Discover How to Find the Lowest Price on Joliet, IL Auto Insurance

Sick and tired of scraping the payment together each month for car insurance? You are in the same boat as millions of other consumers. Numerous auto insurance companies battle for your insurance dollar, and it can be difficult to compare rates to find the lowest rate

You need to shop coverage around quite often due to the fact that insurance rates are rarely the same from one policy term to another. Despite the fact that you may have had the best deal on your last policy you can probably find a better price now. There is a lot of bad information regarding auto insurance on the internet, so by reading this article, you’re going to learn the best ways to reduce your auto insurance bill.

If you have a policy now or need a new policy, you will benefit by learning to find the best rates and possibly find even better coverage. Finding the best rates in Joliet is easy if you know what you’re doing. Illinois vehicle owners only need to know the proper way to compare company rates online.

How to Lower Your Auto Insurance Cost in Joliet, Illinois

Cutting your Joliet auto insurance rates is not rocket science. All you need to do is take a few minutes comparing rates provided by online insurance companies. This can be accomplished in a couple of different ways.

1. The most efficient way to get quotes for comparison is a comparison rater form click here to open form in new window. This easy form keeps you from doing separate quote forms for every auto insurance company. One quote request gets you coverage quotes .
2. A slightly less efficient method to get comparison quotes is to manually visit each individual company website to complete a price quote. For sake of this example, let’s say you want to compare State Farm, Esurance and Allstate. To get each rate you have to spend time on each company’s site to enter your coverage information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. To view a list of companies in Joliet, click here.
3. The hardest method of getting rate comparisons to and from local Joliet insurance agencies. Buying insurance online makes this process obsolete unless you prefer the professional advice of a licensed agent. Drivers can compare online quotes and get advice from an agent in your area. We’ll cover that shortly.

Which method you use is up to you, but double check that you are using apples-to-apples coverages and limits for every company. If your comparisons have unequal deductibles or liability limits it will be next to impossible to determine which rate is truly the best in Joliet.

These discounts can lower your rates

The price of auto insurance can be rather high, buy you may qualify for discounts to reduce the price significantly. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of quoting, but lesser-known reductions have to be asked about before they will apply. If you’re not getting every credit you deserve, you are throwing money away.

• Homeowners Pay Less – Owning a home in Joliet can save you money because of the fact that having a home requires personal responsibility.
• Resident Student – Children who live away from home and don’t have a car may qualify for this discount.
• Accident Forgiveness – A few companies will forgive one accident before raising your premiums as long as you don’t have any claims prior to the accident.
• Anti-theft Discount – Vehicles with anti-theft systems prevent vehicle theft and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
• Multiple Policy Discount – When you combine your home and auto insurance with the same insurance company you could get a discount of at least 10% off all policies.
• No Claims – Good drivers with no accidents pay less compared to frequent claim filers.
• Drivers Ed for Students – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to complete a driver education course if offered at their school.
• Organization Discounts – Participating in certain professional organizations may earn a discount when buying auto insurance.
• Anti-lock Brake System – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes are safer to drive and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.

Consumers should know that most discounts do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only cut individual premiums such as comp or med pay. Even though it may seem like adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies don’t profit that way. But all discounts will cut your overall premium however.

To see a list of insurers with the best auto insurance discounts in Joliet, click this link.

Quote online but still have a local agent

Some consumers would rather get advice from a local agent and that is a personal choice. Agents are trained to spot inefficiencies and give you someone to call. The biggest benefit of price shopping on the web is that you can obtain better rates and still have an agent to talk to. Buying from local agencies is important particularly in Joliet.

Once you complete this simple form, your coverage information is emailed to companies in Joliet who will battle to get your business. There is no reason to even leave your home since price quotes are sent directly to your email. Now that’s easy!

Is a captive or independent auto insurance agent right for you?

When searching for a reputable insurance agent or broker, you need to know there are two different types of agents that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Agencies in Joliet can either be captive or independent. Both types can insure your vehicles, but it’s worth mentioning the difference between them because it can influence the selection process.

Independent Agents (or Brokers)

Independent agencies do not work for one specific 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, the business is moved internally without you having to go to a different agency.

When searching for an agent, you should always get quotes from several independent insurance agents for maximum quote selection.

Shown below is a short list of independent agencies in Joliet who can help you get competitive price quotes.

John Bene’ Agency – 1400 Black Rd – Joliet, IL 60435 – (815) 725-3967
G L Tyus Insurance – 5 E Van Buren St # 216 – Joliet, IL 60432 – (815) 722-2700
Alpine Agency Inc – 819 Plainfield Rd – Joliet, IL 60435 – (815) 722-1370
Wayne A Horne Insurance Inc – 604 Western Ave – Joliet, IL 60435 – (815) 722-6212
Dyer Agency – 656 Glenwood Ave – Joliet, IL 60435 – (815) 723-2559

Agency Captives

This type of agents write business for a single company like Liberty Mutual, Allstate, Farmers Insurance or State Farm. They generally cannot give you multiple price quotes so they have no alternatives for high prices. Captive agents receive extensive training on their products and sales techniques which can be an advantage.

Below are captive agents in Joliet willing to provide price quotes.

Farmers Insurance Group – 100 S Larkin Ave – Joliet, IL 60436 – (815) 741-3300
Allstate Insurance – 1106 W Jefferson St – Joliet, IL 60435 – (815) 725-3600
State Farm Insurance – 914 Plainfield Rd – Joliet, IL 60435 – (815) 774-0480
American Family Insurance – 1948 Essington Rd – Joliet, IL 60435 – (815) 436-4764

To view a full list of auto insurance agents in Joliet, visit this link.

Selecting an auto insurance agent requires more thought than just the bottom line cost. Ask your prospective agent these questions:

• How are claims handled?
• If you are a high risk driver, do they have special markets for your coverage?
• Are they full-time agents?
• Do they make recommendations based only on price?
• How long has their agency been open in Joliet?
• What insurance companies do they recommend if they are an independent agent?
• Are glass claims handled on-site or do you have to take your vehicle to a repair shop?

Upon getting satisfactory answers to these questions and a good coverage price, you have narrowed it down to a car insurance agent that is a good match to service your policy.

Much more information about auto insurance in Illinois can be read on the website for the Illinois Department of Insurance. Click here for link. Visitors are able to learn about insurance regulations, view a list of available companies, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.

Final thoughts

We’ve covered many ideas to shop for auto insurance online. The key concept to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the higher the chance of saving money. You may be surprised to find that the lowest rates come from a smaller regional carrier. Regional companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments compared to the large companies like GEICO and State Farm.

Cheap auto insurance can be purchased online as well as from independent agents in Joliet, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best selection. Some insurance providers don’t offer online price quotes and many times these small, regional companies only sell through independent insurance agents.