Spending Too Much for Car Insurance in Skowhegan? Here’s How to Save!

Finding the lowest cost Skowhegan car insurance on the web may be intimidating for consumers new to buying insurance on the web. With a ridiculous number of online companies, how can Skowhegan drivers even start to compare every company to locate the best available rates?

If you have a current car insurance policy or are shopping for new coverage, you can use this information to find better prices and possibly find even better coverage. This article will help educate you on how to effectively get price quotes and some tricks to saving. Maine consumers just need to know the proper way to get comparison quotes online.

Don’t pay full price with these discounts

Companies that sell car insurance don’t always advertise all their discounts very clearly, so the following is a list of some of the more common and the harder-to-find car insurance savings. If you’re not getting every credit available, you’re just leaving money on the table.

• Anti-lock Brakes – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes are safer to drive and will save you 10% or more.
• New Vehicle Savings – Insuring a new car can save up to 30% because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
• Payment Method – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of paying each month you could save 5% or more.
• Military Rewards – Being deployed with a military unit could be rewarded with lower premiums.
• Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts can save up to 15% on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
• Discount for Life Insurance – Larger companies have a break if you buy life insurance from them.
• Government Employees – Active or retired federal employment can save as much as 8% with a few car insurance companies.
• More Vehicles More Savings – Buying insurance for multiple cars or trucks on one policy could earn a price break for each car.
• Senior Citizens – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may receive a small decrease in premiums.

It’s important to note that most discounts do not apply to the entire policy premium. The majority will only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. So even though they make it sound like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it doesn’t quite work that way.

To see a list of providers with discount car insurance rates in Skowhegan, click here.

How to Get Cheap Car Insurance in Skowhegan

All major car insurance companies such as Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm quote coverage prices on their websites. The process doesn’t take much effort as you simply type in the coverage amounts you desire as detailed in the form. After the form is submitted, the company’s rating system gets information on your driving record and credit history and returns a price quote determined by many factors.

This simplifies rate comparisons, but the work required to visit several different sites and complete many quote forms can be a bit tiresome and repetitive. Unfortunately, it is important to do this in order to get the lowest possible prices on car insurance.

A more efficient way to find cheaper rates uses one form that gets price quotes from a lot of companies. It’s a real time-saver, reduces the work, and makes online shopping much more enjoyable. After sending the form, it is rated with multiple companies and you can pick any or none of the resulting price quotes. If the quotes result in lower rates, it’s easy to complete the application and purchase coverage. It takes less than 15 minutes and you’ll know if lower rates are available.

In order to use this form to compare rates, click here and complete the simple form. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you complete the form with the coverages exactly as they are listed on your policy. Doing this assures you are getting comparison quotes using the exact same coverages.

Lower your Skowhegan Car Insurance Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that help determine your car insurance rates. Knowing what determines base rates allows you to make educated decisions that will entitle you to better car insurance rates.

The following are some of the factors companies use to determine prices.

• Careful drivers pay lower rates – Your driving citation history has a lot to do with how much you pay for insurance. Just one citation can boost insurance rates by twenty percent. Careful drivers tend to pay less for car insurance than people who have multiple driving citations. Drivers who have severe citations like reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence may need to submit a SR-22 form with the DMV in their state in order to drive a vehicle legally.
• Special features that cut premiums – Owning a car that has an advanced theft prevention system can help lower your rates. Theft prevention features like LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM’s OnStar system can help prevent your car from being stolen.
• More people means more accidents – Being located in a small town can be a good thing when talking about car insurance. Lower population means fewer accidents. Drivers who live in large Maine cities have much more traffic to deal with and longer commutes to work. More time commuting means higher likelihood of an accident.
• Rate your vehicle for proper use – The more miles you rack up on your car in a year the more you’ll pay to insure your vehicle. Almost all companies apply a rate based on their usage. Cars and trucks left parked in the garage receive lower rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Make sure your car insurance policy is rated on how each vehicle is driven, because improper ratings can cost you money.
• Battle of the sexes – Statistics demonstrate women are more cautious behind the wheel. That doesn’t necessarily mean that women are BETTER drivers than men. Women and men tend to get into accidents at about the same rate, but the men cause more damage. Men also statistically get cited for more serious violations like reckless driving and DUI. Male drivers age 16 to 19 are the most expensive to insure and therefore are the most expensive to insure.
• Older drivers save more – Older drivers are more cautious drivers, statistically cause fewer accidents and receive fewer citations. Youthful drivers have a tendency to be more careless behind the wheel and because of this, their car insurance rates are much higher.
• Rates may be higher depending on your occupation – Jobs such as real estate brokers, business owners and stock brokers are shown to have the highest rates because of job stress and long work days. On the other hand, professions such as scientists, students and the unemployed pay the least.

What coverages do I need?

When it comes to choosing proper insurance coverage, there isn’t really a cookie cutter policy. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s.

For instance, these questions might point out if your situation might need an agent’s assistance.

• Can I pay claims out-of-pocket if I buy high deductibles?
• Does my insurance cover a custom paint job?
• Will my rates increase for filing one claim?
• Is pleasure use cheaper than using my vehicle to commute?
• Are all vehicle passengers covered by medical payments coverage?
• What is high-risk coverage and where do I buy it?
• When should I drop full coverage on my vehicle?
• Am I covered when renting a car or should I buy coverage from the car rental agency?
• If my vehicle is totaled, can I afford another vehicle?

If you’re not sure about those questions, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, fill out this quick form. It is quick, free and can help protect your family.

Local Skowhegan agents and car insurance

Some people prefer to get advice from a local agent and that is OK! Good agents are trained to spot inefficiencies and help submit paperwork. One of the best bonuses of getting online price quotes is you can get lower rates but still work with a licensed agent.

After filling out this simple form, your coverage information gets sent to participating agents in Skowhegan who will battle for your coverage. You won’t need to leave your computer because quoted prices will be sent to your email. How’s that for easy!

Picking a company should depend on more than just the premium amount. These questions are important to ask:

• Are glass claims handled on-site or do you have to take your vehicle to a repair shop?
• How long have they worked with personal auto insurance coverage?
• Does the agency support the community they serve?
• Do you have coverage for a rental car if your vehicle is in the repair shop?
• Do they carry Errors and Omissions coverage?

Best auto insurance agent in Skowhegan

When searching for an insurance agent, there are a couple of different types of agents that you can select. Agencies in Skowhegan are classified as either captive or independent. Both do a good job, but it’s important to know how they differ because it can impact buying decisions.

Captive Insurance Agents

Captive insurance agents work for only one company such as State Farm, AAA and Liberty Mutual. They are unable to place coverage with different providers so they have to upsell other benefits. They receive extensive training on the products they sell and that can be a competitive advantage. Consumers frequently choose to use a captive agent mostly because of the prominence of the brand and strong financial ratings.

Independent Agents (or Brokers)

Independent agents do not work for one specific company but rather can write business with many different companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. If your agent finds better pricing, your agent can switch companies and that require little work on your part.

When shopping rates, you should always include price quotes from at least one independent agent to have the most options to choose from.Many can place coverage with smaller companies who may have lower rates.

The following are independent agencies in Skowhegan that are able to give rate quotes.

• Prudential Insurance Co – 141 Water St – Skowhegan, ME 04976 – (207) 474-6499
• Skowhegan Insurance – 142 Madison Ave – Skowhegan, ME 04976 – (207) 474-8371

For a full directory of Skowhegan insurance agents, view this link.

Once you have good answers to these questions and locked in a price quote, you’ve probably found an insurance agent that meets your needs to insure your vehicles.

Slick advertising tricks that work

Maine drivers get pounded daily by advertisements for cheaper car insurance by Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm. They all seem to make the same claim that you can save after switching to their company.

How do they all say the same thing?

All companies can use profiling for the type of customer that is profitable for them. A good example of a preferred risk might be between the ages of 40 and 55, owns a home, and has a high credit rating. A driver who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and as a result will probably save a lot of money.

Potential insureds who fall outside these standards will be quoted a more expensive rate which leads to business going elsewhere. Company advertisements say “drivers who switch” not “people who quote” save money. That’s why insurance companies can confidently make those claims. This emphasizes why it’s extremely important to get quotes from several different companies. It’s not possible to predict which company will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Best coverage at the best price

We just presented a lot of ways to compare car insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more quotes you get, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers may even find the most savings is with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising.

Consumers who switch companies do it for a variety of reasons including an unsatisfactory settlement offer, being labeled a high risk driver, not issuing a premium refund or even high prices. Whatever your reason, choosing a new insurance company is easier than you think.

Discount car insurance can be sourced both online as well as from independent agents in Skowhegan, so you should be comparing quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. Some car insurance companies don’t offer you the ability to get quotes online and these small insurance companies work with independent agents.

Additional resources for Maine consumers

More detailed Maine car insurance information is available at the Maine Bureau of Insurance website. Visitors are able to download brochures, find disaster information, learn about specific coverages, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.