Car Insurance in Kennewick Washington – 9 Discounts Consumers are Unaware of

Sick and tired of scraping the payment together to pay your car insurance bill each month? Your situation is no different than many other drivers in Washington. Drivers have so many insurers to pick from, and although it’s nice to be able to choose, too many choices makes it more difficult to adequately compare rates.

Finding the lowest cost car insurance in Kennewick is simple if you know the tricks. If you have insurance now or need a new policy, you can use these techniques to cut your premiums while maximizing coverage. Washington drivers just need to learn the most efficient way to shop their coverage around over the internet.

Don’t miss out on these nine money-saving discounts

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but there could be available discounts to help offset the cost. A few discounts will automatically apply at the time of quoting, but a few need to be asked for in order for you to get them. If you don’t get every credit you deserve, you’re paying more than you need to.

• Sign Online – Certain companies may give you up to $50 simply for signing on their website.
• Drivers Education – Require your teen driver to enroll in driver’s education in high school.
• Own a Home – Owning a home in Kennewick may trigger a car insurance policy discount because owning a home is proof that your finances are in order.
• Save with a New Car – Putting insurance coverage on a new car is cheaper because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
• Accident Waiver – A handful of insurance companies allow you one accident before your rates go up if your claims history is clear for a set time period.
• Safe Driver Discount – Drivers who don’t get into accidents can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates than their less cautious counterparts.
• Good Student Discount – Performing well in school can save 20 to 25%. This discount can apply well after school through age 25.
• Government Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job could cut as much as 10% off with a few car insurance companies.
• Anti-lock Brakes – Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control prevent accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.

Drivers should understand that some credits don’t apply to your bottom line cost. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. Just because you may think you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies don’t profit that way. But all discounts will help reduce your premiums.

When should I use an insurance agent?

When choosing proper insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a “best” method to buy coverage. Each situation is unique and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For example, these questions can aid in determining whether or not you might need professional guidance.

• What is high-risk coverage and where do I buy it?
• Am I covered when pulling a rental trailer?
• Am I covered when delivering products for my home-based business?
• Should I have combined single limit or split liability limits?
• Should I put collision coverage on all my vehicles?
• How can I get high-risk coverage after a DUI?
• Do I really need UM/UIM coverage?
• What companies insure drivers after a DUI or DWI?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions, then you may want to think about talking to an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, simply complete this short form or click here for a list of car insurance companies in your area. It’s fast, free and you can get the answers you need.

Car Insurance through a local agent

Certain consumers prefer to visit with an insurance agent and there is nothing wrong with that. Good agents are trained to spot inefficiencies and help file insurance claims. One of the best bonuses of comparing rates online is the fact that you can find lower rates but still work with a licensed agent. Buying from local insurance agencies is important particularly in Kennewick.

To help locate an agent, after submitting this short form, your information is sent to agents in your area who will compete for your business. You won’t need to even leave your home due to the fact that quote results will go immediately to your email address.

Pick the best insurance agent in Kennewick for you

When researching a good insurance agency, you must know there are a couple different agency structures that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Agencies in Kennewick are categorized either captive or independent. Both types can do a good job, but it’s worth mentioning the difference between them because it can impact the type of agent you choose

Independent Insurance Agents

Independent agencies do not work for one specific company but instead can place your coverage with lots of companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. To move your coverage to a new company, the agent simply finds a different carrier and that require little work on your part.

When shopping rates, we recommend you get quotes from at least one independent agent to get the best comparison.

Listed below are Kennewick independent agencies that can give you comparison quotes.

Associated Agency Group – 6722 W Kennewick Ave # A – Kennewick, WA 99336 – (509) 783-5435
Sam Brown Insurance – 3205 W Kennewick Ave # D – Kennewick, WA 99336 – (509) 783-3535
Rich Carver Agency – 7511 W Arrowhead Ave # C – Kennewick, WA 99336 – (509) 736-1572
Becky Hogan Agency – 8382 W Gage Blvd # L – Kennewick, WA 99336 – (509) 735-8438
Pemberton Insurance Inc – 1915 N Steptoe St – Kennewick, WA 99336 – (509) 627-5522

Agency Captives

Captive agencies can only place business with one company such as American Family, Liberty Mutual and AAA. They usually cannot compare other company’s rates so they have to upsell other benefits. These agents are usually quite knowledgeable in insurance sales which can be an advantage.

Listed below is a short list of captive agents in Kennewick who can help you get price quote information.

Farmers Insurance Group – 4711 W Clearwater Ave – Kennewick, WA 99336 – (509) 735-3600
Allstate Insurance – 4306 W Clearwater Ave # F – Kennewick, WA 99336 – (509) 735-1525
State Farm Insurance – 5612 W Clearwater Ave – Kennewick, WA 99336 – (509) 735-0316

To view a complete directory of car insurance agents in Kennewick, visit this site.

Choosing a car insurance agent needs to be determined by more than just a low price. Some important questions to ask are:

• Do they assist clients in filing claims?
• Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?
• Are they full-time agents?
• How often do they review policy coverages?
• Is assistance available after office hours?
• Do they have any clout with companies to ensure a fair claim settlement?
• What insurance companies do they work with?

After receiving good answers to all your questions and locked in a price quote, chances are good that you have found a car insurance agent that is a good match to insure your vehicles. Keep in mind policyholders can cancel your policy at any time so never assume that you’re stuck with the car insurance policy for the full term.

Can switching companies really save?

Washington consumers can’t get away from ads for the lowest price auto insurance by State Farm and Allstate. All the companies have a common claim of big savings if you switch to their company.

How does each company make almost identical claims? It’s all in the numbers.

All companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer they prefer to insure. An example of a desirable insured might be profiled as between 30 and 50, insures multiple vehicles, and drives newer vehicles. A customer who matches those parameters is entitled to the best price and as a result will probably save when switching.

Potential insureds who don’t qualify for this ideal profile will be charged a more expensive rate which leads to the customer not buying. The ad wording is “drivers who switch” not “people who quote” save that much. That’s why insurance companies can confidently advertise the savings.

That is why drivers should compare many company’s rates. It’s just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Additional reading for car insurance information

Additional car insurance information is available on the website for the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner found here. Washington consumers can discover disciplinary actions, find a variety of consumer forms, learn about insurance regulations, and report car insurance fraud.

Also read more on this site for rates in Washington and this link where you can make Kennewick car insurance comparisons.

Car insurance coverage information

Understanding the coverages of a car insurance policy aids in choosing the best coverages for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be confusing and reading a policy is terribly boring. Listed below are the normal coverages available from car insurance companies.

Medical payments and PIP coverage – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for expenses like nursing services, pain medications, ambulance fees, rehabilitation expenses and hospital visits. They are often used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and will also cover any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Comprehensive auto coverage – This coverage covers damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive can pay for things such as hail damage, damage from a tornado or hurricane, hitting a bird and fire damage. The highest amount you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.

Liability coverages – Liability coverage provides protection from damage or injury you incur to people or other property in an accident. It consists of three limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have policy limits of 25/50/25 that translate to a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property. Occasionally you may see a combined single limit or CSL that pays claims from the same limit without having the split limit caps.

Liability coverage protects against claims like structural damage, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, bail bonds and repair costs for stationary objects. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase higher limits if possible. Washington state minimum liability requirements are 25,000/50,000/10,000 but drivers should carry more coverage.

UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage – This coverage gives you 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.

Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (Washington limits are 25/50/10), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is very important. Normally these coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.

Collision coverage – This coverage covers damage to your vehicle resulting from colliding with an object or car. A deductible applies then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision coverage protects against things like colliding with another moving vehicle, crashing into a ditch and driving through your garage door. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

A little work can save a LOT of money

We just presented a lot of information how to reduce car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may be surprised to find that the best price on car insurance is with a smaller regional carrier. Some small companies can often provide lower rates in certain areas than their larger competitors like Allstate or State Farm.

Cost effective car insurance is definitely available on the web and with local Kennewick insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to get a complete price analysis. Some insurance companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and usually these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

When you buy insurance online, it’s not a good idea to buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There have been many situations where someone sacrificed collision coverage only to find out they didn’t purchase enough coverage. The proper strategy is to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest price, not the least amount of coverage.