Is Your Lacey Washington Auto Insurance Too High? Learn How to Lower Your Rates

Paying for high-priced auto insurance can overdraw your personal savings and make it hard to pay other bills. Comparing price quotes is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to make sure you’re not throwing money away.

Companies like GEICO, Farmers Insurance and State Farm all claim big savings, bombarding you with catchy ads and it is difficult to see past the corporate glitz and take the time to shop coverage around.

Automobile Insurance Quotes in Lacey, WA

There are several ways to shop for auto insurance, and some are easier and takes less work. You could waste time driving to agents in Lacey, or you can stay home and use the web to get rates in a matter of minutes.

Most of the larger companies belong to an insurance system where prospective buyers only type in their quote data once, and every company can provide price quotes based on that data. This prevents consumers from doing quote requests to each company.

To access this free quoting program, click here (opens in new window).

The one downside to doing it this way is you are unable to specify which providers you will receive quotes from. So if you prefer to choose from a list of companies to compare, we have a listing of companies who write auto insurance in Washington. Click to view list.

Whichever method you choose, be sure to compare identical deductibles and coverage limits for every quote you compare. If your comparisons have different limits and deductibles on each one it will be very difficult to determine which rate is truly the best in Lacey. Just a small difference in coverages can mean a large discrepancy in price. Keep in mind that getting more free quotes will improve the odds of getting the best price.

Don’t miss out on these money-saving discounts

Companies offering auto insurance don’t always advertise every discount very clearly, so we took the time to find some of the best known and the harder-to-find savings tricks you should be using.

• Drive Safe and Save – Drivers who don’t get into accidents may save up to 50% more than their less cautious counterparts.
• Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your bill all at once instead of monthly or quarterly installments you can actually save on your bill.
• Life Insurance – Larger companies have a discount if you purchase life insurance.
• Homeowners Pay Less – Owning a home in Lacey may earn you a small savings due to the fact that maintaining a home shows financial diligence.
• Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Vehicles equipped with air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems may earn rate discounts of up to 25% or more.
• Accident Waiver – Some insurance companies allow you one accident before raising your premiums if your claims history is clear prior to the accident.
• Discount for Good Grades – This discount can save 20 to 25%. This discount can apply well after school through age 25.
• Sign Online – A few companies may give you up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up online.

As a disclaimer on discounts, some of the credits will not apply to the entire policy premium. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like collision or personal injury protection. Just because it seems like it’s possible to get free car insurance, auto insurance companies aren’t that generous.

To choose companies offering auto insurance discounts in Washington, click this link.

Why some people pay less for insurance in Lacey

Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that play a part in calculating your auto insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that will entitle you to much lower annual insurance costs.

Shown below are some of the factors used by your company to calculate prices.

• What are your deductibles? – Coverage for physical damage, termed comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, protects your car from damage. A few examples of covered claims are collision with another vehicle, vandalism, and burglary. Physical damage deductibles are the amount of money you are willing to pay out-of-pocket if you file a covered claim. The higher the amount you have to pay, the less your company will charge you for insurance.
• Don’t get talked into coverage you don’t need – There are a ton of add-on coverages that you can get tricked into buying if you aren’t careful. Insurance for vanishing deductibles, accidental death and motor club memberships are examples of these. These may sound like a good investment when talking to your agent, but if you don’t need them eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
• Safer cars are cheaper to insure – Cars with high safety ratings tend to have better insurance rates. Safer cars result in less severe injuries and any reduction in injury severity means lower claim amounts passed on to you as lower rates.
• Tickets mean higher rates – Drivers with clean records get better rates than bad drivers. Even a single ticket may increase your cost by as much as thirty percent. Drivers who get serious violations such as hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions may be required to file a SR-22 to the state department of motor vehicles in order to continue driving.
• Lower rates with optional equipment – Owning a car that has an advanced theft prevention system can get you a discount on your auto insurance. Theft prevention features such as vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems can help prevent your vehicle from being stolen.

Additional detailed information is located at the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner website. Washington drivers can find out which companies have the most complaints, learn about insurance regulations, and read state legal mandates and laws.

Other informative sites include this link for Washington coverage information and this list of agents in Lacey, WA.

The fine print in auto insurance ads

Auto insurance companies such as State Farm and Allstate regularly use television and radio advertisements. They all seem to make the same claim of big savings if you move your coverage to them. How can each company say the same thing? This is how they do it.

Insurance companies can use profiling for the type of driver that earns them a profit. For example, a driver they prefer might be profiled as over the age of 40, has no tickets, and drives newer vehicles. Any new insured who fits that profile will qualify for the lowest rates and as a result will probably save a lot of money.

Potential customers who don’t qualify for the requirements will be quoted higher rates and this can result in business going elsewhere. The ads state “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. This is how companies can truthfully make those claims. This emphasizes why it is so important to quote coverage with many companies. It’s just too difficult to predict which auto insurance company will have the lowest rates.

Shop smart and save

Cheap auto insurance is possible online as well as from independent agents in Lacey, and you need to price shop both to have the best rate selection. Some insurance companies don’t offer the ability to get a quote online and many times these small, regional companies only sell through independent insurance agents.

We just showed you some good ideas how to compare auto insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more price quotes you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Consumers could even find that the lowest priced auto insurance comes from an unexpected company. These smaller insurers may cover specific market segments cheaper than their larger competitors like Progressive and GEICO.