How to Know You're Throwing Money Away for Car Insurance in San Clemente

Are you sick and tired of not being able to afford each month for car insurance? You're in the same situation as the majority of other car owners in California. Because you have many options when it comes to car insurance, it can be hard to choose the lowest cost insurance company.

Comparison of Car Insurance in San Clemente

Most major insurance companies allow you to get insurance quotes on the web. The process doesn't take much effort as you simply type in as detailed in the form. Behind the scenes, their rating system will obtain your driving record and credit report and generates pricing information based on these and other factors. This makes it a lot easier to compare rates but the time it takes to visit several different sites and complete many quote forms can be a bit tiresome and repetitive. But it's very important to have as many quotes as possible in order to find the best price on car insurance.

There is a better way!

A less time-consuming method to lower your car insurance bill utilizes a single form that gets prices from many companies. The form is fast, requires less work, and makes comparison shopping much more enjoyable and efficient. After sending your information, it is rated and you are able to buy any or none of the returned quotes. If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, you simply finish the application and purchase the new policy. The entire process can be completed in less than 10 minutes and could lower your rates considerably.

If you want to find out if lower rates are available, click here to open in new window and begin entering your coverage information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you complete the form with the insurance coverages exactly as shown on your declarations page. This way, you are getting comparison quotes based on similar coverages.

Understand what determines the rate you pay

It's important that you understand the different types of things that come into play when calculating your car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively influences your rates helps enable you to make changes that will entitle you to big savings.

High numbers of claims are not good - If you are a frequent claim filer, you can definitely plan on higher rates. Companies in California award discounts to drivers who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. Insurance coverage is meant to be used in the event of major claims that would cause financial hardship.
Never go without insurance - Driving without insurance is illegal and car insurance companies will penalize you for letting your coverage have a gap. And not only will your rates increase, failure to provide proof of insurance might get you a revoked license or a big fine.You may need to provide proof of insurance in the form of an SR-22 filing with the California motor vehicle department to get your license reinstated.
Clean credit earns discounts - Having a bad credit rating is a huge factor in your rate calculation. Consumers who have high credit ratings tend to be less risk to insure as compared to drivers with lower credit ratings. If your credit rating can use some improvement, you could be paying less to insure your by improving your rating.
Rates may be higher depending on your occupation - Careers like real estate brokers, business owners and stock brokers are shown to have the highest rates in part from high stress and lots of time spent at work. On the other hand, occupations such as farmers, students and the unemployed pay the least.
Men fork out a little more - The statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, don't assume that men are WORSE drivers than women. They both are in accidents at a similar rate, but the men cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Men also statistically receive more costly citations such as reckless driving.
Safe vehicles cost less to insure - Vehicles with good safety scores can get you lower premiums. The safest vehicles have better occupant injury protection and fewer injuries translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims passed on to you as lower rates.
Car features impact rates - Driving a car with anti-theft technology or alarm system can help lower your rates. Anti-theft devices such as vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems all hinder car theft.
How's your driving record? - A bad driving record has a big impact on rates. Drivers with clean records tend to pay less for car insurance than people who have multiple driving citations. Even one speeding ticket may increase your cost by twenty percent. If you have severe violations such as hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions may find they need to submit a SR-22 form with their state motor vehicle department in order to drive a vehicle legally.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Companies don't always list every discount very well, so the following is a list of some of the more common and the harder-to-find savings tricks you should be using. If you don't get every credit available, you're just leaving money on the table.

Driver's Ed - Require your teen driver to successfully complete driver's ed class in high school.
Seat Belts Save - Buckling up and requiring all passengers to use a seat belt could cut 10% or more off your medical payments premium.
Employee of Federal Government - Simply working for the federal government may qualify you for a discount with a few car insurance companies.
Anti-lock Brake System - Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems prevent accidents and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
Passive Restraints and Air Bags - Cars that have air bags can receive discounts up to 30%.

It's important to note that most discount credits are not given to the entire cost. Most only cut the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. Just because you may think all those discounts means the company will pay you, you're out of luck.

For a list of insurance companies with the best car insurance discounts in California, click here to view.

Additional detailed information can be read at the California Department of Insurance website. Consumers can download brochures, find a variety of consumer forms, find out industry alerts, and read industry bulletins.

Other useful links include this site for car insurance rates in California and this list of insurance agents in San Clemente, CA.

A tidy conclusion

As you prepare to switch companies, do not reduce needed coverages to save money. There have been many situations where an accident victim reduced full coverage and found out when filing a claim that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The proper strategy is to purchase a proper amount of coverage for the lowest price while still protecting your assets.

We just showed you some good ideas how you can lower your car insurance rates. The key concept to understand is the more providers you compare, the higher the chance of saving money. Consumers may even find the biggest savings come from a smaller regional carrier. Smaller companies often have lower prices on specific markets than the large multi-state companies such as .