Tightwads Tips for Saving on York Auto Insurance

Sick and tired of not being able to afford each month for car insurance? Your situation is no different than the majority of other car owners in Pennsylvania.

You have so many to buy insurance from, and even though it's nice to be able to choose, lots of choices makes it harder to compare rates.

Learn How to Buy Auto Insurance Cheaper

Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that help determine the price you pay for auto insurance. Knowing what impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that will entitle you to big savings.

The following are a few of the "ingredients" that factor into prices.

More claims means more premium - Companies in Pennsylvania provide lower rates to insureds who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. If you frequently file small claims, you can expect either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Insurance coverage is designed for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
Your auto insurance rates can be influenced by your job - Did you know that where you work can have an impact on rates? Careers like lawyers, architects and financial analysts are shown to have higher average rates in part from high stress levels and lots of time spent at work. Conversely, jobs such as farmers, engineers and performers pay the least.
Teen drivers pay high rates - Teen drivers in Pennsylvania are known to be careless and easily distracted in a vehicle so they pay higher auto insurance rates. Mature drivers are more cautious drivers, file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel.
Men pay higher rates - The statistics show that women are safer drivers than men. However, this does not mean men are WORSE drivers than women. They both cause accidents in similar percentages, but the men have costlier accidents. Men also statistically get cited for more serious violations such as DWI and reckless driving. Youthful male drivers tend to get in the most accidents and are penalized with high auto insurance rates.
Drive a safer car and pay less - Vehicles with good safety scores are cheaper to insure. The safest vehicles have better occupant injury protection and lower injury rates translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and thus lower rates.
Theft deterrents lower rates - Driving a car with anti-theft technology or alarm system can get you a discount on your auto insurance. Theft prevention features like vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems all hinder your car from being stolen.
Liability coverage protects you - Liability coverage will protect you when a court rules you are at fault for damages caused by your negligence. Liability insurance provides for a legal defense which can cost thousands of dollars. Liability insurance is quite affordable when compared with rates for comp and collision, so buy as much as you can afford.
Big city or small town - Being located in less populated areas can save you money when insuring your vehicles. City drivers regularly have traffic congestion and much longer commute distances. Lower population means reduced accidents.

How to Compare York Auto Insurance Rates

All major auto insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate and GEICO provide coverage price quotes on the web. Getting online rates doesn't take a lot of time as you simply type in into the quote form. After the form is submitted, the company's rating system will obtain reports for credit and driving violations and gives you a price quote. Being able to quote online makes it a lot easier to compare rates but the process of having to visit several different sites and complete many quote forms can be a bit repetitive. Unfortunately, it is important to do this if you want to find a lower rate.

The preferred way to lower your auto insurance bill uses one simple form that gets prices from a bunch of companies at once. It's a real time-saver, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes online quotes much easier to do. After sending your information, it gets priced and you can select any one of the resulting price quotes. If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, you can click and sign and purchase the new policy. The whole process takes less than 15 minutes and you'll know if lower rates are available.

To save time and find out how much you're overpaying now, click here and enter your vehicle and coverage information. To compare your current rates, we recommend you copy coverages and limits identical to your current policy. This makes sure you will have rate comparison quotes for the exact same coverage.

More discounts equal less premium

Companies that sell car insurance do not list every discount very clearly, so we break down both well-publicized and the harder-to-find auto insurance savings.

Drivers Education - Cut your cost by having your teen driver successfully complete driver's ed class if it's offered in school.
Employee of Federal Government - Employees or retirees of the government may qualify you for a discount with a few auto insurance companies.
Distant Student - Children who attend school more than 100 miles from home and do not have access to a covered vehicle may be able to be covered for less.
Save over 55 - If you're over the age of 55, you may be able to get a discount up to 10%.
Low Mileage Discounts - Fewer annual miles can earn lower rates on the low mileage vehicles.
Organization Discounts - Participating in a qualifying organization could qualify you for a break when shopping for auto insurance.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire cost. Most only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. So when it seems like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, auto insurance companies aren't that generous.

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

Switch companies and save? Really?

Auto insurance providers like State Farm, Allstate and GEICO continually stream ads in print and on television. They all say the same thing about savings after switching your policy. How does each company make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.

All the different companies can use profiling for the right customer that makes them money. For example, a driver they prefer could possibly be a mature driver, is a homeowner, and has great credit. A driver who fits that profile will get the preferred rates and therefore will save when switching.

Drivers who do not match these standards will be quoted higher premiums which usually ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads state "drivers who switch" not "everyone that quotes" save that kind of money. That's why companies can truthfully advertise the savings. This emphasizes why you need to get quotes from several different companies. It is impossible to predict the company that will give you the biggest savings.

Even more information can be found at the Pennsylvania Insurance Department website. Pennsylvania consumers can download brochures, read industry bulletins, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, and learn about insurance regulations.

Do the work, save more money

As you prepare to switch companies, it's very important that you do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many situations where an accident victim reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The proper strategy is to get the best coverage possible for the lowest price while still protecting your assets.

Cheap auto insurance can be bought online in addition to many York insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. There are still a few companies who do not provide online price quotes and these regional insurance providers work with independent agents.