Consumer Tested Strategies to Save on Macon Car Insurance

Tired of scraping the payment together each month for car insurance? You're in the same situation as many other drivers in Mississippi. Because there are so many options when it comes to car insurance, it's difficult to pick the cheapest provider.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Companies that sell car insurance don't always advertise all available discounts very well, so here is a list both the well known as well as the least known discounts you could be receiving. If you don't get every credit available, you're paying more than you need to.

  • Memberships - Being a member of a professional or civic organization may earn a discount when buying car insurance.
  • Payment Method - By paying your policy upfront instead of paying each month you can actually save on your bill.
  • One Accident Forgiven - Some insurance companies will forgive one accident before raising your premiums so long as you haven't had any claims prior to the accident.
  • Good Students Pay Less - A discount for being a good student can get you a discount of up to 25%. The discount lasts well after school through age 25.
  • Student in College - Youth drivers who live away from home and do not have access to a covered vehicle can be insured at a reduced rate.
  • Anti-lock Brakes - Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles can reduce accidents and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.

A little note about advertised discounts, some of the credits will not apply to the entire cost. A few only apply to individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like you can get free auto insurance, you won't be that lucky.

To see a list of insurers who offer car insurance discounts in Mississippi, click here.

Compare the Market for Car Insurance in Macon

Most companies provide pricing online. Obtaining pricing is pretty easy as you just enter the amount of coverage you want as detailed in the form. Once you submit the form, the system will obtain your credit score and driving record and generates a price. This makes comparing rates easy, but the time required to go to many different websites and fill out multiple forms can be a bit repetitive. But it's very important to do this if you want to find the best price on car insurance.

The preferred way to find cheaper rates makes use of a single form to get prices from more than one company. The form is fast, reduces the work, and makes online quotes much simpler. After your information is entered, it gets priced and you can select any or none of the price quotes you receive. If a lower price is quoted, you can simply submit the application and purchase the new policy. The whole process only takes a few minutes and you will find out if you're overpaying now.

In order to find out if lower rates are available, click here to open in new window and enter your information. If you have a policy now, it's recommended you replicate your coverages as close as possible to your current policy. This makes sure you will have a fair comparison based on the exact same insurance coverage.

Why some people pay less for insurance in Macon

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that help determine the rates you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels allows you to make educated decisions that could result in lower car insurance prices.

The following are some of the factors companies use to determine premiums.

  • Liability coverage is cheap - Liability coverage will protect you if you are found liable for damages from an accident. Liability provides legal defense coverage starting from day one. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap when compared with rates for comp and collision, so do not skimp.
  • Optional equipment can affect rates - Driving a car with an alarm system can help lower your rates. Theft prevention features like GM's OnStar, tamper alarm systems and vehicle immobilizers all hinder auto theft.
  • Women pay lower rates - The statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, this does not mean women are better drivers. Women and men are in accidents at about the same rate, but the male of the species have costlier accidents. Men also tend to get more serious tickets like DUI and reckless driving. Youthful male drivers are most likely to cause an accident and therefore have the most expensive car insurance rates.
  • Bad driving skills means higher rates - Whether or not you get tickets has a big impact on rates. Good drivers have lower premiums compared to drivers with tickets. Even a single moving violation can increase rates by twenty percent. Drivers with flagrant tickets such as DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions are required to submit a SR-22 form to the state department of motor vehicles in order to keep their license.
  • Mature drivers pay less - Youthful drivers in Mississippi are known to get distracted easily in a vehicle so car insurance rates are higher. Mature drivers are more responsible, tend to file fewer claims and get fewer tickets.
  • Your credit rating is important - A driver's credit history is a important factor in your rate calculation. If your credit score is not that good, you could pay less to insure your by improving your rating. Drivers with high credit scores tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than drivers who have lower credit scores.
  • How many coverages with the same company - Many insurance companies will award you with lower prices to insureds who consolidate policies with them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even if you're getting this discount you still need to compare rates to make sure you are getting the best deal. You may still find better rates by insuring with multiple companies.

How can Allstate, GEICO and Progressive save drivers who switch?

Consumers in Mississippi can't get away from ads for the lowest price auto insurance by companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive. All the companies have a common claim about savings after switching to them.

But how can every company claim to save you money?

All companies can use profiling for the type of driver that is profitable for them. An example of a profitable customer might be a mature driver, has no tickets, and has excellent credit. Any driver that hits that "sweet spot" receives the best rates and as a result will probably save a lot of money.

Consumers who are not a match for this ideal profile must pay higher prices and this can result in the customer not buying. Company advertisements say "customers that switch" not "everybody who quotes" save money. That's why companies can truthfully make those claims. This illustrates why drivers must get quotes from several different companies. You cannot predict the company that will have the lowest rates.

Best coverage at the best price

Cheaper car insurance can be sourced both online and with local Macon insurance agents, and you need to price shop both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

We just presented a lot of techniques to compare car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may be surprised to find that the best price on car insurance is with a small local company. These smaller insurers may cover specific market segments cheaper than the large multi-state companies such as .

compare Macon car insurance rates

Even more information is available at the Mississippi Insurance Department website. Visitors are able to find out which companies have the most complaints, view a list of available companies, learn about insurance regulations, and file complaints about a company.

Additional helpful sites include this link for Mississippi car insurance quotes and this link which helps you find a Macon agent.