Pricey auto insurance can bottom out your savings and put a big crunch on your finances. Performing a rate comparison can lower your rates and help to tighten up your finances.
Insurance companies such as State Farm, Progressive and Geico promote their brand names with TV and radio ads and consumers find it hard to see past the geckos and flying pigs and take the time to shop coverage around.
It’s smart to check auto insurance prices occasionally since insurance prices are usually higher with each renewal. Just because you had the best rates a couple years back you will most likely find a better premium rate today. Forget all the misinformation about auto insurance because I’m going to teach you how to use the internet to properly buy coverages and cut your premium.
If you are paying for car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to save some money using these techniques. Choosing the best insurance company for you in Tukwila is easy if you know what you’re doing. But Washington drivers should learn the way insurance companies determine prices and apply this information to your search.
You have control over your auto insurance costs
When buying auto insurance it’s important to understand the factors that go into determining your premiums. If you understand what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this allows you to make educated decisions that can help you get much lower annual insurance costs. Many things are part of the equation when you get your auto insurance bill. Some are obvious like an MVR report, although some other factors are more transparent such as your credit history or your vehicle rating.
- Multiple policies with one company – The majority of auto insurance companies will give a discount to insureds who have multiple policies with them in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even with this discount applied, consumers should still shop around to verify if the discount is saving money. Drivers may still save even more than the discount by buying auto insurance from a different company.
- Premiums increase with policy add-ons – Insurance companies have many optional add-on coverages that sound like a good idea at the time if you aren’t careful. Coverage for things like rental car coverage, towing coverage, and additional equipment coverage are some examples. The coverages may be enticing when buying your policy, but now you might not need them so consider taking them off your policy.
- Cars with good safety ratings mean better premiums – Vehicles with good safety scores cost less to insure. Vehicles built for safety reduce injuries and fewer serious injuries means less money paid by your insurance company and cheaper rates on your policy. If your car or truck has at least an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website it is probably cheaper to insure.
- Drivers with good credit save – A driver’s credit score can be a huge factor in determining your rates. So if your credit is not that good, you could potentially save money when insuring your vehicle by improving your rating. Insureds that have excellent credit scores tend to be less risk to insure than drivers who have poor credit scores.
- Don’t cancel your policy without a new one in place – Letting your insurance expire can be a sure-fire way to increase your rates. Not only will you pay higher rates, being ticketed for driving with no insurance could result in fines or a revoked license.
How to compare Tukwila auto insurance rate quotes
Comparing auto insurance rates can be a daunting task if you don’t utilize the fastest way to get free quotes. You could spend the better part of a day driving to local insurance agents in Tukwila, or you can utilize online quoting for quick rates.
Most major companies belong to a marketplace that allows shoppers to submit their information once, and each company provides a quote based on that information. This saves time by eliminating repetitive form submissions to every company.
To find out how much you’re overpaying now click to open in new window.
The only downside to pricing coverage this way is you don’t know exactly the companies to get quotes from. If you prefer to choose specific providers for rate comparison, we put together a list of companies who write auto insurance in Washington. Click here to view list.
It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just compare the exact same coverages and limits with each company. If the quotes have different deductibles you can’t possibly make a fair rate comparison in Tukwila. Just slight variations in insurance coverages could mean much higher rates. And when quoting auto insurance, remember that comparing a wide range of rates helps improve the odds of finding better pricing.
Advertising myths
State Farm and Allstate constantly bombard you with ads on TV and radio. All the companies have a common claim that you’ll save big just by moving to them. How does each company claim to save you money?
Many companies look for specific characteristics for the type of driver that earns them the most money. An example of a profitable customer could be between the ages of 30 and 50, insures multiple vehicles, and insures a new vehicle. A customer getting a price quote that hits that “sweet spot” will get very good Tukwila premium rates and will also pay quite a bit less when switching companies.
Potential insureds who may not quite match this ideal profile must pay higher premiums which translates to the prospect going elsewhere. The ad wording is “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save the amount stated. That is how companies can advertise the way they do. That is why drivers must compare as many as you can. It is impossible to guess with any certainty which company will be your best fit.
Auto insurance discounts help lower rates
Car insurance is not cheap, but there could be available discounts that you may not know about. A few discounts will automatically apply at quote time, but occassionally some discounts must be specially asked for before they will apply.
- Federal Government Employee – Simply working for the federal government could qualify for a slight premium decrease with select insurance companies.
- Club Memberships – Participating in a professional or civic organization may earn a discount when getting a .
- Paperwork-free – A handful of larger companies will give you a small discount for completing your application on their website.
- Sign Early and Save – Some insurance companies provide a discount for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiring. It could save around 10% when you .
- Telematics Data – Tukwila drivers who agree to allow their company to look at their driving habits by using a telematics device such as Drivewise from Allstate or Snapshot from Progressive might see lower rates if they are good drivers.
- Military Rewards – Being deployed with a military unit can result in better premium rates.
- Accident Forgiveness Coverage – Not really a discount, but some companies like Allstate and State Farm will let one accident slide before they charge you more for coverage if you have no claims for a set time period.
You can save money using discounts, but some credits don’t apply the the whole policy. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. So even though they make it sound like all those discounts means the company will pay you, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any amount of discount will lower the amount you pay for coverage.
The best auto insurance companies and some of the premium reductions they offer are shown below.
- State Farm offers premium reductions for good student, safe vehicle, anti-theft, Drive Safe & Save, and multiple policy.
- Geico has savings for seat belt use, defensive driver, membership and employees, good student, five-year accident-free, military active duty, and driver training.
- Liberty Mutual policyholders can earn discounts including exclusive group savings, newly retired, hybrid vehicle, new vehicle discount, safety features, multi-policy, and new graduate.
- The Hartford discounts include vehicle fuel type, bundle, anti-theft, driver training, air bag, and defensive driver.
- MetLife offers discounts including claim-free, good student, accident-free, multi-policy, good driver, defensive driver
- Progressive may have discounts that include online signing, continuous coverage, multi-policy, homeowner, online quote discount, and multi-vehicle.
When comparing rates, check with every insurance company to apply every possible discount. Savings may not apply in Tukwila. If you would like to see a list of providers who offer auto insurance discounts in Tukwila, click here to view.
Which is the best auto insurance?
When it comes to buying coverage for your personal vehicles, there is no single plan that fits everyone. Everyone’s situation is a little different so your insurance should reflect that For example, these questions might point out if your situation might need an agent’s assistance.
- What is the difference between comprehensive and collision coverage?
- Do I have any recourse if my insurance company denies a claim?
- Am I covered when delivering products for my home-based business?
- Am I getting all the discounts available?
- What should my uninsured motorist coverage limits be in Washington?
- Is my vehicle covered for flood damage?
- Do I have coverage when pulling a U-Haul trailer?
- Is there coverage for injuries to my pets?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions, you might consider talking to an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, simply complete this short form or click here for a list of auto insurance companies in your area.
More detailed Washington auto insurance information is located at the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner website. Washington consumers can find disaster information, read state legal mandates and laws, read consumer alerts, and find out which companies have the most complaints.
Other informative sites include NAIC.org’s Understanding your Policy and this page where you can research Tukwila insurance agents.
Quote often and quote early
We just covered some good ideas how to lower your auto insurance prices. The key concept to understand is the more quotes you get, the better your chances of lowering your rates. Consumers may even find the most savings is with the smaller companies. These companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than the large multi-state companies such as Progressive or Geico.
Affordable auto insurance is definitely available online and also from your neighborhood Tukwila agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best selection. Some auto insurance companies don’t offer online price quotes and these smaller companies only sell through independent insurance agencies.