How to Know You're Spending Too Much for Auto Insurance in Kingsport

Overpriced auto insurance can dwindle your savings account and put a big crunch on your finances. Shopping your coverage around is a great way to slash your bill and have more diposable income.

Companies like GEICO and Progressive all claim big savings with ad campaigns and it is difficult to sift through the bull and find the best price available.

It's important to price shop coverage on a regular basis since insurance rates are constantly changing. Just because you found the best deal a few years ago a different company probably has better rates today. Starting right now, ignore everything you know about auto insurance because it's time to teach you the proper way to lower your annual insurance bill.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Auto insurance companies don't list all their discounts in a way that's easy to find, so here is a list some of the best known and the harder-to-find discounts you could be receiving.

Life Insurance Discount - Some companies give better rates if you take out life insurance from them.
Sign Online - Some insurance companies give back up to $50 just for signing your application digitally online.
Own a Home - Owning a house in Kingsport can save you money due to the fact that maintaining a home requires personal responsibility.
No Claims - Drivers who don't have accidents can earn big discounts as compared to drivers who are more careless.
Drivers Ed for Students - Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to complete a driver education course if it's offered in school.

Keep in mind that some of the credits will not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like collision or personal injury protection. So even though they make it sound like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, it just doesn't work that way.

Learn How to Buy Auto Insurance Cheaper

Smart consumers have a good feel for the factors that help determine auto insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what influences your rates helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with better auto insurance rates.

The following are some of the factors that factor into rates.

Drive less and save money - Driving more miles in a year's time the more you will pay for auto insurance. The majority of insurers price each vehicle's coverage based on their usage. Cars that are left in the garage can get a lower rate than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Verify your auto insurance coverage is rated on the proper vehicle usage, because it can save money.
Being married is a good thing - Being married can get you a discount on auto insurance. It usually means you are more mature it has been statistically shown that married drivers get in fewer accidents.
High deductibles save money - Insurance for physical damage to your car, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your car. Some examples of claims that would be covered are running into the backend of another car, collision with an animal, and rolling your vehicle. The deductibles are how much you are required to spend before your auto insurance pays a claim. The more money the insured has to pay upfront, the bigger discount you will receive.
Occupation reflects on rates - Did you know your auto insurance rates can be affected by your occupation? Jobs such as doctors, social workers and dentists are shown to have the highest average rates in part from high stress and long work hours. Other occupations such as pilots, historians and performers pay the least.
You might want pay the small claims yourself - Car insurance companies in Tennessee generally give cheaper rates to drivers who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. If you are a frequent claim filer, you can look forward to either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Car insurance is intended to be relied upon for the bigger claims that can't be paid out-of-pocket.
Don't cancel a policy without a new one in place - Allowing your auto insurance policy to lapse will be a quick way to increase your auto insurance rates. And not only will your rates increase, getting caught without coverage can result in a license revocation or jail time.

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

Auto insurance companies such as GEICO, State Farm and Progressive continually stream ads on television and other media. They all seem to have a common claim that you can save after switching your policy. How can each company say the same thing? This is how they do it.

Different companies have a preferred profile for the right customer that earns them a profit. An example of a desirable insured might be profiled as over the age of 40, insures multiple vehicles, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A propective insured that hits that "sweet spot" is entitled to the best price and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Potential insureds who are not a match for the requirements will have to pay more money and this can result in business not being written. Company advertisements say "drivers who switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that kind of money. This is how insurance companies can advertise the way they do. Because of the profiling, drivers should quote coverage with many companies. It's not possible to predict which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Additional detailed information is available at the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance website. Tennessee drivers can file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, get help finding coverage, report car insurance fraud, and read industry bulletins.

Shop smart and save

When shopping online for auto insurance, it's a bad idea to skimp on coverage in order to save money. In many instances, drivers have reduced liability limits or collision coverage only to find out that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. The ultimate goal is to buy enough coverage for the lowest price.

Affordable auto insurance can be sourced on the web in addition to many Kingsport insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some auto insurance companies do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these smaller companies sell through independent agents.