Tightwads Guide to Saving on Thousand Oaks Car Insurance

Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can dwindle your personal savings, especially in this economy. Comparing price quotes is a great way to help make ends meet.

With consumers having so many options when it comes to car insurance, it can be diffult for consumers to choose the right company.

Finding the best rates in Thousand Oaks is quite easy. If you have car insurance now, you will be able to lower your premiums substantially using this strategy. Nevertheless, California consumers do need to know the way companies sell insurance online and use this information to your advantage.

Where Can I Get Cheap Thousand Oaks Car Insurance?

Most major insurance companies quote coverage prices online. Getting quotes is quite simple as you just enter your required coverages as detailed in the form. Behind the scenes, the system will obtain information on your driving record and credit history and returns a price quote based on these and other factors. This helps simplify price comparisons, but the process of having to visit a lot of sites and type in the same information is repetitive and time-consuming. But it's very important to have as many quotes as possible if you are searching for the best price on car insurance.

A less time-consuming method to compare car insurance pricing is to use a quote form to get prices from several companies at one time. The form is fast, requires much less work on your part, and makes quoting online much more enjoyable. As soon as you send your information, it is quoted and you can choose any or none of the returned quotes. If a lower price is quoted, you can click and sign and buy the policy. It takes less than 15 minutes and may result in a nice savings.

To find out if lower rates are available, click here to open in new window and begin entering your coverage information. To compare your current rates, we recommend you input your coverages identical to your current policy. This way, you will receive a fair comparison based on similar coverages.

Good Decisions Result in Lower Rates

It's important that you understand the factors that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates enables informed choices that could result in lower car insurance prices.

Listed below are a few of the "ingredients" car insurance companies consider when setting premiums.

Higher deductibles cost less - The deductibles represent how much money you are willing to pay in the event of a claim. Coverage for physical damage, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, covers damage that occurs to your car. Some instances where coverage would apply would be colliding with a building, collision with an animal, or theft. The higher the amount you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the bigger discount you will receive.
Where you live is a factor - Residing in a rural area is a positive aspect when talking about car insurance. Urban drivers have to deal with more traffic problems and a longer drive to work. Less people living in that area translates into fewer accidents.
Poor driving leads to higher costs - Careful drivers have lower premiums than bad drivers. Even a single citation can boost insurance rates by as much as thirty percent. Drivers with serious tickets like reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence are required to submit a SR-22 form to the state department of motor vehicles in order to continue driving.
Poor credit can mean higher rates - A driver's credit score is a important factor in determining what you pay for car insurance. If your credit score is lower than you'd like, you could be paying less to insure your by improving your rating. Drivers who have high credit scores tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers with poor credit.
Rate your vehicle for proper use - The more miles you rack up on your car in a year's time the more you'll pay to insure your vehicle. Most insurance companies charge to insure your cars determined by how the vehicle is used. Cars left parked in the garage qualify for better rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Make sure your car insurance policy properly reflects how each vehicle is driven.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Companies don't list all available discounts very well, so we break down both the well known as well as the least known discounts you could be receiving.

Multi-car Discount - Buying coverage for more than one vehicle on one policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
Auto/Home Discount - When you have multiple policies with one insurance company you could get a discount of up to 20% off your total premium.
Early Signing - Some insurance companies reward drivers for buying a policy before your current policy expires. This can save 10% or more.
Anti-lock Brakes - Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems are safer to drive and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
Life Insurance Discount - Larger companies have a break if you buy a life insurance policy as well.
Paperless Signup - Certain companies may give you up to $50 simply for signing online.
Defensive Driver - Completing a defensive driving course could cut 5% off your bill depending on where you live.
Senior Citizens - Older drivers may qualify for better car insurance rates.

Consumers should know that some of the credits will not apply to your bottom line cost. Most only apply to individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when the math indicates all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies don't profit that way.

For a list of insurers offering car insurance discounts in California, click here.

Tailor your coverage to you

When it comes to choosing adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no "best" method to buy coverage. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs and your policy should reflect that. For instance, these questions can help discover whether you might need an agent's assistance.

Am I covered when driving on a suspended license?
What are the best liability limits?
Does my car insurance cover rental cars?
Can I get a multi-policy discount for packaging my home and auto coverage?
What are the financial responsibility laws in California?
Does my liability insurance cover pulling a trailer or camper?
Does my personal policy cover me when driving my company car?

If you can't answer these questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, simply complete this short form or go to this page to view a list of companies.

More tips and info about car insurance can be found at the California Department of Insurance website. Visitors are able to report car insurance fraud, view agent and company licensing information, file complaints about a company, and find out industry alerts.

Other useful links include this page for California car insurance and this page for help finding agents in Thousand Oaks, CA.

Final considerations

Cost effective car insurance is available both online and also from your neighborhood Thousand Oaks agents, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some car insurance companies may not provide online quoting and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

When shopping online for car insurance, do not reduce needed coverages to save money. In too many instances, consumers will sacrifice uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your focus should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.

We just covered a lot of techniques to lower your car insurance rates. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers may even find the lowest rates come from the least-expected company. Smaller companies may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates than the large multi-state companies such as .