How to Get Cheaper Madison Car Insurance

Are you intimidated by the crazy number of car insurance company choices in Madison? Lot's of other consumers are too. You have so many choices that it can turn into a ton of work to locate the lowest price.

It's important to shop coverage around every six months because rates are constantly changing. Even if you got the best price last year you may be paying too much now. Ignore everything you know about car insurance because I'm going to let you in on the secrets to the tricks you need to know to find great coverage at a great price.

Compare Quotes for Madison Car Insurance

Most major insurance companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Progressive provide coverage price quotes on their websites. The process is fairly simple as you just type in the coverages you want as detailed in the form. Behind the scenes, their rating system will obtain your driving record and credit report and returns pricing information.

Online price quotes streamlines rate comparisons, but the time it takes to visit each company's website and repetitively complete many quote forms can be a bit tiresome and repetitive. But it's very important to perform this step if you want to find better car insurance pricing.

Quote rates the easy way

A less time-consuming method to lower your rates utilizes a single form that gets price quotes from many companies. The form is fast, requires less work, and makes comparison shopping much more efficient. After sending your information, it gets priced and you can select any of the returned quotes. If the quotes result in lower rates, you simply finish the application and buy the new coverage. The whole process takes 15 minutes at the most and you'll know if lower rates are available.

If you want to find out what other companies charge, click here to open in new window and fill out the form. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you input the coverages identical to your current policy. This way, you are getting comparison quotes based on similar coverages.

Tips to Get Lower Madison Rates

It's important that you understand the factors that help determine your car insurance rates. Understanding what impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.

Having a spouse can save you money - Having a spouse can get you a discount on car insurance. It translates into being more responsible and it's statistically proven that being married results in fewer claims.
Do you know your deductibles? - Physical damage insurance, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, is used to repair damage to your car. A few examples of covered claims are colliding with a building, damage from fire, and rolling your vehicle. The deductibles are how much you are required to spend before a claim is paid by your company. The higher the amount you have to pay, the less your car insurance will be.
More miles equals more premium - Driving more miles in a year the more you will pay for car insurance. Almost all companies rate vehicles based upon how you use the vehicle. Cars used primarily for pleasure use qualify for better rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Double check that your car insurance coverage is showing the proper vehicle usage.
Add-on coverages can add up - There are a ton of extra coverages that you can buy on your policy. Coverages like rental car reimbursement, towing coverage and additional equipment coverage are some examples. These may sound like a good investment at first, but now you might not need them so get rid of them and save.
How's your driving record? - Your driving citation history impacts your car insurance rates tremendously. Drivers who don't get tickets receive lower rates compared to drivers with tickets. Even a single moving violation can bump up the cost forty percent or more. Drivers who have flagrant citations like DUI or reckless driving may need to submit a SR-22 form with their state motor vehicle department in order to keep their license.
Do men or women drive better? - Statistics demonstrate that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. However, this does not mean women are BETTER drivers than men. Both sexes are in accidents in similar percentages, but the males have costlier accidents. They also get more serious tickets such as reckless driving. Youthful male drivers are several times more likely to be in an accident and thus pay the highest rates.

These discounts can lower your rates

Companies offering auto insurance don't always advertise all their discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we took the time to find some of the more common and the more hidden discounts you could be receiving.

Sign Online - A few companies will give a small break for buying your policy on their website.
Multiple Vehicles - Buying coverage for multiple vehicles on one policy could earn a price break for each car.
Life Insurance Discount - Companies who offer life insurance give lower rates if you buy life insurance.
Driver Safety - Successfully completing a driver safety course could possibly earn you a 5% discount depending on where you live.
Air Bag Discount - Factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can get savings of 20% or more.
Drive Less and Save - Fewer annual miles can earn a substantially lower rate.

As a disclaimer on discounts, some credits don't apply to all coverage premiums. Some only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. Even though it may seem like all the discounts add up to a free policy, car insurance companies aren't that generous.

For a list of companies who offer car insurance discounts in Madison, click here.

Even more information can be found at the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance website. Consumers can get help finding coverage, report car insurance fraud, and file complaints about an insurance agent or broker.

Final considerations

Cheap car insurance can be purchased from both online companies as well as from independent agents in Madison, and you should be comparing both to get a complete price analysis. There are still a few companies who don't offer online quoting and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

As you prepare to switch companies, you should never reduce needed coverages to save money. In many cases, someone sacrificed physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your aim should be to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate.

We just showed you a lot of ways to lower your car insurance rates. 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 biggest savings come from a company that doesn't do a lot of advertising.