8 Ways to Save on Auto Insurance in Bluefield, WV

Have you had enough of paying out the nose to buy car insurance? You are no different than many other West Virginia consumers.

There are many insurance companies to insure vehicles with, and although it’s a good thing to be able to choose, too many choices makes it more difficult to adequately compare rates.

Shopping for the lowest cost auto insurance in Bluefield can be fairly easy. In a nutshell, anyone who shops for auto insurance will be able to reduce their rates. Nevertheless, West Virginia drivers can benefit by having an understanding of how big insurance companies sell online and take advantage of how the system works.

Free Bluefield Auto Insurance Quotes

All major auto insurance companies provide coverage prices on the web. Getting online quotes is fairly simple as you simply enter the coverages you want into a form. Once you submit the form, the system will obtain credit information and your driving record and generates a price. This streamlines rate comparisons, but the process of having to visit a lot of sites and enter the same data into a form can get tiresome after awhile. But it is imperative to do this in order to get a lower rate.

The better way to compare rates

The smarter way to find better auto insurance pricing is to use a quote form that gets price quotes from many companies. This type of form saves time, requires much less work on your part, and makes quoting online much easier. Once the form is submitted, it is rated with multiple companies and you can pick any of the resulting price quotes.

If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, you can simply submit the application and buy the policy. It takes just a few minutes to complete and you’ll know if lower rates are available.

To find out what other companies charge, simply click here to open in new window and submit the form. To compare your current rates, we recommend you complete the form with the coverages identical to your current policy. This helps ensure you will have rate comparison quotes for the exact same coverage.

Cut your premium with these eight discounts

Insuring your fleet can be pricey, but you may find discounts that you may not know about. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied when you purchase, but lesser-known reductions have to be manually applied prior to getting the savings.

• Sign Online – Some insurance companies may give you up to $50 simply for signing on their website.
• Claim Free – Claim-free drivers can earn big discounts when compared with drivers who are more careless.
• Anti-lock Brake System – Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control prevent accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
• Payment Method – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of monthly or quarterly installments you can actually save on your bill.
• Early Signing – A few companies offer discounts for switching policies before your current policy expires. This can save 10% or more.
• Senior Citizens – Mature drivers can possibly qualify for reduced rates.
• Air Bag Discount – Cars that have air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can get savings up to 30%.
• Student Driver Training – Require your teen driver to take driver’s ed class in school.

It’s important to note that some of the credits will not apply to the overall cost of the policy. The majority will only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as comprehensive or collision. So despite the fact that it appears all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies don’t profit that way. But any discount will bring down the cost of coverage.

To see a list of insurers offering auto insurance discounts in West Virginia, click here to view.

What is the best insurance coverage?

When buying the right insurance coverage for your vehicles, there really is no one size fits all plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s and your policy should reflect that. These are some specific questions may help you determine whether or not you might need an agent’s assistance.

• What vehicles should carry emergency assistance coverage?
• When should my teen driver be added to my policy?
• What are the best liability limits?
• Am I covered when driving on a suspended license?
• Do I have coverage when making deliveries for my home business?
• If my vehicle is totaled, can I afford another vehicle?

If you’re not sure about those questions, 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 auto insurance companies in your area.

Can you really save $402 a year?

Companies like State Farm, Allstate and GEICO constantly bombard you with television and radio advertisements. All the ads have a common claim that you’ll save big if you switch to them. But how can every company say the same thing? This is how they do it.

All companies have a preferred profile for the right customer that is profitable for them. An example of a profitable customer might be between the ages of 30 and 50, owns a home, and drives newer vehicles. Any new insured who fits that profile is entitled to the best price and most likely will save quite a bit of money when switching.

Potential insureds who don’t qualify for the “perfect” profile must pay a higher premium which leads to business going elsewhere. Company advertisements say “customers who switch” not “people who quote” save that much money. That’s why insurance companies can confidently state the savings.

This illustrates why it is so important to compare many company’s rates. Because you never know which auto insurance company will have the lowest rates.

Learn about auto insurance coverages

Understanding the coverages of your auto insurance policy can be of help when determining the right coverages for your vehicles. The terms used in a policy can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Below you’ll find the normal coverages offered by auto insurance companies.

Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP provide coverage for immediate expenses for things like nursing services, X-ray expenses and hospital visits. They are often used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance program or if you lack health insurance entirely. Medical payments and PIP cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not universally available and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Liability auto insurance

This protects you from injuries or damage you cause to a person or their property. Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You commonly see liability limits of 100/300/100 that means you have $100,000 bodily injury coverage, $300,000 for the entire accident, and a total limit of $100,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Occasionally you may see one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which combines the three limits into one amount with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability can pay for claims such as repair bills for other people’s vehicles, emergency aid and loss of income. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but consider buying as much as you can afford. West Virginia requires minimum liability limits of 20,000/40,000/10,000 but you should consider buying more liability than the minimum.

Comprehensive insurance

Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things like fire damage, damage from getting keyed, rock chips in glass and hitting a deer. The most a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)

This protects you and your vehicle when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for hospital bills for your injuries as well as damage to your vehicle.

Since many West Virginia drivers have only the minimum liability required by law (20/40/10 in West Virginia), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked. Frequently your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.

Collision protection

This coverage covers damage to your vehicle caused by collision with an object or car. You have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision insurance covers things such as colliding with a tree, backing into a parked car, sustaining damage from a pot hole, hitting a mailbox and driving through your garage door. This coverage can be expensive, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. You can also raise the deductible to save money on collision insurance.

Quote often and quote early

The cheapest auto insurance can be bought online and with local Bluefield insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best selection. Some companies do not offer you the ability to get quotes online and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

We just presented a lot of tips how to shop for auto insurance online. It’s most important to understand that the more price quotes you have, the better your comparison will be. Consumers could even find that the lowest rates come from an unexpected company. These smaller insurers can often provide lower rates in certain areas compared to the large companies like State Farm or Progressive.

More information about auto insurance

Additional information is located on the website for the West Virginia Insurance Commission. Click here for link. West Virginia drivers can learn about specific coverages, find out which companies have the most complaints, and report car insurance fraud.