Tightwads Guide to Saving on Weaverville Auto Insurance

Overpriced auto insurance can empty your savings account and make it impossible to make ends meet. Shopping your coverage around is a smart way to cut your insurance bill.

Having so many online and local companies to choose from, it can be challenging to find the most affordable insurance company.

It's important to shop coverage around yearly because insurance rates are constantly changing. Even if you got the best price last year there is a good chance you can find better rates now. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because you're about to learn the tricks you need to know to properly buy coverages while reducing your premium.

Tips to Get Lower Weaverville Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that help determine the price you pay for auto insurance. When you know what positively or negatively influences your rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with big savings.

The following are a few of the "ingredients" used by your company to calculate rates.

Where you live - Residing in less populated areas can be a good thing when insuring your vehicles. City drivers regularly have much more traffic and longer commute times. Fewer people means a lower chance of having an accident.
Traffic violations increase rates - Just one moving violation can bump up the cost by as much as thirty percent. Drivers who don't get tickets get better rates compared to drivers with tickets. Drivers who have flagrant citations like DUI or reckless driving may need to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) with their state DMV in order to keep their license.
Safer cars cost less to insure - Vehicles with good safety scores are cheaper to insure. These vehicles protect occupants better and lower injury rates translates into savings for insurance companies passed on to you as lower rates.
Higher deductibles cost less - Physical damage coverage, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your car. A few examples of covered claims could be collision with another vehicle, vandalism, and burglary. Your deductibles are how much you are required to spend in the event of a claim. The higher the amount you have to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.
Do you have a high stress job? - Did you know that where you work can have an impact on rates? Jobs such as lawyers, architects and stock brokers have the highest rates due to high stress and lots of time spent at work. On the other hand, jobs such as pilots, students and performers get better rates.

Compare Auto Insurance Today

There are multiple methods to compare auto insurance quotes, and some are easier and takes less work. You can spend your afternoon talking to insurance companies in Weaverville, or you could use the web for quick rates.

Most of the larger companies are enrolled in a marketplace that enables customers to enter their policy data once, and each company then returns a price quote for coverage. This eliminates the need for 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 pricing coverage this way is you cannot specify which providers you want to price. If you wish to select specific insurance companies to compare rates, we have assembled a list of companies who write auto insurance in California. Click to view list.

It doesn't matter which method you choose, just make sure you use apples-to-apples information with every price quote. If you use higher or lower deductibles you can't possibly find the best deal in Weaverville. Just a small difference in limits may result in large price differences. And when comparing auto insurance rates, know that comparing more company's prices gives you a better chance of getting the best price.

Don't pay full price with these discounts

Auto insurance companies do not advertise all their discounts very well, so we took the time to find both well-publicized and also the lesser-known auto insurance savings.

Discount for Life Insurance - Some companies give a break if you buy auto and life insurance together.
Bundle and Save - If you insure your home and vehicles with the same insurance company you could get a discount of approximately 10% to 15%.
Drive Less and Save - Fewer annual miles can earn lower rates on the low mileage vehicles.
Multiple Vehicles - Having multiple vehicles with the same company can get a discount on all vehicles.
Good Student Discount - This discount can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. This discount can apply well after school through age 25.

Keep in mind that most credits do not apply to your bottom line cost. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like collision or personal injury protection. So when it seems like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it just doesn't work that way.

To choose companies who offer auto insurance discounts in California, follow this link.

The auto insurance bait and switch

Auto insurance companies such as GEICO, State Farm and Progressive continually stream ads in print and on television. They all seem to say the same thing that you can save after switching your coverage to them. But how can every company make almost identical claims? It's all in the numbers.

All the different companies have a preferred profile for the type of customer that makes them money. For example, a desirable insured could possibly be between 25 and 40, has no prior claims, and has great credit. A driver who fits that profile is entitled to the best price and therefore will save a lot of money.

Potential customers who don't measure up to this ideal profile will have to pay a more expensive rate which usually ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. Company advertisements say "customers who switch" not "everyone that quotes" save that much money. This is how insurance companies can advertise the savings. Because of the profiling, you need to quote coverage with many companies. It is impossible to predict which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings.

Your personal situation dictates your coverage

When buying the right insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no one size fits all plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else's and a cookie cutter policy won't apply. Here are some questions about coverages that can help discover whether or not you would benefit from an agent's advice.

When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
What are the best liability limits?
Is my dog or cat covered if injured in an accident?
Is my nanny covered when driving my vehicle?
Does my insurance cover a custom paint job?
Do I need to file an SR-22 for a DUI in California?
Does my policy cover my teen driver if they drive my company car?

If you don't know the answers to these questions then you might want to talk to an insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.

Additional detailed information can be found at the California Department of Insurance website. California consumers can view agent and company licensing information, file complaints about a company, find disaster information, and report car insurance fraud.

Other informative sites include Wikipedia and this page where you can research Weaverville insurance agents.

Do the work, save more money

As you prepare to switch companies, don't be tempted to reduce coverage to reduce premium. In many instances, consumers will sacrifice physical damage coverage only to discover later that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The ultimate goal is to buy enough coverage at the best price.

In this article, we presented a lot of tips how to compare auto insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. Drivers may discover the most savings is with a small mutual company. These smaller insurers can often insure niche markets at a lower cost as compared to the big name companies such as .

Affordable auto insurance can be purchased online as well as from independent agents in Weaverville, so you should compare both to have the best rate selection. There are still a few companies who don't offer online price quotes and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.