Free Guide to Paying Less for Olney Car Insurance Online

Overpriced car insurance can dwindle your personal savings, especially in this economy. Shopping your coverage around is a great way to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket. Having so many car insurance companies to choose from, it is hard for the average consumer to pick the right company.

Be sure to get all your discounts

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you can get discounts that you may not even be aware of. Most are applied at the time of quoting, but some may not be applied and must be asked about before you will receive the discount. If you don't get every credit you deserve, you're paying more than you need to.

Multi-car Discount - Buying insurance for more than one vehicle on the same car insurance policy could earn a price break for each car.
Auto/Home Discount - When you combine your home and auto insurance with one company you could get a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
Early Signing - A few companies offer discounts for buying a policy before your current expiration date. This can save 10% or more.
Anti-lock Brakes - Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles are safer to drive and will save you 10% or more.
Life Insurance Discount - Some companies give a break if you buy life insurance from them.

Keep in mind that some credits don't apply to your bottom line cost. Most only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like you could get a free car insurance policy, it just doesn't work that way. But any discount will help reduce the amount you have to pay.

To see a list of insurers offering car insurance discounts in Illinois, click here.

How to Get Cheap Car Insurance in Olney, IL

There are several ways to compare car insurance quotes, but there is one way that is less time-consuming than others. You can waste a lot of time talking about coverages with agents in Olney, or you can utilize online quotes to get the quickest rates.

Many insurance companies enroll in a system that allows shoppers to enter their policy data once, and every company returns a rated price for coverage. This prevents consumers from doing quote requests to each individual car insurance company. To submit your quote information now, click to open in new window.

The one disadvantage to using this type of form is that you can't choose which carriers you want pricing from. If you wish to select individual companies for rate comparison, we have assembled a list of low cost car insurance companies in Illinois. Click here for list of insurance companies in Illinois.

Whichever method you choose, make sure you use apples-to-apples coverages and limits with each company. If you use different deductibles it will be next to impossible to make an equal comparison in Olney.

Good Decisions Result in Lower Rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively influences your rates enables informed choices that could result in better car insurance rates.

Listed below are some of the items car insurance companies consider when setting premiums.

Higher deductibles cost less - The deductibles represent how much money you are willing to pay in the event of a claim. Insurance for physical damage to your car, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, protects your car from damage. Some instances where coverage would apply would be colliding with a building, collision with an animal, or theft. The more expense you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the bigger discount you will receive.
Where you live - Residing in a small town is a positive aspect when talking about car insurance. Urban drivers have more traffic problems and a longer drive to work. Fewer drivers translates into fewer accidents and a lower car theft rate.
Poor driving leads to higher costs - Careful drivers receive lower rates than bad drivers. Even a single speeding ticket can boost insurance rates by as much as thirty percent. Drivers with serious tickets such as reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence are required to submit a SR-22 or proof of financial responsibility to the state department of motor vehicles in order to continue driving.
Poor credit can mean higher rates - A driver's credit score is a large factor in determining what you pay for car insurance. If your credit score is lower than you'd like, you could pay less to insure your by improving your rating. Drivers who have excellent credit tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than those with poor credit.
More miles equals more premium - The more miles you rack up on your car in a year's time the more you'll pay to insure your vehicle. Most insurance companies charge to insure your cars based on their usage. Cars that are left in the garage get more affordable rates compared to those used for work or business. Verify your car insurance policy properly reflects how each vehicle is driven.

How do I know if I need professional advice?

When choosing coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no "best" method to buy coverage. Each situation is unique and your policy should reflect that. For example, these questions can help discover whether or not you could use an agent's help.

Am I covered when driving on a suspended license?
What are the best liability limits?
Does my car insurance cover rental cars?
Can I get a multi-policy discount for packaging my home and auto coverage?
What are the financial responsibility laws in Illinois?
Does my policy cover me when driving someone else's vehicle?
Should I drop comprehensive coverage on older vehicles?

If you can't answer these questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It only takes a few minutes and can provide invaluable advice.

Is there truth in advertising?

Consumers in Illinois can't get away from ads for car insurance savings by Allstate, GEICO and Progressive. All the companies have a common claim that you can save if you switch to their company.

But how can every company claim to save you money?

Different companies have a preferred profile for the driver that is profitable for them. A good example of a profitable customer might be over the age of 40, has no prior claims, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. Any new insured that hits that "sweet spot" is entitled to the best price and is almost guaranteed to save a lot of money.

Potential insureds who don't measure up to this ideal profile must pay more money and this can result in the customer not buying. The ads state "people who switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that much. This is how insurance companies can advertise the way they do.

This illustrates why drivers must get a wide range of price quotes. It's just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.

In the end, you save

Affordable car insurance is available both online and also from your neighborhood Olney agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some car insurance companies may not provide the ability to get a quote online and usually these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, consumers will sacrifice collision coverage and discovered at claim time that the savings was not a smart move. Your focus should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.

We just covered a lot of ways to compare car insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the better chance you'll have of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the lowest premiums are with a company that doesn't do a lot of advertising. These smaller insurers can often insure niche markets at a lower cost compared to the large companies like .

More information can be read on the website for the Illinois Department of Insurance through this link. Visitors are able to report car insurance fraud, view agent and company licensing information, file complaints about a company, and find out industry alerts.

Additional helpful sites include this page for Illinois car insurance and this page for help finding agents in Olney, IL.