Nobody likes buying auto insurance, especially knowing they are paying too much. Many car insurance companies vie to insure your vehicles, so it can be very hard to choose a insurance company and uncover the absolute lowest rate possible.
It’s smart to quote other rates yearly since prices are variable and change quite frequently. Even if you got the lowest price a few years ago you may be paying too much now. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because you’re about to learn one of the easiest ways to save money, get proper deductibles and limits, all at the lowest rate.
These discounts can lower your auto insurance quotes
Not too many consumers would say auto insurance is affordable, but there could be significant discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Certain discounts will be applied when you get a quote, but some may not be applied and must be specially asked for in order for you to get them.
- Use Seat Belts – Drivers who require all vehicle occupants to buckle up before driving can save up to 10 percent (depending on the company) off the PIP or medical payment premium.
- Club Memberships – Affiliation with certain professional organizations is a simple method to lower premiums when getting a .
- Driver’s Ed – Require your teen driver to successfully complete driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
- Discount for Good Grades – Maintaining excellent grades could provide a savings of up to 20% or more. This discount can apply until age 25.
- Lower Rates for Military – Having a family member in the military could trigger a small discount.
- No Claim Discounts – Claim-free drivers pay much less as compared to policyholders that have many claims.
Policy discounts save money, but most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like medical payments or collision. Even though it appears all those discounts means the company will pay you, you aren’t that lucky.
To see insurance companies that offer discounts in Reidsville, click this link.
Getting a cheaper price on insurance doesn’t have to be difficult. You just have to take a few minutes getting comparison quotes to find. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in a couple of different ways.
- If you’re in a hurry, the quickest way to get the best comparison quotes is to use a rate comparison form like this one (opens in new window). This method prevents you from having to do boring form submissions to each individual auto insurance company. Just one form gets you coverage quotes from all major companies.
- A more time consuming way to obtain and compare quotes online consists of visiting the website for each individual company and repeat the quote process. For instance, let’s assume you want to compare prices for Nationwide, Liberty Mutual and Farmers. You would have to go to every website and enter your information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. For a list of companies in Reidsville, click here.
Which method you use is up to you, but make sure you are using equivalent quote information on every quote you get. If you have different limits and deductibles on each one you will not be able to determine which company has the best rates in Reidsville.
Choices you make can reduce your prices
When buying auto insurance it’s important to understand some of the factors that go into determining your auto insurance rates. When consumers understand what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this allows you to make educated decisions that may result in lower rates. Multiple criteria are used when pricing auto insurance. Some factors are common sense like a motor vehicle report, although others are less obvious such as your credit history or how safe your car is.
The itemized list below are just a few of the factors utilized by car insurance companies to help set rates.
- Low credit rating equals high rates – Having a bad credit score is likely to be a major factor in determining your rates. People with very good credit scores tend to be more responsible than drivers who have poor credit. If your credit rating is low, you may save money insuring your vehicle by improving your rating.
- Policy add-ons add up – There are a lot of add-on coverages that may not really be needed if you don’t pay attention. Coverages like vanishing deductibles, accident forgiveness, and Farm Bureau memberships may be costing you every month. The coverages may be enticing when buying your policy, but if you have no use for them eliminate them to save money.
- Do thieves like your car? – Owning a car with a theft deterrent system can save you some money. Theft prevention features such as vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems all help prevent your car from being stolen.
- Car insurance liability insurance limits – Your policy’s liability coverage will protect you when a jury decides you are liable for damages from an accident. Liability provides you with a defense in court to defend your case. This coverage is very inexpensive compared to physical damage coverage, so insureds should have plenty of protection for their assets.
- Higher rates for specific employers – Jobs such as lawyerspolice officers and medical professionals tend to pay the highest rates due to intense work requirements and long work hours. On the other hand, jobs like farmers, engineers and performers pay lower than average rates.
Is there deception in advertising?
North Carolina drivers can’t escape the ads that claim the best premium rates from companies such as Progressive, Geico, Allstate and State Farm. They all have a common claim about how much you will save if you change to them.
How does every auto insurance company charge you a lower premium? Here is the trick they use.
All the different companies have strict underwriting profiles for a prospective insured that earns them the most money. For example, a profitable insured could possibly be over the age of 50, has never had a policy lapse, and drives less than 5,000 miles a year. Someone that hits that “sweet spot” will get low car insurance rates and will also save quite a bit of money when switching.
People who are not a match for those criteria will probably have to pay more expensive rates which translates to the customer not purchasing. If you pay close attention to the ads, they say “customers that switch” not “all people who quote” save money. That’s the way insurance companies can claim big savings.
This really illustrates why it is so important to do a rate comparison at every renewal. It’s just too difficult to predict with any certainty which company will provide the lowest car insurance rates.
A little work can save a LOT of money
When trying to cut insurance costs, it’s very important that you do not buy less coverage just to save a little money. There have been many situations where someone sacrificed physical damage coverage only to discover later that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your aim should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at an affordable rate.
We covered a lot of techniques to reduce auto insurance rates online. The most important thing to understand is the more companies you get car insurance rates for, the higher your chance of finding . Consumers may even find the lowest rates are with some of the lesser-known companies. They may have significantly lower car insurance rates on certain market segments compared to the large companies like Progressive and Geico.
Additional information can be read on the North Carolina Department of Insurance website located here. North Carolina consumers can report car insurance fraud, learn about insurance regulations, and learn about specific coverages.
Also read more on III.org’s auto insurance page and this list of insurance agents in Reidsville.