Tightwads Guide to Saving on Reedley Car Insurance

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an overpriced car insurance policy? Believe me, there are many people just like you.

Because you have many different company options, it's nearly impossible to locate the most cost effective provider.

It's important to check car insurance prices at least once a year because rates are constantly changing. Just because you found the best rates a year ago a different company probably has better rates today. You can find a lot of misleading information regarding car insurance on the web, but I'm going to show you some great ways to find cheap car insurance.

Policy discounts you shouldn't miss

Companies that sell car insurance don't always advertise all their discounts very well, so the following is a list of some of the more common as well as the least known car insurance savings.

Sign Online - A handful of insurance companies will give a small break for buying your policy online.
Drive Less and Save - Low mileage vehicles could qualify for lower rates on the low mileage vehicles.
Multiple Cars - Buying insurance for all your vehicles on one policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
Anti-lock Brake Discount - Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes can avoid accidents and will save you 10% or more.
Discount for Swiching Early - Some insurance companies reward drivers for switching to them prior to your current policy expiring. The savings is around 10%.
Passive Restraint Discount - Factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can receive discounts of 20% or more.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most credits do not apply the the whole policy. Some only reduce individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. Even though it may seem like all those discounts means the company will pay you, car insurance companies aren't that generous.

What determines how much you pay?

Smart consumers have a good feel for some of the elements that play a part in calculating your car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels allows you to make educated decisions that may reward you with big savings.

Your spouse saves you money - Getting married helps lower the price when buying car insurance. It is viewed as being more responsible and it's proven that being married results in fewer claims.
Safer cars are cheaper to insure - Vehicles with good safety scores are cheaper to insure. These vehicles result in less severe injuries and fewer injuries means lower claim amounts passed on to you as lower rates.
Adjust deductibles and save - Physical damage coverage, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, is used to repair damage to your car. Examples of covered claims are a windshield shattered by a rock, vandalism, or theft. Your deductibles are how much you are willing to pay out-of-pocket in the event of a claim. The more expense you're willing to pay, the less your car insurance will be.
Better credit means lower rates - Credit score is a important factor in calculating your car insurance rates. Drivers with high credit scores tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records as compared to drivers with lower credit ratings. If your credit rating is low, you could potentially save money when insuring your by improving your rating.
The type of vehicle makes a difference - The performance level of the car you own makes a big difference in determining your rates. The lowest rates are generally reserved for low performance passenger vehicles, but the cost you end up paying is determined by many additional factors.
Do you work long hours in a high stress job? - Jobs such as real estate brokers, architects and stock brokers tend to pay the highest rates because of high stress levels and lots of time spent at work. On the other hand, occupations like actors, students and retirees have the lowest average rates.
Older drivers pay less - Young drivers in California have a tendency to be more careless when behind the wheel so car insurance rates are higher. Older insureds are viewed as being more responsible, file fewer claims and are safer drivers.

Save $429 a year? Really?

Car insurance companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Progressive consistently run television and radio advertisements. They all seem to say the same thing about savings if you change to them. But how can every company make the same claim?

All the different companies are able to cherry pick for the type of driver that earns them a profit. A good example of a desirable insured could be between the ages of 40 and 55, has no tickets, and has excellent credit. A customer who fits that profile will get very good rates and is almost guaranteed to save a lot of money.

Potential customers who don't qualify for this ideal profile will have to pay a higher premium which usually ends up with business going elsewhere. The ads say "customers that switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save money. That's the way companies can truthfully make those claims. Because of the profiling, drivers should get quotes from several different companies. Because you never know which car insurance company will have the lowest rates.

Find out more about car insurance

Even more information can be read at the California Department of Insurance website. Consumers can get help finding coverage, find disaster information, report car insurance fraud, and find out industry alerts.

Also read more on this page for California car insurance and see this list of insurance agents in Reedley.

Shop smart and save

Cheap car insurance can be sourced from both online companies and with local Reedley insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best rate selection. Some companies do not offer you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.

While you're price shopping online, do not skimp on coverage in order to save money. In many cases, an insured dropped full coverage and found out when filing a claim they didn't purchase enough coverage. Your aim should be to find the BEST coverage at a price you can afford.

We just showed you a lot of tips how to reduce car insurance prices online. It's most important to understand that the more rate comparisons you have, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may be surprised to find that the lowest priced car insurance comes from the least-expected company. Regional companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments compared to the large companies like .