6 Discounts Lafayette Drivers Forget when Buying Car Insurance

Searching for the most affordable Lafayette car insurance online is somewhat difficult for beginners to buying insurance on the web. With so many choices of companies competing online, how can you possibly compare every one to find the cheapest available price?

Compare Car Insurance Today

Reducing your insurance rates is a fairly straight forward process. You just have to spend a few minutes to get quotes online with multiple companies. This is very easy and can be done using a couple different methods.

The fastest way to get the best comparison quotes is to use a rate comparison form (click to open form in new window). This type of form keeps you from doing separate quote forms to each individual car insurance company. A single, simple form will return price quotes from many national carriers. It's the fastest way to compare.
A more time consuming way to get quotes online consists of visiting the website for every company you want to comare and fill out their own quote form. For instance, we'll pretend you want comparison quotes from , and . To find out each rate you need to go to every website to enter your coverage information, and that's why the first method is more popular.

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

However you get your quotes, make sure you use the exact same deductibles and coverage limits for each comparison quote. If your comparisons have different values for each quote you will not be able to determine the lowest rate in Lafayette.

Save big with these six discounts

Companies offering auto insurance don't list all available discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we researched both the well known and the harder-to-find discounts you could be receiving. If they aren't giving you every credit you deserve, you are paying more than you should be.

Defensive Driving Course - Taking part in a defensive driving course could cut 5% off your bill if your company offers it.
Save with a New Car - Buying coverage on a new vehicle can cost up to 25% less due to better safety requirements for new cars.
Student Driver Training - Cut your cost by having your teen driver enroll in driver's education in high school.
Auto/Home Discount - If you insure your home and vehicles with the same company you could get a discount of approximately 10% to 15%.
Life Insurance Discount - Companies who offer life insurance give lower rates if you buy auto and life insurance together.
Organization Discounts - Being a member of certain professional organizations may earn a discount when buying car insurance.

A little note about advertised discounts, some of the credits will not apply to your bottom line cost. A few only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. Just because you may think all those discounts means the company will pay you, you won't be that lucky.

To choose insurers with the best car insurance discounts in Lafayette, click here.

Car insurance ads bend the truth

Consumers in Louisiana can't ignore all the ads for car insurance savings by companies like 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. All the companies have a common claim about savings if you move to them.

How do they all claim to save you money? This is how they do it.

All the different companies have a preferred profile for the type of driver that makes them money. For instance, a profitable customer might be over the age of 40, has no prior claims, and has great credit. Any new insured that hits that "sweet spot" receives the best rates and most likely will cut their rates substantially.

Consumers who fall outside the "perfect" profile must pay higher prices and this can result in the customer not buying. Company advertisements say "drivers who switch" not "people who quote" save money. This is how companies can truthfully advertise the savings. This illustrates why you need to get as many quotes as possible. It's just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will fit your personal profile best.

But I don't know anything about car insurance

When buying the best car insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there is no "best" method to buy coverage. Every insured's situation is different.

These are some specific questions can help discover if your situation could use an agent's help.

Should I rate my vehicle as pleasure use or commute?
Who is covered when they drive my vehicle?
Is rental equipment covered for theft or damage?
What is the difference between comprehensive and collision coverage?
When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
What happens if I owe more than my vehicle is worth?
Do I qualify for additional discounts?

If you can't answer these questions but a few of them apply, you might consider talking to an agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form. It is quick, free and may give you better protection.

Even more information is located at the Louisiana Department of Insurance website. Visitors are able to discover disciplinary actions, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, and view a list of available companies.

And the best car insurance company is...

Cheaper car insurance is possible both online and with local Lafayette insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. There are still a few companies who do not offer online price quotes and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

When you buy insurance online, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are a lot of situations where consumers will sacrifice liability coverage limits only to discover later that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. The proper strategy is to buy enough coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.

Drivers who switch companies do it for any number of reasons including delays in responding to claim requests, delays in paying claims, extreme rates for teen drivers or even policy non-renewal. Whatever your reason, switching car insurance companies is easier than you think.