Car Insurance in Wheeling West Virginia – 6 Tips to Better Rates

Overpriced car insurance can overdraw your savings account, especially in this economy. Comparison shopping is free and is an excellent way to cut your insurance bill.

There are many auto insurance companies to buy insurance from, and although it’s nice to have a selection, lots of choices makes it harder to find the lowest cost provider.

It’s a good habit to get comparison quotes quite often due to the fact that insurance rates change regularly. Just because you found the best rates six months ago you may be paying too much now. You’ll find quite a bit of inaccurate information about car insurance online, so we’re going to give you some tested techniques to stop overpaying for insurance.

Take advantage of discounts

Insuring your fleet can be pricey, but you can get discounts that many people don’t even know exist. Some discounts apply automatically at quote time, but less common discounts must be specially asked for before they will apply.

• No Charge for an Accident – A handful of insurance companies will allow you to have one accident before your rates go up if you are claim-free prior to the accident.
• Payment Method – If you pay your bill all at once instead of monthly or quarterly installments you can actually save on your bill.
• Homeowners Pay Less – Being a homeowner can save you money because owning a home demonstrates responsibility.
• Passive Restraints – Cars that have air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can qualify for discounts up to 30%.
• Student in College – Any of your kids who are attending college without a vehicle on campus may qualify for this discount.
• Multi-car Discount – Buying insurance for more than one vehicle on the same car insurance policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.

Drivers should understand that some credits don’t apply to all coverage premiums. Most only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like medical payments or collision. 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 the amount you have to pay.

Compare Car Insurance Today

All major car insurance companies provide prices for coverage online. Getting online rates is pretty painless as you just enter the coverages you want as detailed in the form. After the form is submitted, the system sends out for reports for credit and driving violations and provides a quote based on many factors. Online price quotes streamlines rate comparisons, but the process of having to visit each company’s website and repetitively type in the same information can be a bit tiresome and repetitive. Unfortunately, it is important to get many rate quotes if you are searching for a lower rate.

There is a better way!

A quicker way to lower your rates uses one form that gets prices from several companies at one time. This type of form saves time, eliminates repetitive work, and makes online shopping much easier to do. Immediately after submitting the form, it is quoted and you can choose any or none of the quotes that you receive.

If the quotes result in lower rates, you can simply submit the application and purchase coverage. This process can be completed in a matter of minutes and could lower your rates considerably.

To save time and use this form to compare rates, click here and submit your coverage information. If you have coverage now, it’s recommended you enter the limits and deductibles identical to your current policy. This makes sure you will have comparison quotes for similar insurance coverage.

How to know if you need help

When it comes to choosing the best car insurance coverage, there really is no one size fits all plan. Everyone’s situation is unique so your insurance should reflect that Here are some questions about coverages that might help in determining whether your personal situation would benefit from an agent’s advice.

• Do I have any recourse if my insurance company denies a claim?
• Am I covered if I wreck a rental car?
• Do I really need UM/UIM coverage?
• Does having multiple vehicles earn me a discount?
• Can I afford to buy a different vehicle if my vehicle is totaled?
• I have good health insurance, so how much medical payments coverage do I need?
• Is a new car covered when I drive it off the dealer lot?
• Do I benefit by insuring my home with the same company?
• Who is covered by my policy?
• I don’t drive much so do I pay less?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you think they might apply to your situation, you may need to chat with an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, complete this form or click here for a list of car insurance companies in your area.

Specific coverage details

Having a good grasp of car insurance aids in choosing which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. Policy terminology can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. These are typical coverage types found on most car insurance policies.

Comprehensive auto coverage – Comprehensive insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive can pay for things like falling objects, rock chips in glass, fire damage, damage from flooding and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The most you’ll receive from a claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

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

Collision can pay for things such as crashing into a ditch, damaging your car on a curb and sideswiping another vehicle. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. It’s also possible to increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage – This provides protection from other motorists when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered claims include injuries to you and your family and damage to your vehicle.

Because many people carry very low liability coverage limits (20/40/10 in West Virginia), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is important protection for you and your family. Frequently these limits are similar to your liability insurance amounts.

Medical payments and PIP coverage – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance provide coverage for immediate expenses like prosthetic devices, ambulance fees, EMT expenses, surgery and doctor visits. The coverages can be used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover all vehicle occupants and will also cover any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Liability – Liability coverage will cover damage or injury you incur to a person or their property by causing an accident. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: 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 which means a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property. Some companies may use one number which is a combined single limit that pays claims from the same limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability coverage protects against claims like attorney fees, medical services, pain and suffering and structural damage. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible. West Virginia requires drivers to carry at least 20,000/40,000/10,000 but you should think about purchasing more liability than the minimum.

Keep this in mind

When you buy insurance online, you should never buy poor coverage just to save money. There are a lot of situations where an accident victim reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits and learned later that it was a big mistake. The ultimate goal is to purchase plenty of coverage for the lowest price, not the least amount of coverage.

Cost effective car insurance can be purchased both online and also from your neighborhood Wheeling agents, so you should compare both to have the best chance of lowering rates. There are still a few companies who may not provide online price quotes and many times these small insurance companies only sell through independent insurance agents.

Find out more about car insurance

More information is available on the website for the West Virginia Insurance Commission located here. West Virginia drivers can read state legal mandates and laws, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, read industry bulletins, and view agent and company licensing information.