How to Know You're Wasting Money for Auto Insurance in Streetsboro

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an underperforming, overpriced auto insurance policy? Believe me, there are many Streetsboro consumers feeling the pinch from expensive auto insurance. Insurance companies such as GEICO and Progressive all promote huge savings with TV and radio ads and it is challenging if not impossible to sift through the bull and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.

Good Decisions Result in Lower Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that help determine auto insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that will entitle you to lower auto insurance prices.

The following are a few of the "ingredients" auto insurance companies consider when setting prices.

  • Your auto insurance rates can be influenced by your job - Did you know your auto insurance rates can be affected by your occupation? Careers like lawyers, architects and dentists tend to have the highest average rates attributed to high stress levels and lengthy work days. Other occupations such as actors, historians and performers receive lower rates.
  • Do you need those extra coverages? - There are a ton of extra coverages that can waste your money if you aren't careful. Insurance for rental car reimbursement, accident forgiveness and term life insurance are examples of these. These may sound like a good investment at first, but if they're wasting money eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
  • Men pay higher rates - Statistics demonstrate women are more cautious behind the wheel. However, this does not mean men are worse drivers. Women and men are in accidents in similar percentages, but the men have costlier accidents. Men also statistically get cited for more serious violations like reckless driving and DUI. Youthful male drivers are several times more likely to be in an accident and are penalized with high auto insurance rates.
  • Always keep insurance in force - Letting your insurance expire will be a fast way to bump up your auto insurance costs. And not only will your rates increase, but being ticketed for driving with no insurance will get you a steep fine or even jail time.
  • Poor credit can mean higher rates - Having a bad credit history is a large factor in calculating your auto insurance rates. If your credit is not that good, you could save money insuring your by improving your credit score. Drivers who have excellent credit tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers who have lower credit scores.
  • Liability coverage is cheap - Liability coverage provides coverage when a jury decides you are liable for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. Liability provides for a legal defense starting from day one. Liability insurance is quite affordable when compared with rates for comp and collision, so buy as much as you can afford.
  • Adjust deductibles and save - Your deductibles define the amount you are required to spend before your auto insurance pays a claim. Coverage for physical damage, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, is used to repair damage to your car. Some instances where coverage would apply are running into the backend of another car, damage caused by hail, and rolling your vehicle. The higher the amount you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the less your auto insurance will be.

How to Compare Streetsboro Auto Insurance Costs

All major auto insurance companies provide coverage prices online. Getting online quotes is quite simple as you simply type in the coverage amounts you desire as detailed in the form. After the form is submitted, their system will obtain reports for credit and driving violations and returns a price based on these factors. Online quotes helps simplify price comparisons, but having to visit many different websites and type in the same information is repetitive and time-consuming. But it's very important to perform this step if you want to find the best price on auto insurance.

The preferred way to find better auto insurance pricing requires only one form to obtain quotes from a bunch of companies at once. The form is fast, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes quoting online a little more enjoyable. As soon as you send your information, it gets priced and you can select your choice of the resulting price quotes.

If the quotes result in lower rates, it's easy to complete the application and buy the new coverage. The whole process takes 15 minutes at the most and you will find out if you're overpaying now.

To quickly find out if lower rates are available, click here to open in new window and submit the form. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you input coverages and limits as close as possible to your current policy. This makes sure you will receive rate quotes for the exact same coverage.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but you can get discounts to cut the cost considerably. Certain discounts will be applied when you get a quote, but less common discounts must be manually applied before you will receive the discount. If you aren't receiving every discount possible, you are paying more than you should be.

  • No Accidents - Drivers with accident-free driving histories can save substantially when compared to accident-prone drivers.
  • Driver Safety - Completing a course teaching defensive driving skills could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
  • Senior Discount - If you're over the age of 55, you may be able to get better auto insurance rates.
  • Use Seat Belts - Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts could cut 10% or more on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
  • No Charge for an Accident - A handful of insurance companies permit an accident before hitting you with a surcharge if your claims history is clear prior to the accident.
  • Payment Method - If you pay your bill all at once instead of making monthly payments you may reduce your total bill.

A little note about advertised discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given the the whole policy. Some only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as comp or med pay. So even though it sounds like all the discounts add up to a free policy, you won't be that lucky. Any amount of discount will reduce the cost of coverage.

To choose insurance companies who offer auto insurance discounts in Streetsboro, follow this link.

How can Progressive, Allstate and GEICO save drivers who switch?

Ohio drivers can't ignore all the ads that promise big savings by Progressive, Allstate and GEICO. They all say the same thing about savings after switching to their company.

How can each company say the same thing?

All companies are able to cherry pick for the driver that makes them money. For example, a driver they prefer might be profiled as between the ages of 30 and 50, has no tickets, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A propective insured who fits that profile will get very good rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Drivers who are not a match for the requirements will be quoted higher premiums which usually ends up with business not being written. The ads say "people who switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that much. That's the way companies can truthfully advertise the way they do.

This emphasizes why you need to get a wide range of price quotes. It's not possible to predict which auto insurance company will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Additional information can be found on the website for the Ohio Department of Insurance through this link. Ohio drivers can read industry bulletins, discover disciplinary actions, learn about insurance regulations, and find a variety of consumer forms.

auto insurance in Streetsboro

In the end, you save

Cheaper auto insurance can be bought on the web and also from your neighborhood Streetsboro agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some auto insurance companies may not provide online price quotes and these regional insurance providers work with independent agents.

When shopping online for auto insurance, it's a bad idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are too many instances where an insured dropped physical damage coverage only to discover later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your strategy should be to find the BEST coverage at an affordable rate while still protecting your assets.