Top Ways to Save on Prescott Auto Insurance

Scraping up a payment for overpriced auto insurance can dwindle your savings account and make it impossible to make ends meet. Doing a price comparison is a great way to slash your bill and have more diposable income. There are many to pick from, and though it is a good thing to have multiple companies, it makes it harder to compare rates.

It's important to check auto insurance prices on a regular basis because insurance rates are constantly changing. Even if you got the lowest price a few years ago a different company probably has better rates today. Forget all the misinformation about auto insurance because we're going to demonstrate the tricks you need to know to buy cheaper auto insurance.

The purpose of this post is to help educate you on the best way to quote coverages and some money-saving tips. If you are paying for car insurance now, you will be able to cut costs considerably using these techniques. Michigan vehicle owners just need to know the most effective way to find the lowest price over the internet.

Don't pay full price with these discounts

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but there are discounts available to reduce the price significantly. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at the time of quoting, but less common discounts must be manually applied before you will receive the discount. If you're not getting every credit you deserve, you are throwing money away.

  • Sign Online - A handful of insurance companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying a policy and signing up over the internet.
  • Accident Waiver - Certain companies will allow you to have one accident before your rates go up as long as you don't have any claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
  • Life Insurance Discount - Select insurance companies reward you with a discount if you purchase auto and life insurance together.
  • Driver Safety - Taking part in a course in driver safety could cut 5% off your bill if you qualify.
  • Good Student Discount - Performing well in school can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. Earning this discount can benefit you well after school through age 25.
  • Own a Home - Owning a house in Prescott can save you money due to the fact that maintaining a home shows financial diligence.
  • Seat Belt Usage - Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use their safety belts could save 15% off your PIP or medical payments premium.
  • Accident Free - Drivers who don't have accidents pay much less as compared to drivers who are more careless.
  • Military Rewards - Being deployed with a military unit may qualify for rate reductions.

Consumers should know 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. Just because you may think having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, companies don't profit that way. But all discounts will bring down your premiums.

What determines how much you pay?

Smart consumers have a good feel for the factors that help determine the price you pay for auto insurance. Knowing what controls the rates you pay allows you to make educated decisions that may reward you with big savings.

The following are a partial list of the pieces companies use to determine rates.

  • Having a spouse can save you money - Having a wife or husband can get you a discount on auto insurance. It is viewed as being more mature than a single person it has been statistically shown that married drivers get in fewer accidents.
  • Your location is important - Residing in less populated areas can be a good thing when insuring your vehicles. Urban drivers tend to have much more traffic and longer commute times. Lower population means fewer accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft.
  • Don't get talked into coverage you don't need - There are a ton of add-on coverages that you can buy on your auto insurance policy. Coverages for personal injury protection, towing coverage and motor club memberships are some examples. They may seem like a good idea when talking to your agent, but if you don't need them eliminate them to save money.
  • Performance makes a difference - The performance of the vehicle you own makes a substantial difference in your rates. The cheapest insurance rates tend to be for lower performance four cylinder passenger cars, but the cost you end up paying is determined by many additional factors.
  • Traffic violations increase rates - Just one citation can increase rates twenty percent or more. Good drivers tend to pay less for car insurance compared to drivers with tickets. Drivers who have flagrant citations like DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions may need to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) with their state DMV in order to keep their license.
  • High deductibles save money - Coverage for physical damage, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your car. Examples of covered claims could be running into the backend of another car, vandalism, and burglary. The deductibles are how much you are required to spend if you file a covered claim. The more you're willing to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.

The auto insurance bait and switch

Michigan consumers get pounded daily by advertisements for car insurance savings by companies like State Farm, GEICO and Progressive. They all seem to have a common claim that you'll save big after switching to them.

How does each company make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.

All the different companies have a preferred profile for the type of driver that earns them a profit. For instance, a desirable insured could possibly be a mature driver, insures multiple vehicles, and has a short commute. A driver that hits that "sweet spot" will get the preferred rates and therefore will save when switching.

Potential insureds who don't measure up to these standards will have to pay more money and this can result in the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads state "drivers who switch" not "everyone that quotes" save money. This is how companies can make the claims of big savings.

Because of the profiling, drivers should get quotes from several different companies. It is impossible to predict which insurance companies will fit your personal profile best.

For more Michigan auto insurance information

Much more information about auto insurance in Michigan is located on the website for the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation. Click here for link. Michigan consumers can get help finding coverage, view agent and company licensing information, discover disciplinary actions, and learn about specific coverages.

Also read more on this site for Michigan auto insurance information and see this list of insurance agents in Prescott.

In the end, you save

Discount auto insurance can be purchased online and with local Prescott insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers do not offer you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these small, regional companies sell through independent agents.

As you shop your coverage around, make sure you don't skimp on coverage in order to save money. In many cases, drivers have reduced liability coverage limits only to discover later that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your aim should be to get the best coverage possible for the lowest price.

In this article, we presented a lot of ways to reduce auto insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. Consumers could even find that the best price on auto insurance is with a lesser-known regional company. Regional companies may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates as compared to the big name companies such as .