9 Best Tips to Lower Car Insurance Costs in Longmont

Paying for high-priced car insurance can take a big chunk out of your bank account and force you to make sacrifices. Comparing price quotes is free and is an excellent way to slash your bill and have more diposable income.

With so many different company options, it can be impossible to pick the lowest price insurance company.

Buying affordable car insurance coverage in Longmont is quite easy. Essentially every driver who shops for car insurance will more than likely be able to reduce their rates. But Colorado consumers must understand how big insurance companies determine prices and take advantage of how the system works.

How to Compare Car Insurance Quotes in Longmont, Colorado

All the larger car insurance companies give coverage price quotes online. Getting quotes is quite simple as you simply type in your personal and coverage information into the quote form. After you submit the form the company’s rating system automatically orders your credit score and driving record and provides a quote based on these and other factors. Being able to quote online simplifies rate comparisons, but the time it takes to visit different websites and complete many quote forms is repetitive and time-consuming. But it is imperative to get many rate quotes if you are searching for a better rate.

There is a better way to compare rates

The quickest way to lower your car insurance bill uses one simple form that gets price quotes from more than one company. It’s a real time-saver, eliminates form submissions, and makes online shopping a little more enjoyable. As soon as the form is sent, it is rated and you can select any of the price quotes you receive.

If the quotes result in lower rates, you can click and sign and buy the new coverage. The entire process can be completed in less than 10 minutes and you’ll know if lower rates are available.

In order to find out how much you can save on car insurance, simply click here to open in new window and complete the simple form. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you type in your coverages identical to your current policy. This way, you are getting a rate comparison for similar insurance coverage.

Verify you’re getting all your discounts

Car insurance is not cheap, buy you may qualify for discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Some discounts apply automatically at quote time, but a few must be specifically requested before they will apply.

• Driver Safety – Completing a defensive driving course can save you 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
• Discount for New Cars – Insuring a new car can be considerably cheaper because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
• Early Signing – Select companies give a discount for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiration. This can save 10% or more.
• Anti-lock Brakes – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles can avoid accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
• Payment Discounts – If paying your policy premium upfront instead of paying each month you may reduce your total bill.
• Military Discounts – Being deployed with a military unit could mean lower rates.
• No Charge for an Accident – A handful of insurance companies permit an accident before hitting you with a surcharge so long as you haven’t had any claims prior to the accident.
• Federal Government Employee – Employees or retirees of the government can save as much as 8% with a few car insurance companies.
• Distant Student – Youth drivers who are attending college without a vehicle on campus may be able to be covered for less.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. Most only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. Just because it seems like you could get a free car insurance policy, it doesn’t quite work that way. But any discount will reduce the cost of coverage.

Won’t my local insurance agent miss me?

Certain consumers just want to buy from a licensed agent and that is just fine! One of the great benefits of getting online price quotes is the fact that you can find the lowest rates but also keep your business local. And providing support for small agencies is especially important in Longmont.

Upon completion of this quick form, the coverage information gets sent to participating agents in Longmont who will compete to get your business. You don’t have to visit any agencies due to the fact that quote results will go straight to your inbox. You can find better rates and a licensed agent to work with.

Captive and independent Longmont car insurance agents

When researching local Longmont agents, there are a couple of different types of agents that you can select. Agents are classified as either independent or captive.

Independent Insurance Agents

Independent agents are not locked into one company so they can insure your vehicles with lots of companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. If your agent finds better pricing, they simply move the coverage in-house and that require little work on your part. When searching for an agent, it’s recommended you contact at least one independent agent to get the best comparison.

Shown below are independent insurance agencies in Longmont that are able to give price quote information.

Riskplan Insurance – 659 4th Ave – Longmont, CO 80501 – (303) 776-5759
Jodi Lynch Agency – 939 Coffman St – Longmont, CO 80501 – (303) 678-0911
SRI Agency Inc – 615 Ken Pratt Blvd – Longmont, CO 80501 – (303) 485-8899
Westmoreland Agency – 1801 Sunset Pl # A – Longmont, CO 80501 – (303) 678-0358
Torres Insurance – 1013 Coffman St – Longmont, CO 80501 – (303) 776-8200

Captive Agents

These agents can only write with one company like Allstate, State Farm and Farmers Insurance. These agents are unable to give you multiple price quotes so they have to upsell other benefits. Captive agencies are very knowledgeable on their company’s products which can be an advantage.

Shown below is a list of captive insurance agencies in Longmont that are able to give price quotes.

American Family Insurance – 923 Main St – Longmont, CO 80501 – (303) 776-9870
Farmers Insurance Group – 1834 Main St – Longmont, CO 80501 – (303) 774-0732
Shelter Insurance – 1630 Main St # 103 – Longmont, CO 80501 – (303) 772-1609
State Farm Insurance – 1811 Hover Rd – Longmont, CO 80501 – (303) 651-0111
Farm Bureau Insurance – 720 Main St – Longmont, CO 80501 – (303) 776-7842
Allstate Insurance – 621 Ken Pratt Blvd – Longmont, CO 80501 – (303) 776-9454

To view a full list of Longmont captive agencies, please go to this site.

Deciding on an insurance agent requires more thought than just the bottom line cost. These are valid questions to ask:

• Does the company allow you to choose your own collision repair facility?
• Do they receive special compensation for putting your coverage with one company over another?
• Is vehicle mileage a factor when determining depreciation for repairs?
• Are they able to influence company decisions when a claim is filed?
• Do they have advanced training designations such as CPCU, AAI, AIC, or CIC?
• How are claims handled?

After getting answers to your satisfaction to all your questions in addition to an acceptable price estimate, it’s possible that you found an insurance agency that can provide car insurance coverage. But keep in mind you can always cancel your policy for any reason so never assume that you’re stuck with a policy with no way to switch.

Can you really save $421 a year?

Car insurance companies such as State Farm, Allstate and GEICO consistently run ads on TV and radio. They all seem to have a common claim about savings if you change to their company. How do they all make the same claim? It’s all in the numbers.

All companies are able to cherry pick for the driver that earns them a profit. An example of a profitable customer might be profiled as between the ages of 30 and 50, has no tickets, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A customer that hits that “sweet spot” is entitled to the best price and most likely will save when they switch companies.

Potential insureds who don’t meet the requirements must pay higher prices and ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. Company advertisements say “drivers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that much money. That’s why insurance companies can confidently advertise the savings.

This illustrates why it is so important to compare many company’s rates. You cannot predict which car insurance company will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Car insurance coverages and their meanings

Understanding the coverages of a car insurance policy helps when choosing appropriate coverage for your vehicles. The terms used in a policy can be impossible to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. Shown next are the normal coverages found on the average car insurance policy.

Medical expense coverage

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for expenses for things like surgery, ambulance fees and rehabilitation expenses. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. Medical payments and PIP cover you and your occupants and also covers being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Liability car insurance

Liability insurance will cover damage or injury you incur to other people or property that is your fault. Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You might see limits of 100/300/100 that translate to a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $100,000. Some companies may use one number which is a combined single limit that pays claims from the same limit without having the split limit caps.

Liability coverage protects against claims like bail bonds, medical services, repair costs for stationary objects, emergency aid and medical expenses. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but buy higher limits if possible. Colorado state minimum liability requirements are 25,000/50,000/15,000 but drivers should carry higher limits.

Collision protection

This coverage pays for damage to your vehicle resulting from colliding with another car or object. A deductible applies then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision insurance covers things such as scraping a guard rail, damaging your car on a curb, backing into a parked car and colliding with a tree. This coverage can be expensive, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. You can also increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Comprehensive protection

This pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. A deductible will apply then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage protects against things like hitting a bird, hail damage, damage from flooding, damage from getting keyed and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Uninsured or underinsured coverage

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

Since many Colorado drivers have only the minimum liability required by law (Colorado limits are 25/50/15), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family. Normally your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.

Shop smart and save

We just showed you some good ideas how to save on car insurance. It’s most important to understand that the more rate comparisons you have, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may even find the most savings is with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. Smaller companies may only write in your state and offer lower rates than their larger competitors like Progressive and GEICO.

While you’re price shopping online, it’s very important that you do not reduce needed coverages to save money. In many cases, an accident victim reduced collision coverage and found out when filing a claim that it was a big error on their part. Your focus should be to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.

Cost effective car insurance is available both online and with local Longmont insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance companies do not offer you the ability to get quotes online and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

More Colorado car insurance information

Much more information about car insurance in Colorado can be read on the website for the Colorado DORA Division of Insurance. Click here for link. Colorado consumers can read consumer alerts, discover disciplinary actions, find out which companies have the most complaints, and find out industry alerts.

Other informative sites include these car insurance answers and this link which helps you find a Longmont agent.