Is Your Huron, SD Car Insurance Too High? Save with These Tips

If price shopping car insurance online is new to you, you can be overwhelmed because of the huge number of online companies selling insurance in Huron.

It is always a good idea to price shop coverage once or twice a year since rates are usually higher with each renewal. Even if you think you had the lowest price a year ago there may be better deals available now. There is a lot of bad information regarding car insurance on the web, but by reading this article, you’re going to learn a lot of great tips on how to slash your car insurance rates.

How to Get Car Insurance in Huron, SD

Performing a rate comparison can take time and effort if you don’t understand the most efficient way. You can waste a lot of time talking about coverages with insurance companies in Huron, or you can stay home and use the web to get pricing more quickly.

Many insurance companies participate in an industry program where prospective buyers enter their policy data once, and every company then returns a price quote. This prevents consumers from doing form submissions to every company.

To participate in this free quote system, click here (opens in new window).

One minor caviat to getting quotes like this is that consumers can’t choose which companies to get quotes from. So if you prefer to pick individual companies to receive pricing from, we have assembled a list of the cheapest car insurance companies in South Dakota. Click here for list of insurance companies in South Dakota.

However you get your quotes, ensure you are comparing apples-to-apples coverages and limits for each comparison quote. If you have mixed coverages it’s impossible to determine the best price in Huron. Slightly different insurance coverages could mean much higher rates. And when price shopping your coverage, obtaining a wide range of quotes provides better odds of finding a better price.

Informed Drivers can Cut Their Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that help determine the price you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that will entitle you to lower car insurance prices.

Rates may be lower depending on your job – Occupations like doctors, executives and stock brokers tend to pay the highest rates due to job stress and lots of time spent at work. On the other hand, jobs such as scientists, students and the unemployed have the lowest average rates.
Do you qualify for a multi-policy discount? – Most insurers give discounts to insureds who consolidate policies with them such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. Discounts can be five, ten or even twenty percent. Even with this discount, it’s still a good idea to comparison shop to verify if the discount is saving money.
Poor credit can mean higher rates – Having a bad credit score is a important factor in your rate calculation. Drivers who have good credit tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims as compared to drivers with poor credit. Therefore, if your credit score is low, you could potentially save money when insuring your by spending a little time repairing your credit.
Women pay lower rates – The statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. Now that doesn’t mean men are worse drivers. Both sexes cause accidents at a similar rate, but the males tend to have more serious accidents. They also have more aggressive citations such as DWI and reckless driving.
More miles equals more premium – Driving more miles every year the more you will pay for car insurance. Most insurance companies price each vehicle’s coverage based on how the vehicle is used. Vehicles used primarily for pleasure use receive lower rates compared to those used for work or business. Double check that your car insurance coverage is rated on the proper vehicle usage, because improper ratings can cost you money.

These discounts can lower your rates

Auto insurance companies don’t always advertise every available discount very well, so we researched some of the best known and also the lesser-known ways to save on car insurance.

55 and Retired – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may be able to get reduced rates.
Federal Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job can earn a discount up to 10% with a few car insurance companies.
Low Mileage – Low mileage vehicles can qualify you for discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
Life Insurance Discount – Select insurance companies reward you with better rates if you take out auto and life insurance together.
New Car Discount – Putting insurance coverage on a new car can cost up to 25% less compared to insuring an older model.
Anti-theft System – Anti-theft and alarm systems prevent vehicle theft and earn discounts up to 10%.

A little note about advertised discounts, many deductions do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. Just because it seems like you could get a free car insurance policy, it doesn’t quite work that way.

Your local neighborhood insurance agent

Some consumers would rather visit with an insurance agent. One of the great benefits of getting online price quotes is the fact that you can find lower rates and still have an agent to talk to.

To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this form (opens in new window), your information gets sent to insurance agents in Huron who will return price quotes to get your business. You don’t have to drive around since price quotes are sent directly to your email. How cool is that?! You can find the lowest rates and an insurance agent to talk to.

Deciding on an provider requires more thought than just a cheap price. These are valid questions to ask:

Do they feel the quoted coverages are adequate?
Does the agency support the community they serve?
Are claim adjusters local or do you have to take your car somewhere else?
What insurance companies do they recommend if they are an independent agent?
Do they carry Errors and Omissions coverage?

Insurance agent types

When searching for a good Huron insurance agent, you need to know there are two types of agencies that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Insurance agencies in Huron are categorized either independent (non-captive) or captive.

Captive Insurance Agents

Captive agencies work for only one company such as Farmers Insurance or State Farm. They are unable to give you multiple price quotes so they have to upsell other benefits. These agents are well schooled on the products they sell and that can be a competitive advantage. Consumers frequently choose to use a captive agent mainly due to the prominence of the brand and the convenience of having all coverages with one company.

The following is a list of captive insurance agencies in Huron that can give you price quote information.

Farm Bureau Insurance – 2225 Dakota Ave S – Huron, SD 57350 – (605) 352-1318
Farmers Insurance Group – 1510 Dakota Ave S – Huron, SD 57350 – (605) 352-7864

Independent Agents (or Brokers)

Independent agencies are not locked into one company so they can insure your vehicles amongst many companies and potentially find a lower price. To move your coverage to a new company, the agent simply finds a different carrier and you won’t have to switch agencies.

When shopping rates, it’s a good idea to include price quotes from at least one independent agent to ensure the widest selection of prices.Most can insure with different regional companies which may provide better rates.

Shown below is a list of independent agencies in Huron who can help you get price quote information.

Chase Bierstedt Agency – 1640 Dakota Ave S – Huron, SD 57350 – (605) 352-5719
Vic Gross Insurance – 1371 Dakota Ave S # 104 – Huron, SD 57350 – (605) 352-7353
Rogers Agency Inc – 1288 Dakota Ave S # 2 – Huron, SD 57350 – (605) 352-8670
Bauman Agency – 19897 South Dakota Hwy 37 – Huron, SD 57350 – (605) 353-1112
Farm Bureau Insurance – 611 W Highway 14 – Huron, SD 57350 – (605) 352-1318

For a full directory of Huron insurance agents, visit this site.

Upon getting good answers for all questions you ask and an acceptable price quote, chances are good that you have found an insurance agency that meets your needs to properly insure your vehicles.

In conclusion

Cheap car insurance is attainable on the web as well as from independent agents in Huron, so compare prices from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance providers don’t offer online price quotes and many times these smaller companies only sell through independent insurance agents.

We just covered some good ideas how you can reduce car insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more price quotes you have, the better your chances of lowering your rates. Consumers could even find that the best price on car insurance is with an unexpected company.

Insureds who switch companies do it for a variety of reasons including poor customer service, policy cancellation, lack of trust in their agent and even not issuing a premium refund. Whatever your reason, finding the right car insurance provider is pretty easy and you might even save some money in the process.

More tips and info about car insurance is available at the South Dakota Division of Insurance website. Visitors are able to find out industry alerts, read consumer alerts, find out which companies have the most complaints, and read industry bulletins.