Getting Low-Cost Mountain Home Car Insurance

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy high-priced car insurance? Trust us, there are a lot of people in Mountain Home just like you who feel imprisoned by their car insurance policy. With consumers having so many options when it comes to car insurance, it can be impossible to pick the right provider.

It's important to compare prices every six months since rates are constantly changing. Just because you had the lowest rates a year ago the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. Starting right now, block out anything you think you know about car insurance because we're going to show you the tricks you need to know to find lower rates on car insurance.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but discounts can save money and there are some available that you may not even be aware of. Some discounts apply automatically at the time of purchase, but lesser-known reductions have to be specifically requested prior to receiving the credit. If you don't get every credit possible, you're paying more than you need to.

  • Sign Online - Certain companies may give you up to $50 for buying your policy online.
  • Homeowners Discount - Owning a house in Mountain Home can help you save on car insurance because owning a home is proof that your finances are in order.
  • Early Signing - Select companies give a discount for buying a policy before your current expiration date. This can save 10% or more.
  • Discount for Good Grades - A discount for being a good student can get you a discount of up to 25%. This discount can apply until age 25.
  • Life Insurance - Companies who offer life insurance give a break if you buy a life insurance policy as well.
  • Multi-car Discount - Buying coverage for more than one vehicle on the same car insurance policy qualifies for this discount.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. A few only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. Just because it seems like you can get free auto insurance, car insurance companies aren't that generous. Any amount of discount will help reduce the cost of coverage.

To see a list of companies offering car insurance discounts in Idaho, click here to view.

How to Compare Car Insurance in Mountain Home, Idaho

Most companies provide price estimates online. Getting quotes is quite simple as you just type in the coverages 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 based on many factors. This streamlines rate comparisons, but the time required to go to several different sites and fill out multiple forms can be a bit tiresome and repetitive. But it's very important to get many rate quotes if you want to find the best price on car insurance.

Quote rates the easy way

The preferred way to lower your rates is to use a quote form that gets price quotes from multiple companies. The form is fast, reduces the work, and makes comparison shopping much simpler. After your information is entered, it gets priced and you can choose any or none of the price quotes you receive.

If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, you can simply submit the application and buy the new coverage. The whole process takes less than 15 minutes and you'll know if lower rates are available.

To find out if lower rates are available, click here to open in new window and enter your information. To compare your current rates, we recommend you replicate the insurance coverages identical to your current policy. This makes sure you are getting rate comparison quotes based on the exact same insurance coverage.

How to Lower your Car Insurance Rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with lower car insurance prices.

  • Pay less if you're married - Having a spouse can actually save you money on your policy. It translates into being more responsible it has been statistically shown that being married results in fewer claims.
  • Do you know your deductibles? - Physical damage coverage, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, is used to repair damage to your car. A few examples of covered claims would be running into the backend of another car, damage caused by hail, and rolling your vehicle. Deductibles for physical damage are how much you are willing to pay in the event of a claim. The higher the amount you have to pay, the less your car insurance will be.
  • What type of vehicle do you drive? - The performance level of the car you own makes a huge difference in how high your rates are. The cheapest insurance rates are generally reserved for low performance passenger cars, but there are many factors that impact the final cost.
  • Poor driving leads to higher costs - Your driving citation history has a big impact on rates. Drivers who don't get tickets tend to pay less for car insurance than bad drivers. Even one moving violation can bump up the cost forty percent or more. Drivers who have serious citations like DUI or reckless driving may need to submit a SR-22 form to the state department of motor vehicles in order to continue driving.
  • Drive less and save money - The more miles you rack up on your car in a year the more you will pay for car insurance. Almost all companies charge to insure your cars based upon how you use the vehicle. Cars and trucks left parked in the garage qualify for better rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Make sure your car insurance policy properly reflects how each vehicle is driven.
  • Liability coverage protects you - Liability insurance provides coverage if ever you are found liable for personal injury or accident damage. Liability provides for a legal defense starting from day one. This coverage is very inexpensive compared to physical damage coverage, so do not cut corners here.

How can State Farm, GEICO and Progressive save drivers who switch?

Consumers in Idaho can't get away from ads that promise big savings from the likes of State Farm, GEICO and Progressive. They all seem to make an identical promise about savings if you switch your coverage to them.

But how can every company claim to save you money? This is how they do it.

All companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer that is profitable for them. For example, a desirable insured might be over the age of 50, has no driving citations, and has excellent credit. Any new insured who meets those qualifications receives the best rates and as a result will probably save a lot of money.

Potential customers who are not a match for this ideal profile will have to pay higher prices and ends up with the customer not buying. Company advertisements say "drivers who switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that much money. That's the way companies can truthfully make those claims.

Because of the profiling, drivers must quote coverage with many companies. It's just too difficult to predict which car insurance company will have the lowest rates.

And the best car insurance company is...

Cheap car insurance is available both online as well as from independent agents in Mountain Home, and you should be comparing both so you have a total pricing picture. Some companies don't offer the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

We just covered some good ideas how you can compare car insurance prices online. 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 biggest savings come from a lesser-known regional company. These smaller insurers may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments than the large multi-state companies such as .

While you're price shopping online, don't be tempted to reduce coverage to reduce premium. In many cases, someone sacrificed uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret they didn't purchase enough coverage. Your aim should be to buy enough coverage for the lowest price.

Additional information can be found on the website for the Idaho Department of Insurance. Click here for link. Visitors are able to get help finding coverage, report car insurance fraud, learn about specific coverages, and file complaints about a company.

Additional helpful sites include this site for Idaho car insurance information and see this list of insurance agents in Mountain Home.