6 Ways to Save on Car Insurance in Eau Claire, WI

If price shopping car insurance online is new to you, you may be overwhelmed by the large number of car insurance companies competing for business in Eau Claire.

These six discounts can lower your rates

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you may find discounts to cut the cost considerably. Some trigger automatically when you get a quote, but a few must be inquired about before you will receive the discount. If they aren't giving you every credit you qualify for, you're paying more than you need to.

Homeowners Savings - Owning a home in Eau Claire may earn you a small savings due to the fact that maintaining a home shows financial diligence.
Good Student - A discount for being a good student can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. Earning this discount can benefit you well after school through age 25.
Senior Citizens - Mature drivers may be able to get reduced rates.
Driver Safety - Taking part in a defensive driving course can save you 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
Auto/Home Discount - When you combine your home and auto insurance with one insurance company you may earn approximately 10% to 15%.
Braking Control Discount - Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles can reduce accidents and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discount credits are not given to the entire policy premium. Most only cut individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when the math indicates having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, car insurance companies aren't that generous. Any amount of discount will cut the cost of coverage.

To see a list of insurers who offer car insurance discounts in Eau Claire, click this link.

Vehicle Insurance Comparison

Most companies such as Allstate, GEICO and Progressive provide pricing on the web. Getting quotes is pretty easy as you just enter your personal and coverage information as detailed in the form. Once you submit the form, the system will obtain reports for credit and driving violations and generates pricing information based on many factors.

Online price quotes makes comparing rates easy, but the time it takes to visit a lot of sites and enter the same data into a form is not the best way to spend an afternoon. But it's very important to get many rate quotes if you want to find better car insurance pricing.

The preferred way to compare rates is to use a quote form to get prices from a bunch of companies at once. The form is fast, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes online shopping much more enjoyable and efficient. After sending your information, it gets priced and you can select any of the price quotes you receive.

If a lower price is quoted, you simply finish the application and purchase coverage. The whole process can be completed in a matter of minutes and you'll know if lower rates are available.

To find out what other companies charge, click here to open in new window and fill out the form. If you have coverage now, it's recommended you copy the coverage information identical to your current policy. This makes sure you will be getting a fair comparison based on the exact same insurance coverage.

Different people need different coverages

When choosing the best car insurance coverage for your vehicles, there is no "best" method to buy coverage. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs.

For instance, these questions may help highlight whether you would benefit from an agent's advice.

When do I need to add a new car to my policy?
Do I need to file an SR-22 for a DUI in Wisconsin?
Should I buy additional glass protection?
Should I rate my vehicle as pleasure use or commute?
What is the difference between comprehensive and collision coverage?
Can I get a multi-policy discount for packaging my home and auto coverage?

If it's difficult to answer those questions but a few of them apply, you might consider talking to an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form. It only takes a few minutes and can help protect your family.

Are you falling for claims of savings?

Consumers in Wisconsin can't get away from ads for cheaper car insurance by companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive. All the companies make the same claim about savings after switching to them.

How do they all claim to save you money?

All the different companies have a certain "appetite" for the type of driver that is profitable for them. For instance, a profitable customer might be between 25 and 40, a clean driving record, and has great credit. Any new insured who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and as a result will probably cut their rates substantially.

Drivers who are not a match for the "perfect" profile must pay higher premiums which leads to the customer not buying. The ad wording is "customers that switch" not "everybody who quotes" save money. That is how companies can truthfully advertise the savings.

This illustrates why drivers must quote coverage with many companies. It's just too difficult to predict which company will fit your personal profile best.

Best coverage at the best price

Cheap car insurance can be bought both online and with local Eau Claire insurance agents, so you should compare both to have the best chance of lowering rates. There are still a few companies who do not offer the ability to get a quote online and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

We just covered some good ideas how to compare car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Drivers may discover the most savings is with the least-expected company.

When you buy insurance online, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, someone dropped collision coverage and learned later that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your focus should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.

Additional Wisconsin consumer information

Additional information is located on the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance website located here. Visitors are able to report car insurance fraud, file complaints about a company, and learn about insurance regulations.