8 Tips Shown to Save Money on Car Insurance Costs in Charleston

Expensive car insurance can dwindle your personal savings and force you to prioritize other expenses. Comparison shopping is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to cut your insurance bill.

You have so many to buy insurance from, and even though it's nice to have a selection, lots of choices makes it harder to compare rates.

It's important to price shop coverage yearly since rates are constantly changing. If you had the best deal a few years ago the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. So just ignore everything you know about car insurance because we're going to show you the only way to lower your annual insurance bill.

These eight discounts can lower your rates

Car insurance can cost a lot, buy you may qualify for discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at the time of quoting, but lesser-known reductions have to be manually applied before you will receive the discount.

Good Student Discount - A discount for being a good student can save 20 to 25%. The discount lasts up to age 25.
New Car Discount - Buying coverage on a new vehicle can be considerably cheaper compared to insuring an older model.
Government Employees - Being employed by or retired from a federal job can earn a discount up to 10% with certain companies.
Resident Student - Kids in college who live away from home without a vehicle on campus can be insured at a reduced rate.
Anti-theft System - Cars that have factory anti-theft systems prevent vehicle theft and earn discounts up to 10%.
Drivers Education - Have your child take driver's ed class in high school.
Low Mileage - Keeping the miles down can qualify you for discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
Accident Waiver - Certain companies allow you one accident before raising your premiums if you are claim-free for a certain period of time.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. Most cut specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. Even though it may seem like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, car insurance companies aren't that generous. Any amount of discount will bring down the cost of coverage.

To see a list of providers with the best car insurance discounts in South Carolina, click here to view.

How to Get Cheap Car Insurance in Charleston, SC

Most companies like State Farm and Allstate provide coverage price quotes directly from their websites. Getting quotes doesn't take a lot of time as you simply enter your required coverages as detailed in the form. Once you submit the form, their rating system will obtain information on your driving record and credit history and quotes a price based on these and other factors. Being able to quote online makes it a lot easier to compare rates but having to visit different websites and enter the same data into a form can get tiresome after awhile. But it's very important to have as many quotes as possible if you want to find better car insurance pricing.

Quote rates the easy way

The preferred way to compare car insurance pricing is to use a quote form that analyzes rates from a bunch of companies at once. The form is fast, requires much less work on your part, and makes price shopping online a lot less work. After sending the form, it gets priced and you are able to buy any one of the price quotes you receive.

If you find a better price it's easy to complete the application and buy the policy. The whole process takes just a few minutes to complete and you'll know if lower rates are available.

To find out what other companies charge, click here to open in new window and enter your vehicle and coverage information. If you have a policy now, it's recommended you duplicate the insurance coverages identical to your current policy. This makes sure you will get a price comparison based on the exact same insurance coverage.

Different people need different coverages

When choosing proper insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn't really a "perfect" insurance plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else's so your insurance should reflect that For instance, these questions can help discover whether you will benefit from professional help.

Should I buy only the required South Carolina minimum liability coverage?
Can I still get insurance after a DUI?
Why am I required to get a high-risk car insurance policy?
What are South Carolina no-fault laws?
Am I covered when renting a car or should I buy coverage from the car rental agency?
Is rental equipment covered for theft or damage?
Is my dog or cat covered if injured in an accident?

If you're not sure about those questions but a few of them apply, you may need to chat with a licensed agent. If you don't have a local agent, fill out this quick form or click here for a list of car insurance companies in your area.

Are you falling for claims of savings?

Companies like State Farm and Allstate regularly use ads on television and other media. All the ads make an identical promise about savings if you move your policy. How does each company make the same claim? It's all in the numbers.

Different companies have a preferred profile for the right customer that is profitable for them. An example of a preferred risk could be between the ages of 40 and 55, has no prior claims, and has a short commute. Any new insured who meets those qualifications gets the lowest rates and as a result will probably save when switching.

Potential insureds who are not a match for these standards will be charged more money and ends up with business going elsewhere. The ads say "customers who switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that kind of money. This is how companies can truthfully make the claims of big savings.

That is why drivers must compare many company's rates. It's just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will fit your personal profile best.

Do the work, save more money

You just learned some good ideas how you can compare car insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more you quote, the better your chances of lowering your rates. Consumers may even find the lowest priced car insurance comes from a small mutual company. These smaller insurers may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments than the large multi-state companies such as .

As you shop your coverage around, it's very important that you do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many cases where consumers will sacrifice comprehensive coverage or liability limits to discover at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your goal should be to purchase plenty of coverage at the best price, not the least amount of coverage.

Additional information is available on the website for the South Carolina Department of Insurance found here. Consumers can file complaints about a company, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, read industry bulletins, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.