Easy Methods to Cut Costs on Carlock Car Insurance

Are you intimidated by the crazy number of car insurance companies in Carlock? Many other consumers are too. Drivers have so many choices that it can turn into a ton of work to find lower rates.

It's important to compare prices every six months due to the fact that insurance rates are constantly changing. Even if you got the best price last year there is a good chance you can find better rates now. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about car insurance because I'm going to let you in on the secrets to the tricks you need to know to get good coverage at a lower rate.

How to Lower your Car Insurance Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that help determine the rates you pay for car insurance. Understanding what impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that can help you get big savings.

  • Multiple policies with one company can save - Many companies give discounts to insureds who buy several policies from them. It's known as a multi-policy discount. This can amount to anywhere from five to ten percent in most cases. Even if you're getting this discount you still need to comparison shop to verify if the discount is saving money. You may still find a better deal by insuring with multiple companies.
  • Do you know your deductibles? - Physical damage insurance, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, protects your car from damage. A few examples of covered claims would be a windshield shattered by a rock, vandalism, and burglary. Your deductibles are the amount of money you are required to spend before a claim is paid by your company. The higher the amount you have to pay, the less your car insurance will be.
  • Pleasure use saves money - Driving more miles in a year the higher your rates will be. Almost all companies charge to insure your cars based upon how you use the vehicle. Vehicles not used for work or commuting qualify for better rates as compared to vehicles used primarily for driving to work. Ask your agent if your car insurance coverage is showing the proper vehicle usage.
  • Do you need those extra coverages? - There are a ton of extra coverages you can purchase when buying car insurance. Coverages like personal injury protection, better glass coverage and additional equipment coverage are examples of these. These may sound like a good investment when you first buy your policy, but now you might not need them so get rid of them and save.
  • Teen drivers pay high rates - Older insureds tend to be more responsible, file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel. Youthful drivers are known to be more careless when behind the wheel therefore car insurance rates are much higher.
  • Liability coverage protects you - Liability coverage provides coverage in the event that you are found liable for personal injury or accident damage. Liability insurance provides for a legal defense which can cost thousands of dollars. Liability is cheap when compared with rates for comp and collision, so buy as much as you can afford.

Carlock car insurance quote

How to Compare Car Insurance Quotes in Carlock, Illinois

All major car insurance companies such as Allstate and Progressive provide price estimates on the web. Obtaining pricing is quite simple as you simply enter the coverages you want into the quote form. After the form is submitted, the system will obtain your driving record and credit report and generates a price based on these factors.

Online price quotes streamlines rate comparisons, but the time required to go to many different websites and complete many quote forms can be a bit tiresome and repetitive. Unfortunately, it is important to perform this step if you want to find a lower rate.

Quote rates the easy way

The preferred way to lower your rates makes use of a single form to return rates from many companies. It's a real time-saver, requires less work, and makes comparison shopping much simpler. Immediately after submitting the form, it gets priced and you can select any of the resulting price quotes.

If a lower price is quoted, you can simply submit the application and buy the new coverage. The whole process takes 15 minutes at the most and you'll know if lower rates are available.

In order to find out how much you're overpaying now, click here and fill out the form. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you copy coverages and limits identical to your current policy. This makes sure you are getting a fair comparison for the exact same coverage.

More discounts equal less premium

Car insurance is not cheap, but discounts can save money and there are some available to reduce the price significantly. Some discounts apply automatically when you complete an application, but less common discounts must be asked for before they will apply.

  • Theft Prevention System - Anti-theft and alarm systems can help prevent theft and will save you 10% or more.
  • Multiple Vehicles - Having multiple vehicles with the same company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
  • Discount for Life Insurance - Companies who offer life insurance give lower rates if you buy auto and life insurance together.
  • Driver Safety - Taking part in a defensive driving course could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
  • Senior Citizens - If you're over the age of 55, you may be able to get a small decrease in premiums.
  • Organization Discounts - Being a member of certain professional organizations could qualify you for a break on your policy.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to all coverage premiums. A few only apply to individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. So even though it sounds like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, car insurance companies aren't that generous. Any amount of discount will cut your premiums.

To choose providers who offer car insurance discounts in Carlock, follow this link.

Switch companies and save? Really?

Companies like Allstate and Progressive continually stream ads in print and on television. All the ads say the same thing about savings after switching your coverage to them. How do they all claim to save you money?

All the different companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer that makes them money. For example, a preferred risk might be over the age of 50, has no driving citations, and drives newer vehicles. Any driver who fits that profile receives the best rates and therefore will cut their rates substantially.

Consumers who do not match the "perfect" profile will be charged higher rates which usually ends up with the customer not buying. Company advertisements say "customers that switch" not "everyone that quotes" save that much money. That's the way companies can truthfully claim big savings.

That is why you need to get a wide range of price quotes. You cannot predict which car insurance company will give you the biggest savings.

Additional information can be found on the Illinois Department of Insurance website located here. Visitors are able to read consumer alerts, report car insurance fraud, and file complaints about an insurance agent or broker.

Shop smart and save

When trying to cut insurance costs, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. Too many times, someone sacrificed physical damage coverage only to discover later that it was a big mistake. The aim is to buy enough coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.

Cheap car insurance can be purchased both online as well as from independent agents in Carlock, and you should be comparing both to get a complete price analysis. A few companies don't offer online price quotes and many times these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.

Consumers change insurance companies for a number of reasons such as policy cancellation, lack of trust in their agent, delays in paying claims or even delays in responding to claim requests. It doesn't matter why you want to switch choosing a new insurance company is easier than you think.