Consumer Tested Strategies to Save on Dauphin Car Insurance

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy high-priced car insurance? Trust us, there are many people just like you.

Drivers have multiple to buy insurance from, and even though it's nice to have a selection, it can be more challenging to compare rates.

This information will help educate you on the best way to quote coverages and some tips to save money. If you currently have a car insurance policy, you should be able to cut costs considerably using these techniques. But Pennsylvania consumers do need to know the methods companies use to market insurance on the web because it can help you find the best coverage.

More discounts equal less premium

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you can get discounts to help bring down the price. Most are applied at the time you complete a quote, but a few must be asked for prior to getting the savings.

Memberships - Being a member of a qualifying organization could trigger savings when buying car insurance.
Safety Course Discount - Successfully completing a defensive driving course could possibly earn you a 5% discount and easily recoup the cost of the course.
Student in College - Any of your kids who are attending college and don't have a car may be able to be covered for less.
Senior Citizens - Mature drivers may receive better car insurance rates.
No Accidents - Drivers with accident-free driving histories pay much less when compared with bad drivers.
Paperless Signup - A few companies may give you up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up over the internet.
Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Low mileage vehicles could be rewarded with better rates on cars that stay parked.
Service Members Pay Less - Having a family member in the military could be rewarded with lower premiums.
Homeowners Discount - Owning a home in Dauphin may earn you a small savings because maintaining a house shows financial diligence.

Drivers should understand that most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. A few only apply to individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though it may seem like adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies wouldn't make money that way. But all discounts will bring down your premiums.

To see a list of insurers with discount car insurance rates in Pennsylvania, click this link.

Comprehensive Dauphin Car Insurance Comparison

Most companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive give coverage prices on their websites. Obtaining pricing is pretty painless as you just enter the coverages you want into the quote form. Once you submit the form, the system will obtain your driving and credit reports and generates a price based on these factors. Being able to quote online helps simplify price comparisons, but the time required to go to a lot of sites and complete many quote forms is monotonous and tiresome. Unfortunately, it is important to perform this step in order to get a lower rate.

The preferred way to lower your rates makes use of a single form to get prices from several different companies. It's a real time-saver, eliminates repetitive work, and makes rate comparisons much simpler. After sending your information, your coverage is rated with multiple companies and you can pick any one of the price quotes you receive.

If a lower price is quoted, you can simply submit the application and buy the new coverage. This process can be completed in a matter of minutes and you will know how your current rates stack up.

In order to find out how much you're overpaying now, click here and enter your vehicle and coverage information. If you have coverage now, it's recommended you type in the coverage information just like they are on your policy. This makes sure you will have a fair comparison based on the exact same insurance coverage.

Dauphin Rates are Influenced by These Factors

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that play a part in calculating the rates you pay for car insurance. Knowing what controls the rates you pay enables informed choices that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.

Shown below are a partial list of the pieces car insurance companies consider when setting premiums.

Don't sacrifice liability coverage - Your policy's liability coverage provides coverage if you are found liable for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. Liability insurance provides legal defense which can be incredibly expensive. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap as compared to coverage for physical damage, so drivers should carry high limits.
Add-on coverages can add up - There are quite a few extra coverages that you can get tricked into buying when buying car insurance. Coverages for personal injury protection, accidental death and term life insurance may be wasting your money. They may seem like a good idea when you first buy your policy, but if they're wasting money eliminate them to save money.
Mature drivers pay less - Youthful drivers in Pennsylvania have a tendency to get distracted easily when behind the wheel so they pay higher car insurance rates. Older insureds are more responsible, statistically cause fewer accidents and tend to be better behind the wheel.
Men are more aggressive - Statistics demonstrate that women are safer drivers than men. Now that doesn't mean men are worse drivers. Both sexes cause accidents in similar numbers, but the male of the species tend to have more serious accidents. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations like DUI and reckless driving.
Your stress level may be raising your rates - Occupations such as judges, executives and financial analysts tend to have higher average rates because of stressful work requirements and long work days. Conversely, jobs such as actors, engineers and retirees receive lower rates.
Discounts for married couples - Having a wife or husband helps lower the price on your car insurance policy. Having a spouse means you're more mature than a single person and it's proven that being married results in fewer claims.

Switch companies and save? Really?

Allstate, GEICO and Progressive consistently run ads in print and on television. All the companies make the same claim that you'll save big if you change to their company. How does each company claim to save you money?

Insurance companies are able to cherry pick for the driver that is profitable for them. For instance, a profitable customer might be over the age of 40, has no driving citations, and has great credit. Any driver who matches those parameters receives the best rates and therefore will save when switching.

Potential customers who do not match these standards must pay a more expensive rate which leads to the customer not buying. Company advertisements say "customers that switch" not "everyone that quotes" save that much. That's the way companies can advertise the savings.

This illustrates why drivers must get a wide range of price quotes. You cannot predict which car insurance company will give you the biggest savings.

Shop smart and save

Budget-conscious car insurance is attainable both online and also from your neighborhood Dauphin agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best rate selection. There are still a few companies who may not provide the ability to get a quote online and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

As you prepare to switch companies, it's very important that you do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, someone sacrificed collision coverage and learned later that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your focus should be to buy enough coverage at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.

Learn more about Pennsylvania car insurance

Much more information about car insurance in Pennsylvania is located on the website for the Pennsylvania Insurance Department located here. Visitors are able to find out which companies have the most complaints, discover disciplinary actions, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, and learn about insurance regulations.