How to Know You're Throwing Money Away for Car Insurance in Wytheville

Tired of paying out the nose each month for car insurance? You are no different than many other Virginia consumers. Numerous battle for your hard-earned dollar, so it's not easy to compare every to get the lowest rate

It's important to shop coverage around once or twice a year due to the fact that insurance rates are constantly changing. Even if you got the best price a few years ago the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. Ignore everything you know about car insurance because I'm going to let you in on the secrets to the only way to eliminate unnecessary coverages and save money.

How much can you save with discounts?

Companies that sell car insurance don't always advertise every available discount in an easy-to-find place, so we took the time to find both the well known and also the lesser-known car insurance savings. If they aren't giving you every credit available, you're paying more than you need to.

  • Passive Restraints - Vehicles with factory air bags can get savings of 20% or more.
  • Lower Rates for Military - Having a deployed family member could mean lower rates.
  • Anti-theft Discount - Anti-theft and alarm systems can help prevent theft and earn discounts up to 10%.
  • Defensive Driver - Completing a defensive driving course could save 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
  • Senior Citizens - Mature drivers may qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
  • Payment Discounts - If you pay your bill all at once instead of paying each month you could save up to 5%.

A little note about advertised discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire cost. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. So even though they make it sound like all the discounts add up to a free policy, you won't be that lucky.

To see a list of providers offering car insurance discounts in Wytheville, follow this link.

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How to Compare Car Insurance Costs in Wytheville

There are several ways you can shop for car insurance and some are less labor-intensive and much quicker. You can waste a lot of time talking to insurance companies in Wytheville, or you could use online quotes to get pricing more quickly.

Many insurance companies are enrolled in a marketplace that allows shoppers to submit one quote, and each participating company can provide price quotes determined by their information. This eliminates the need for 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 comparing rates this way is you cannot specify which carriers you will receive quotes from. So if you want to select specific providers to compare rates, we put together a list of companies who write car insurance in Virginia. Click here for list of insurance companies in Virginia.

Whichever way you use, double check that you are using the exact same coverage limits and deductibles on every quote you get. If your comparisons have different liability limits then you won't be able to determine which rate is truly the best in Wytheville.

Tips to Get Lower Wytheville Rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. Understanding what impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that can help you get lower car insurance prices.

Listed below are a few of the "ingredients" used by your company to calculate your rates.

  • High credit ratings translate to low rates - Your credit score is a big factor in your rate calculation. If your credit score is lower than you'd like, you could pay less to insure your by repairing your credit. People with good credit tend to be more responsible than drivers who have poor credit.
  • Lower rates with optional equipment - Driving a car with a theft deterrent system can save you a little every year. Anti-theft features like LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM's OnStar system all hinder your car from being stolen.
  • Consolidate policies to earn discounts - Most companies give discounts to insureds who have multiple policies with them. It's known as a multi-policy discount. This can amount to anywhere from five to ten percent in most cases. Even if you're getting this discount it's still a good idea to compare rates to verify if the discount is saving money. You may still be able to find better rates by insuring with multiple companies.
  • Extra coverages can waste money - There are many extra bells and whistles you can purchase when buying car insurance. Coverages like vanishing deductibles, better glass coverage and additional equipment coverage are examples of these. These may sound like a good investment initially, but now you might not need them so get rid of them and save.
  • Battle of the sexes - The statistics show that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. That doesn't necessarily mean that women are BETTER drivers than men. Women and men have accidents in similar percentages, but men cause more damage. Men also get cited for more serious violations like DUI and reckless driving. Youthful male drivers are the most expensive to insure and therefore have the most expensive car insurance rates.
  • Bad driving skills means higher rates - Your driving record impacts your car insurance rates tremendously. Drivers who don't get tickets get better rates than bad drivers. Just one moving violation can bump up the cost by twenty percent. Drivers who get serious violations like DUI or reckless driving may be required to submit a SR-22 or proof of financial responsibility to the state department of motor vehicles in order to continue driving.
  • Where do you drive? - The more miles you rack up on your car every year the higher your rates will be. Almost all companies charge to insure your cars based upon how you use the vehicle. Vehicles left parked in the garage qualify for better rates compared to those used for work or business. Make sure your car insurance policy is showing how each vehicle is driven.

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

Consumers in Virginia can't get away from ads for the lowest price auto insurance from the likes of State Farm and Allstate. All the ads say the same thing about savings if you switch your coverage to them.

How do they all claim to save you money? It's all in the numbers.

All companies can use profiling for the type of customer that is profitable for them. For example, a preferred risk might be between 25 and 40, has no tickets, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. Any driver who fits that profile receives the best rates and is almost guaranteed to cut their rates substantially.

Drivers who don't meet the "perfect" profile will be charged a higher premium which usually ends up with the customer not buying. Company advertisements say "customers who switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that much money. That's why companies can truthfully advertise the way they do. That is why drivers must get quotes from several different companies. You cannot predict the company that will provide you with the cheapest rates.

In the end, you save

We just presented many ways to compare car insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more you quote, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may be surprised to find that the most savings is with some of the smallest insurance companies. These smaller insurers may cover specific market segments cheaper compared to the large companies like .

When shopping online for car insurance, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many cases where an insured dropped physical damage coverage only to discover later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your goal should be to buy enough coverage at the best price, not the least amount of coverage.

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More Virginia car insurance information

Even more information can be found at the Virginia Bureau of Insurance website. Visitors are able to find out industry alerts, view a list of available companies, read consumer alerts, and discover disciplinary actions.