How to Know You're Spending Too Much for Auto Insurance in Lake Barrington

Scraping up a payment for overpriced auto insurance can overdraw your checking account and make it hard to pay other bills. Doing a price comparison is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to help make ends meet.

Companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly blast consumers with advertising and it is challenging if not impossible to sift through the bull and do the work needed to find the best deal.

It's important to compare prices on a regular basis because prices are constantly changing. Even if you got the best price a few years ago there is a good chance you can find better rates now. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because you're about to find out the only way to lower your rates without sacrificing coverage.

If you currently have a car insurance policy, you will most likely be able to lower your premiums substantially using these techniques. Choosing the best insurance company for you in Lake Barrington is easy if you know what you're doing. But Illinois consumers do need to know how the larger insurance companies price online insurance and apply this information to your search.

How to Lower your Auto Insurance Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of the different types of things that go into determining the rates you pay for auto insurance. Having a good understanding of what controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that can help you get much lower annual insurance costs.

Consolidate policies to earn discounts - Most insurers give discounts to insureds who buy several policies from them such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. This can amount to five, ten or even twenty percent. Even though this discount sounds good, you still need to comparison shop to verify if the discount is saving money.
Battle of the sexes - Statistics have proven women are more cautious behind the wheel. That doesn't necessarily mean that women are BETTER drivers than men. Both sexes cause accidents in similar percentages, but men cause more damage. Men also receive more costly citations like DUI and reckless driving. Teenage male drivers are most likely to cause an accident and are penalized with high auto insurance rates.
Theft deterrents lower rates - Purchasing a vehicle with an alarm system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft features such as LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM's OnStar system all aid in stopping car theft.
Don't sacrifice liability coverage - Liability insurance is the protection in the event that you are found liable for personal injury or accident damage. Liability insurance provides for a legal defense which can be incredibly expensive. Liability is cheap compared to physical damage coverage, so do not cut corners here.
Pay less after the wedding - Having a spouse can actually save you money on your policy. Marriage translates into being more mature than a single person and it's proven that married drivers get in fewer accidents.
High deductibles save money - Insurance for physical damage to your car, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, protects your car from damage. A few examples of covered claims would be a windshield shattered by a rock, damage from fire, and burglary. Deductibles for physical damage are the amount of money you are willing to pay before your auto insurance pays a claim. The higher the amount you have to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.

Lake Barrington Auto Insurance Prices Online

All major auto insurance companies give price estimates on their websites. This process is quite simple as you simply enter the coverages you want into the quote form. After the form is submitted, the system will obtain reports for credit and driving violations and provides a quote based on these factors. Online quotes streamlines rate comparisons, but the work required to visit a lot of sites and type in the same information can get tiresome after awhile. Unfortunately, it is important to perform this step in order to get a lower rate.

The easy way to compare rates

The preferred way to find lower prices uses one form to return rates from a bunch of companies at once. It's a real time-saver, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes price shopping online much easier. As soon as you send your information, your coverage is rated and you can choose your choice of the resulting price quotes.

If a lower price is quoted, you can simply submit the application and buy the policy. This process takes 15 minutes at the most and you will know how your current rates stack up.

To find out how much you're overpaying now, click here and submit your coverage information. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you type in just like they are on your policy. This makes sure you will get a fair comparison for the exact same coverage.

More discounts equal less premium

Car insurance is not cheap, but discounts can save money and there are some available that many people don't even know exist. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically when you get a quote, but less common discounts must be manually applied before you will receive the discount.

Theft Prevention Discount - Cars that have factory anti-theft systems help deter theft and will save you 10% or more.
Accident Waiver - A handful of insurance companies will forgive one accident before hitting you with a surcharge if you are claim-free for a set time period.
Payment Discounts - If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of making monthly payments you could save up to 5%.
Multi-car Discount - Having more than one vehicle with the same company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
Own a Home - Being a homeowner can help you save on auto insurance because owning a home is proof that your finances are in order.
Senior Citizens - If you're over the age of 55, you may qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
Claim Free - Drivers who don't have accidents can save substantially compared to accident-prone drivers.
Low Mileage - Driving fewer miles can earn discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
E-sign - A few companies may give you up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up digitally online.
Defensive Driver - Successfully completing a defensive driving course could cut 5% off your bill if your company offers it.

Drivers should understand that most discounts do not apply to all coverage premiums. The majority will only reduce individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. So when it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies wouldn't make money that way. But all discounts will reduce your premiums.

To choose providers offering auto insurance discounts in Lake Barrington, click here to view.

Switch companies and save? Really?

Companies like Allstate and Progressive constantly bombard you with ads in print and on television. All the ads make an identical promise that you'll save big if you switch your coverage to them. How can each company claim to save you money?

Insurance companies have a preferred profile for the type of customer that makes them money. For example, a preferred risk might be between the ages of 40 and 55, insures multiple vehicles, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A customer getting a price quote who meets those qualifications gets the lowest rates and therefore will save when they switch companies.

Drivers who do not match the requirements will be charged higher premiums and ends up with the customer not buying. Company advertisements say "customers that switch" not "everyone that quotes" save that much money. This is how companies can advertise the way they do.

That is why you need to get a wide range of price quotes. It's impossible to know which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Much more information about auto insurance in Illinois can be found on the website for the Illinois Department of Insurance located here. Visitors are able to read consumer alerts, learn about insurance regulations, view a list of available companies, and find out which companies have the most complaints.

Final considerations

When shopping online for auto insurance, it's not a good idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. Too many times, drivers have reduced physical damage coverage only to discover later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. The aim is to buy the best coverage you can find at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.

Budget-conscious auto insurance can be found both online as well as from independent agents in Lake Barrington, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some auto insurance companies don't offer online price quotes and many times these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.