Tightwads Guide to Saving on Montgomeryville Car Insurance

Overpriced car insurance can dwindle your personal savings, especially in this economy. Shopping your coverage around is a great way to slash your bill and have more diposable income.

With so many companies and agents to choose from, it can be diffult for consumers to find the right provider.

It's important to shop coverage around on a regular basis since rates are constantly changing. Just because you had the best price a year ago you can probably find a better price now. Block out anything you think you know about car insurance because you're about to learn the proper way to buy cheaper car insurance.

Tips to Get Lower Montgomeryville Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that go into determining your car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively influences your rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with lower car insurance prices.

Listed below are a few of the "ingredients" used by your company to calculate rates.

  • With age comes lower rates - Young drivers in Pennsylvania are statistically proven to be more careless when driving so car insurance rates are higher. Adding a youthful driver onto a policy can break the bank. More mature drivers are viewed as being more responsible, tend to file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel.
  • Are you male or female? - Statistics have proven women tend to be less risk to insure than men. That doesn't necessarily mean that women are BETTER drivers than men. Women and men cause accidents in similar percentages, but the males cause more damage. They also get more serious tickets such as reckless driving. Young males tend to get in the most accidents and are penalized with high car insurance rates.
  • What type of vehicle do you drive? - The performance of the car you own makes a big difference in your rates. The cheapest insurance rates are usually for lower performance four cylinder passenger cars, but there are many factors that impact the final cost.
  • Tickets mean higher rates - Drivers who don't get tickets tend to pay less for car insurance than bad drivers. Even a single speeding ticket can bump up the cost by as much as thirty percent. Drivers who have serious citations like DUI or reckless driving may need to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) with their state motor vehicle department in order to continue driving.
  • How many coverages with the same company - Most insurance companies will give a discount to policyholders who buy several policies from them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even with this discount, it's in your best interest to comparison shop to verify if the discount is saving money.
  • Drive a safer car and pay less - Cars with high safety ratings get lower rates. These vehicles protect occupants better and fewer injuries translates into savings for insurance companies passed on to you as lower rates.

Montgomeryville car insurance comparison

More discounts equal less premium

Companies don't always publicize all their discounts very well, so we took the time to find some of the more common and the harder-to-find discounts you could be receiving.

  • College Student - Youth drivers who attend school more than 100 miles from home and do not have a car may be able to be covered for less.
  • Accident Waiver - Some insurance companies will allow you to have one accident before hitting you with a surcharge as long as you don't have any claims prior to the accident.
  • Early Signing - Select companies give a discount for switching to them prior to your current policy expiration. This can save 10% or more.
  • Anti-theft Discount - Vehicles with anti-theft systems are stolen less frequently and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
  • Driver's Ed - Cut your cost by having your teen driver complete a driver education course in school.

Keep in mind that some credits don't apply to all coverage premiums. Most only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. So when the math indicates it's possible to get free car insurance, it just doesn't work that way.

To choose companies offering car insurance discounts in Pennsylvania, click here.

Switch companies and save? Really?

Car insurance companies such as Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm constantly bombard you with ads in print and on television. They all seem to have a common claim that you can save if you switch your coverage to them. But how can every company make the same claim? This is how they do it.

All companies have a preferred profile for the type of customer that makes them money. For example, a desirable insured could be between the ages of 30 and 50, insures multiple vehicles, and has excellent credit. Any new insured that hits that "sweet spot" will get the preferred rates and therefore will save a lot of money.

Potential insureds who do not match this ideal profile will have to pay more money and this can result in business going elsewhere. The ads state "drivers who switch" not "everyone that quotes" save that much money. This is how insurance companies can make those claims. Because of the profiling, you should get a wide range of price quotes. It's just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will have the lowest rates.

Additional detailed information can be found at the Pennsylvania Insurance Department website. Consumers can read enforcement actions against agents and companies, learn about insurance regulations, learn about specific coverages, and file complaints about a company.

Other informative sites include this Car Insurance FAQ and this page of insurance agents in Montgomeryville.

Affordable insurance is out there

While you're price shopping online, don't be tempted to buy poor coverage just to save money. There are many occasions where drivers have reduced physical damage coverage only to discover later they didn't purchase enough coverage. Your aim should be to get the best coverage possible for the lowest price.

Affordable car insurance is available from both online companies as well as from independent agents in Montgomeryville, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some companies don't offer online price quotes and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

You just learned a lot of ways to save on car insurance. The key thing to remember is the more times you quote, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers may even find the lowest rates come from a lesser-known regional company. Some small companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost as compared to the big name companies such as .