How to Know You're Spending Too Much for Car Insurance in Bennettsville

Scraping up a payment for overpriced car insurance can overdraw your savings account and put a big crunch on your finances. Doing a price comparison is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to help make ends meet. With so many insurance companies to choose from, it is very difficult to pick the cheapest provider.

Finding affordable protection in Bennettsville is not that difficult. If you have a current car insurance policy or need new coverage, you can follow these tips to get lower rates and still get good coverage. South Carolina vehicle owners just need to know the tricks to compare prices over the internet.

How much can you save with discounts?

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but there are discounts available that you may not know about. Some discounts apply automatically when you get a quote, but lesser-known reductions have to be specifically requested before you will receive the discount. If you don't get every credit you deserve, you're paying more than you need to.

Multiple Vehicles - Buying insurance for multiple vehicles on the same car insurance policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
Student in College - Kids in college who attend school more than 100 miles from home and do not have access to a covered vehicle can receive lower rates.
Accident Waiver - Some insurance companies will forgive one accident before raising your premiums so long as you haven't had any claims prior to the accident.
Early Switch Discount - Some insurance companies reward drivers for switching to them before your current expiration date. It's a savings of about 10%.
Good Student Discount - A discount for being a good student can get you a discount of up to 25%. This discount can apply well after school through age 25.
Payment Method - If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of paying each month you can actually save on your bill.
Paperless Signup - Certain companies will give a small break for buying a policy and signing up online.
55 and Retired - Mature drivers may be able to get reduced rates.
Accident Free - Drivers who don't have accidents can save substantially when compared with bad drivers.
Life Insurance - Select insurance companies reward you with a break if you buy a life insurance policy as well.

Drivers should understand that most discount credits are not given to the overall cost of the policy. Most cut individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though it sounds like all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies wouldn't make money that way. But all discounts will help reduce the amount you have to pay.

To see a list of insurers who offer car insurance discounts in South Carolina, click here to view.

Free Quotes for Car Insurance in Bennettsville, South Carolina

Effectively comparing car insurance prices can take time and effort if you aren't aware of the fastest way to get free quotes. You can waste a lot of time talking to local insurance agents in Bennettsville, or you could save time and use the internet for quick rates.

Many insurance companies participate in an industry program that allows shoppers to only type in their quote data once, and each participating company returns a rated price. This saves time by eliminating form submissions for each company you want a rate for.

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

The only drawback to doing it this way is you don't know exactly which carriers you want pricing from. So if you want to choose specific providers to receive pricing from, we have a page of car insurance companies in South Carolina. Click to view list.

It's up to you which method you use, but make darn sure you compare apples-to-apples quote information for each price quote. If you compare mixed coverages it's not possible to truly determine the lowest rate in Bennettsville.

What determines how much you pay?

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that help determine your car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay allows you to make educated decisions that could result in lower car insurance prices.

Increase deductibles and save - Deductibles for physical damage represent how much money you are required to spend in the event of a claim. Coverage for physical damage, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, insures against damage to your car. Examples of covered claims are colliding with a building, damage caused by hail, and windstorm damage. The higher the amount you're willing to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.
Mature drivers pay less - Young drivers in South Carolina are known to get distracted easily when driving so car insurance rates are higher. Having to add a youthful driver to your policy can break the bank. More mature drivers are more responsible, tend to file fewer claims and are safer drivers.
Women pay lower rates - Statistics have proven women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, this does not mean women are better drivers. Women and men have accidents in similar percentages, but the male of the species have costlier accidents. Men also tend to receive more costly citations such as reckless driving. Teenage male drivers are most likely to cause an accident and therefore have the most expensive car insurance rates.
What type of vehicle do you drive? - The performance of the vehicle you are insuring makes a big difference in determining your rates. The lowest rates tend to be for lower performance four cylinder passenger cars, but there are many factors that impact the final cost.
How's your driving record? - Good drivers have lower premiums compared to drivers with tickets. Even one ticket can increase rates by as much as thirty percent. Drivers with flagrant tickets like DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions are required to submit a SR-22 or proof of financial responsibility with their state motor vehicle department in order to keep their license.

How much car insurance do I need?

When choosing adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no best way to insure your cars. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs so your insurance should reflect that For example, these questions may help you determine if your insurance needs may require specific advice.

Can I afford to buy a different vehicle if my vehicle is totaled?
Why does it cost so much to insure a teen driver in Bennettsville?
Does my policy cover me when driving someone else's vehicle?
Does my car insurance cover rental cars?
Should I buy only the required South Carolina minimum liability coverage?
What can I do if my company won't pay a claim?
Does medical payments coverage apply to all occupants?
Should I put collision coverage on all my vehicles?

If you're not sure about those questions but one or more may apply to you then you might want to talk to an agent. If you don't have a local agent, take a second and complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It only takes a few minutes and can help protect your family.

Save 15 percent in 15 minutes? Is it for real?

Consumers can't get away from ads for car insurance savings by companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive. All the companies make an identical promise that you'll save big after switching to them.

But how can every company make the same claim?

All companies have a preferred profile for the type of driver that is profitable for them. For example, a profitable customer could be over the age of 50, insures multiple vehicles, and has excellent credit. A customer who meets those qualifications gets the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to save a lot of money.

Drivers who don't meet this ideal profile must pay higher premiums and ends up with business going elsewhere. The ads say "customers that switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save money. This is how companies can make those claims.

This illustrates why drivers must get quotes from several different companies. Because you never know which insurance companies will have the lowest rates.

And the best car insurance company is...

Budget-conscious car insurance can be sourced from both online companies and with local Bennettsville insurance agents, and you should be comparing both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

While you're price shopping online, don't be tempted to reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, drivers have reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret they didn't purchase enough coverage. Your focus should be to purchase plenty of coverage at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.

We just showed you some good ideas how you can compare car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better your comparison will be. Consumers could even find that the biggest savings come from the least-expected company. These smaller insurers may only write in your state and offer lower rates compared to the large companies like .

More sites with car insurance information

Much more information about car insurance in South Carolina can be found on the website for the South Carolina Department of Insurance located here. Consumers can report car insurance fraud, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, learn about insurance regulations, and learn about specific coverages.

Additional helpful sites include this link for South Carolina car insurance quotes and this page for help finding agents in Bennettsville, SC.