How to Find the Cheapest Southport Auto Insurance

Buying the lowest cost Southport auto insurance online is somewhat difficult for beginners to comparing rates online. With so many choices of online companies available, how can consumers even start to compare every one to find the lowest rates?

You have some control over your rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that go into determining the price you pay for auto insurance. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that will entitle you to better auto insurance rates.

Listed below are a few of the "ingredients" auto insurance companies consider when setting prices.

  • Car features impact rates - Purchasing a vehicle with an alarm system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft features like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all aid in stopping auto theft.
  • Are you male or female? - Statistics have proven women are more cautious behind the wheel. That doesn't necessarily mean that men are worse drivers. Men and women have accidents in similar percentages, but the men cause more damage. Men also statistically get more serious tickets such as DWI and reckless driving. Youthful male drivers are most likely to cause an accident and are penalized with high auto insurance rates.
  • How credit affects auto insurance rates - Having a bad 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. Drivers who have high credit scores tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers who have poor credit.
  • High deductibles save money - The deductibles define the amount you are willing to pay before your auto insurance pays a claim. Coverage for physical damage, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your car. Some instances where coverage would apply could be running into the backend of another car, collision with an animal, and burglary. The higher the amount you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the bigger discount you will receive.
  • Where you live can impact rates - Residing in a small town can save you money when insuring your vehicles. Less people living in that area translates into fewer accidents. City drivers regularly have traffic congestion and longer commute times. Higher commute times means higher likelihood of an accident.
  • Bundling policies can get discounts - Most insurance companies provide better rates to customers who have multiple policies with them such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. This can amount to 10 percent or more. Even if you're getting this discount you still need to comparison shop to ensure the best deal.

compare Southport auto insurance rates

Which Auto Insurance is Cheapest in Southport, Maine?

There are several ways to compare auto insurance quotes, but one way is more efficient than others. You can spend your afternoon talking to insurance companies in Southport, or you could save time and use the web to get rates in a matter of minutes.

Most of the larger companies belong to an insurance system that allows shoppers to only type in their quote data once, and at least one company provides a quote determined by their information. This prevents consumers from doing quote forms to each individual auto insurance company. To submit your quote information now, click here to open in new window.

One minor caviat to using this type of system is you can't choose which providers to get quotes from. So if you want to choose individual companies to compare prices, we put together a list of auto insurance companies in Maine. Click here for list of insurance companies in Maine.

Whichever method you choose, ensure you are comparing exactly the same coverages and limits on every quote. If your comparisons have different deductibles it's impossible to make a fair comparison in Southport.

Be sure to get all your discounts

Companies offering auto insurance do not advertise every discount in a way that's easy to find, so we took the time to find both well-publicized as well as the least known discounts you could be receiving. If you aren't receiving every discount you deserve, you are paying more than you should be.

  • Payment Discounts - By paying your policy upfront instead of making monthly payments you may reduce your total bill.
  • Accident Waiver - A handful of insurance companies will forgive one accident before hitting you with a surcharge if your claims history is clear for a certain period of time.
  • Passive Restraint Discount - Cars that have air bags or automatic seat belts can qualify for discounts of 20% or more.
  • Multi-car Discount - Buying insurance for more than one vehicle with the same company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
  • Multiple Policy Discount - If you insure your home and vehicles with one company you could get a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
  • Anti-theft System - Vehicles with anti-theft systems help deter theft and will save you 10% or more.

A little note about advertised discounts, some credits don't apply to all coverage premiums. A few only apply to individual premiums such as liability and collision coverage. So when it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you won't be that lucky.

To choose insurance companies offering auto insurance discounts in Southport, click here.

Is there truth in advertising?

Maine consumers can't ignore all the ads for car insurance savings by State Farm, Allstate and GEICO. They all have a common claim about savings if you switch to their company.

How can each company make almost identical claims?

Different companies have a preferred profile for the driver that makes them money. For example, a driver they prefer could possibly be between the ages of 30 and 50, insures multiple vehicles, and has great credit. A customer getting a price quote that hits that "sweet spot" receives the best rates and is almost guaranteed to save when they switch companies.

Consumers who don't measure up to the requirements will be quoted higher rates and this can result in the driver buying from a lower-cost company. Company advertisements say "customers that switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that much. This is how companies can truthfully advertise the savings. This emphasizes why you need to get as many quotes as possible. It's impossible to know which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings.

Even more information can be found at the Maine Bureau of Insurance website. Maine consumers can view a list of available companies, learn about insurance regulations, and find out industry alerts.

And the best car insurance company is...

Drivers switch companies for a number of reasons such as unfair underwriting practices, denial of a claim, poor customer service or even extreme rates for teen drivers. Regardless of your reason, choosing a new insurance company is easier than you think.

Cheaper auto insurance is available online and also from your neighborhood Southport agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to get a complete price analysis. There are still a few companies who may not provide online price quotes and these regional insurance providers work with independent agents.

You just read a lot of ways to compare auto insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more providers you compare, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. You may be surprised to find that the lowest rates come from some of the lesser-known companies.