Tightwads Guide to Saving on Oberlin Auto Insurance

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy high-priced auto insurance? Trust us, many Oberlin consumers feel financially strained by their auto insurance policy.

Because there are so many options when it comes to auto insurance, it is hard for the average consumer to pick the lowest price insurance company.

It's important to take a look at other company's rates at least once a year because insurance rates are constantly changing. If you had the best price last year the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. Block out anything you think you know about auto insurance because you're about to learn one of the easiest ways to find the best coverage while lowering your premiums.

Are you getting all your discounts?

The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, but you can get discounts to help offset the cost. Most are applied at the time of quoting, but a few need to be asked for before you will receive the discount.

Save over 55 - Mature drivers can possibly qualify for better auto insurance rates.
Drive Less and Save - Keeping the miles down can earn lower rates on the low mileage vehicles.
Service Members Pay Less - Having a deployed family member can result in better rates.
Passive Restraints and Air Bags - Factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can receive discounts of 20% or more.
Defensive Driving Course - Successfully completing a course in driver safety could possibly earn you a 5% discount and easily recoup the cost of the course.
College Student - Children who attend school more than 100 miles from home without a vehicle on campus can be insured at a reduced rate.

A little note about advertised discounts, most credits do not apply the the whole policy. Most only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. So when the math indicates adding up those discounts means a free policy, you won't be that lucky. Any amount of discount will help reduce the cost of coverage.

To see a list of companies with the best auto insurance discounts in Kansas, follow this link.

Comprehensive Oberlin Auto Insurance Comparison Quotes

Most companies provide coverage prices on their websites. Getting online rates is pretty painless as you just type in the coverage amounts you desire as detailed in the form. Once you submit the form, the company's rating system will obtain information on your driving record and credit history and returns a price quote. This helps simplify price comparisons, but the time required to go to several different sites and complete many quote forms is monotonous and tiresome. But it's very important to do this if you want to find the best price on auto insurance.

The preferred way to find better auto insurance pricing uses one simple form that gets price quotes from a bunch of companies at once. The form is fast, requires much less work on your part, and makes rate comparisons much more enjoyable. After sending your information, it gets priced and you are able to buy 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 15 minutes at the most and you will find out if you're overpaying now.

To save time and find out if lower rates are available, click here to open in new window and enter your information. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you type in the limits and deductibles as close as possible to your current policy. This makes sure you will have comparison quotes based on the exact same insurance coverage.

Oberlin Rates are Influenced by These Factors

An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that come into play when calculating the price you pay for auto insurance. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels enables informed choices that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.

The list below includes a few of the "ingredients" auto insurance companies consider when setting rates.

Sex matters - Statistics demonstrate women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, don't assume that men are worse drivers. Both sexes are in accidents in similar percentages, but the males cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. They also get cited for more serious violations such as DWI and reckless driving.
Safer cars cost less to insure - Vehicles with high crash test scores are cheaper to insure. These vehicles reduce injuries and lower injury rates means lower claim amounts passed on to you as lower rates.
Traffic violations increase rates - Your driving citation history has a big impact on rates. Just one moving violation can boost insurance rates by as much as thirty percent. Careful drivers tend to pay less for car insurance than people who have multiple driving citations. Drivers who have severe citations like reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence may need to submit a SR-22 form with their state DMV in order to drive a vehicle legally.
Mature drivers pay less - Teen drivers in Kansas tend to be more careless when behind the wheel so auto insurance rates are higher. Older insureds are viewed as being more responsible, statistically cause fewer accidents and get fewer tickets.
Your spouse saves you money - Having a spouse actually saves money when buying auto insurance. It means you're more responsible it has been statistically shown that being married results in fewer claims.
Extra add-on coverages are wasting money - There are a lot of extra coverages that you can buy on your auto insurance policy. Things like rental car reimbursement, towing coverage and term life insurance are examples of these. These may sound like a good investment when talking to your agent, but if they're wasting money remove them from your policy.
Save money with special equipment - Choosing a vehicle with anti-theft technology or alarm system can help lower your rates. Anti-theft devices like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar can thwart your car from being stolen.

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

Auto insurance companies such as Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm regularly use ads on television and other media. They all seem to say the same thing about savings if you move to their company. But how can every company make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.

Insurance companies are able to cherry pick for the driver that is profitable for them. For example, a desirable insured could possibly be over the age of 40, has no tickets, and has great credit. A driver who fits that profile is entitled to the best price and as a result will probably save a lot of money.

Potential insureds who are not a match for this ideal profile will have to pay more money which usually ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. Company advertisements say "drivers who switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that much. That's the way companies can truthfully advertise the savings.

Because of the profiling, drivers must get quotes from several different companies. It is impossible to predict which auto insurance company will give you the biggest savings.

Final considerations

As you prepare to switch companies, don't be tempted to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where an insured dropped physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your aim should be to buy enough coverage for the lowest price.

Cheaper auto insurance is possible online and also from your neighborhood Oberlin agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. There are still a few companies who may not provide the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

Find out more about auto insurance

Additional information can be found on the website for the Kansas Insurance Department. Click here for link. Kansas consumers can learn about insurance regulations, find disaster information, file complaints about a company, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.

Additional helpful sites include this Car Insurance FAQ and this page of insurance agents in Oberlin.