Getting the Cheapest West Dover Auto Insurance

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy high-priced auto insurance? Trust us when we tell you you are not the only one feeling buyer's remorse. Insurance companies such as GEICO and Progressive increase brand awareness with fancy advertisements and it is difficult to sift through the bull and take the time to shop coverage around.

Be sure to get all your discounts

Companies that sell car insurance don't always advertise all available discounts in a way that's easy to find, so we took the time to find both well-publicized as well as the least known savings tricks you should be using. If you aren't receiving every discount possible, you're paying more than you need to.

  • Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Fewer annual miles can earn discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
  • Multiple Vehicles - Buying insurance for multiple vehicles on the same auto insurance policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
  • Save over 55 - Mature drivers may be able to get a small decrease in premiums.
  • Claim Free - Drivers with accident-free driving histories can save substantially when compared with bad drivers.
  • Memberships - Participating in a civic or occupational organization is a good way to get lower rates when buying auto insurance.
  • Driver Safety - Taking part in a course in driver safety could possibly earn you a 5% discount and easily recoup the cost of the course.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discounts do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only cut individual premiums such as liability and collision coverage. Just because you may think having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, you won't be that lucky.

To see a list of insurers who offer auto insurance discounts in West Dover, click here to view.

auto insurance in West Dover

How to Compare Auto Insurance in West Dover, Vermont

There are several ways to compare auto insurance prices and some are easier and takes less work. You can waste a lot of time talking to insurance agencies in West Dover, or you could save time and use the web to get rate comparisons in just a few minutes.

Many insurance companies are enrolled in a marketplace that allows shoppers to send in one quote, and each company provides a quote based on the submitted data. This saves time by eliminating quote forms to each individual auto insurance company.

To submit your quote information now, click to open in new window.

The one downside to pricing coverage this way is you are unable to specify which carriers to get pricing from. If you prefer to choose specific insurance companies to compare rates, we put together a list of auto insurance companies in Vermont. Click to view list.

It's your choice how you get your quotes, but ensure you are comparing exactly the same coverage information with every price quote. If you enter unequal deductibles or liability limits it's impossible to find the best deal in West Dover.

Tips to Get Lower West Dover Rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that help determine the price you pay for auto insurance. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in big savings.

The following are a few of the "ingredients" used by your company to calculate premiums.

  • Safe vehicles cost less to insure - Vehicles with good safety scores can get you lower premiums. Safe vehicles protect occupants better and lower injury rates means lower claim amounts and more competitive rates for policyholders.
  • Do you know your deductibles? - Deductibles for physical damage represent how much money 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. A few examples of covered claims could be colliding with a building, damage caused by hail, and burglary. The higher the amount you have to pay, the less your auto insurance will be.
  • Men pay higher rates - Statistics demonstrate women are more cautious behind the wheel. However, this does not mean women are BETTER drivers than men. They both have accidents in similar percentages, but the male of the species have costlier accidents. Men also tend to receive more costly citations such as DWI and reckless driving. Youthful male drivers are most likely to cause an accident and therefore have the most expensive auto insurance rates.
  • Your auto insurance rates can be influenced by your job - Did you know that where you work can have an impact on rates? Occupations such as lawyers, business owners and dentists have the highest average rates because of high stress levels and lots of time spent at work. Other occupations like actors, historians and performers get better rates.
  • Liability coverage is cheap - Liability coverage provides coverage if a court rules you are at fault for personal injury or accident damage. It provides for a legal defense which can cost thousands of dollars. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap when compared with rates for comp and collision, so do not cut corners here.
  • Don't get talked into coverage you don't need - There are a ton of extra coverages that you can get tricked into buying on your auto insurance policy. Insurance for vanishing deductibles, accidental death and additional equipment coverage may be costing you every month. These may sound like a good investment when you first buy your policy, but now you might not need them so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.

Is there truth in advertising?

Vermont consumers can't get away from ads that promise big savings from the likes of 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. All the companies make an identical promise about savings after switching your coverage to them.

How can each company make almost identical claims?

All the different companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer that is profitable for them. For example, a profitable customer could possibly be a mature driver, has no driving citations, and has great credit. A customer getting a price quote who meets those qualifications will qualify for the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to save when they switch companies.

Potential customers who don't measure up to the requirements must pay a more expensive rate and ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ad wording is "customers that switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that much money. That's the way companies can truthfully advertise the savings. This illustrates why drivers must get quotes from several different companies. It's impossible to know which auto insurance company will give you the biggest savings.

A tidy conclusion

Cheaper auto insurance can be bought online as well as from independent agents in West Dover, and you need to price shop both to have the best rate selection. There are still a few companies who don't offer the ability to get a quote online and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

As you prepare to switch companies, it's a bad idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are a lot of situations where someone sacrificed physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The proper strategy is to purchase a proper amount of coverage at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.

Learn more about Vermont auto insurance

Even more information can be found at the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation website. Vermont consumers can find disaster information, report car insurance fraud, learn about insurance regulations, and read industry bulletins.