Comparing Low-Cost Shasta Lake Car Insurance

Are you tired of scraping the payment together each month for car insurance? You're in the same situation as many other California drivers.

Having so many choices of insurance companies, it's difficult to choose the right insurer.

Finding the best rates in Shasta Lake is quite easy. If you have car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to lower your premiums substantially using this strategy. Nevertheless, California consumers do need to know how companies sell insurance online and use this information to your advantage.

How to Compare Car Insurance Costs in Shasta Lake

Most major insurance companies quote price estimates online. Obtaining pricing is quite simple as you just enter the amount of coverage you want as detailed in the form. Behind the scenes, the system will obtain your credit score and driving record and provides a quote based on these and other factors. This streamlines rate comparisons, but the work required to visit many different websites and complete many quote forms is not the best way to spend an afternoon. But it's very important to have as many quotes as possible if you are searching for better car insurance pricing.

A less time-consuming method to find cheaper rates makes use of a single form to get prices from more than one company. The form is fast, reduces the work, and makes online shopping much easier. As soon as the form is sent, it is quoted and you can choose any or none of the returned quotes. If a lower price is quoted, you can simply submit the application and purchase the new policy. It takes less than 15 minutes and may result in a nice savings.

In order to find out what other companies charge, click here to open in new window and begin entering your coverage information. To compare your current rates, we recommend you enter coverages and limits identical to your current policy. This way, you will be getting a fair comparison based on similar coverages.

How to Lower your Car Insurance Rates

It's important that you understand some of the elements that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in lower car insurance prices.

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

Protect your assets with liability insurance - Liability insurance will protect you if you are found liable for personal injury or accident damage. Liability provides for a legal defense starting from day one. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap compared to physical damage coverage, so buy as much as you can afford.
Better crash test results mean better rates - Cars with high safety ratings are cheaper to insure. Safe vehicles protect occupants better and any reduction in injury severity translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims passed on to you as lower rates.
Bad driving skills means higher rates - Whether or not you get tickets has a big impact on rates. Drivers who don't get tickets have lower premiums than bad drivers. Just one citation can bump up the cost by twenty percent. Drivers with serious tickets like DUI or reckless driving are required to submit a SR-22 form to the state department of motor vehicles in order to continue driving.
Multi-policy discounts can save money - Most companies will award you with lower prices to insureds who consolidate policies with them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. If you currently are using one company, you still need to shop around to verify if the discount is saving money. You may still be able to find better rates by buying car insurance from a different company.
Older drivers save more - Youthful drivers in California are statistically proven to get distracted easily in a vehicle so car insurance rates are higher. Mature drivers are more responsible, tend to file fewer claims and get fewer tickets.
Optional equipment can affect rates - Driving a car with an alarm system can help lower your rates. Anti-theft features like LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM's OnStar system all hinder your car from being stolen.
Marriage pays dividends - Having a spouse can actually save you money when buying car insurance. Having a spouse translates into being more mature and responsible and it's proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.

These discounts can lower your rates

Companies do not advertise all available discounts very well, so we break down both the well known as well as the least known car insurance savings.

Club Memberships - Being a member of a professional or civic organization could qualify you for a break when buying car insurance.
Lower Rates for Military - Having a deployed family member could mean lower rates.
Early Signing - Some insurance companies reward drivers for buying a policy before your current policy expires. This can save 10% or more.
Anti-lock Brake Discount - Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems are safer to drive and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
Senior Citizens - Older drivers may qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
Payment Discounts - If you pay your bill all at once rather than paying monthly you could save up to 5%.
Good Students Pay Less - Getting good grades can get you a discount of up to 25%. This discount can apply until age 25.
Paperless Signup - Certain companies may give you up to $50 simply for signing online.

Consumers should know that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire cost. The majority will only reduce individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So despite the fact that it appears it's possible to get free car insurance, companies don't profit that way.

For a list of insurers offering car insurance discounts in California, follow this link.

More tips and info about car insurance can be found at the California Department of Insurance website. Visitors are able to find out which companies have the most complaints, find disaster information, file complaints about a company, and read consumer alerts.

Other useful links include this link for California car insurance quotes and this link which helps you find a Shasta Lake agent.

Affordable insurance is out there

Cost effective car insurance is available both online as well as from independent agents in Shasta Lake, so you should compare both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance companies don't offer online quoting and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

We just presented many ways to lower your car insurance rates. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Consumers may even find the most savings is with a small local company. Smaller companies may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates than the large multi-state companies such as .