8 Tricks to Cut Your Auto Insurance Cost in Cumberland, MD

No one in their right mind enjoys paying for auto insurance, especially when they are paying too much. Many insurance companies compete for your hard-earned dollar, and because of this it can be hard to compare insurers and get the definite lowest rate

If you are insured now or are shopping for new coverage, you will benefit by learning to find better prices while maintaining coverages. Finding the best rates in Cumberland is easy if you know what you’re doing. Maryland vehicle owners just need to know the proper way to get comparison rates online.

Informed Drivers can Cut Their Rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that help determine the rates you pay for auto insurance. Knowing what controls the rates you pay helps enable you to make changes that could result in big savings.

How credit affects auto insurance rates – Credit rating is a huge factor in determining your rates. Drivers who have high credit scores tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims as compared to drivers with lower ratings. Therefore, if your credit history can use some improvement, you could save money insuring your by improving your credit score.
Where you reside plays a part – Residing in a small town has it’s advantages when talking about auto insurance. City drivers have congested traffic and longer commutes to work. Less people living in that area means a lower chance of having an accident and a lower car theft rate.
Marriage brings a discount – Being married helps lower the price on auto insurance. Marriage means you’re more responsible and statistics show married couples file fewer claims.
Higher deductibles cost less – Insurance for physical damage to your car, termed comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, protects your car from damage. A few examples of covered claims are a windshield shattered by a rock, vandalism, and windstorm damage. The deductibles are the amount of money you are willing to pay before your auto insurance pays a claim. The more you have to pay, the less your company will charge you for insurance.
Men are more aggressive – Statistics demonstrate women tend to be less risk to insure than men. Now that doesn’t mean men are worse drivers. Both sexes are in accidents in similar percentages, but the males tend to have more serious accidents. They also get more serious tickets such as DWI and reckless driving.

Save big with these discounts

Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but there are discounts available to help bring down the price. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at the time of quoting, but a few need to be manually applied before you get the savings. If you’re not getting every credit possible, you are paying more than you should be.

Seat Belts Save – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts could save 15% on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
Pay Now and Pay Less – By paying your policy upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you may reduce your total bill.
Life Insurance Discount – Companies who offer life insurance give a discount if you purchase a life insurance policy as well.
Discount for New Cars – Adding a new car to your policy can save up to 30% because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Cars that have air bags or automatic seat belts can qualify for discounts of up to 25% or more.
Discounts for Safe Drivers – Insureds without accidents may receive a discount up to 45% less than their less cautious counterparts.
Multi-car Discount – Having more than one vehicle with the same company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.

Keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to the entire policy premium. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like collision or personal injury protection. Just because you may think you can get free auto insurance, it just doesn’t work that way. Any amount of discount will bring down the cost of coverage.

To choose insurance companies offering auto insurance discounts in Maryland, click here.

Can’t I compare rates from local Cumberland agents?

Some people prefer to buy from a local agent and that is a personal choice. Professional agents can help determine the best coverages and help in the event of a claim. The biggest benefit of comparing insurance prices online is that you can obtain better rates but still work with a licensed agent. And providing support for small agencies is definitely important in Cumberland.

To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this form (opens in new window), your insurance coverage information is sent to local insurance agents who will battle to get your business. You don’t have to leave your house due to the fact that quote results will go straight to your inbox. How cool is that?!

Insurance agent types

When researching a local agent, you need to know there are two different agency structures that you can select. Agencies in Cumberland are either captive or independent. Either one can properly insure your vehicles, but it’s worth learning the difference between them because it can impact the type of agent you choose Cumberland Maryland car insurance

Independent Agents (or Brokers)

Independent agents are not required to write business for one company so they have the ability to put coverage with lots of companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. If you are not satisfied with one company, your agent can switch companies and that require little work on your part. When comparing rates, it’s a good idea to include multiple independent agents to get the best comparison.

The following are independent agencies in Cumberland that may be able to provide competitive price quotes.

American Insurance Ctr – 17202 Mcmullen Hwy SW – Cumberland, MD 21502 – (301) 729-1201
Erie Insurance Co – 14300 N Bel Air Dr SW – Cumberland, MD 21502 – (301) 729-1340
KMK Agency Inc – 63 Henderson Ave # 2 – Cumberland, MD 21502 – (301) 724-1013

Captive Insurance Agents

This type of agents work for only one company and some examples include AAA, Allstate and State Farm. These agents are unable to shop your coverage around so always compare other rates. They are well schooled on the products they sell which can be an advantage.

Below are captive agents in Cumberland who can help you get price quotes.

Allstate Insurance – 1225b National Hwy – Cumberland, MD 21502 – (301) 722-0082

To view a full list of captive agencies in Cumberland, go to this page.

Selecting an insurance agent shouldn’t rely on just the premium amount. Here are some questions to ask:

What will you get paid if your car is a total loss? How is that amount determined?
How are they compensated?
Are they properly licensed to sell insurance in Maryland?
Do they have any clout with companies to ensure a fair claim settlement?
Does the agency support the community they serve?
Do they specialize in personal lines coverage?

Upon receiving acceptable answers to all your questions and an affordable coverage quote, most likely you have located a car insurance agent that meets your needs to adequately provide auto insurance.

When should I talk to an agent?

When choosing adequate coverage, there really is not a one size fits all plan. Everyone’s situation is a little different so your insurance needs to address that. For instance, these questions could help you determine whether or not you might need professional guidance.

Does having multiple vehicles earn me a discount?
Do I have coverage when using my vehicle for my home business?
Can I pay claims out-of-pocket if I buy high deductibles?
Can I rate high risk drivers on liability-only vehicles?
Is business equipment covered while in my vehicle?
Does my vehicle need full coverage?
Do no-fault laws apply in Maryland?
Does my personal policy cover me when driving my company car?

If you’re not sure about those questions but a few of them apply, then you may want to think about talking to an agent. If you don’t have a local agent, take a second and complete this form or click here for a list of auto insurance companies in your area. It’s fast, free and can provide invaluable advice.

Learn more today

Additional auto insurance information is available on the website for the Maryland Insurance Administration found here. Visitors are able to view agent and company licensing information, find disaster information, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.

The articles below may also help you learn more about auto insurance in Cumberland

Buy online or local, you save

In this article, we presented quite a bit of information on how to reduce auto insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more rate quotes you have, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. You may be surprised to find that the most savings is with some of the lesser-known companies. These companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments compared to the large companies like GEICO and State Farm.

When shopping online for auto insurance, it’s very important that you do not skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. In many instances, consumers will sacrifice comprehensive coverage or liability limits and found out when filing a claim that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your focus should be to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.