your car, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, protects your car from damage. Some examples of claims that would be covered could be colliding with a building, collision with an animal, and burglary. The more expense the insured has to pay upfront, the less your auto insurance will be.
- Drive a safer car and pay less – Safer cars tend to have better insurance rates. The safest vehicles result in less severe injuries and fewer injuries means lower claim amounts passed on to you as lower rates.
- Add-on coverages can add up – There are many extra bells and whistles that you can buy on your policy. Insurance for rental car reimbursement, towing coverage and motor club memberships may be wasting your money. They may seem like a good idea when you first buy your policy, but if you don’t need them eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
- Better credit means lower rates – A driver’s credit score is a large factor in determining what you pay for auto insurance. People with good credit tend to be more responsible than drivers who have lower ratings. So if your credit rating is low, you could be paying less to insure your by spending a little time repairing your credit.
- Where you reside plays a part – Being located in less populated areas can save you money when insuring your vehicles. Drivers who live in large cities regularly have traffic congestion and much longer commute distances. Fewer drivers means fewer accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft.
- Never allow your policy to lapse – Allowing your auto insurance policy to lapse will be a guaranteed way to trigger a rate increase. And not only will your rates increase, but being ticketed for driving with no insurance may earn you a hefty fine and possibly a revoked license.
Finding Auto Insurance Deals in Oak Park, MI
Comparing auto insurance rates can be exhausting if you aren’t aware of the most efficient way. You can waste a few hours (or days) driving to local insurance agents in Oak Park, or you could save time and use online quotes to get rate comparisons in just a few minutes.
Many companies belong to a marketplace that enables customers to complete one form, and every company returns a rated price. This saves time by eliminating quote requests to each company.
To submit your quote information now, click here to open in new window.
The only drawback to pricing coverage this way is that consumers can’t choose the companies you will receive quotes from. If you would rather choose specific providers to compare prices, we have a listing of the cheapest auto insurance companies in Michigan. Click here for list of insurance companies in Michigan.
Whichever method you choose, make sure you use exactly the same deductibles and coverage limits with every price quote. If your comparisons have higher or lower deductibles it will be next to impossible to make an equal comparison in Oak Park.
Verify you’re getting all your discounts
Companies don’t always advertise all available discounts very well, so we break down some of the more common as well as the least known savings tricks you should be using. If you don’t get every credit possible, you are paying more than you should be.
- Accident Forgiveness – Certain companies will allow you to have one accident before raising your premiums as long as you don’t have any claims for a certain period of time.
- Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Vehicles equipped with air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems may earn rate discounts of up to 25% or more.
- Organization Discounts – Being a member of certain professional organizations could trigger savings when shopping for auto insurance.
- Distant Student – Any of your kids who are attending college and don’t have a car may be able to be covered for less.
- Drivers Education – Have your child successfully complete driver’s ed class in high school.
It’s important to understand that some of the credits will not apply to your bottom line cost. Some only reduce individual premiums such as collision or personal injury protection. So even though it sounds like all those discounts means the company will pay you, you won’t be that lucky.
More tips and info about auto insurance is available at the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation website. Michigan consumers can read industry bulletins, download brochures, and read consumer alerts.
Other informative sites include this resource for Michigan auto insurance prices and this link where you can make Oak Park auto insurance comparisons.
Better coverage you can count on
Throughout this article, we presented quite a bit of information on how to lower your auto insurance rates. The key thing to remember is the more price quotes you have, the higher the chance of saving money. Drivers may discover the lowest priced auto insurance comes from a small mutual company. Smaller companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments as compared to the big name companies such as Allstate and Progressive.
Affordable auto insurance is possible from both online companies and also from your neighborhood Oak Park agents, and you should be comparing both so you have a total pricing picture. Some insurance providers may not provide you the ability to get quotes online and usually these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.