How to Know You're Throwing Money Away for Auto Insurance in Sterling

Are you tired of trying to scrape together enough money each month for car insurance? You're in the same situation as many other drivers in Illinois.

Because you have many online and local companies to choose from, it can be impossible to find the lowest cost company.

You have some control over your rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that come into play when calculating auto insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels enables informed choices that could result in lower auto insurance prices.

  • Choose a safe vehicle and save - Cars with high safety ratings tend to have better insurance rates. Safe vehicles reduce injuries and better occupant protection translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims passed on to you as lower rates.
  • A lapse in coverage is a bad thing - Driving without insurance can get your license suspended and your next policy will cost more because you let your coverage have a gap. And not only will insurance be more expensive, but being ticketed for driving with no insurance will get you a hefty fine and possibly a revoked license.You may then be required to provide proof of insurance in the form of an SR-22 filing with the Illinois DMV.
  • Frequent auto insurance claims increase rates - Auto insurance companies in Illinois give discounts to insureds who are claim-free. If you frequently file small claims, you can expect higher rates. Auto insurance is intended to be relied upon for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
  • How credit affects auto insurance rates - A driver's credit rating is a big factor in your rate calculation. Drivers who have excellent credit tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers who have lower credit scores. Therefore, if your credit can use some improvement, you could save money insuring your by improving your rating.
  • Your car's features help determine rates - Driving a car with a theft deterrent system can help lower your rates. Anti-theft devices like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all hinder your vehicle from being stolen.
  • Please use or commuting - The more you drive every year the more you'll pay to insure your vehicle. Most insurance companies price each vehicle's coverage based upon how you use the vehicle. Autos left parked in the garage qualify for better rates as compared to vehicles used primarily for driving to work. Make sure your auto insurance policy properly reflects the correct driver usage.
  • Being married can save on auto insurance - Having a spouse actually saves money on your auto insurance policy. Having a spouse means you're more responsible and statistics show drivers who are married are more cautious.
  • Do you need those extra coverages? - There are a lot of extra bells and whistles that you can get tricked into buying if you aren't careful. Things like personal injury protection, accidental death and term life insurance may be wasting your money. These may sound like a good investment initially, but if they're wasting money remove them from your policy.

auto insurance in Sterling

Don't pay full price with these discounts

Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but there could be available discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at the time of purchase, but less common discounts must be manually applied prior to receiving the credit.

  • Service Members Pay Less - Having a family member in the military can result in better rates.
  • Seat Belts Save more than Lives - Buckling up and requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts can save 10% or more on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
  • Employee of Federal Government - Employees or retirees of the government can save as much as 8% depending on your company.
  • Passive Restraints - Vehicles equipped with air bags can receive discounts of 20% or more.
  • Pay Upfront and Save - If paying your policy premium upfront instead of making monthly payments you may reduce your total bill.
  • Auto/Life Discount - Companies who offer life insurance give a break if you buy a life insurance policy as well.

A little note about advertised discounts, many deductions do not apply to the entire cost. Some only apply to specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. So even though it sounds like all the discounts add up to a free policy, you won't be that lucky. Any amount of discount will help reduce your premiums.

To choose insurers with the best auto insurance discounts in Illinois, click this link.

The auto insurance bait and switch

21st Century, Allstate and State Farm regularly use ads in print and on television. All the companies make the same claim about savings if you move to their company. But how can every company say the same thing? It's all in the numbers.

All companies can use profiling for the driver that makes them money. For example, a profitable customer might be profiled as a mature driver, is a homeowner, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A propective insured who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and therefore will save a lot of money.

Potential customers who don't measure up to this ideal profile must pay higher prices which leads to business not being written. The ad wording is "customers who switch" not "everyone that quotes" save that much. That's why companies can truthfully advertise the way they do.

This illustrates why you should compare many company's rates. It's not possible to predict the company that will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Learn more today

Additional information can be found on the website for the Illinois Department of Insurance found here. Illinois drivers can find disaster information, find a variety of consumer forms, download brochures, and find out industry alerts.

Other informative sites include this page for auto insurance prices in Illinois and this page of Sterling insurance agents.

Final considerations

Cheaper auto insurance is definitely available on the web and also from your neighborhood Sterling agents, and you need to price shop both so you have a total pricing picture. Some auto insurance companies may not provide online price quotes and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

In this article, we covered many ideas to save on auto insurance. The key concept to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the better your comparison will be. Consumers may even find the best price on auto insurance is with a small mutual company. Some small companies may cover specific market segments cheaper as compared to the big name companies such as .