Auto Insurance in Clarksville – 6 Discounts to Save Money

People not familiar with price shopping insurance online can find shopping for the cheapest Clarksville auto insurance very challenging.

If you currently have car insurance, you will most likely be able to reduce your rates substantially using these methods. Shopping for the lowest cost auto insurance coverage in Clarksville is not that difficult. But Tennessee car owners should learn the way insurance companies price online insurance.

Discounts are basically free money

Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but there could be available discounts that you may not even be aware of. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at the time of quoting, but less common discounts must be manually applied before they will apply.

• Memberships – Being a member of a qualifying organization could qualify you for a break when buying auto insurance.
• Multiple Cars – Having all your vehicles with the same company qualifies for this discount.
• Senior Discount – Older drivers may be able to get a small decrease in premiums.
• Military Discounts – Having a deployed family member could be rewarded with lower premiums.
• Bundle and Save – When you combine your home and auto insurance with the same insurance company you may earn at least 10% off all policies.
• No Charge for an Accident – A few companies permit an accident before your rates go up as long as you don’t have any claims for a set time period.

It’s important to understand that most discounts do not apply to the entire cost. The majority will only reduce specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. Just because it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies don’t profit that way. Any qualifying discounts will reduce the cost of coverage.

To choose providers offering auto insurance discounts in Clarksville, click here.

Beware of misleading auto insurance ads

Auto insurance providers like Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm regularly use ads in print and on television. They all say the same thing that you can save if you move to their company. But how can every company make almost identical claims?

All the different companies have a certain “appetite” for the type of driver they prefer to insure. For example, a profitable customer could possibly be between the ages of 30 and 50, has no driving citations, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. Any new insured that hits that “sweet spot” will qualify for the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to cut their rates substantially.

Consumers who do not match the requirements will be quoted higher premiums which usually ends up with business not being written. The ads say “drivers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that kind of money. That is how insurance companies can confidently make the claims of big savings.

This emphasizes why it’s extremely important to compare as many rates as you can. You cannot predict the company that will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Information about specific coverages

Learning about specific coverages of auto insurance helps when choosing appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. Policy terminology can be confusing and coverage can change by endorsement.

Comprehensive auto insurance

This coverage pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive insurance covers claims like hitting a deer, fire damage, damage from flooding, damage from getting keyed and a broken windshield. The maximum amount a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Coverage for collisions

Collision insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision coverage protects against things such as sustaining damage from a pot hole, damaging your car on a curb, scraping a guard rail and rolling your car. This coverage can be expensive, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible to bring the cost down.

Liability

Liability insurance protects you from injuries or damage you cause to other’s property or people 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 25/50/25 that translate to a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, $50,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. 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 coverage protects against claims such as attorney fees, repair costs for stationary objects and legal defense fees. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but buy higher limits if possible. Tennessee state minimum liability requirements are 25,000/50,000/15,000 but drivers should carry better liability coverage.

Coverage for medical expenses

Med pay and PIP coverage pay for immediate expenses for dental work, X-ray expenses, nursing services, ambulance fees and surgery. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. Coverage applies to both the driver and occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal Injury Protection is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Coverage for uninsured or underinsured drivers

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

Since a lot of drivers have only the minimum liability required by law (25/50/15 in Tennessee), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is very important. Frequently your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.

Much more information about auto insurance in Tennessee is located on the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance website found here. Consumers can file complaints about a company, read state legal mandates and laws, learn about insurance regulations, and learn about specific coverages.

One last thing about your coverage

Drivers switch companies for a variety of reasons including policy non-renewal, delays in paying claims, poor customer service or even high rates after DUI convictions. No matter why you want to switch, choosing a new company is pretty easy and you might even save some money in the process.

You just learned a lot of tips how to get a better price on auto insurance. The key thing to remember is the more quotes you get, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. Drivers may discover the most savings is with a lesser-known regional company.

As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, make sure you don’t reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where someone sacrificed physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your goal should be to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.