Tightwads Guide for Saving on Eagle Bend Auto Insurance

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an underperforming, overpriced auto insurance policy? Believe me when I say you are not the only one feeling buyer's remorse. Online insurance companies like GEICO and Progressive all promote huge savings with catchy ads and consumers find it hard to sift through the bull and do the work needed to find the best deal.

Understand what determines the rate you pay

Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that help determine auto insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.

The following are a few of the "ingredients" that factor into premiums.

Drive a safer car and pay less - Vehicles with high crash test scores tend to have better insurance rates. Safe vehicles have better occupant injury protection and better occupant protection means lower claim amounts and more competitive rates for policyholders.
Extra coverages can waste money - There are a ton of extra coverages that you can get tricked into buying if you aren't careful. Insurance for rental car reimbursement, accidental death and membership fees may be wasting your money. These may sound like a good investment when you first buy your policy, but your needs may have changed so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
Adjust deductibles and save - Physical damage deductibles represent how much money you are required to spend before your auto insurance pays a claim. Coverage for physical damage, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, is used to repair damage to your car. Some examples of claims that would be covered are colliding with a building, damage caused by hail, and rolling your vehicle. The higher the amount the insured has to pay upfront, the less your auto insurance will be.
A lapse in coverage is a bad thing - Allowing your auto insurance policy to lapse will be a fast way to trigger a rate increase. And not only will your rates increase, but being ticketed for driving with no insurance may earn you a hefty fine and possibly a revoked license.
Occupation reflects on rates - Did you know your auto insurance rates can be affected by your occupation? Occupations such as lawyers, executives and dentists are shown to have the highest average rates because of high stress levels and long work days. Other occupations such as actors, historians and performers pay the least.
Big city or small town - Choosing to live in small towns and rural areas is a positive aspect when buying auto insurance. Less people living in that area means reduced accidents. Drivers in populated Minnesota areas tend to have more traffic problems and longer commute times. Longer commute distances can result in more accidents.
Women pay lower rates - Statistics demonstrate women are more cautious behind the wheel. However, this does not mean men are WORSE drivers than women. Both sexes are in accidents in similar percentages, but the male of the species have costlier accidents. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations like reckless driving and DUI. Youthful male drivers are most likely to cause an accident and are penalized with high auto insurance rates.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Companies don't list all available discounts in a way that's easy to find, so we took the time to find some of the best known as well as the least known ways to save on auto insurance. If you aren't receiving every discount possible, you are paying more than you should be.

Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Fewer annual miles can earn better rates on cars that stay parked.
Homeowners Discount - Owning a home in Eagle Bend may earn you a small savings due to the fact that maintaining a home is proof that your finances are in order.
Seat Belts Save more than Lives - Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts can save 10% or more on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
Federal Government Employee - Employees or retirees of the government could cut as much as 10% off depending on your company.
Senior Discount - If you're over the age of 55, you may be able to get a discount up to 10%.
Driver Safety - Successfully completing a course teaching defensive driving skills could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discount credits are not given the the whole policy. Most only reduce individual premiums such as liability and collision coverage. So even though they make it sound like adding up those discounts means a free policy, auto insurance companies aren't that generous.

To choose insurers who offer auto insurance discounts in Eagle Bend, click this link.

How can 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm save drivers who switch?

Minnesota drivers can't ignore all the ads that promise big savings from companies such as 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. All the companies make the same claim about savings after switching your policy.

How can each company say the same thing?

Insurance companies are able to cherry pick for the right customer that makes them money. For example, a profitable customer might be profiled as over the age of 40, has no tickets, and has a short commute. A propective insured who matches those parameters will get the preferred rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Drivers who are not a match for the requirements must pay higher premiums which leads to business not being written. The ads state "customers that switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that kind of money. That's the way companies can truthfully make the claims of big savings. This illustrates why you should compare many company's rates. It's not possible to predict which auto insurance company will fit your personal profile best.

Find out more about auto insurance

Even more information can be found at the Minnesota Department of Commerce website. Minnesota drivers can find disaster information, discover disciplinary actions, report car insurance fraud, and find a variety of consumer forms.

A tidy conclusion

Cheap auto insurance can be sourced on the web in addition to many Eagle Bend insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers do not provide online price quotes and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

As you shop your coverage around, it's a bad idea to buy poor coverage just to save money. There are a lot of situations where an insured dropped physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The proper strategy is to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.