How to Know You're Throwing Money Away for Auto Insurance in Elk Horn

Are you sick and tired of trying to scrape together enough money each month for car insurance? Your situation is no different than many other Iowa drivers. Drivers have multiple to pick from, and though it is a good thing to have a selection, it can be more challenging to compare rates.

Take advantage of discounts

Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but you can get discounts to help bring down the price. Most are applied at the time of quoting, but a few need to be specially asked for before you will receive the discount. If you're not getting every credit available, you're paying more than you need to.

  • Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Low mileage vehicles can earn better rates on cars that stay parked.
  • Drivers Education - Have your child enroll in driver's education if offered at their school.
  • Safety Course Discount - Taking a defensive driving course could save 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
  • Auto/Life Discount - Companies who offer life insurance give a discount if you purchase life insurance from them.
  • Paperless Signup - Some insurance companies may give you up to $50 for buying your policy over the internet.
  • Senior Citizens - Mature drivers may receive better auto insurance rates.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discount credits are not given to the entire cost. Most cut specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. Just because you may think you could get a free auto insurance policy, you won't be that lucky. Any amount of discount will bring down your overall premium however.

To see a list of insurers with discount auto insurance rates in Iowa, click this link.

auto insurance in Elk Horn

How to Compare Auto Insurance Costs in Elk Horn

Finding cheaper auto insurance prices doesn't have to be difficult. Just take a few minutes comparing rate quotes online with multiple companies. This can be done in several different ways.

  • The best way to compare a lot of rates at once is to use a rate comparison form click to view form in new window. This form saves time by eliminating multiple quote forms for each company. Taking the time to complete one form will get you price quotes from multiple low-cost companies.
  • A slightly less efficient method to compare rate quotes requires a visit to the website for every company you want to comare to complete a price quote. For example, let's say you want rates from , and . You would have to visit each site to input your insurance information, which is why the first method is quicker. To view a list of companies in Elk Horn, click here.
  • The hardest way of getting rate comparisons to insurance agents' offices. Buying insurance online has reduced the need for local agents unless you want the trained guidance of a licensed agent. Drivers can obtain prices from the web and still use a local agent. We'll cover that shortly.

It's up to you how you get prices quotes, just double check that you are using identical coverage limits with each company. If you compare differing limits you can't possibly make an equal comparison in Elk Horn.

Good Decisions Result in Lower Rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that play a part in calculating the rates you pay for auto insurance. Knowing what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that could result in better auto insurance rates.

Shown below are a few of the "ingredients" auto insurance companies consider when setting premiums.

  • High crash test scores lower rates - Safer cars tend to have better insurance rates. Safe vehicles reduce injuries and any reduction in injury severity translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and thus lower rates.
  • Save money with special equipment - Driving a car with a theft deterrent system can get you a discount on your auto insurance. Theft prevention devices like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all hinder your vehicle from being stolen.
  • Don't get talked into coverage you don't need - There are quite a few extra bells and whistles that you can get tricked into buying when buying auto insurance. Coverages for roadside assistance, accidental death and term life insurance may be wasting your money. These may sound like a good investment initially, but if they're wasting money eliminate them to save money.
  • Please use or commuting - The higher the mileage driven every year the more you'll pay to insure your vehicle. Most insurance companies charge to insure your cars based upon how you use the vehicle. Autos that are left in the garage qualify for better rates than those used for commuting. Verify your auto insurance declarations sheet shows the correct usage for each vehicle.
  • Discounts for married couples - Having a spouse helps lower the price on your auto insurance policy. Having a spouse means you're more responsible and statistics show drivers who are married are more cautious.
  • Men are more aggressive - The statistics show that women are safer drivers than men. Now that doesn't mean men are worse drivers. Men and women tend to get into accidents in similar percentages, but the male of the species tend to have more serious accidents. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations like DUI and reckless driving.
  • Multi-policy discounts can save money - Some auto insurance companies will award you with lower prices to insureds who carry more than one policy in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even if you're getting this discount it's still a good idea to compare rates to ensure the best deal. Drivers may still find better rates by insuring with multiple companies.

Are auto insurance companies telling the truth?

Consumers in Iowa can't get away from ads for the lowest price auto insurance by 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. All the companies make the same claim about savings if you change to their company.

How does each company claim to save you money? It's all in the numbers.

Different companies can use profiling for the driver that is profitable for them. For example, a profitable customer might be over the age of 40, has no tickets, and chooses high deductibles. A customer getting a price quote who matches those parameters gets the lowest rates and most likely will save when switching.

Potential insureds who don't qualify for these standards must pay more money which leads to the customer not buying. The ads say "customers who switch" not "people who quote" save that much. That's why companies can truthfully state the savings.

This illustrates why drivers must compare as many rates as you can. It's impossible to know the company that will give you the biggest savings.

A tidy conclusion

Cheaper auto insurance is attainable both online and also from your neighborhood Elk Horn agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance companies may not provide the ability to get a quote online and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

When buying insurance coverage, make sure you don't reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are a lot of situations where an insured dropped physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. The proper strategy is to purchase plenty of coverage at the best price while not skimping on critical coverages.

compare Elk Horn auto insurance rates

Additional information can be found on the website for the Iowa Insurance Division found here. Visitors are able to find disaster information, view a list of available companies, discover disciplinary actions, and file complaints about an insurance agent or broker.

Additional helpful sites include this page for auto insurance prices in Iowa and this page of Elk Horn insurance agents.