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

Paying for high-priced auto insurance can drain your bank account, especially in this economy. Comparison shopping is free and is an excellent way to tighten up your finances.

Insurance companies such as State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive increase brand awareness with fancy advertisements and it can be hard to sift through the bull and find the best price available.

How to Lower your Auto Insurance Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that go into determining the price you pay for auto insurance. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in better auto insurance rates.

Liability coverage is cheap - Liability insurance is the protection if a court rules you are at fault for personal injury or accident damage. Liability provides legal defense up to the limits shown on your policy. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap compared to physical damage coverage, so drivers should carry high limits.
Are you male or female? - Statistics have proven women are more cautious behind the wheel. That doesn't necessarily mean that women are BETTER drivers than men. Men and women are in accidents in similar numbers, but the male of the species cause more damage. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations such as DWI and reckless driving. Youthful male drivers are most likely to cause an accident and are penalized with high auto insurance rates.
Do you know you're credit rating? - A driver's credit score is a important factor in determining what you pay for auto insurance. If your credit history is lower than you'd like, you could save money insuring your by improving your credit score. People with high credit scores tend to be more responsible than drivers who have poor credit.
Your car's features help determine rates - Purchasing a vehicle with an alarm system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft features like LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM's OnStar system all aid in stopping your vehicle from being stolen.
Safe vehicles cost less to insure - Safer cars tend to have better insurance rates. Safe vehicles protect occupants better and lower injury rates translates into savings for insurance companies and more competitive rates for policyholders.
Extra add-on coverages are wasting money - There are many add-on coverages that you can get tricked into buying on your auto insurance policy. Insurance for rental car reimbursement, accidental death and additional equipment coverage may be wasting your money. These may sound like a good investment when you first buy your policy, but now you might not need them so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Car insurance companies don't list all available discounts in a way that's easy to find, so we researched both well-publicized as well as the least known ways to save on auto insurance.

Multi-car Discount - Buying coverage for more than one vehicle with the same company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
Accident Waiver - A handful of insurance companies will forgive one accident before hitting you with a surcharge so long as you haven't had any claims for a certain period of time.
Passive Restraint Discount - Vehicles equipped with air bags or automatic seat belts can qualify for discounts of 20% or more.
Payment Discounts - If paying your policy premium upfront instead of making monthly payments you could save up to 5%.
Organization Discounts - Participating in a civic or occupational organization could trigger savings when buying auto insurance.
Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Driving fewer miles could be rewarded with better rates on cars that stay parked.

A little note about advertised discounts, many deductions do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only cut individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when the math indicates you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you won't be that lucky.

To choose insurers offering auto insurance discounts in Maryville, click this link.

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

Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly bombard you with ads on television and other media. All the companies make the same claim about savings if you switch your coverage to them. How can each company make almost identical claims?

Different companies have a preferred profile for the type of customer that makes them money. For instance, a profitable customer could possibly be between the ages of 40 and 55, insures multiple vehicles, and has great credit. A customer getting a price quote who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Potential customers who are not a match for the requirements must pay higher prices which leads to the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ad wording is "customers that switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that much money. This is how companies can truthfully advertise the savings. This illustrates why you should compare as many rates as you can. It's impossible to know which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings.

Even more information is located at the Illinois Department of Insurance website. Illinois consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, learn about insurance regulations, find out industry alerts, and view a list of available companies.

Do the work, save more money

Cheaper auto insurance is available online as well as from independent agents in Maryville, so you should be comparing quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. There are still a few companies who don't offer online price quotes and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

You just read many ideas to save on auto insurance. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Drivers may discover the lowest priced auto insurance comes from some of the lesser-known companies. Some small companies may cover specific market segments cheaper than the large multi-state companies such as .