10 Best Methods to Lower Car Insurance Costs in Leesburg, VA

Sick and tired of trying to scrape together enough money to pay your car insurance bill each month? You are no different than many other Virginia consumers.

Drivers have multiple auto insurance companies to purchase coverage from, and although it’s a good thing to be able to choose, lots of choices makes it harder to locate the cheapest rates.

Finding affordable coverage in Leesburg is quite easy. Just about every vehicle owner who carries car insurance should be able to save money. But Virginia drivers do need to understand how big insurance companies price insurance differently and apply this information to your search.

How to Compare Car Insurance Costs in Leesburg, VA

The are a couple different ways to compare rate quotes from car insurance companies in your area. The fastest way to find competitive insurance rates is to use the internet to compare rates. This can be accomplished in just a few minutes using one of these methods.

The recommended way consumers can make multiple comparisons is an all-inclusive rate comparison click here to open form in new window. This form prevents you from having to do a different quote for each company. Just one form gets you price quotes .

Another way to obtain and compare quotes online is going to each company website and request a quote. For instance, let’s assume you want to compare Nationwide, 21st Century and Liberty Mutual. To find out each rate you need to take the time to go to each site and enter your information, which is why the first method is more popular.

For a list of links to insurance companies in Leesburg, click here.

The most time-consuming way to compare rates is to waste gas driving to and from local insurance agencies. Buying insurance online eliminates the need for an insurance agent unless you prefer the trained guidance of a licensed agent. However, consumers can compare online quotes and still use a local agent and we’ll cover that in a bit.

It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just be sure to compare identical coverages with each company. If the quotes have different liability limits you can’t possibly decipher which rate is best in Leesburg. Quoting even small variations in insurance coverages can mean a large discrepancy in price. Keep in mind that more quotes will improve the odds of getting the best rates.

Companies offer discounts so take them!

Companies that sell car insurance do not list all available discounts very clearly, so we took the time to find both well-publicized and the more hidden savings tricks you should be using.

Student Driver Training – Have your child take driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
Club Memberships – Affiliation with a civic or occupational organization is a good way to get lower rates on car insurance.
Multiple Vehicles – Buying insurance for multiple vehicles with the same company qualifies for this discount.
Defensive Driver – Taking part in a course in driver safety could possibly earn you a 5% discount if you qualify.
Senior Citizens – Older drivers may be able to get a discount up to 10%.
Multiple Policy Discount – When you combine your home and auto insurance with the same insurance company you may earn up to 20% off your total premium.
Employee of Federal Government – Simply working for the federal government can save as much as 8% with a few car insurance companies.
Resident Student – Youth drivers who live away from home without a vehicle on campus can receive lower rates.
Homeowners Savings – Owning a house in Leesburg can help you save on car insurance because maintaining a house requires personal responsibility.
Discount for Swiching Early – Some insurance companies reward drivers for buying a policy before your current policy expires. The savings is around 10%.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discounts do not apply to the entire policy premium. A few only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as comprehensive or collision. So despite the fact that it appears all those discounts means the company will pay you, car insurance companies aren’t that generous.

To see a list of providers who offer car insurance discounts in Virginia, click here to view.

Local Leesburg agents and car insurance

Certain consumers would prefer to talk to a local agent. One of the great benefits of comparing insurance prices online is you can get the lowest rates and still have an agent to talk to.

Upon completion of this simple form, the quote information is transmitted to local insurance agents who will battle to get your business. You won’t need to leave your computer because quoted prices will be sent directly to your email. You can find the lowest rates AND a local agent.

Picking an insurer shouldn’t rely on just a cheap price. These questions are important to ask:

Do the companies they represent have a solid financial rating?
Are you getting all the discounts the company offers?
If they are an independent agency, which companies do they recommend?
If your car is in the repair shop, do you have coverage for a rental car?
Do they receive special compensation for putting your coverage with one company over another?
Which insurance companies are they affiliated with?

Two types of insurance agencies

If you’re trying to find a local agent, there are two different types of agents from which to choose. Agents are categorized either captive or independent.

Captive Agents

Captive agents are contracted to one company such as Allstate, Farmers Insurance or State Farm. These agents are not able to shop your coverage around so it’s a take it or leave it situation. Captive agents are well schooled on their company’s products which can be an advantage.

Shown below are captive insurance agents in Leesburg willing to provide rate quotes.

State Farm Insurance – 11 Catoctin Cir SE – Leesburg, VA 20175 – (703) 777-3442
Allstate Insurance – 899 Harrison St SE # B – Leesburg, VA 20175 – (703) 777-3004

Independent Agents

Independent agents are not employed by any specific company so they have the ability to put coverage with any number of different companies depending on which coverage is best. To transfer your coverage to a different company, they simply move the coverage in-house without you having to go to a different agency. When searching for an agent, you should always include at least one independent agent to get the best comparison.

The following are Leesburg independent insurance agencies willing to provide comparison quotes.

Nationwide Insurance – 821 S King St # J – Leesburg, VA 20175 – (703) 777-6222
Lawyers Title Insurance Corp – 211 Gibson St NW – Leesburg, VA 20176 – (703) 771-8804
Marshall Agency Inc-Loudoun – 110 E Market St – Leesburg, VA 20176 – (703) 737-7870

For a complete listing of car insurance agents in Leesburg, click here to link.

After getting reasonable responses for all questions you ask and an acceptable price quote, you’ve probably found an insurance agent that can provide car insurance coverage. Keep in mind once you purchase a policy you can cancel your coverage any time you want so never feel you are locked into the car insurance policy for the entire policy term.

What coverages do I need?

When it comes to buying coverage for your vehicles, there really is no one size fits all plan. Every situation is different so your insurance should reflect that These are some specific questions could help you determine whether or not you may require specific advice.

Do I have coverage when making deliveries for my home business?
Do I need higher deductibles?
Does my medical payments coverage pay my health insurance deductible?
How many claims can I have before being cancelled?
Who is covered by my policy?
What is the minimum liability in Virginia?
Am I covered by my spouse’s policy after a separation?
Should I buy additional glass protection?
Why am I required to get a high-risk car insurance policy?
I don’t drive much so do I pay less?

If you can’t answer these questions but one or more may apply to you, you may need to chat with an agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, complete this form or click here for a list of car insurance companies in your area.

The car insurance bait and switch

Companies like Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm continually stream ads on TV and radio. All the ads make the same claim about savings after switching your coverage to them. How does each company claim to save you money? This is how they do it.

All the different companies have a preferred profile for the driver that is profitable for them. An example of a driver they prefer could possibly be between the ages of 30 and 50, has no driving citations, and drives newer vehicles. A customer getting a price quote who meets those qualifications is entitled to the best price and is almost guaranteed to pay quite a bit less when switching companies.

Potential insureds who are not a match for these standards will be charged more money which usually ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads state “drivers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that much. That’s why insurance companies can confidently make those claims. That is why you absolutely need to quote coverage with many companies. It’s not possible to predict which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Car insurance coverages 101

Understanding the coverages of car insurance aids in choosing the right coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The terms used in a policy can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring. These are the normal coverages offered by car insurance companies.

UM/UIM Coverage

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle from other motorists when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered claims include hospital bills for your injuries as well as damage to your vehicle.

Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law (which is 25/50/20), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked.

Liability car insurance

Liability insurance protects you from damages or injuries you inflict on other people or property in an accident. It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have limits of 25/50/25 which stand for $25,000 bodily injury coverage, $50,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000.

Liability coverage pays for things such as loss of income, emergency aid, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and repair costs for stationary objects. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford. Virginia state law requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/20,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy higher limits.

Comprehensive or Other Than Collision

This covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for claims like damage from a tornado or hurricane, hitting a bird and theft. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider dropping full coverage.

Collision coverage protection

Collision coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. A deductible applies and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision insurance covers claims such as scraping a guard rail, crashing into a ditch, damaging your car on a curb, hitting a mailbox and colliding with a tree. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. You can also increase the deductible to bring the cost down.

Medical costs insurance

Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for immediate expenses for things like X-ray expenses, doctor visits, surgery, ambulance fees and funeral costs. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover all vehicle occupants as well as getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Online plus local equals savings

We just presented many tips how you can compare car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the better your comparison will be. You may even discover the lowest premiums are with a lesser-known regional company. Smaller companies often have lower prices on specific markets than their larger competitors like GEICO and State Farm.

Low-cost car insurance can be bought from both online companies in addition to many Leesburg insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some car insurance companies do not provide online quoting and most of the time these small, regional companies sell through independent agents.

More tips and info about car insurance can be found at the Virginia Bureau of Insurance website. Visitors are able to discover disciplinary actions, file complaints about a company, and read consumer alerts.