How to Know You're Wasting Money for Auto Insurance in Alden

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an underperforming, overpriced auto insurance policy? Trust us when we tell you you're not alone. Online insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive all claim big savings with fancy advertisements and consumers find it hard to sift through the bull and take the time to shop coverage around.

Understand what determines the rate you pay

Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that come into play when calculating auto insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that will entitle you to big savings.

Car features impact rates - Choosing a vehicle with a theft deterrent system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft devices like vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems can thwart your vehicle from being stolen.
Safe vehicles cost less to insure - Vehicles with good safety scores tend to have better insurance rates. The safest vehicles have better occupant injury protection and better occupant protection means lower claim amounts and more competitive rates for policyholders.
High numbers of claims are not good - Companies in Michigan give cheaper rates to insureds who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. If you are a frequent claim filer, you can definitely plan on higher rates. Insurance coverage is intended to be relied upon for the large, substantial claims.
Clean credit earns discounts - Having a bad credit rating is a big factor in calculating your auto insurance rates. Consumers who have excellent credit tend to be less risk to insure as compared to drivers with lower credit ratings. If your credit can use some improvement, you could save money insuring your by improving your credit score.
Little extras can really add up - There are a lot of extra coverages that can waste your money if you aren't careful. Insurance for rental car reimbursement, accident forgiveness and membership fees may be wasting your money. These may sound like a good investment initially, but your needs may have changed so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
Please use or commuting - The more you drive in a year the higher your rate. The majority of insurers price each vehicle's coverage based upon how you use the vehicle. Autos not used for work or commuting get more affordable rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Ask your agent if your auto insurance policy is rated on the correct driver usage.
Traffic citations inflate rates - A bad driving record has a huge affect on how much you pay. Even one ticket may increase your cost forty percent or more. Drivers with clean records get better rates than people who have multiple driving citations. If you have severe violations such as hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions may find they need to submit a SR-22 form with the DMV in their state in order to drive a vehicle legally.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Insuring your fleet can be pricey, but companies offer discounts to help offset the cost. Some discounts apply automatically when you complete an application, but some may not be applied and must be requested specifically before they will apply. If you aren't receiving every discount possible, you are paying more than you should be.

Drivers Ed for Students - Cut your cost by having your teen driver successfully complete driver's ed class in high school.
Low Mileage Discounts - Keeping the miles down could qualify for better rates on cars that stay parked.
Federal Government Employee - Employees or retirees of the government may qualify you for a discount with a few auto insurance companies.
Defensive Driving Course - Taking part in a course teaching defensive driving skills could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
Auto/Life Discount - Companies who offer life insurance give better rates if you take out auto and life insurance together.
Discount for Good Grades - This discount can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. The good student discount can last up to age 25.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discount credits are not given the the whole policy. Most only cut specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. Just because it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, auto insurance companies aren't that generous. Any amount of discount will reduce the cost of coverage.

To choose insurance companies with the best auto insurance discounts in Alden, click this link.

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

Michigan drivers can't ignore all the ads that promise big savings from companies such as State Farm, Allstate and GEICO. They all make the same claim about savings if you move your policy.

How can each company say the same thing? It's all in the numbers.

All the different companies are able to cherry pick for the right customer that makes them money. A good example of a driver they prefer might be profiled as over the age of 50, has no tickets, and has a high credit rating. A propective insured who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Consumers who are not a match for the requirements will be quoted higher rates which leads to business not being written. The ad wording is "customers who switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that kind of money. That's the way companies can truthfully state the savings.

This emphasizes why you should get a wide range of price quotes. It's not possible to predict which auto insurance company will have the lowest rates.

Find out more about auto insurance

Additional information can be read on the website for the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation found here. Michigan drivers can view a list of available companies, find disaster information, download brochures, and find out industry alerts.

In the end, you save

Cheap auto insurance is possible on the web in addition to many Alden insurance agents, and you should be comparing both to get a complete price analysis. Some insurance companies do not provide online price quotes and these small insurance companies work with independent agents.

In this article, we covered some good ideas how to save on auto insurance. The key concept to understand is the more providers you compare, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers may even find the biggest savings come from a small mutual company. Some small companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments than the large multi-state companies such as .