8 Guaranteed Tricks to Reduce Car Insurance Costs in Dorchester

Expensive car insurance can overdraw your savings account and put the squeeze on your family's finances. Comparison shopping is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket.

Online insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive continually hit you with ads and it is difficult to sift through the bull and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.

Compare Car Insurance Today

The are a couple different ways to get quotes from local Dorchester car insurance companies. One of the best ways to find the lowest rates consists of shopping online. This is very easy and can be done using a couple different methods.

The fastest way to get the best comparison quotes is a comparison rater form (click to open form in new window). This easy form prevents you from having to do separate quotes for every car insurance company. A single, simple form gets you price quotes instantly.
A more time consuming way to shop for car insurance online requires a trip to the website for every company you want to comare to complete their respective quote request forms. For instance, let's assume you want comparison quotes from , and . To get rate quotes you would need to go to every website to input your insurance information, and that's why the first method is more popular. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in Dorchester, click here.

It's up to you which method you use, but make sure you use exactly the same quote information on every quote you get. If your comparisons have mixed coverages it will be very difficult to determine which rate is truly the best in Dorchester. Quoting even small variations in coverages can mean a large discrepancy in price. And when comparing car insurance rates, know that more quotes will increase your chances of finding a better price.

Policy discounts you shouldn't miss

Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but you may find discounts that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be applied when you quote, but less common discounts must be manually applied before you get the savings.

Safety Course Discount - Completing a defensive driving course could cut 5% off your bill if your company offers it.
Life Insurance - Companies who offer life insurance give better rates if you take out a life insurance policy as well.
Organization Discounts - Being a member of a civic or occupational organization is a good way to get lower rates when buying car insurance.
Pay Now and Pay Less - If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of making monthly payments you can actually save on your bill.
Auto/Home Discount - If you insure your home and vehicles with one company you could get a discount of up to 20% off your total premium.
Anti-theft Discount - Cars that have factory anti-theft systems help deter theft and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
Drivers Ed for Students - Cut your cost by having your teen driver enroll in driver's education if offered at their school.
Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Low mileage vehicles could be rewarded with discounted rates on garaged vehicles.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. A few only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. Just because it seems like you can get free auto insurance, car insurance companies aren't that generous. Any amount of discount will reduce the amount you have to pay.

To choose insurers with discount car insurance rates in Dorchester, click here to view.

Save $429 a year? Really?

21st Century, Allstate and State Farm consistently run television and radio advertisements. All the companies make an identical promise about savings if you change to them. How can each company claim to save you money? This is how they do it.

All companies have a preferred profile for the type of driver that makes them money. For instance, a profitable customer might be between the ages of 30 and 50, has no prior claims, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. Any new insured who meets those qualifications receives the best rates and is almost guaranteed to save when they switch companies.

Drivers who don't qualify for the requirements must pay a higher premium and ends up with the customer not buying. Company advertisements say "drivers who switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save money. This is how companies can truthfully advertise the way they do.

This illustrates why you need to quote coverage with many companies. It's just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Insurance agents can help

When buying the best car insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is not a "best" method to buy coverage. Everyone's situation is unique so your insurance should reflect that For example, these questions can help discover whether your personal situation might need an agent's assistance.

Should I rate my vehicle as pleasure use or commute?
What happens if I owe more than my vehicle is worth?
Am I getting all the discounts available?
Are my tools covered if they get stolen from my vehicle?
What is the difference between comprehensive and collision coverage?
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?

If you're not sure about those questions but a few of them apply, then you may want to think about talking to an agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or go to this page to view a list of companies.

Additional information is located on the website for the Massachusetts Division of Insurance. Click here for link. Visitors are able to discover disciplinary actions, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, find out which companies have the most complaints, and view a list of available companies.

Affordable insurance is out there

Cheap car insurance can be sourced both online and with local Dorchester insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best selection. Some car insurance companies do not offer online price quotes and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

When shopping online for car insurance, it's not a good idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are a lot of situations where consumers will sacrifice liability coverage limits only to discover later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. The proper strategy is to buy enough coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.