Is Your New York New York Auto Insurance Too High? Learn How to Lower Your Rates

Overpriced auto insurance can drain your personal savings and put a big crunch on your finances. Comparison shopping is a great way to make sure you’re not throwing money away.

Insurance companies such as Allstate, Progressive and GEICO all promote huge savings with fancy advertisements and it can be hard to sift through the bull and take the time to shop coverage around.

You should take the time to get comparison quotes once or twice a year since rates are rarely the same from one policy term to another. Even if you got the lowest rates on your last policy you can probably find a better price now. So just block out anything you think you know about auto insurance because you’re going to get a crash course in the only way to lower your annual insurance bill.

Lots of discounts mean lots of savings

Car insurance is not cheap, but there could be available discounts that you may not even be aware of. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at the time of quoting, but some must be specifically requested before being credited.

Early Signing – Some companies give discounts for switching policies prior to your current policy expiring. This can save 10% or more.
More Vehicles More Savings – Buying insurance for multiple cars or trucks on one policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
Driver’s Ed – Have your child take driver’s ed class in high school.
Anti-lock Brakes – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems are safer to drive and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
Seat Belts Save – Requiring all passengers to use a seat belt could save 15% off your medical payments premium.
Own a Home – Simply owning a home may earn you a small savings due to the fact that maintaining a home is proof that your finances are in order.

A little note about advertised discounts, some credits don’t apply to all coverage premiums. Most only apply to individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. Even though it may seem like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, it just doesn’t work that way. But any discount will reduce the cost of coverage.

To choose companies with the best auto insurance discounts in New York, click here.

Fast and Easy New York Auto Insurance Quotes

All the larger auto insurance companies quote coverage price quotes on the web. This process is pretty easy as you just type in your required coverages as requested by the quote form. Upon sending the form, their rating system pulls information on your driving record and credit history and provides a quote based on these factors. This makes comparing rates easy, but the process of having to visit many different websites and enter the same data into a form can be a bit tiresome and repetitive. But it’s very important to do this if you want to find lower prices.

A more efficient way to compare auto insurance pricing uses one form that gets prices from multiple companies. It saves time, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes online price comparison a little more enjoyable. After sending the form, it is rated with multiple companies and you can pick any of the quotes that you receive.

If you find a better price you simply finish the application and purchase the new policy. The whole process takes less than 15 minutes and may result in a nice savings.

To save time and find out if lower rates are available, click here to open in a new tab and fill out the form. To compare your current rates, we recommend that you enter as close as possible to your current policy. Using the same limits helps guarantee you’re receiving a fair comparison based on identical coverages.

Decisions you make can impact your rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that go into determining the rates you pay for auto insurance. Understanding what determines base rates helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs. New York New York insurance ad

Listed below are some of the items that factor into rates.

Do you work long hours in a high stress job? – Jobs such as doctors, executives and dentists are shown to have the highest average rates in part from high stress and long work days. Other jobs such as actors, historians and the unemployed pay the least.
Do you know you’re credit rating? – Having a bad credit score is a important factor in calculating your auto insurance rates. If your credit history is lower than you’d like, you could be paying less to insure your by spending a little time repairing your credit. Drivers who have high credit scores tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers who have poor credit.
Keep rates low by being claim-free – If you file claims often, you can pretty much guarantee higher rates. Companies in New York provide lower rates to people who file claims infrequently. Insurance coverage is meant to be used in the event of the large, substantial claims.
Where you live – Being located in a rural area can save you money when buying auto insurance. Fewer drivers means reduced accidents. Drivers who live in large New York cities tend to have traffic congestion and longer commute times. Longer commute distances means higher likelihood of an accident.

Compare online but buy from a local New York agent

Certain consumers would prefer to get advice from a local agent and that is a personal choice. The biggest benefit of comparing insurance prices online is that you can obtain better rates but also keep your business local. And supporting local agencies is important particularly in New York.

Once you complete this short form, the quote information gets sent to local insurance agents who will battle for your coverage. There is no reason to visit any agencies because quoted prices will be sent immediately to your email address. It doesn’t get any easier! You’ll get the best rates AND an agent nearby.

Insurance agents in New York come in two varieties

When researching an insurance agent, you must know there are a couple types of agencies that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Agents are either independent or captive.

Independent Agents (or Brokers)

These agents do not work for one specific company but rather can write business with lots of companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. If your agent finds better pricing, an independent agent can move your coverage and you don’t have to find a new agent.

When comparison shopping, it’s recommended you include several independent insurance agents for the best price selection.

Shown below are New York independent agencies that may be able to provide price quotes.

Econo World Agency Inc – 1270 Broadway # 908 – New York, NY 10001 – (212) 695-9444
Manhattan Agency – 601 W 26th St # 1515 – New York, NY 10001 – (212) 949-9200
Home Insurance Co – 59 Maiden Ln – New York, NY 10038 – (212) 530-7300
Converium Reinsurance – 1 Chase Manhattan Plz # 43 – New York, NY 10005 – (212) 898-5000
Madison Park Title Agency – 1 Chase Manhattan Plz # 23 – New York, NY 10005 – (212) 231-3351

Captive Insurance Agents

Captive insurance agents can only write with one company and examples are Liberty Mutual, State Farm, Allstate and AAA. Captives cannot provide prices from multiple companies so always compare other rates. These agents receive extensive training on their company’s products which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums.

The following are captive insurance agents in New York who can help you get price quote information.

Allstate Insurance Co – 5025 Broadway # 7 – New York, NY 10034 – (212) 544-8300
American Family Celebration – 275 7th Ave – New York, NY 10001 – (212) 206-1066
Liberty Mutual Insurance – 1133 Avenue Of The Americas – New York, NY 10036 – (212) 391-7500

For a full directory of New York captive agencies, please go to this site.

Picking an auto insurance agent should depend on more than just the price. These are valid questions to ask:

Is the agent and/or agency licensed to do business in New York?
Did they already check your driving record and credit reports?
If you have an accident, are you able to get your vehicle repaired at the shop of your choice?
Which insurance companies are they affiliated with?
Are there any discounts that you might be missing?
How much will you save each year by using a higher deductible?

After getting acceptable answers to any questions you have and an affordable coverage quote, chances are good that you have found an insurance agent that is a good match to adequately provide auto insurance.

Buy online or local, you save

Low-cost auto insurance can be bought both online and with local New York insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some auto insurance companies do not offer online quoting and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

We just covered many ways to lower your auto insurance rates. The most important thing to understand is the more you quote, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may even discover the biggest savings come from a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. They may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates than their larger competitors like State Farm or Progressive.

New York insurance information

Additional auto insurance information is available on the website for the New York Department of Financial Services found here. Visitors are able to read industry bulletins, view agent and company licensing information, and learn about specific coverages.

The following information may also be useful.