How to Know You're Spending Too Much for Car Insurance in St Peter

Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can dwindle your savings account, especially in this economy. Comparison shopping is free and is an excellent way to help make ends meet. Big companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly bombard you with ad campaigns and it is difficult to sift through the bull and do the work needed to find the best deal.

It's important to compare prices on a regular basis because rates are constantly changing. Just because you had the best rates a year ago there is a good chance you can find better rates now. There is a lot of bad advice regarding car insurance on the internet, so I'm going to show you some great ways to reduce your car insurance bill.

If you have insurance now or need new coverage, you will benefit by learning to find better prices and still get good coverage. Buying car insurance in St Peter is not that difficult. Illinois consumers only need to know the tricks to get comparison quotes online.

Good Decisions Result in Lower Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that go into determining your car insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.

  • Discounts for married couples - Getting married can actually save you money on your car insurance policy. It means you're more responsible and it's proven that married drivers get in fewer accidents.
  • 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. Both sexes tend to get into accidents at a similar rate, but the males cause more damage. They also have more aggressive citations such as reckless driving. Youthful male drivers are most likely to cause an accident and are penalized with high car insurance rates.
  • Poor credit can mean higher rates - Credit score is a important factor in determining what you pay for car insurance. So if your credit rating 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.
  • Higher safety ratings means cheaper insurance - Vehicles with high crash test scores tend to have better insurance rates. These vehicles reduce injuries and fewer injuries translates into savings for insurance companies and more competitive rates for policyholders.
  • How's your driving record? - Careful drivers have lower premiums than bad drivers. Only having one moving violation can boost insurance rates by as much as thirty percent. Drivers who have serious citations such as reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence may need to file a SR-22 with their state motor vehicle department in order to continue driving.
  • Lower rates with optional equipment - 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 your vehicle from being stolen.

Which Car Insurance is Cheapest in St Peter, Illinois?

Reducing your insurance rates doesn't have to be difficult. Just spend a little time comparing rates provided by online insurance companies. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in a couple of different ways.

  1. The fastest way to compare a lot of rates at once is to use a rate comparison form (click to open form in new window). This form saves time by eliminating repetitive form submissions for each company you want a rate for. One form submission will return quotes from multiple companies.
  2. Another way to compare rate quotes is to take the time to go to each individual company website to complete a price quote. For examples sake, let's assume you want comparison quotes from , and . To get each rate you have to take the time to go to each site and enter your information, which is why the first method is more popular. To view a list of companies in St Peter, click here.

It's up to you how you get prices quotes, just ensure you are comparing exactly the same coverages and limits for every company. If you use different deductibles it will be impossible to decipher which rate is best in St Peter.

Take advantage of discounts

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but you can get discounts that you may not even be aware of. Some discounts apply automatically at quote time, but some may not be applied and must be specifically requested in order for you to get them. If you aren't receiving every discount you deserve, you are paying more than you should be.

  • Sign Online - A few companies will give a small break for buying your policy digitally online.
  • Accident Waiver - A handful of insurance companies will forgive one accident before hitting you with a surcharge as long as you don't have any claims for a set time period.
  • Passive Restraint Discount - Factory air bags or automatic seat belts can qualify for discounts of 20% or more.
  • Service Members Pay Less - Having a family member in the military could mean lower rates.
  • Good Student Discount - This discount can earn a discount of 20% or more. The good student discount can last until age 25.
  • 55 and Retired - If you're over the age of 55, you may qualify for better car insurance rates.
  • Multi-car Discount - Insuring more than one vehicle with the same company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. Most only apply to individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. So when the math indicates all the discounts add up to a free policy, you won't be that lucky. Any amount of discount will reduce your overall premium however.

To choose companies offering car insurance discounts in St Peter, click this link.

Are car insurance companies telling the truth?

Consumers can't ignore all the ads for car insurance savings by State Farm, GEICO and Progressive. They all seem to make the same claim about savings if you switch to their company.

How can each company make the same claim?

Insurance companies have a preferred profile for the driver that makes them money. A good example of a desirable insured could be over the age of 50, insures multiple vehicles, and has excellent credit. A customer who matches those parameters is entitled to the best price and most likely will save when they switch companies.

Potential insureds who don't qualify for the requirements will have to pay more money which leads to business going elsewhere. The ads state "customers that switch" not "people who quote" save that much. This is how companies can truthfully make those claims.

Because of the profiling, you need to get quotes from several different companies. Because you never know which insurance companies will have the lowest rates.

Additional information can be read on the website for the Illinois Department of Insurance located here. Consumers can get help finding coverage, learn about insurance regulations, find out industry alerts, and find disaster information.

A tidy conclusion

The cheapest car insurance is available from both online companies and also from your neighborhood St Peter agents, and you should be comparing both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some companies may not provide online price quotes and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.

We just showed you some good ideas how to 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. You may be surprised to find that the biggest savings come from a small local company. These smaller insurers may cover specific market segments cheaper than their larger competitors like .

While you're price shopping online, it's not a good idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. In many cases, drivers have reduced full coverage and found out when filing a claim they didn't purchase enough coverage. Your aim should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at a price you can afford.