Learn How to Pay Less and Get More for Mansfield, OH Auto Insurance

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy overpriced auto insurance? Believe me when I say you are not the only one feeling buyer’s remorse.

Many car insurance companies compete for your business, so it’s not easy to compare every company to find the absolute best price available.

It’s a good habit to price shop coverage on a regular basis due to the fact that insurance rates trend upward over time. Just because you found the best rates six months ago you can probably find a better price now. Starting right now, block out anything you think you know about auto insurance because you’re going to learn how to use online quotes to properly buy coverages and cut your premium.

If you are paying for car insurance now, you should be able to save some money using these techniques. Buying car insurance in Mansfield is easy if you know what you’re doing. Nevertheless, Ohio car owners must comprehend how the larger insurance companies market on the web and use this information to your advantage.

How to Compare Mansfield Auto Insurance Rates

When shopping for auto insurance there are multiple ways to compare rate quotes from different in Mansfield, Ohioinsurance companies. The best way to find the lowest rates is to perform an online rate comparison. This can be accomplished in just a few minutes using one of these methods.

One of the simplest ways to get the best comparison quotes would be an industry-wide quote request form click to view form in new window. This type of form prevents you from having to do separate forms for every auto insurance company. Filling out one form will return quotes from multiple companies.
A slightly less efficient method to shop for auto insurance online requires you to visit the website for each individual company and complete a new quote form. For sake of this example, we’ll pretend you want rates from Liberty Mutual, Allstate and GEICO. To get each rate you have to go to every website and enter your policy data, and that’s why the first method is more popular.
For a list of links to insurance companies in Mansfield, click here.

Whichever way you use, double check that you are using the exact same coverage information for each comparison quote. If you use different liability limits you can’t possibly determine the best price in Mansfield. Slightly different coverage limits could mean much higher rates. Just remember that more quotes helps locate a lower rate.

Do you qualify for a discount?

Companies don’t list every discount very well, so here is a list some of the more common as well as the least known savings tricks you should be using.

Memberships – Being a member of certain professional organizations is a good way to get lower rates on auto insurance.
Discounts for Safe Drivers – Insureds without accidents can pay as much as 50% less than their less cautious counterparts.
Homeowners Savings – Owning a house in Mansfield may earn you a small savings because owning a home requires personal responsibility.
Low Mileage – Low mileage vehicles could be rewarded with a substantially lower rate.
Defensive Driver – Completing a course teaching defensive driving skills could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
Pay Now and Pay Less – If you pay your bill all at once instead of monthly or quarterly installments you can actually save on your bill.
Paperless Signup – Certain companies give back up to $50 for buying your policy online.
Student Driver Training – Require your teen driver to successfully complete driver’s ed class in high school.

As a disclaimer on discounts, some credits don’t apply to your bottom line cost. A few only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like medical payments or collision. Just because it seems like it’s possible to get free car insurance, you won’t be that lucky.

For a list of insurance companies with discount auto insurance rates in Mansfield, click here.

Informed Drivers can Cut Their Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that play a part in calculating your auto insurance rates. Knowing what influences your rates enables informed choices that could result in big savings.

Shown below are a partial list of the pieces auto insurance companies consider when setting premiums.

Choose a safe vehicle and save – Safer cars can get you lower premiums. These vehicles reduce injuries and fewer injuries translates into savings for insurance companies and more competitive rates for policyholders.
Your auto insurance rates can be influenced by your job – Jobs such as real estate brokers, architects and dentists tend to have the highest average rates in part from stressful work requirements and long work days. Other professions such as pilots, historians and the unemployed receive lower rates.
One company can mean more discounts – Most insurers will give a discount to people who consolidate policies with them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even if you’re getting this discount you may still want to comparison shop to verify if the discount is saving money.
Do men or women drive better? – Statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. That doesn’t necessarily mean that men are worse drivers. They both cause accidents at a similar rate, but the male of the species cause more damage. Men also tend to get cited for more serious violations like reckless driving and DUI. Teenage male drivers are the most expensive to insure and therefore are the most expensive to insure.
Traffic citations inflate rates – A bad driving record has a lot to do with how much you pay for insurance. Drivers who don’t get tickets receive lower rates than their less careful counterparts. Only having one speeding ticket can bump up the cost forty percent or more. If you have dangerous violations such as DUI or reckless driving may find they need to file a SR-22 to the state department of motor vehicles in order to prevent a license revocation.
Older drivers save more – Young drivers in Ohio have a tendency to be careless and easily distracted when driving so auto insurance rates are higher. Having to add a teen driver onto your auto insurance can really hurt. More mature drivers are more cautious drivers, tend to cause fewer accidents and get fewer tickets.

More detailed Ohio auto insurance information is located at the Ohio Department of Insurance website. Ohio consumers can find disaster information, download brochures, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, and get help finding coverage.

The articles below may also help you learn more about auto insurance in Mansfield

The auto insurance bait and switch

Auto insurance providers like State Farm, Allstate and GEICO constantly bombard you with ads in print and on television. They all make the same claim that you’ll save big if you switch to them. How do they all make the same claim? This is how they do it.

Insurance companies are able to cherry pick for the right customer that is profitable for them. For example, a preferred risk could be over the age of 40, a clean driving record, and has excellent credit. A propective insured who fits that profile will get very good rates and therefore will save a lot of money.

Potential insureds who don’t measure up to these standards must pay higher premiums which leads to business going elsewhere. The ads state “customers that switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that much. That’s why insurance companies can make those claims. This illustrates why it is so important to get as many quotes as possible. It is impossible to predict which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings.

In conclusion

While you’re price shopping online, don’t be tempted to buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. In many instances, an accident victim reduced full coverage only to find out they didn’t have enough coverage. The proper strategy is to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest price while still protecting your assets.

Budget-conscious auto insurance is possible from both online companies and also from your neighborhood Mansfield agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both to get a complete price analysis. Some insurance providers may not provide online quoting and many times these small, regional companies only sell through independent insurance agents.

You just learned a lot of tips how to shop for auto insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more times you quote, the better your comparison will be. You may even find the biggest savings come from some of the smallest insurance companies. Regional companies may only write in your state and offer lower rates than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate, GEICO and Progressive.