Car Insurance in Augusta - 7 Ways to Save Money

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy high-priced car insurance? Believe me, you are not the only one feeling buyer's remorse.

There is such a variety of to buy insurance from, and even though it's nice to have a selection, so many choices can make it hard to compare rates.

It's important to get comparison quotes at least once a year since rates are constantly changing. Even if you got the lowest rates two years ago the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. Starting now, block out anything you think you know about car insurance because we're going to show you the tricks you need to know to save on car insurance.

Save big with these seven discounts

Car insurance can cost a lot, but companies offer discounts to reduce the price significantly. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied when you quote, but lesser-known reductions have to be specially asked for before you get the savings.

Passive Restraint Discount - Vehicles with factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems may earn rate discounts up to 30%.
Driver Safety - Taking a defensive driving course could possibly earn you a 5% discount and easily recoup the cost of the course.
Auto/Life Discount - Some companies give a discount if you purchase life insurance from them.
No Charge for an Accident - Certain companies will forgive one accident before raising your premiums if you are claim-free for a certain period of time.
Save with a New Car - Insuring a new car can be considerably cheaper compared to insuring an older model.
No Claims - Drivers with accident-free driving histories can save substantially compared to bad drivers.
Payment Method - If paying your policy premium upfront instead of paying each month you could save 5% or more.

Keep in mind that many deductions do not apply the the whole policy. Some only reduce individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So when it seems like you could get a free car insurance policy, it just doesn't work that way. But any discount will bring down your overall premium however.

To see a list of providers who offer car insurance discounts in Illinois, click this link.

Compare the Market for Car Insurance in Augusta

There are several ways to get quotes from car insurance companies in your area. The best method to compare insurance prices is to get quotes online. This can be done in several different ways.

The best way consumers can analyze rates is to use a rate comparison form click here to open form in new window. This form prevents you from having to do multiple quote forms for each company. Completing one form gets rate comparisons from multiple low-cost companies.
A more time consuming way to get quotes online is spending the time to visit each company website to complete their respective quote request forms. For example, let's assume you want to compare rates from , and . You would have to visit each site and enter your policy data, which is why the first method is more popular. To view a list of companies in Augusta, click here.
The hardest method to get comparison rates is driving to insurance agents' offices. The ability to buy insurance online has reduced the need for local agents unless you require the professional advice of a licensed agent. Drivers can obtain prices from the web and still use a local agent and we'll cover that in a bit.

It doesn't matter which method you choose, just compare identical information on every quote you get. If you have higher or lower deductibles it's impossible to determine which rate is truly the best in Augusta. Having just a slight variation in limits could mean much higher rates. Just keep in mind that having more price comparisons helps locate the best price.

Car insurance ads bend the truth

Companies like State Farm and Allstate continually stream ads on TV and radio. All the ads make the same claim that you can save after switching your policy. How does each company claim to save you money?

Different companies are able to cherry pick for the right customer that is profitable for them. For example, a preferred risk might be a mature driver, has no tickets, and chooses high deductibles. Any new insured who matches those parameters will get very good rates and most likely will save when switching.

Drivers who fall outside these standards will be charged a higher premium which leads to the customer not buying. The ads say "customers that switch" not "people who quote" save that kind of money. That's the way insurance companies can state the savings.

That is why drivers must get quotes from several different companies. It's just too difficult to predict which car insurance company will give you the biggest savings.

Affordable insurance is out there

We just covered many ideas to compare car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more you quote, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. You may be surprised to find that the best price on car insurance is with some of the lesser-known companies. These smaller insurers can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than their larger competitors like .

Affordable car insurance can be purchased both online in addition to many Augusta insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best selection. Some insurance companies do not provide the ability to get a quote online and many times these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.

When buying insurance coverage, never reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many cases where an insured dropped uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your goal should be to find the BEST coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.

More information can be found on the website for the Illinois Department of Insurance located here. Visitors are able to file complaints about a company, discover disciplinary actions, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, and get help finding coverage.