10 Ways to Save on Car Insurance in Auburn, WA

If you’re new to shopping for car insurance online, you may be overwhelmed by the vast number of companies vying for business in Auburn.

Choosing the best insurance company for you in Auburn is not rocket science. If you have a policy now or are shopping for new coverage, you can learn to reduce the price you pay and possibly find even better coverage. Washington consumers just need to know the most effective way to shop for car insurance over the internet.

How to Get Cheap Car Insurance in Auburn

Getting better car insurance pricing is actually quite simple. The only thing you need to do is spend a little time to get quotes from different insurance companies. This can be done using a couple different methods.

The easiest and least time consuming way to find low rates would be an industry-wide quote request form click here to open form in new window. This form saves time by eliminating repetitive form submissions to each individual car insurance company. Completing one form gets you price quotes from all major companies. It’s the fastest way to compare.

Another way to obtain and compare quotes online is to manually visit each company’s website and complete a new quote form. For instance, let’s assume you want to compare rates from Allstate, Liberty Mutual and GEICO. You would have to take the time to go to each site and enter your information, which is why the first method is more popular.

For a handy list of car insurance company links in Auburn, click here.

The least recommended way to compare rates to different Auburn agent offices. Buying insurance online has reduced the need for local agents unless you want the personal advice that only a license agent can provide. However, consumers can get prices online but still have the advice of a local agent.

It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just double check that you are using the exact same coverages and limits with every price quote. If you enter different limits and deductibles on each one it’s impossible to decipher which rate is best in Auburn.

Save $409 a year? Really?

Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements for cheaper car insurance by companies like Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm. They all seem to make an identical promise that you can save if you change to them.

How can each company make the same claim?

Insurance companies have a preferred profile for the right customer they prefer to insure. For instance, a desirable insured might be over the age of 50, has no tickets, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A propective insured who matches those parameters receives the best rates and is almost guaranteed to save quite a bit of money when switching.

Potential customers who are not a match for this ideal profile will be charged higher rates which leads to business not being written. The ads say “drivers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that kind of money. This is how companies can truthfully state the savings. That is why you should get as many quotes as possible. Because you never know the company that will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Car insurance companies don’t list all available discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we took the time to find some of the more common and also the lesser-known discounts you could be receiving. If they aren’t giving you every credit available, you’re paying more than you need to.

Federal Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job can save as much as 8% depending on your company.
Anti-lock Brake Discount – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes prevent accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
Homeowners Pay Less – Owning a house in Auburn can help you save on car insurance because of the fact that having a home is proof that your finances are in order.
Payment Method – If paying your policy premium upfront rather than paying monthly you may reduce your total bill.
Military Discounts – Being deployed with a military unit may qualify for rate reductions.
Theft Prevention Discount – Anti-theft and alarm systems prevent vehicle theft and will save you 10% or more.
Driver’s Ed – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to complete a driver education course in school.
New Vehicle Savings – Buying coverage on a new vehicle can save up to 30% due to better safety requirements for new cars.
Club Memberships – Participating in a qualifying organization may earn a discount on car insurance.
No Charge for an Accident – A few companies will forgive one accident before raising your premiums as long as you don’t have any claims for a certain period of time.

It’s important to understand that some of the credits will not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Some only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. Just because it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, companies wouldn’t make money that way.

To choose insurers offering car insurance discounts in Auburn, click here.

Your local neighborhood insurance agent

Some consumers prefer to buy from a local agent and that is just fine! Insurance agents can help determine the best coverages and help file insurance claims. One of the best bonuses of price shopping on the web is the fact that you can find the best rates and still choose a local agent.

To find an agent, once you fill out this short form, your insurance data is transmitted to insurance agents in Auburn who will give you bids for your business. There is no reason to leave your house because quoted prices will be sent directly to your email. Auburn Washington insurance prices

Deciding on an insurance company should depend on more than just the bottom line cost. These questions are important to ask:

Is working in the agency their full-time job?
How often do they review policy coverages?
If you are a high risk driver, do they have special markets for your coverage?
How many years of experience in personal lines insurance coverages do they have?
Can they provide you with a list of referrals?

Auto insurance agents in Auburn come in two varieties

When finding a local agent, you must know there are a couple types of agencies that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Agents are classified as either independent or captive. While both can properly insure your vehicles, but it’s good to learn how they are different because it can influence buying decisions.

Captive Insurance Agents

These agents write business for a single company like AAA, Allstate, State Farm, Farmers Insurance or Liberty Mutual. These agents are not able to place coverage with different providers so always compare other rates. These agents are well schooled on the products they sell which helps them compete with independent agents. Consumers frequently purchase coverage from captives mainly due to high brand loyalty and solid financial strength.

The following is a list of captive agents in Auburn that can give you price quotes.

Farmers Insurance Group – 903 E Main St # 105 – Auburn, WA 98002 – (253) 931-8880
Allstate Insurance – 1408 Lake Tapps Pkwy E # E102 – Auburn, WA 98092 – (253) 833-5215

Independent Insurance Agents

Independent insurance agents do not work for one specific company but rather can write business with multiple insurance companies and potentially find a lower price. If you are not satisfied with one company, your agent can switch companies and that require little work on your part. When shopping rates, we recommend you contact at a minimum one independent agency for maximum quote selection. Most have the option of insuring with smaller companies which can be an advantage.

Shown below is a list of independent agents in Auburn that are able to give price quote information.

Head Malesis Insurance – 402 16th St NE # 104 – Auburn, WA 98002 – (253) 891-2211
HBT Insurance – 201 Auburn Way N # C – Auburn, WA 98002 – (253) 833-5140

To view a complete directory of Auburn insurance agents, visit this link.

Upon receiving acceptable answers to these questions and a good coverage price, you may have just found a car insurance agent that can service your policy. Just keep in mind policyholders can cancel your coverage at any time so don’t feel that you’re stuck with any specific agency for any length of time.

The coverage is in the details

Learning about specific coverages of your policy aids in choosing the right coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)

This coverage provides protection from other motorists when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. It can pay for injuries to you and your family and damage to your vehicle.

Because many people carry very low liability coverage limits (Washington limits are 25/50/10), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage should not be overlooked.

Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP reimburse you for immediate expenses for things like prosthetic devices, X-ray expenses and ambulance fees. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants and also covers getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Comprehensive insurance

Comprehensive insurance coverage will pay to fix damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as hail damage, hitting a bird, a tree branch falling on your vehicle, fire damage and theft. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.

Auto liability insurance

Liability coverage will cover injuries or damage you cause to other’s property or people. Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You might see policy limits of 50/100/50 which means a limit of $50,000 per injured person, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a limit of $50,000 paid for damaged property.

Liability coverage pays for claims such as medical services, structural damage and loss of income. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but buy as large an amount as possible. Washington requires drivers to carry at least 25,000/50,000/10,000 but you should think about purchasing better liability coverage.

Coverage for collisions

Collision insurance will pay to fix damage to your vehicle resulting from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision can pay for things like scraping a guard rail, backing into a parked car and hitting a parking meter. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. It’s also possible to bump up the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

More tips and info about car insurance can be read at the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner website. Consumers can learn about specific coverages, file complaints about a company, find out industry alerts, and discover disciplinary actions.

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Compare but don’t skimp

Low-cost car insurance can be sourced from both online companies and with local Auburn insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers do not offer you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

We just presented some good ideas how to shop for car insurance online. It’s most important to understand that the more price quotes you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may even find the lowest premiums are with some of the smallest insurance companies.

Drivers leave their current company for any number of reasons including questionable increases in premium, extreme rates for teen drivers, unfair underwriting practices or even policy cancellation. It doesn’t matter what your reason, choosing a new insurance company is not as hard as you think.