7 Discounts Bristol Shoppers Forget when Quoting Car Insurance

Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can take a big chunk out of your savings account and force you to make sacrifices. Comparing price quotes is a smart way to lower your monthly bill. Having so many choices, it's difficult to find the lowest price company.

It's important to get comparison quotes quite often since rates are constantly changing. If you had the lowest price a couple years back there is a good chance you can find better rates now. Ignore everything you know about car insurance because you're about to learn one of the easiest ways to eliminate unnecessary coverages and save money.

Buying car insurance in Bristol is quite easy. If you have car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to cut costs considerably using these methods. Pennsylvania drivers only need an understanding of the proper way to get comparison rates online.

Free Bristol Car Insurance Quotes

Reducing your insurance rates is not a difficult process. You just have to take time comparing rates provided by online insurance companies. This can be accomplished in just a few minutes using one of these methods.

The fastest way consumers can analyze rates is to use a rate comparison form (click to open form in new window). This method keeps you from doing a different quote for every car insurance company. One form will return price quotes .
A different way to get quotes online consists of visiting each company's website and fill out their own quote form. For sake of this example, let's assume you want comparison quotes from , and . To get rate quotes you would need to spend time on each company's site to enter your coverage information, which is why the first method is quicker.

To view a list of companies in Bristol, click here.

Whichever way you use, make darn sure you compare apples-to-apples deductibles and coverage limits for each comparison quote. If each company quotes different values for each quote then you won't be able to determine the lowest rate in Bristol.

Save big with these seven discounts

Companies that sell car insurance do not advertise all their discounts very well, so we researched some of the more common and also the lesser-known car insurance savings. If you don't get every credit you deserve, you are paying more than you should be.

College Student - Children who are attending college without a vehicle on campus may qualify for this discount.
55 and Retired - If you're over the age of 55, you can possibly qualify for a discount up to 10%.
Military Discounts - Having a deployed family member can result in better rates.
Anti-lock Brake Discount - Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control prevent accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
Bundle and Save - If you insure your home and vehicles with the same company you could get a discount of up to 20% off your total premium.
Government Employees - Employees or retirees of the government can save as much as 8% with select insurance companies.
Sign Online - Certain companies will give a small break simply for signing online.

It's important to understand that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the overall cost of the policy. Some only apply to specific coverage prices like liability, collision or medical payments. Even though it may seem like it's possible to get free car insurance, it doesn't quite work that way.

To choose companies with the best car insurance discounts in Pennsylvania, follow this link.

Car insurance ads bend the truth

Consumers can't ignore all the ads for car insurance savings from companies such as Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm. They all seem to say the same thing of big savings if you move your policy.

But how can every 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 instance, a desirable insured could be between 25 and 40, insures multiple vehicles, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. Any new insured who fits that profile will qualify for the lowest rates and most likely will save a lot of money.

Consumers who fall outside this ideal profile will have to pay higher prices which usually ends up with business going elsewhere. The ad wording is "customers who switch" not "people who quote" save that kind of money. This is how insurance companies can confidently advertise the way they do. Because of the profiling, you need to get quotes from several different companies. It's just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.

But I don't know anything about car insurance

When buying the best car insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no "perfect" insurance plan. Every situation is different so your insurance needs to address that. These are some specific questions may help you determine if your situation would benefit from an agent's advice.

Why does it cost so much to insure a teen driver in Bristol?
Should I buy additional glass protection?
Am I covered when pulling a rental trailer?
Can I get a multi-policy discount for packaging my home and auto coverage?
Am I covered when driving in Canada or Mexico?
Why am I required to get a high-risk car insurance policy?
Does my liability insurance cover pulling a trailer or camper?
Why am I required to buy high-risk coverage?

If you don't know the answers to these questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to a licensed agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, simply complete this short form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It is quick, free and you can get the answers you need.

More tips and info about car insurance is located at the Pennsylvania Insurance Department website. Consumers can read enforcement actions against agents and companies, learn about insurance regulations, view a list of available companies, and find out industry alerts.

Other informative sites include this Car Insurance FAQ and this page of insurance agents in Bristol.

A tidy conclusion

As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where drivers have reduced liability coverage limits only to discover later that the savings was not a smart move. Your aim should be to get the best coverage possible at the best price.

Low-cost car insurance is possible from both online companies in addition to many Bristol insurance agents, so you should compare both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some car insurance companies do not provide online price quotes and most of the time these small, regional companies sell through independent agents.