Compare California Auto Insurance Prices With These Methods

Are you intimidated by the crazy number of auto insurance options in California? You have a lot of company. There are so many choices that it can turn into more work than you anticipated to find the lowest price.

It's important to price shop coverage every six months because prices are constantly changing. Just because you found the best price last year you will most likely find a better rate today. Forget all the misinformation about auto insurance because you're about to learn how to use online quotes to properly buy coverages while reducing your premium.

How much can you save with discounts?

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be applied when you get a quote, but less common discounts must be asked for before you will receive the discount.

  • Sign Online - A handful of insurance companies may give you up to $50 just for signing your application online.
  • Multiple Vehicles - Buying insurance for multiple vehicles on one policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
  • No Charge for an Accident - Some insurance companies allow you one accident before your rates go up as long as you don't have any claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
  • Discount for Good Grades - Performing well in school can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. This discount can apply well after school through age 25.
  • Homeowners Discount - Owning a house in California may trigger a auto insurance policy discount due to the fact that maintaining a home is proof that your finances are in order.

It's important to note that most credits do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like liability, collision or medical payments. Just because you may think having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, you're out of luck. But any discount will help reduce the amount you have to pay.

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

Auto insurance companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Progressive continually stream television and radio advertisements. They all seem to say the same thing that you can save after switching your policy. But how can every company claim to save you money? It's all in the numbers.

All the different companies are able to cherry pick for the right customer that earns them a profit. For example, a desirable insured might be between the ages of 30 and 50, has no driving citations, and drives newer vehicles. A customer getting a price quote who fits that profile will get the preferred rates and is almost guaranteed to save a lot of money.

Drivers who don't meet this ideal profile will have to pay higher premiums which usually ends up with the customer not buying. The ads state "customers who switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that kind of money. That's the way insurance companies can claim big savings.

Because of the profiling, you should get quotes from several different companies. It's impossible to know which auto insurance company will give you the biggest savings.

Learn more about Maryland auto insurance

More information can be found on the Maryland Insurance Administration website found here. Visitors are able to get help finding coverage, find out which companies have the most complaints, and learn about insurance regulations.

Also read more on this site for Maryland auto insurance information and see this list of insurance agents in California.

Final considerations

Lower-priced auto insurance can be sourced both online in addition to many California insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. A few companies do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

We covered a lot of information how to reduce auto insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. Consumers could even find that the lowest rates come from a small mutual company.

Consumers change insurance companies for a variety of reasons including an unsatisfactory settlement offer, lack of trust in their agent, denial of a claim and even poor customer service. It doesn't matter what your reason, finding a new auto insurance company is less work than it seems.