Quote Irvine Car Insurance Prices With These Tricks

Finding lower rates for Irvine car insurance is a challenge for consumers not familiar with comparing rates online. Consumers have so many options that it can quickly become a lot of work to compare prices in Irvine.

Irvine Rates are Influenced by These Factors

Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that play a part in calculating your car insurance rates. Understanding what influences your rates enables informed choices that could result in big savings.

  • Liability insurance protects assets - Your policy's liability coverage will protect you if you are found to be at fault for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. Liability insurance provides legal defense coverage which can cost thousands of dollars. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap as compared to coverage for physical damage, so drivers should carry high limits.
  • Do you work long hours in a high stress job? - Occupations such as doctors, executives and accountants tend to have higher rates than average because of high stress and lots of time spent at work. On the flip side, jobs such as farmers, athletes and retirees receive lower rates.
  • Bump up deductibles to save - Physical damage deductibles represent how much money you are willing to pay out-of-pocket before a claim is paid by your company. Physical damage coverage, termed comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, protects your car from damage. Some instances where coverage would apply are colliding with a building, damage from fire, and windstorm damage. The more money you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the less your company will charge you for insurance.
  • Males pay more for insurance - The statistics show that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. Now that doesn't mean men are worse drivers. They both cause accidents at about the same rate, but the male of the species tend to have more serious accidents. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations such as reckless driving.
  • Car features impact rates - Driving a car with an alarm system can save you a little every year. Theft prevention devices such as tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all hinder your vehicle from being stolen.
  • Teen drivers pay high rates - Mature drivers are more responsible, file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel. Young drivers have a tendency to be less responsible in a vehicle therefore car insurance rates are much higher.
  • Multi-policy discounts can save money - Some car insurance companies will award you with lower prices to policyholders who buy several policies from them. It's known as a multi-policy discount. Discounts can be ten or even up to twenty percent in some cases. Even with this discount, you still need to comparison shop to ensure the best deal. Drivers may still find better rates by splitting coverages up.
  • More claims means more premium - If you frequently file small claims, you can definitely plan on higher rates. Auto insurance companies in California give better rates to drivers who are claim-free. Insurance coverage is meant to be used in the event of major claims that would cause financial hardship.

How to Compare Irvine Car Insurance Rates

Performing a rate comparison can be challenging if you don't understand the most efficient way to do it. You can spend your afternoon driving to insurance agencies in Irvine, or you could save time and use the web to accomplish the same thing much quicker.

Most of the larger companies enroll in a system that enables customers to complete one form, and at least one company returns a rated price based on the submitted data. This system prevents you from having to do repetitive form submissions to each individual car insurance company.

To submit your quote information now, click here to open in new window.

The only downside to using this type of system is buyers cannot specifically choose which providers you want pricing from. So if you prefer to pick specific insurance companies to request quotes from, we have assembled a list of car insurance companies in California. Click here to view list.

It doesn't matter which method you choose, just ensure you're using the exact same quote information on every quote. If you enter mixed coverages it's not possible to make a fair comparison in Irvine. Having just a slight variation in limits may cause a big price difference. And when price shopping your coverage, obtaining a wide range of quotes will enable you to find a better price.

Don't pay full price with these discounts

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you can get discounts that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically when you complete an application, but some must be specially asked for before they will apply.

  • Organization Discounts - Belonging to certain professional organizations could trigger savings when buying car insurance.
  • No Accidents - Claim-free drivers can earn big discounts when compared with accident-prone drivers.
  • Homeowners Pay Less - Owning a home in Irvine may earn you a small savings because maintaining a house requires personal responsibility.
  • 55 and Retired - If you're over the age of 55, you may receive better car insurance rates.
  • Pay Now and Pay Less - If paying your policy premium upfront instead of making monthly payments you may reduce your total bill.

It's important to note that many deductions do not apply to the entire cost. Most only cut individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, you're out of luck. But any discount will cut your premiums.

To choose insurers with discount car insurance rates in Irvine, click this link.

The car insurance bait and switch

Allstate, GEICO and Progressive consistently run ads in print and on television. All the companies make the same claim that you can save if you change to their company. How do they all make the same claim?

All the different companies can use profiling for the driver that makes them money. An example of a profitable customer could be between the ages of 40 and 55, is a homeowner, and chooses high deductibles. A customer who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and therefore will cut their rates substantially.

Consumers who don't measure up to the "perfect" profile must pay higher rates which leads to business going elsewhere. The ad wording is "customers that switch" not "everyone that quotes" save that much. That's why insurance companies can state the savings.

This illustrates why you need to compare as many rates as you can. Because you never know the company that will give you the biggest savings.

More information is available on the California Department of Insurance website located here. Consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, read industry bulletins, and report car insurance fraud.

Affordable insurance is out there

Lower-priced car insurance can be sourced from both online companies and also from your neighborhood Irvine agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both to get a complete price analysis. Some insurance companies may not provide online price quotes and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

Insureds leave their current company for a number of reasons such as questionable increases in premium, high rates after DUI convictions, lack of trust in their agent or even denial of a claim. Regardless of your reason, choosing a new insurance company is easier than you think.

We just showed you many ideas to compare car insurance prices online. It's most important to understand that the more rate comparisons you have, the better chance you'll have of finding lower rates. Drivers may discover the lowest priced car insurance comes from the least-expected company.