Finding Low-Cost Lakeland Car Insurance

Nobody enjoys paying for car insurance, particularly when they are paying too much.

Because there are so many choices of insurance companies, it is very difficult to choose the best provider.

Finding the best rates in Lakeland is not that difficult. If you have car insurance now, you should be able to save some money using this strategy. Although Florida consumers do need to know the way companies price online insurance and take advantage of how the system works.

Vehicle Insurance Comparison

Most major insurance companies provide insurance quotes online. Obtaining pricing doesn't take much effort as you just enter your personal and coverage information as detailed in the form. Behind the scenes, the system will obtain reports for credit and driving violations and returns a price quote. This makes it a lot easier to compare rates but the time required to go to multiple sites and fill out multiple forms is repetitive and time-consuming. But it's very important to compare as many rates as possible if you want to find better car insurance pricing.

A less time-consuming method to compare rates makes use of a single form that gets prices from a bunch of companies at once. The form is fast, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes quoting online much more enjoyable. Once the form is submitted, it gets priced and you can choose any or none of the returned quotes. If you find a better price you can simply submit the application and purchase coverage. The whole process takes just a few minutes to complete and you will find out if you're overpaying now.

In order to find out what other companies charge, click here to open in new window and enter your information. If you have a policy now, it's recommended you replicate the coverage information as close as possible to your current policy. This way, you will receive a rate comparison based on similar coverages.

Understand what determines the rate you pay

It's important that you understand the rating factors that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that could result in lower car insurance prices.

Listed below are some of the factors that factor into premiums.

Do you need those extra coverages? - There are many additional coverages that you can get tricked into buying when buying car insurance. Things like rental car reimbursement, accidental death and membership fees may be wasting your money. These may sound like a good investment initially, but your needs may have changed so remove them from your policy.
Bad driving skills means higher rates - Drivers with clean records get better rates than bad drivers. Only having one moving violation may increase your cost twenty percent or more. Drivers with serious tickets such as hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions are required to submit a SR-22 form to the state department of motor vehicles in order to continue driving.
Clean credit earns discounts - A driver's credit score is a big factor in determining your rates. If your credit score is lower than you'd like, you could be paying less to insure your by improving your rating. Consumers who have good credit tend to be less risk to insure than drivers who have poor credit.
Battle of the sexes - Statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. That doesn't necessarily mean that men are WORSE drivers than women. Women and men are in accidents at about the same rate, but the male of the species cause more damage. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations like DUI and reckless driving. Youthful male drivers are the most expensive to insure and thus pay the highest rates.

These discounts can lower your rates

Car insurance companies don't always advertise all available discounts very well, so here is a list both the well known and also the lesser-known ways to save on car insurance.

Defensive Driver - Completing a defensive driving course can save you 5% or more depending on where you live.
Early Signing - Some companies give discounts for buying a policy before your current policy expires. This can save 10% or more.
Braking Control Discount - Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems are safer to drive and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
Good Student - Getting good grades can get you a discount of up to 25%. The discount lasts until age 25.
Senior Citizens - Older drivers may qualify for a discount up to 10%.
No Claims - Good drivers with no accidents can earn big discounts when compared with frequent claim filers.
Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Driving fewer miles can qualify you for better rates on cars that stay parked.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discount credits are not given to the entire policy premium. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. So even though it sounds like you can get free auto insurance, you won't be that lucky.

For a list of insurers offering car insurance discounts in Florida, click this link.

Different people need different coverages

When it comes to choosing proper insurance coverage for your vehicles, there really is no perfect coverage plan. Every situation is different so this has to be addressed. For instance, these questions may help highlight whether you might need an agent's assistance.

Should I have combined single limit or split liability limits?
Does my car insurance cover rental cars?
Does my insurance cover a custom paint job?
Do I need to file an SR-22 for a DUI in Florida?
Should I put collision coverage on all my vehicles?
Are there companies who specialize in insuring high-risk drivers?

If it's difficult to answer those questions but you know they apply to you then you might want to talk to a licensed agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or go to this page to view a list of companies.

Even more information is available at the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website. Visitors are able to discover disciplinary actions, file complaints about a company, find out industry alerts, and learn about insurance regulations.

Other useful links include this resource for Florida car insurance prices and this link which helps you find a Lakeland agent.

Do the work, save more money

The cheapest car insurance can be found both online in addition to many Lakeland insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance companies do not provide online quoting and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

We just presented some good ideas how to lower your car insurance rates. The key thing to remember is the more companies you get rates for, the better your comparison will be. You may even find the lowest rates come from some of the smallest insurance companies. Smaller companies may cover specific market segments cheaper than the large multi-state companies such as .

As you restructure your insurance plan, don't be tempted to reduce needed coverages to save money. There are a lot of situations where someone dropped comprehensive coverage or liability limits to discover at claim time that they should have had better coverage. The proper strategy is to buy enough coverage at the best price while not skimping on critical coverages.