How to Know You're Spending Too Much for Car Insurance in Leeds

Paying for high-priced car insurance can empty your personal savings and put the squeeze on your family's finances. Comparison shopping is a smart way to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket.

Drivers have so many to buy insurance from, and even though it's nice to have a choice, too many choices makes it more difficult to compare rates.

Low Cost Leeds Car Insurance

There are multiple methods to compare car insurance quotes, but there is one way that is easier and takes less work. You could spend your day talking about coverages with insurance agencies in Leeds, or you can stay home and use online quotes to achieve your goal.

All the larger companies belong to a marketplace that enables customers to only type in their quote data once, and each company returns a competitive quote determined by their information. This eliminates the need for quote requests to each individual car insurance company.

To submit your quote information now, click here (opens in new window).

The one disadvantage to pricing coverage this way is you are unable to specify which companies to get quotes from. So if you want to choose individual companies to compare rates, we put together a list of the cheapest car insurance companies in Alabama. Click here to view list.

Whichever way you use, make darn sure you compare identical quote information with every price quote. If your comparisons have mixed coverages it will be very difficult to find the best deal in Leeds. Just a small difference in coverages can result in a big premium difference. And when comparison shopping, comparing a large number of companies helps locate a better price.

How to Lower your Car Insurance Rates

It's important that you understand some of the elements that play a part in calculating the rates you pay for car insurance. Knowing what impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that will entitle you to better car insurance rates.

Shown below are some of the items used by your company to calculate prices.

Do you work long hours in a high stress job? - Careers like real estate brokers, architects and financial analysts have higher average rates in part from high stress levels and long work hours. Conversely, jobs such as pilots, engineers and retirees get better rates.
Older drivers save more - Youthful drivers in Alabama have a tendency to be careless and easily distracted when driving so they pay higher car insurance rates. If you've ever had to add a teenage driver onto a policy can really hurt. More mature drivers are more cautious drivers, tend to cause fewer accidents and tend to be better behind the wheel.
Liability coverage is cheap - Your policy's liability coverage is the protection when you are found liable for personal injury or accident damage. Liability insurance provides you with a defense in court up to the limits shown on your policy. Liability insurance is quite affordable as compared to coverage for physical damage, so buy as much as you can afford.
Marriage pays dividends - Getting married helps lower the price when buying car insurance. Having a significant other translates into being more responsible it has been statistically shown that married drivers get in fewer accidents.
Safer occupants lowers premiums - Safer cars are cheaper to insure. The safest vehicles protect occupants better and any reduction in injury severity translates into savings for insurance companies and thus lower rates.

Don't pay full price with these discounts

Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but discounts can save money and there are some available that you may not know about. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at the time you complete a quote, but some may not be applied and must be asked about prior to getting the savings.

Government Employees - Simply working for the federal government can earn a discount up to 10% with a few car insurance companies.
Senior Citizens - Older drivers may receive a small decrease in premiums.
Multiple Cars - Having all your vehicles on one policy qualifies for this discount.
Paperwork-free - Some insurance companies may give you up to $50 for buying your policy over the internet.
Club Memberships - Being a member of a qualifying organization could qualify you for a break when shopping for car insurance.
Lower Rates for Military - Having a deployed family member could be rewarded with lower premiums.

A little note about advertised discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to the overall cost of the policy. A few only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. So even though they make it sound like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you won't be that lucky. Any amount of discount will bring down your premiums.

For a list of insurance companies with discount car insurance rates in Alabama, follow this link.

Your personal situation dictates your coverage

When it comes to choosing coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn't really a perfect coverage plan. Everyone's situation is unique so your insurance needs to address that. Here are some questions about coverages that may help you determine whether or not you would benefit from professional advice.

Why am I required to get a high-risk car insurance policy?
Am I covered by my employer's commercial auto policy when driving my personal car for business?
Am I covered if I wreck a rental car?
Does medical payments coverage apply to all occupants?
Do I qualify for additional discounts?
Do I have coverage when using my vehicle for my home business?
Should I drop comprehensive coverage on older vehicles?
What can I do if my company won't pay a claim?

If you don't know the answers to these questions but you know they apply to you, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier

Additional information can be read on the website for the Alabama Department of Insurance. Click here for link. Visitors are able to read industry bulletins, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, find out which companies have the most complaints, and get help finding coverage.

Shop smart and save

As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, never reduce needed coverages to save money. There are too many instances where drivers have reduced full coverage and found out when filing a claim that the savings was not a smart move. Your strategy should be to buy enough coverage for the lowest price while still protecting your assets.

Cheaper car insurance can be sourced both online as well as from independent agents in Leeds, and you need to price shop both to have the best rate selection. Some car insurance companies don't offer online quoting and these small insurance companies work with independent agents.