Top Ways to Save on Albany Car Insurance

Overpriced car insurance can drain your checking account and put a big crunch on your finances. Shopping your coverage around is a great way to cut your insurance bill.

Companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly bombard you with catchy ads and it is challenging if not impossible to sift through the bull and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.

It's important to get comparison quotes on a regular basis because rates are constantly changing. Despite the fact that you may have had the lowest rates on your last policy there is a good chance you can find better rates now. Starting right now, ignore everything you know about car insurance because you're going to learn the tricks you need to know to save on car insurance.

Understand what determines the rate you pay

Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that help determine your car insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what influences your rates helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with lower car insurance prices.

The following are a few of the "ingredients" that factor into rates.

Teen drivers pay high rates - More mature drivers are viewed as being more responsible, tend to file fewer claims and get fewer tickets. Young drivers are known to be less responsible when driving and because of this, their car insurance rates are much higher.
Being married is a good thing - Having a spouse can get you a discount on car insurance. It usually means you are more mature and statistics show married drivers get in fewer accidents.
Men pay higher rates - Statistics have proven women are more cautious behind the wheel. However, this does not mean men are WORSE drivers than women. Women and men are in accidents in similar percentages, but the males have costlier accidents. They also get more serious tickets such as reckless driving. Young males are the most expensive to insure and are penalized with high car insurance rates.
Drive a safer car and pay less - Cars with high safety ratings get lower rates. These vehicles have better occupant injury protection and fewer injuries translates into savings for insurance companies and more competitive rates for policyholders.
Clean credit earns discounts - Credit history is a big factor in determining what you pay for car insurance. If your credit rating is not that good, you could save money insuring your by improving your credit score. Consumers who have good credit tend to be less risk to insure than those with lower credit scores.
Your car insurance rates can be influenced by your job - Did you know your job can affect your rates? Jobs such as lawyers, social workers and dentists are shown to have the highest average rates due to high stress and lengthy work days. Other occupations such as pilots, historians and performers pay the least.

How to Lower Your Car Insurance Cost in Albany, Ohio

All major car insurance companies allow you to get insurance quotes online. The process doesn't take much effort as you just type in the coverages you want as detailed in the form. After the form is submitted, their rating system will obtain your credit score and driving record and gives you a price quote based on these factors. Online quotes makes it a lot easier to compare rates but the process of having to visit different websites and enter the same data into a form is repetitive and time-consuming. But it's very important to perform this step in order to find the best price on car insurance.

The preferred way to find lower prices utilizes a single form that gets price quotes from multiple companies. The form is fast, reduces the work, and makes quoting online much easier to do. After sending your information, it is rated and you can select your choice of the resulting price quotes. If you find a better price you can click and sign and buy the policy. The entire process takes less than 15 minutes and may save quite a bit of money.

If you want to find out if lower rates are available, click here to open in new window and submit your coverage information. To compare your current rates, we recommend you input your coverages as shown on your current policy. This makes sure you will receive a price comparison for the exact same coverage.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Companies offering auto insurance don't list all their discounts in a way that's easy to find, so we break down some of the more common and also the lesser-known discounts you could be receiving.

College Student - Youth drivers who attend school more than 100 miles from home and do not have access to a covered vehicle can be insured at a reduced rate.
Sign Online - Certain companies will give a small break just for signing your application digitally online.
55 and Retired - If you're over the age of 55, you may be able to get a discount up to 10%.
Military Discounts - Being deployed with a military unit may qualify for rate reductions.
Passive Restraints - Factory air bags or automatic seat belts can qualify for discounts up to 30%.

Keep in mind that some of the credits will not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like liability, collision or medical payments. So when the math indicates all the discounts add up to a free policy, it just doesn't work that way.

To choose companies who offer car insurance discounts in Albany, click here.

How can Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm save drivers who switch?

Car insurance companies such as Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm continually stream ads on television and other media. They all seem to have a common claim that you can save after switching your policy. How can each company make the same claim? It's all in the numbers.

All companies have a preferred profile for the right customer that makes them money. For example, a desirable insured could be between the ages of 30 and 50, insures multiple vehicles, and has great credit. A customer that hits that "sweet spot" will get the preferred rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Potential customers who are not a match for the requirements will have to pay higher prices and this can result in business going elsewhere. The ads state "customers who switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that kind of money. This is how insurance companies can advertise the savings. Because of the profiling, you need to get a wide range of price quotes. Because you never know which insurance companies will fit your personal profile best.

Additional detailed information can be found at the Ohio Department of Insurance website. Consumers can read enforcement actions against agents and companies, get help finding coverage, learn about insurance regulations, and find disaster information.

Do the work, save more money

When you buy insurance online, it's not a good idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where drivers have reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your aim should be to get the best coverage possible at the best price.

Affordable car insurance can be bought from both online companies in addition to many Albany insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. There are still a few companies who do not provide online price quotes and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.