Consumer Tested Strategies to Save on New Orleans Car Insurance
Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an overpriced car insurance policy? Trust us when we tell you there are many New Orleans consumers feeling the pinch from expensive car insurance.
You have so many to buy insurance from, and even though it's nice to have multiple companies, lots of choices makes it harder to compare rates.
Be sure to get all your discounts
Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not know about. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied when you quote, but some must be inquired about before you get the savings.
- Clubs and Organizations - Being a member of a qualifying organization could trigger savings when buying car insurance.
- Multiple Cars - Buying insurance for all your vehicles on one policy could earn a price break for each car.
- Senior Citizens - If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may receive a discount up to 10%.
- Pay Now and Pay Less - If paying your policy premium upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save 5% or more.
- Paperless Signup - A few companies may give you up to $50 just for signing your application over the internet.
It's important to note that many deductions do not apply to all coverage premiums. Some only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like adding up those discounts means a free policy, you're out of luck. But any discount will bring down the amount you have to pay.
Is there truth in advertising?
Allstate, GEICO and Progressive consistently run television and radio advertisements. All the companies make the same claim that you can save if you change your policy. How does each company claim to save you money?
Insurance companies are able to cherry pick for the right customer that earns them a profit. An example of a profitable customer might be a mature driver, has no driving citations, and has great credit. Any driver who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to save when switching.
Drivers who don't measure up to these standards must pay a higher premium which leads to the customer not buying. The ad wording is "people who switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that kind of money. That's the way insurance companies can advertise the savings.
This illustrates why you should get quotes from several different companies. You cannot predict which car insurance company will fit your personal profile best.
Learn more about Louisiana car insurance
More information is available on the website for the Louisiana Department of Insurance through this link. Visitors are able to find out which companies have the most complaints, get help finding coverage, view a list of available companies, and report car insurance fraud.
Final considerations
Lower-priced car insurance can be sourced both online in addition to many New Orleans insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best selection. There are still a few companies who do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.
When you buy insurance online, never buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. In too many instances, someone sacrificed liability limits or collision coverage only to find out that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your focus should be to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
