Car Insurance in Hialeah, FL – 9 Discounts Consumers are Missing

Sick and tired of not being able to afford to insure your vehicles every month? You are no different than many other Florida drivers. Drivers have so many auto insurance companies to purchase coverage from, and although it’s a good thing to be able to choose, lots of choices makes it harder to compare rates and find the lowest cost car insurance.

It’s a good habit to get comparison quotes quite often since rates tend to go up over time. If you had the best deal a couple years back you may be paying too much now. Forget all the misinformation about car insurance because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to the best methods to find the best coverage while lowering your premiums.

Compare the Market for Car Insurance in Hialeah

Reducing your insurance rates is a fairly straight forward process. You just need to invest a little time to get quotes online from several insurance companies. This is very easy and can be done using a couple different methods.

1. The best way to get the best comparison quotes would be an industry-wide quote request form click to view form in new window. This easy form prevents you from having to do repetitive form entry for each company. Filling out one form will get you price quotes from multiple companies.
2. A harder way to shop for car insurance online is going to each individual company website and complete a new quote form. For examples sake, let’s assume you want to compare Nationwide, Farmers and Progressive. To find out each rate you need to spend time on each company’s site to input your insurance information, which is why most consumers use the first method.

   For a list of links to companies insuring cars in Hialeah, click here.

3. The least efficient way of comparing rate quotes to and from local insurance agencies. Shopping for car insurance online can eliminate the need for a local agent unless you require the personal advice of a local agent. Drivers can get prices online but buy from a local insurance agent and we’ll talk about that later.

It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but make sure you use the exact same deductibles and coverage limits for every quote you compare. If the quotes have different liability limits it’s not possible to determine the best price in Hialeah.

Save 15 percent in 15 minutes? Is it for real?

Consumers in Florida can’t get away from ads for cheaper car insurance by companies like Progressive, Allstate and GEICO. They all seem to have a common claim that you’ll save big if you switch to them.

How can each company claim to save you money? It’s all in the numbers.

Insurance companies are able to cherry pick for the type of driver that makes them money. For example, a desirable insured might be between 30 and 50, is a homeowner, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. Any new insured who fits that profile gets the lowest rates and therefore will cut their rates substantially.

Consumers who don’t meet the requirements will be quoted higher prices which usually ends up with the customer not buying. The ads say “customers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that much. That is how insurance companies can make the claims of big savings. This emphasizes why you absolutely need to get quotes from several different companies. It’s impossible to know which insurance companies will have the lowest rates.

Policy discounts you shouldn’t miss

Companies that sell car insurance don’t necessarily list every discount in a way that’s easy to find, so we researched some of the best known and the harder-to-find discounts you could be receiving. If you aren’t receiving every discount possible, you’re paying more than you need to.

• Clubs and Organizations – Participating in a professional or civic organization could trigger savings on car insurance.
• Federal Employees – Simply working for the federal government can earn a discount up to 10% depending on your company.
• Multiple Policy Discount – If you have multiple policies with one insurance company you will save at least 10% off all policies.
• Anti-lock Brakes – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes can avoid accidents and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
• Defensive Driver – Taking a course teaching defensive driving skills can save you 5% or more depending on where you live.
• Homeowners Savings – Simply owning a home can help you save on car insurance because maintaining a house requires personal responsibility.
• Discount for New Cars – Putting insurance coverage on a new car is cheaper since new cars are generally safer.
• Student in College – Any of your kids who live away from home and do not have a car can be insured at a reduced rate.
• Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of paying each month you may reduce your total bill.

Drivers should understand that most discounts do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Some only reduce individual premiums such as comp or med pay. Just because you may think it’s possible to get free car insurance, it doesn’t quite work that way.

To see a list of insurance companies with discount car insurance rates in Florida, follow this link.

Neighborhood insurance agents

Certain consumers just want to get advice from a local agent and that is a personal choice. Good agents are trained to spot inefficiencies and give you peace of mind. The best thing about getting online price quotes is that you can obtain better rates and still have an agent to talk to.

Upon completion of this short form, your insurance data is instantly submitted to insurance agents in Hialeah who will return price quotes for your business. There is no reason to leave your house due to the fact that quote results will go straight to your inbox.

Deciding on a company should depend on more than just the premium amount. These questions are important to ask:

• Are there any hidden costs in their price quote and does it include driving and credit history?
• Are glass claims handled on-site or do you have to take your vehicle to a repair shop?
• Do you have coverage for a rental car if your vehicle is in the repair shop?
• Is the agent and/or agency licensed to do business in Florida?
• Will vehicle repairs be made with aftermarket parts or OEM replacement parts?
• If your car is totalled, how to they determine the replacement cost?
• Do the companies they represent have a solid financial rating?
• Do the coverages you’re quoting properly cover your vehicle?

Two types of insurance agents

If you’re trying to find a reliable agent, you must know there are a couple different types of agents that you can select. Hialeah agents can either be captive or independent (non-captive). Both types can do a good job, but it’s worth learning the differences because it can influence the type of agent you choose

Agency Captives

This type of agents can only place business with one company and some examples include Farmers Insurance, American Family, State Farm and Allstate. These agents are unable to place coverage with different providers so they have to upsell other benefits. Captive agents are very knowledgeable on their products and sales techniques which can be an advantage.

The following are captive insurance agents in Hialeah that are able to give price quote information.

Allstate Insurance – 8002 NW 154th St – Hialeah, FL 33016 – (305) 829-1770
State Farm Insurance – 8090 W 21st Ct – Hialeah, FL 33016 – (305) 823-7820

Independent Insurance Agents

Independent agents are not employed by any specific company so they have the ability to put coverage with any number of different companies depending on which coverage is best. If you are not satisfied with one company, the business is moved internally and you don’t have to find a new agent.

When shopping rates, it’s a good idea to include at least one independent agent to get the best comparison.

Shown below are Hialeah independent insurance agents willing to provide price quote information.

All-Motors Assurance Agency – 1524 W 49th St – Hialeah, FL 33012 – (305) 362-6830
A J Hosea Insurance – 15555 Cairnryan Ct – Hialeah, FL 33014 – (305) 824-9994
Mercury Messenger Insurance – 4719 Palm Ave – Hialeah, FL 33012 – (305) 558-4466

To view a full list of licensed insurance agents in Hialeah, visit this site.

Upon getting acceptable answers and an affordable coverage quote, you have narrowed it down to an insurance agent that can adequately provide car insurance. Keep in mind consumers can cancel a policy at any point so don’t think that you are obligated to a policy for any length of time.

Even more information is available at the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website. Visitors are able to file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, discover disciplinary actions, and find out which companies have the most complaints.

Car insurance coverage breakdown

Having a good grasp of car insurance can be of help when determining which coverages you need at the best deductibles and correct limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Below you’ll find typical coverage types available from car insurance companies.

Liability coverages – Liability insurance will cover damage that occurs to a person or their property by causing an accident. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You might see limits of 25/50/25 that translate to a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000.

Liability can pay for things like emergency aid, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, attorney fees, pain and suffering and bail bonds. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but buy as large an amount as possible. Florida state minimum liability requirements are 10,000/20,000/10,000 but drivers should carry more liability than the minimum.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage – This provides protection when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered losses include hospital bills for your injuries as well as damage to your vehicle.

Since a lot of drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (10/20/10 in Florida), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.

Collision coverage – Collision coverage pays for damage to your vehicle from colliding with another car or object. A deductible applies and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision coverage protects against claims such as crashing into a building, sideswiping another vehicle, backing into a parked car and damaging your car on a curb. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider dropping it from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible to bring the cost down.

Comprehensive coverage – Comprehensive insurance will pay to fix damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first have to pay a deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive can pay for claims like theft, vandalism, hail damage and hitting a bird. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Medical payments coverage and PIP – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance reimburse you for immediate expenses like funeral costs, X-ray expenses, nursing services and dental work. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if you do not have health coverage. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and also covers any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

In conclusion

Lower-priced car insurance is available both online as well as from independent agents in Hialeah, and you need to price shop both to have the best selection. Some car insurance companies don’t offer online price quotes and usually these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

In this article, we covered many tips how you can lower your car insurance rates. The key thing to remember is the more you quote, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may even find the lowest premiums are with the smaller companies. Smaller companies may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm and Allstate.