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

Expensive car insurance can take a big chunk out of your checking account and force you to prioritize other expenses. Comparison shopping is free and is an excellent way to tighten up your finances. Online insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly bombard you with ads and it is challenging if not impossible to sift through the bull and do the work needed to find the best deal.

It's important to compare rates on a regular basis because rates are constantly changing. If you had the lowest price a couple years back a different company probably has better rates today. There is a lot of bad advice regarding car insurance online but we're going to give you some great ways to find cheap car insurance.

These discounts can lower your rates

Companies offering auto insurance do not advertise every available discount in a way that's easy to find, so we researched some of the more common as well as the least known ways to save on car insurance. If you aren't receiving every discount you deserve, you are throwing money away.

  • Good Student Discount - Performing well in school can earn a discount of 20% or more. Earning this discount can benefit you up to age 25.
  • Own a Home - Being a homeowner may earn you a small savings because of the fact that having a home shows financial diligence.
  • No Accidents - Drivers who don't have accidents pay much less compared to drivers who are more careless.
  • Service Members Pay Less - Having a family member in the military can result in better rates.
  • Auto/Life Discount - Companies who offer life insurance give better rates if you take out life insurance.
  • Drivers Ed for Students - Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to take driver's ed class in high school.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. A few only apply to individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. Just because it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, car insurance companies aren't that generous.

Ohio car insurance

You have some control over your rates

Smart consumers have a good feel for the rating factors that come into play when calculating your car insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that can help you get much lower annual insurance costs.

  • How's your driving record? - Careful drivers have lower premiums than people who have multiple driving citations. Only having one moving violation can boost insurance rates by as much as thirty percent. Drivers who get severe violations like reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence may be required to submit a SR-22 form with their state motor vehicle department in order to drive a vehicle legally.
  • High deductibles save money - 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 are a windshield shattered by a rock, damage from fire, and rolling your vehicle. Physical damage deductibles are the amount of money you are required to spend out-of-pocket before your car insurance pays a claim. The more you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the bigger discount you will receive.
  • Rates may be higher depending on your occupation - Occupations like judges, executives and dentists tend to have the highest average rates because of high stress levels and long work days. Other occupations such as pilots, historians and the unemployed receive lower rates.
  • Safer occupants lowers premiums - Vehicles with high crash test scores tend to have better insurance rates. Safer cars reduce injuries and fewer injuries translates into savings for insurance companies and more competitive rates for policyholders.
  • Big city or small town - Residing in small towns and rural areas has it's advantages when it comes to car insurance. Less people living in that area translates into fewer accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft. City drivers have to deal with congested traffic and longer commute times. More time on the road can result in more accidents.
  • Keep rates low by being claim-free - If you are a frequent claim filer, you can expect either policy cancellation or increased premiums. Insurance companies in Ohio give cheaper rates to insureds who are claim-free. Your insurance policy is meant to be used in the event of the bigger claims that can't be paid out-of-pocket.

Are you falling for claims of savings?

Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements for car insurance savings by State Farm and Allstate. All the ads make the same claim about savings if you move to their company.

How can each company make the same claim?

Insurance companies have a preferred profile for the driver that earns them a profit. For instance, a preferred risk could be a mature driver, insures multiple vehicles, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A customer who matches those parameters receives the best rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Consumers who are not a match for the requirements will be charged higher rates which leads to business going elsewhere. Company advertisements say "customers that switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that much. This is how companies can truthfully advertise the way they do. That is why drivers should get a wide range of price quotes. Because you never know which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.

For more Ohio car insurance information

Even more information is located at the Ohio Department of Insurance website. Consumers can file complaints about a company, report car insurance fraud, read industry bulletins, and find disaster information.

A tidy conclusion

We just showed you some good ideas how to reduce car insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more you quote, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even discover the best price on car insurance is with some of the lesser-known companies. Regional companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments than the large multi-state companies such as .

Cheap car insurance is definitely available from both online companies and also from your neighborhood Ottawa agents, and you need to price shop both to get a complete price analysis. Some car insurance companies may not provide you the ability to get quotes online and many times these small, regional companies only sell through independent insurance agents.