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

Expensive car insurance can drain your checking account and put a big crunch on your finances. Shopping your coverage around is free and is an excellent way to tighten up your finances. Insurance companies such as State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly bombard you with ad campaigns and it is challenging if not impossible to sift through the bull and do the work needed to find the best deal.

Be sure to get all your discounts

Companies offering auto insurance don't list all available discounts in a way that's easy to find, so the following is a list of some of the more common as well as the least known ways to save on car insurance. If you aren't receiving every discount 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.
Paperless Signup - A few companies will give a small break just for signing your application digitally online.
55 and Retired - Mature drivers may be able to get better car insurance rates.
Service Members Pay Less - Having a family member in the military may qualify for rate reductions.
Good Student Discount - A discount for being a good student can earn a discount of 20% or more. The good student discount can last well after school through age 25.

It's important to note that many deductions do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only apply to individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Just because you may think adding up those discounts means a free policy, you're out of luck.

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

How to Lower Your Car Insurance Cost in Bettendorf, Iowa

Effectively comparing car insurance prices can be challenging if you aren't aware of the most efficient way. You can waste a lot of time talking about coverages with insurance agencies in Bettendorf, or you could save time and use the web to get rates in a matter of minutes.

Many insurance companies enroll in a system that allows shoppers to only type in their quote data once, and each company returns a rated price for coverage. This system prevents you from having to do quote requests to each individual car insurance company.

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

The one disadvantage to getting quotes like this is buyers cannot specifically choose which carriers you want pricing from. So if you want to choose from a list of companies to request quotes from, we have assembled a list of car insurance companies in Iowa. Click to view list.

It doesn't matter which method you choose, just ensure you are comparing exactly the same coverage information for every quote you compare. If you use unequal deductibles or liability limits it's impossible to determine the best price in Bettendorf.

Good Decisions Result in Lower Rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that help determine your car insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what influences your rates enables informed choices that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.

Liability insurance protects assets - Liability coverage is the protection if you are found to be at fault for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. It provides you with a defense in court which can be incredibly expensive. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap when compared with rates for comp and collision, so drivers should carry high limits.
Being married can save on car insurance - Getting married can get you a discount on your car insurance policy. Having a spouse means you're more mature and it's proven that married drivers get in fewer accidents.
Men pay higher rates - Statistics have proven women are more cautious behind the wheel. However, this does not mean men are worse drivers. Both sexes have accidents at a similar rate, but the male of the species have costlier accidents. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations such as reckless driving. Young males are most likely to cause an accident and therefore have the most expensive car insurance rates.
Safer cars cost less to insure - Vehicles with high crash test scores tend to have better insurance rates. Safe vehicles reduce injuries and fewer injuries translates into savings for insurance companies and more competitive rates for policyholders.
How's your driving record? - Careful drivers have lower premiums compared to drivers with tickets. Only having one speeding ticket can boost insurance rates by as much as thirty percent. Drivers with flagrant tickets such as reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence are required to submit a SR-22 or proof of financial responsibility with their state motor vehicle department in order to keep their license.
Proper usage rating affects rates - Driving more miles in a year's time the more you'll pay to insure your vehicle. Most insurance companies rate vehicles based on their usage. Autos used primarily for pleasure use get more affordable rates compared to those used for work or business. Double check that your car insurance coverage is rated on the proper vehicle usage.

Is there truth in advertising?

Consumers can't get away from ads for car insurance savings by Allstate, GEICO and Progressive. All the companies make the same claim that you can save after switching to their company.

How can each company make the same claim?

Insurance companies have a preferred profile for the driver that is profitable for them. A good example of a profitable customer could be between the ages of 40 and 55, insures multiple vehicles, and chooses high deductibles. A customer who matches those parameters is entitled to the best price and is almost guaranteed to save when they switch companies.

Potential customers who don't measure up to the requirements must pay higher prices which leads to business going elsewhere. Company advertisements say "customers that switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that much. This is how insurance companies can state the savings. This illustrates why drivers must get a wide range of price quotes. Because you never know which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings.

And the best car insurance company is...

Lower-priced car insurance can be bought from both online companies and also from your neighborhood Bettendorf agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. Some insurance companies may not provide the ability to get a quote online and usually these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

When buying insurance coverage, it's not a good idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, drivers have reduced full coverage and found out when filing a claim that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your focus should be to buy enough coverage at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.

We just showed you many ideas to compare car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. You may even discover the lowest priced car insurance comes from some of the lesser-known companies. These smaller insurers often have lower prices on specific markets compared to the large companies like .

For more Iowa car insurance information

Additional detailed information can be read at the Iowa Insurance Division website. Consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, get help finding coverage, learn about insurance regulations, and find disaster information.