How to Know You're Wasting Money for Auto Insurance in Guttenberg

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy high-priced auto insurance? Trust us, many consumers are feeling buyer's remorse and feel like there's no way out. Because you have many options when it comes to auto insurance, it is hard for the average consumer to pick the lowest price car insurance company.

It's important to compare prices every six months since insurance rates are constantly changing. If you had the best rates a few years ago the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. There is a lot of wrong information about auto insurance on the web, but I'm going to show you some great ways to save money.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Companies don't always advertise all their discounts very well, so the following is a list of some of the best known and the more hidden savings tricks you should be using. If you don't get every credit possible, you're paying more than you need to.

Sign Online - Certain companies give back up to $50 just for signing your application online.
Memberships - Affiliation with a professional or civic organization is a good way to get lower rates on auto insurance.
Service Members Pay Less - Being on active duty in the military can result in better rates.
Air Bag Discount - Factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can receive discounts up to 30%.
No Accidents - Drivers with accident-free driving histories pay less as compared to bad drivers.

It's important to note that most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. The majority will only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like you can get free auto insurance, you're out of luck.

To see a list of companies with the best auto insurance discounts in Iowa, click here to view.

How to Compare Auto Insurance in Guttenberg, Iowa

Most companies allow you to get coverage prices online. Getting online quotes is quite simple as you just type in the coverages you want as detailed in the form. Once you submit the form, their system will obtain information on your driving record and credit history and provides a quote based on these and other factors. This helps simplify price comparisons, but the work required to visit each company's website and repetitively enter the same data into a form can be a bit repetitive. But it's very important to have as many quotes as possible in order to find the best price on auto insurance.

There is a better way!

The preferred way to lower your rates requires only one form that gets price quotes from a bunch of companies at once. The form is fast, requires much less work on your part, and makes online quotes much easier. After sending the form, it is rated and you are able to buy any or none of the price quotes you receive. If the quotes result in lower rates, you can simply submit the application and buy the new coverage. The entire process can be completed in less than 10 minutes and could lower your rates considerably.

To quickly find out if lower rates are available, click here to open in new window and enter your information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you replicate the insurance coverages exactly as shown on your declarations page. This makes sure you will have comparison quotes based on the exact same insurance coverage.

Good Decisions Result in Lower Rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that come into play when calculating auto insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively influences your rates enables informed choices that may reward you with lower auto insurance prices.

Pay less if you're married - Getting married actually saves money on your policy. It means you're more mature and it's statistically proven that being married results in fewer claims.
Liability insurance protects assets - The liability section of your policy provides coverage if ever a jury decides you are liable for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. Liability provides you with a defense in court starting from day one. This coverage is very inexpensive compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so do not cut corners here.
Better crash test results mean better rates - Cars with high safety ratings can get you lower premiums. These vehicles reduce injuries and better occupant protection means lower claim amounts passed on to you as lower rates.
Poor credit can mean higher rates - Credit rating is a large factor in calculating your auto insurance rates. Drivers who have high credit ratings tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers who have lower credit ratings. If your credit can use some improvement, you could pay less to insure your by improving your rating.
Rates may be lower depending on your job - Jobs such as real estate brokers, business owners and stock brokers tend to have the highest rates attributed to high stress and lengthy work days. On the other hand, occupations such as actors, students and the unemployed receive lower rates.
More miles equals more premium - The more you drive in a year the more you will pay for auto insurance. Most insurance companies price each vehicle's coverage based on their usage. Cars and trucks left parked in the garage get more affordable rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Make sure your auto insurance policy properly reflects the correct driver usage.

How can State Farm, GEICO and Progressive save drivers who switch?

Iowa drivers can't get away from ads that promise big savings by State Farm, GEICO and Progressive. They all seem to make an identical promise that you can save if you move to their company.

But how can every company say the same thing?

All companies are able to cherry pick for the driver that is profitable for them. A good example of a desirable insured might be profiled as a mature driver, has no driving citations, and has a short commute. A propective insured who meets those qualifications gets the lowest rates and as a result will probably save a lot of money.

Potential insureds who are not a match for this ideal profile will have to pay more money and ends up with business not being written. Company advertisements say "people who switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that much. That's the way insurance companies can make the claims of big savings. Because of the profiling, drivers must compare many company's rates. It's not possible to predict which auto insurance company will fit your personal profile best.

And the best car insurance company is...

Lower-priced auto insurance is possible on the web and also from your neighborhood Guttenberg agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers may not provide the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.

As you shop your coverage around, don't be tempted to reduce coverage to reduce premium. In many cases, someone sacrificed full coverage and found out when filing a claim that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your aim should be to buy the best coverage you can find at an affordable rate.

Additional detailed information can be read at the Iowa Insurance Division website. Iowa drivers can get help finding coverage, find out which companies have the most complaints, find disaster information, and find out industry alerts.

Additional helpful sites include this site for Iowa auto insurance information and see this list of insurance agents in Guttenberg.