Free Guide to Saving Money on Boulder Car Insurance Online

Scraping up a payment for overpriced car insurance can take a big chunk out of your savings account and force you to make sacrifices. Doing a price comparison is a great way to tighten up your finances.

There is such a variety of insurance companies to purchase coverage from, and even though it’s nice to be able to choose, lots of choices makes it harder to find the best rates for your vehicles.

Buying more affordable car insurance in Boulder is simple if you know the tricks. Just about every driver who shops for car insurance will more than likely be able to reduce their rates. But Colorado vehicle owners must learn how insurance companies sell insurance online because it can help you find the best coverage.

Pay less by taking advantage of discounts

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you may find discounts that many people don’t even know exist. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied when you purchase, but lesser-known reductions have to be specifically requested before they will apply.

  • Safe Drivers – Drivers who avoid accidents may receive a discount up to 45% less than their less cautious counterparts.
  • Low Mileage – Keeping the miles down can earn a substantially lower rate.
  • Student Driver Training – Cut your cost by having your teen driver successfully complete driver’s ed class in high school.
  • Paperwork-free – A handful of insurance companies will give a small break just for signing your application digitally online.
  • Passive Restraints – Vehicles with factory air bags or motorized seat belts may earn rate discounts of 20% or more.
  • Anti-theft System – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems can help prevent theft and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
  • Federal Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job could cut as much as 10% off with select insurance companies.
  • Braking Control Discount – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles can reduce accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
  • Military Discounts – Being deployed with a military unit can result in better rates.
  • Claim Free – Claim-free drivers pay less when compared with bad drivers.

It’s important to note that many deductions do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. The majority will only reduce specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. So even though it sounds like you can get free auto insurance, it doesn’t quite work that way. Any qualifying discounts will reduce the cost of coverage.

To choose companies with discount car insurance rates in Boulder, click here.

Where Can I Get Cheap Boulder Car Insurance?

There are several ways of comparing rates from different in Boulder, Coloradoinsurance companies. The fastest way to find the cheapest insurance rates consists of obtaining rate quotes online. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in several different ways.

The recommended way consumers can analyze rates is a comparison rater form like this one (opens in new window). This type of form saves time by eliminating separate quote forms to each individual car insurance company. Completing one form will return quotes direct from many companies.

A more difficult way to find lower rates is spending the time to visit each individual company website and fill out their own quote form. For example, we’ll pretend you want rates from Auto-Owners, State Farm and GMAC. You would have to visit each site to input your insurance information, which is why the first method is quicker. For a list of links to insurance companies in Boulder, click here.

It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just double check that you are using apples-to-apples coverage limits and deductibles on every quote you get. If you compare mixed coverages you will not be able to truly determine the lowest rate in Boulder. Having just a slight variation in limits can make a big difference in price. Just remember that obtaining a wide range of quotes gives you a better chance of getting the best price.

How your Boulder rates are determined

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that help determine your car insurance rates. Understanding what impacts premium levels allows you to make educated decisions that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.

  • Do you qualify for a multi-policy discount? – Some insurers will give a discount to customers who carry more than one policy in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even though this discount sounds good, you may still want to compare rates to verify if the discount is saving money. Drivers may still find better rates by buying insurance from more than one company.
  • Are you male or female? – The statistics show that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. However, don’t assume that men are WORSE drivers than women. They both have accidents at a similar rate, but the men cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Men also statistically get cited for more serious violations like reckless driving and DUI.
  • Type of vehicle determines base rates – The type of vehicle you are insuring makes a big difference in how high your rates are. The lowest base rates are generally reserved for economy passenger cars, but the final cost of insurance is determined by many other factors.
  • Always keep insurance in force – Having an insurance coverage lapse will be a quick way to pay more for car insurance. Not only will you pay more, but being ticketed for driving with no insurance can result in a revoked license or a big fine.
  • Optional equipment can affect rates – Owning a car with an alarm system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft devices such as tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar can help prevent auto theft.
  • Occupation reflects on rates – Careers like real estate brokers, architects and financial analysts tend to have higher average rates in part from stressful work requirements and long work hours. Conversely, jobs such as scientists, engineers and the unemployed receive lower rates.
  • Do you need those extra coverages? – There are a ton of extra bells and whistles you can purchase on your car insurance policy. Coverages for rental car reimbursement, better glass coverage and additional equipment coverage may be costing you every month. These may sound like a good investment when you first buy your policy, but now you might not need them so eliminate them to save money.

Beware of misleading car insurance ads

Companies like State Farm, Allstate and GEICO consistently run television and radio advertisements. All the ads make the same claim of big savings if you change to them. How does each company make the same claim?

All the different companies have a certain “appetite” for the right customer that makes them money. A good example of a preferred risk could possibly be between 25 and 40, has no tickets, and has a short commute. A customer who meets those qualifications is entitled to the best price and as a result will probably save a lot of money.

Potential insureds who don’t qualify for the “perfect” profile will have to pay higher premiums and ends up with business going elsewhere. Company advertisements say “customers that switch” not “people who quote” save money. That’s why companies can truthfully claim big savings.

Because of the profiling, it’s extremely important to quote coverage with many companies. It’s just too difficult to predict which company will give you the biggest savings.

Summing up your car insurance search

Cost effective car insurance can be found from both online companies as well as from independent agents in Boulder, and you need to price shop both to have the best rate selection. Some insurance companies don’t offer you the ability to get quotes online and these regional insurance providers work with independent agents.

In this article, we presented some good ideas how you can get a better price on car insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may even find the most savings is with some of the lesser-known companies. These companies often have lower prices on specific markets than their larger competitors like GEICO and State Farm.

Colorado insurance information

Additional information is available on the website for the Colorado DORA Division of Insurance through this link. Consumers can learn about insurance regulations, view a list of available companies, read consumer alerts, and get help finding coverage.

These articles may also be worth reading.