Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can empty your savings account and make it impossible to make ends meet. Comparing price quotes is free and is an excellent way to lower your monthly bill.
You have so many insurers to insure vehicles with, and although it’s nice to have a selection, lots of choices makes it harder to compare rates and find the lowest cost car insurance.
Don’t miss out on these money-saving discounts
Companies that sell car insurance don’t always publicize all available discounts in an easy-to-find place, so the following is a list of both well-publicized and also the lesser-known savings tricks you should be using.
- Paperless Signup – A few companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks simply for signing on their website.
- Club Memberships – Being a member of a civic or occupational organization could trigger savings on car insurance.
- Passive Restraints – Vehicles equipped with air bags or motorized seat belts can qualify for discounts up to 30%.
- Driver Safety – Taking part in a course teaching defensive driving skills could save 5% or more if your company offers it.
- Safe Drivers – Drivers who don’t get into accidents may receive a discount up to 45% less than their less cautious counterparts.
A little note about advertised discounts, most discount credits are not given to the entire cost. Most cut specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. So when the math indicates you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you won’t be that lucky.
Factors that affect insurance rates
Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that come into play when calculating car insurance rates. Understanding what influences your rates allows you to make educated decisions that can help you get much lower annual insurance costs.
The list below includes a few of the “ingredients” companies use to determine your rates.
- Multi-policy discounts can save money – Many car insurance companies will give a discount to people who have multiple policies with them. It’s known as a multi-policy discount. Discounts can amount to ten or even up to twenty percent in some cases. Even though this discount sounds good, it’s in your best interest to compare other company rates to ensure the best deal. You may still find better rates by buying insurance from more than one company.
- Pleasure use saves money – The more you drive in a year the higher your rates will be. Almost all companies price each vehicle’s coverage based on their usage. Cars not used for work or commuting get more affordable rates compared to those used for work or business. Ask your agent if your car insurance policy is rated on the correct driver usage.
- Marriage pays dividends – Getting married helps lower the price on your car insurance policy. Marriage usually means you are more responsible it has been statistically shown that drivers who are married are more cautious.
- Liability coverage is peace of mind – Liability insurance provides coverage when a jury decides you are liable for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. Liability insurance provides legal defense up to the limits shown on your policy. Liability insurance is quite affordable compared to physical damage coverage, so buy as much as you can afford.
- Your credit rating is important – Your credit score is a large factor in determining your rates. Consumers who have good credit tend to be less risk to insure than drivers who have lower credit ratings. If your credit rating is low, you could be paying less to insure your by repairing your credit.
More resources for learning
Even more information is located at the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation website. Visitors are able to get help finding coverage, view agent and company licensing information, and file complaints about a company.
Additional helpful sites include this resource for Vermont car insurance prices and CarInsuranceDIY.com.
More quotes mean more savings
When shopping online for car insurance, it’s a bad idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where someone sacrificed collision coverage and learned later that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your focus should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the best price while still protecting your assets.
Throughout this article, we presented quite a bit of information on how to reduce car insurance prices online. It’s most important to understand that the more rate comparisons you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Consumers could even find that the lowest priced car insurance comes from the least-expected company. Some small companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate and Progressive.