Tightwads Tips for Saving on West Burlington Auto Insurance

Are you tired of scraping the payment together each month for car insurance? Your situation is no different than many other Iowa consumers. You have so many to buy insurance from, and although it's nice to have a selection, lots of choices makes it harder to compare rates.

It's important to shop coverage around once or twice a year because insurance rates are constantly changing. Just because you found the best price a few years ago the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about auto insurance because we're going to demonstrate the quickest way to lower your rates without sacrificing coverage.

How much can you save with discounts?

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not know about. Some discounts apply automatically at the time you complete a quote, but less common discounts must be manually applied prior to getting the savings. If you're not getting every credit available, you're paying more than you need to.

Homeowners Pay Less - Owning a house in West Burlington can help you save on auto insurance because maintaining a house is proof that your finances are in order.
Pay Now and Pay Less - If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of paying each month you could save up to 5%.
Multiple Cars - Buying insurance for all your vehicles on the same auto insurance policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
Sign Online - Some insurance companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying your policy over the internet.
Drive Less and Save - Low mileage vehicles can earn discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
Safety Course Discount - Taking a course in driver safety could save 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discount credits are not given to the entire cost. A few only apply to individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. So even though it sounds like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, auto insurance companies aren't that generous. Any amount of discount will bring down the amount you have to pay.

To see a list of companies with discount auto insurance rates in Iowa, click here to view.

How to Compare Auto Insurance Costs in West Burlington

Performing a rate comparison can take time and effort if you aren't aware of the best way to get rate quotes. You can waste a lot of time talking to local insurance agents in West Burlington, or you could save time and use online quotes to achieve your goal.

Many insurance companies are enrolled in a marketplace that allows shoppers to submit one quote, and each company then gives them pricing determined by their information. This saves time by eliminating quote forms for each company you want a rate for.

To submit your quote information now, click to open in new window.

One minor caviat to pricing coverage this way is you don't know exactly which carriers you want pricing from. So if you want to select individual companies to receive pricing from, we put together a list of auto insurance companies in Iowa. Click here to view list.

It's up to you which method you use, but double check that you are using identical quote information with every price quote. If your comparisons have mixed coverages it's not possible to find the best deal in West Burlington.

Tips to Get Lower West Burlington Rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that play a part in calculating the price you pay for auto insurance. Knowing what impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with better auto insurance rates.

Pay less if you're married - Having a spouse helps lower the price on your policy. It translates into being more responsible and it's proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.
Equipment add-ons that lower auto insurance rates - Driving a car with an alarm system can get you a discount on your auto insurance. Theft prevention devices like LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM's OnStar system all hinder car theft.
Liability coverage protects you - Your policy's liability coverage will protect you if ever a court rules you are at fault for personal injury or accident damage. It provides for a legal defense up to the limits shown on your policy. This coverage is very inexpensive as compared to coverage for physical damage, so do not cut corners here.
Safer occupants lowers premiums - Safer cars can get you lower premiums. These vehicles protect occupants better and lower injury rates translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and thus lower rates.
Rate your vehicle for proper use - The higher the mileage driven every year the more you will pay for auto insurance. Almost all companies apply a rate based upon how you use the vehicle. Cars and trucks that are left in the garage qualify for better rates compared to those used for work or business. Verify your auto insurance declarations sheet shows the correct usage for each vehicle.
Do you need those extra coverages? - There are quite a few extra bells and whistles that you can buy on your auto insurance policy. Coverages for vanishing deductibles, towing coverage and additional equipment coverage may be costing you every month. These may sound like a good investment when you first buy your policy, but now you might not need them so eliminate them to save money.
Mature drivers pay less - Teen drivers in Iowa have a tendency to be more careless in a vehicle so they pay higher auto insurance rates. Mature drivers are viewed as being more responsible, tend to cause fewer accidents and are safer drivers.

Save 15 percent in 15 minutes? Is it for real?

Iowa consumers can't get away from ads for the lowest price auto insurance from the likes of State Farm, GEICO and Progressive. They all seem to make an identical promise about savings if you change your coverage to them.

How does each company make almost identical claims?

Different companies can use profiling for the type of customer that is profitable for them. For example, a desirable insured could possibly be over the age of 50, has no tickets, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A driver who meets those qualifications receives the best rates and is almost guaranteed to save when switching.

Potential customers who don't meet these standards will have to pay a more expensive rate and ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. Company advertisements say "customers that switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that much money. That's why companies can truthfully advertise the way they do.

Because of the profiling, drivers must get quotes from several different companies. It is impossible to predict the company that will provide you with the cheapest rates.

And the best car insurance company is...

Cheap auto insurance can be sourced online as well as from independent agents in West Burlington, and you should be comparing both to have the best rate selection. Some auto insurance companies don't offer the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

When shopping online for auto insurance, never reduce coverage to reduce premium. In many cases, an insured dropped physical damage coverage only to discover later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your aim should be to buy enough coverage at a price you can afford.

Additional information can be found on the website for the Iowa Insurance Division located here. Iowa consumers can get help finding coverage, view a list of available companies, find out which companies have the most complaints, and find disaster information.