Being forced to pay for pricey auto insurance premiums can bleed your savings and possibly require postponing other expenditures. You have multiple car insurance companies to purchase coverage from, and although it’s a good thing to have a choice, too many choices makes it more difficult to find the lowest rates.
Buying car insurance in Shoshone is not rocket science. If you are paying for car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to reduce your rates substantially using these tips. But Idaho consumers do need to learn how the larger insurance companies price insurance differently.
Get affordable rates with discounts
Car insurance is not cheap, but you may be missing some discounts that could drop your premiums quite a bit. Some trigger automatically at the time of quoting, but some need to be asked for prior to getting the savings.
- Theft Prevention Discount – Cars, trucks, and SUVs that have factory anti-theft systems are stolen less frequently and will save you 10% or more.
- Student Discounts – Maintaining excellent grades may save as much as 25% on a . You can use this discount normally up to age 25.
- Distant Student – Children who are enrolled in a college that is more than 100 miles from home without a vehicle on campus could qualify for this discount.
- Accident Free – Insureds who avoid accidents and claims are rewarded with significantly better rates on when compared with insureds who have frequent claims or accidents.
- Defensive Driver Discount – Taking time to complete a course teaching safe driver skills could earn you a small percentage discount if your company offers it.
One last thing about discounts, most discounts do not apply the the whole policy. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. So even though it sounds like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, that’s just not realistic. Any qualifying discounts should help reduce your policy premiums.
Popular auto insurance companies and some of their more popular discounts include:
- Farmers Insurance may offer discounts for bundle discounts, mature driver, pay in full, youthful driver, business and professional, good student, and multi-car.
- State Farm has discounts for defensive driving training, accident-free, safe vehicle, Steer Clear safe driver discount, and anti-theft.
- Liberty Mutual offers premium reductions for new graduate, new vehicle discount, multi-car, teen driver discount, safety features, hybrid vehicle, and good student.
- MetLife may have discounts that include good driver, claim-free, accident-free, multi-policy, defensive driver, and good student.
- Progressive discounts include homeowner, online quote discount, good student, continuous coverage, and multi-policy.
Double check with every insurance company to give you their best rates. All car insurance discounts may not be offered everywhere. For a list of providers that offer multiple discounts in Idaho, click here to view.
Most major insurance companies such as Geico, State Farm and Progressive allow you to get pricing on their websites. Getting quotes is quite easy because it’s just a matter of typing in your coverage preferences into the form. Once entered, their rating system sends out for reports for credit and driving violations and generates a price based on these factors. This helps simplify price comparisons, but the process of having to visit a lot of sites and type in the same information can be a bit repetitive. But it’s necessary to do this if you want to find the lowest auto insurance rates.
A more efficient way to lower your rates utilizes a single form to return rates from a lot of companies. This type of form saves time, reduces the work, and makes quoting online much more efficient. After sending the form, your coverage is rated and you are able to buy your choice of the quotes that you receive. If the quotes result in lower rates, you can click and sign and purchase the new policy. It only takes a few minutes and may result in a nice savings.
To save time and find out how much you’re overpaying now, click here to open in a new tab and begin entering your coverage information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you type in deductibles and limits identical to your current policy. This guarantees you will receive an apples-to-apples comparison using the same coverage and limits.
Lower Your Rates with these tips
Many factors are used when you quote your car insurance policy. Some factors are common sense like a motor vehicle report, although others are more transparent such as whether you are married or how safe your car is. Smart consumers have a good feel for the rating factors that help determine the rates you pay for auto insurance. When you understand what controls the rates you pay, this allows you to make educated decisions that can help you get lower auto insurance prices.<img class="alignright" style="padding-top:15px;" src="https://www.carinsurancediy.com/wp-content/uploads/ci175-59.jpg" alt="Shoshone Idaho car insurance quote”/>
The itemized list below are most of the major factors auto insurance companies consider when setting your rates.
- If you don’t need it don’t buy it – Policies have optional add-on coverages you can purchase on your auto insurance policy. Things like personal injury protection, death and dismemberment, and extra life insurance coverage could be just wasting money. The coverages may be enticing when talking to your agent, but if you’ve never needed them in the past eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
- Is your vehicle theft-ready? – Selecting a car model with a theft deterrent system can help lower your premiums. Systems that thwart theives such as tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all help prevent car theft and help bring rates down.
- Decrease rates by maintaining coverage – Allowing your auto insurance policy to lapse will be a guaranteed way to increase your rates. And not only will your rates increase, getting caught without coverage may earn you a fine, jail time, or a revoked license. You will then be forced to provide proof of insurance in the form of an SR-22 filing with the Idaho DMV.
- Proper usage rating affects costs – The higher the miles on your car in a year the higher your rates will be. A lot of companies price each vehicle’s coverage determined by how the vehicle is used. Autos left parked in the garage can be on a lower rate level than those that get driven frequently. It’s always a good idea to double check that your auto insurance policy shows annual mileage, because improper ratings can cost you money.
- Cheaper to insure females? – The statistics show females are less aggressive when driving. However, don’t assume that males are worse at driving than females. Males and females cause accidents in similar percentages, but males cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. In addition to higher claims, males also have more aggressive citations like driving under the influence (DUI).
When should I discuss my situation with an agent?
When it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage, there is no perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s needs are different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For instance, these questions might help in determining whether or not you might need an agent’s assistance.
- Does liability extend to a camper or trailer?
- Do I need to file an SR-22 for a DUI in Idaho?
- What if I total my vehicle and owe more than it’s worth?
- Are there companies who specialize in insuring high-risk drivers?
- What is the minimum liability in Idaho?
- Does my car insurance cover rental cars?
- Should I buy only the required Idaho minimum liability coverage?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, fill out this quick form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.
Can’t I compare prices from local Shoshone insurance agents?
Certain consumers would rather buy from a licensed agent and that is a personal choice. One of the great benefits of comparing rate quotes online is you may find lower car insurance rates and also buy local.
Once you complete this quick form, your insurance coverage information is transmitted to agents in your area who will return price quotes and help you find cheaper coverage. It’s much easier because you don’t need to contact any insurance agencies since rate quotes are delivered to you. You can most likely find cheaper rates and a licensed agent to talk to. If you want to get a rate quote from a specific insurance company, feel free to go to their quote page and fill out the quote form the provide.
Selecting a insurer needs to be determined by more than just a cheap price quote. Get answers to these questions too.
- Do they assist clients in filing claims?
- Do they have advanced training designations such as CPCU, AAI, AIC, or CIC?
- How are they compensated?
- Who is covered by the car insurance policy?
- If you are a high risk driver, do they have special markets for your coverage?
- Does the agency provide any after hours assistance?
- Does their agency support local causes in Shoshone?
- What insurance companies do they work with in Shoshone?
The difference between Shoshone car insurance agents
If you are wanting to purchase auto insurance from a reputable agency, it’s important to understand the types of insurance agents and how they differ in how they quote coverages. Insurance agencies in Shoshone are considered either captive agents or independent agents.
Captive Insurance Agents
Agents in the captive channel are contracted to one company and some examples include State Farm or Allstate. They usually cannot compare rates from other companies so if the price isn’t competitive there isn’t much they can do. These agents are usually quite knowledgeable in insurance sales which helps them compete with independent agents.
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Independent agencies can quote rates with many companies and that is an advantage because they can write policies amongst many companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. If prices rise, they can switch companies in-house which makes it simple for you.
When comparing rate quotes, you will definitely want to get quotes from independent agents in order to compare the most rates.
Below is a list of independent insurance agents in Shoshone willing to provide price quote information.
Sutter Insurance – 36 N Highway 75 – Shoshone, ID 83352 – (208) 886-7686
To view more licensed insurance agents in Shoshone, visit this directory of auto insurance agents in Shoshone, ID.
One last thing
The cheapest auto insurance can be found on the web and from local agencies, and you should compare rates from both to get a complete price analysis. There are still a few companies who may not have online rate quotes and these regional carriers sell through local independent agents.
We just presented a lot of information how to lower your auto insurance rates. It’s most important to understand that the more times you quote, the higher the chance of saving money. Consumers could even find that the best rates are with the least-expected company. These smaller insurers can often provide lower car insurance rates in certain areas than the large multi-state companies such as Progressive and Geico.
More detailed Idaho auto insurance information is located at the Idaho Department of Insurance website. Idaho drivers can view a list of available companies, find out which companies have the most complaints, get help finding coverage, and find disaster information.