When trying to find more affordable insurance, are you overwhelmed by the dozens of auto insurance providers that you can choose from? Many other drivers are as well. Vehicle owners have so many options that it is a difficult challenge to find better auto insurance rates. Wadsworth is a great city to live in, but trying to pay high auto insurance rates can make it impossible to buy proper levels of coverage.
Finding affordable coverage in Wadsworth is easy if you know what you’re doing. If you currently have a car insurance policy, you should be able to save some money using these methods. But Ohio drivers should learn the way insurance companies compete online and use this information to your advantage.
Save money with these six discounts
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but you can get discounts that you may not know about. Some of these disounts will be visible at quote time, but once in a while a discount must be requested specifically before being credited.
- Theft Deterent System – Cars and trucks equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems have a lower chance of being stolen so companies will give you a small discount.
- Payment Discounts – By making one initial payment instead of making monthly payments you could save 5% or more.
- E-sign – A few companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for completing your application on the web.
- College Student – Any of your kids who live away from home to go to college and won’t have access to an insured vehicle may qualify for this discount.
- Driver Education Discount – Cut your cost by having your teen driver sucessfully take a drivers education course in school.
- Discounts for New Vehicles – Adding a new car to your policy can get you a discount compared to insuring an older model.
As a sidenote, most discounts do not apply to all coverage premiums. A few only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. If you do the math and it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, companies wouldn’t make money that way. But any discount should help lower your overall bill.
Larger auto insurance companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts are outlined below.
- State Farm includes discounts for Steer Clear safe driver discount, safe vehicle, Drive Safe & Save, good student, passive restraint, and student away at school.
- Nationwide offers discounts including good student, easy pay, accident-free, Farm Bureau membership, multi-policy, business or organization, and family plan.
- Geico has discounts for defensive driver, daytime running lights, federal employee, multi-vehicle, military active duty, membership and employees, and emergency military deployment.
- AAA may include discounts for multi-policy, good driver, pay-in-full, AAA membership discount, anti-theft, and education and occupation.
- 21st Century may offer discounts for driver training, automatic seat belts, good student, 55 and older, theft prevention, and teen driver.
- The Hartford has savings for defensive driver, anti-theft, driver training, bundle, and good student.
When getting a coverage quote, ask all the companies to give you their best rates. Discounts may not apply to policyholders in Wadsworth.
Beware of misleading auto insurance ads
Well-known auto insurance companies like Progressive, Allstate and Geico seem to constantly run ads on TV and radio. They all seem to convey the message that you’ll save big if you move your policy. Is it even possible that every company can charge less that you’re paying now? Here is how they do it.
Auto insurance companies look for specific characteristics for the type of insured that will most likely be profitable. An example of a desirable insured should be over the age of 50, has never had a policy lapse, and drives a lower-performance vehicle. A customer who fits that profile will qualify for the lowest rates in Wadsworth and most likely will save a lot if they switch.
People who are not a match for these stringent criteria will be quoted a higher premium and this can result in the prospect going elsewhere. If you pay attention, the ads say “people who switch” but not “all drivers who get quotes” save money. That is how insurance companies can make those statements. This really emphasizes why you should get a wide range of price quotes. Because you never know which auto insurance company will have the lowest rates.
Car insurance 101
Understanding the coverages of a auto insurance policy can help you determine appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. Auto insurance terms can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy.<img class="alignright" style="padding-top:15px;" src="https://www.carinsurancediy.com/wp-content/uploads/ci175-25.jpg" alt="Ohio car insurance“/>
Collision – Collision coverage will pay to fix damage to your vehicle caused by collision with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision can pay for claims like colliding with another moving vehicle, hitting a mailbox and driving through your garage door. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. Another option is to choose a higher deductible to save money on collision insurance.
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage – This provides protection when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for hospital bills for your injuries and also any damage incurred to your vehicle.
Since many Ohio drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits (12,500/25/7,500 in Ohio), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked.
Comprehensive auto coverage – Comprehensive insurance coverage will pay to fix damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first must pay your deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive insurance covers things such as damage from getting keyed, a broken windshield and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The highest amount you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Liability insurance – This provides protection from damage that occurs to people or other property. It protects you from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have policy limits of 25/50/25 which means a limit of $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 for the entire accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability coverage protects against things such as emergency aid, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, medical services and court costs. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but buy higher limits if possible. Ohio requires drivers to carry at least 12,500/25,000/7,500 but it’s recommended drivers buy more coverage.
Medical payments and PIP coverage – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for immediate expenses for hospital visits, pain medications, chiropractic care and surgery. They can be used in conjunction with a health insurance program or if you do not have health coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover all vehicle occupants and will also cover any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Learn more about Ohio auto insurance
Additional detailed information can be found at the Ohio Department of Insurance website. Ohio consumers can read industry bulletins, view a list of available companies, and read state legal mandates and laws.
The following articles may also be useful.
One last thing about your coverage
People change insurance companies for many reasons like questionable increases in premium, high prices, delays in responding to claim requests and even not issuing a premium refund. No matter why you want to switch, finding the right auto insurance provider can be pretty painless.
We covered many ways to lower your auto insurance car insurance rates. The key thing to remember is the more times you quote, the higher your chance of finding . You may even discover the best car insurance rates are with a smaller regional carrier.
When shopping online for auto insurance, it’s a bad idea to buy poor coverage just to save money. There are a lot of situations where someone dropped full coverage to discover at claim time that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your strategy should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at an affordable rate while still protecting your assets.