Are you regretting buying overpriced car insurance? Don’t feel bad because there are many Belvidere drivers thinking the same thing. Many auto insurance companies vie for your insurance dollar, and it can be difficult to compare rates and get the best coverage at the lowest cost out there.
Consumers should take time to compare prices quite often since insurance rates are variable and change quite frequently. Just because you found the lowest rate last year other companies may now be cheaper. There are a lot of ways to save on car insurance on the web, but I’m going to show you the best ways to find affordable car insurance.
Car insurance companies offer many discounts
Not too many consumers would say car insurance is affordable, but companies offer discounts that you may not even know about. A few discounts will be applied when you quote, but lesser-known reductions have to be inquired about prior to receiving the credit.
- Good Students Pay Less – Being a good student may save as much as 25% on a . You can use this discount normally up until you turn 25.
- Defensive Driver – Taking part in a defensive driving course can save you 5% or more depending on where you live.
- Home Ownership Discount – Owning a home in Belvidere can help you save on car insurance due to the fact that maintaining a home requires personal responsibility.
- Switch and Save Discount – Some companies reward drivers for buying a new policy before your current coverage expires. You could save around 10% when you .
- New Car Discount – Putting car insurance coverage on a new car can get you a discount compared to insuring an older model.
- E-sign Discounts</strong – Certain insurance companies will give a small break just for signing your application on your computer.
- Claim Free – Drivers with accident-free driving histories pay much less in comparison with frequent claim filers.
- Pay Upfront and Save – By paying your entire bill at once rather than paying monthly you could save up to 5%.
- Responsible Driver Discount – Drivers who avoid accidents can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates than drivers with accidents.
- Policy Bundle Discount – When you have multiple policies and place coverage with the same company you could save up to 20% and get you .
You can save money using discounts, but most credits do not apply to your bottom line cost. The majority will only reduce specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. So even though they make it sound like all the discounts add up to a free policy, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy. Any amount of discount will reduce your premiums.
A list of car insurance companies and a partial list of their discounts are outlined below.
- State Farm offers premium reductions for good student, accident-free, Drive Safe & Save, student away at school, passive restraint, and multiple policy.
- Progressive includes discounts for online quote discount, online signing, homeowner, good student, and multi-vehicle.
- Travelers may offer discounts for driver training, multi-policy, continuous insurance, IntelliDrive, early quote, and payment discounts.
- American Family offers discounts for early bird, good student, mySafetyValet, Steer into Savings, and multi-vehicle.
- Liberty Mutual offers discounts including hybrid vehicle, good student, exclusive group savings, teen driver discount, newly married, and new move discount.
Before purchasing a policy, check with each company which discounts can lower your rates. All car insurance discounts may not apply in Belvidere. If you would like to choose from a list of car insurance companies with discount rates in Belvidere, follow this link.
When comparison shopping, there are several ways to obtain and compare prices from all the different companies. The simplest method to lower the rate you pay for insurance consists of obtaining rate quotes online. This can be accomplished using a couple different methods.
One of the best ways consumers can analyze rates is a comparison rater form like this one (opens in new window). This easy form keeps you from doing separate quotation requests for each company. One form submission gets you price quotes from car insurance companies with the best prices.
A more difficult way to analyze rates requires visiting the website of each company to request a price quote. For examples sake, we’ll pretend you want comparison quotes from Farmers, State Farm and American Family. To get each rate you have to visit each site and enter your policy data, which is why first method is reommended. For a list of links to insurance companies in Belvidere, click here.
The old school method to compare price estimates is to spend your day driving to different Belvidere agent offices. The ability to get quotes online makes this process obsolete unless you prefer the guidance of an agent trained in personal lines coverage. Although, it is possible comparison shop online and still use a local agent.
The approach you take is up to you, just make darn sure you compare the exact same quote information for every quote you compare. If you use different limits and deductibles on each one you will not be able to determine the lowest rate in Belvidere. Having just a slight variation in limits may cause a big price difference. And when price shopping your coverage, obtaining a wide range of quotes helps increase your odds of locating more affordable insurance.
Premium influencing factors
The best way to find cheaper car insurance is to take a look at the different types of things that are used to determine your car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively influences your rates, this enables informed choices that can help you get cheaper rates.
The itemized list below are some of the major factors car insurance companies consider when setting your rates.
- Gender impacts prices – The statistics show women are more cautious behind the wheel. Now that doesn’t mean men are worse drivers. Men and women are in at-fault accidents in similar percentages, but males cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Not only are claims higher, but men receive more major tickets like DUI and reckless driving. Young males generally have the highest accident percentage so they pay the highest premiums.
- Don’t get traffic citations – Being a careful driver has a big impact on rates. Attentive drivers pay less for auto insurance than people who have multiple driving citations. Having a single citation may increase your cost forty percent or more. Drivers who get careless violations such as reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence may need to file a SR-22 with their state DMV in order to legally drive a vehicle.
- Where do you drive? – The higher the mileage driven every year the more you’ll pay to insure your vehicle. Almost all companies charge rates based upon how much you drive. Cars that are left in the garage can get a lower rate than cars that get driven a lot. Ask your agent if your car insurance declarations sheet shows the correct usage for each vehicle.
- Your car’s features help determine prices – Purchasing a vehicle with advanced anti-theft systems can save you a little every year. Theft prevention features like OnStar, LoJack tracking, and tamper alarms can thwart your vehicle from being stolen.
- Cars with good safety ratings mean better car insurance rates – Vehicles with good safety scores tend to have lower insurance rates. These vehicles help reduce the chance of injuries in an accident and any reduction in injury severity means less money paid by your insurance company and more competitive rates for policyholders. If your car or truck scored better than four stars on Safercar.gov you are probably receiving a discount.
- Getting married equates to better premiums – Having a significant other can actually save you money on car insurance. Having a significant other is viewed as being less irresponsible and it’s proven that drivers who are married file infrequent claims.
- Save money by having high credit – Having a bad credit score will be a significant factor in your rate calculation. People with high credit scores tend to be more responsible and file fewer claims than drivers who have lower credit ratings. So if your credit rating can use some improvement, you may save money insuring your vehicle by improving your rating.
Are auto insurance agents obsolete?
Some consumers just prefer to have an agent’s advice and often times that is recommended The best thing about price shopping on the web is you can get better rates and still have a local agent. Buying insurance from local insurance agents is important especially in Belvidere.
To find an agent, once you fill out this short form, your coverage information gets sent to local insurance agents in Belvidere who will give you bids for your insurance coverage. You never need to find an agent since price quotes are sent to you directly. You’ll get the best rates without a big time investment. In the event you want to get a price quote from one company in particular, just navigate to their website and complete a quote there.
To help you select from a list of insurance agencies near you, link to this list of Belvidere New Jersey car insurance agents.
Finding the right company needs to be determined by more than just a low price. Any agent should be forthright in answering these questions:
- If you raise deductibles, how much can you save?
- Does the agency have a good rating with the Better Business Bureau?
- How are claims handled?
- How would your car be valued if totalled?
- Are there any discounts for paying up front?
- Are there any discounts that you might be missing?
- Will the company cover a rental car if your car is getting fixed?
Are car insurance companies telling the truth?
Popular car insurance providers such as Progressive, Allstate and Geico consistently run television and radio advertisements. All the ads make an identical promise of big savings if you move your car insurance policy to them. Is it even possible that every company can cost less than your current company?
Most companies look for specific characteristics for the type of insured that is profitable for them. A good example of this type of risk profile may need to be a married male, carries full coverage, and drives a safe vehicle. Any person that matches those criteria will probably get the lowest prices and therefore will save a lot if they switch.
Drivers who are not a match for these criteria may be required to pay a higher premium which usually ends up with the customer buying from someone else. If you pay attention, the ads say “drivers who switch” not “all people who quote” save that much when switching. That’s why insurance companies can make those claims.
This emphasizes why you need to quote coverage with many companies. Because you never know which car insurance company will fit you best based on your risk profile.
Buy online or local, you save
We’ve covered some good ideas how to get a better price on car insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more companies you get auto insurance rates for, the better your comparison will be. Drivers may discover the most savings is with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. These smaller insurers often have lower auto insurance rates on specific markets than their larger competitors like Progressive and Geico.
Budget-friendly car insurance is available on the web in addition to many Belvidere insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best rate selection. Some insurance companies don’t offer the ability to get quotes online and these regional insurance providers work with independent agencies.
Additional information is available on the located here. New Jersey drivers can get help finding coverage, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, discover disciplinary actions, and read state legal mandates and laws.
Other informative sites include Wikipedia and this link which helps you find a Belvidere agent.