No one in their right mind looks forward to paying premiums for auto insurance, particularly when they could lower their rates if they shopped around. Since drivers have many companies to choose from, it can be diffult for people to choose the lowest price insurance company.
Smart consumers take time to price shop coverage once or twice a year because insurance prices are variable and change quite frequently. If you had the best price on S8 coverage at your last renewal you may be paying too much now. Forget all the misinformation about auto insurance because we’re going to demonstrate the best way to buy cheaper auto insurance.
There are a variety of methods you can shop for auto insurance but some are less time-consuming than others. You can waste hours talking about coverages with local insurance agents in your area, or you could use the internet to get prices fast.
Most major companies take part in a program where prospective buyers submit their information once, and each company can give them a price determined by their information. This prevents consumers from doing form submissions to each company.
To compare pricing click here (opens in new window).
One minor caviat to using this type of form is that consumers can’t choose the insurers you want pricing from. If you would rather choose from a list of companies to receive pricing from, we have a page of low cost auto insurance companies in your area. View list of insurance companies.
It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just try to use nearly identical coverage limits for every quote you compare. If you compare different values for each quote then you won’t be able to decipher which rate is best.
Drivers can’t ignore all the ads for cheaper auto insurance by 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. They all say the same thing of big savings if you get a free and switch to their company.
But how can every company cost less than your current company? It’s all in how they say it.
Insurance companies require specific criteria for the right customer they prefer to insure. For instance, a profitable insured could be over the age of 45, has no driving citations, and has a short commute. A propective insured who fits those characteristics will get low prices as well as save money with a new company.
Potential customers who are not a match for the “perfect” profile may be forced to pay higher premiums which usually ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads state “drivers who switch” but not “all drivers who get quotes” save money. That’s why companies can truthfully make claims that they all have the best rates. Each company has different criteria, so you should quote coverage with many companies. Because you never know with any certainty which company will have the lowest rate quotes.
Some insurance providers don’t list the complete list of policy discounts very clearly, so below is a list both the well known in addition to some of the lesser obvious discounts that may be available.
As is typical with insurance, most of the big mark downs will not be given to the overall cost of the policy. Some only apply to specific coverage prices like collision or personal injury protection. So even though it sounds like all those discounts means the company will pay you, you’re out of luck. But any discount will help lower your premiums.
To find companies that offer some of these discounts, click here.
As you prepare to switch companies, never skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There have been many cases where someone dropped full coverage and discovered at claim time that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. The proper strategy is to buy enough coverage at the best cost while not skimping on critical coverages.
Cheaper auto insurance can be purchased both online in addition to local insurance agencies, and you should be comparing both to have the best rate selection. There are still a few companies who may not have price quotes online and usually these regional carriers only sell coverage through independent insurance agents.