Top 7 Ways to Pay Less on Car Insurance in Tallahassee

Finding the lowest price for Tallahassee car insurance might seem complicated at first if you have never used online quotes. Don’t let that stop you because it’s actually quite easy.

If you have insurance now or need a new policy, you can use these techniques to get lower rates and possibly find even better coverage. Pricing affordable coverage in Tallahassee is not that difficult. Florida drivers only need to know the tricks to compare rates online.

Policy discounts you shouldn’t miss

The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but you can get discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Most are applied when you quote, but a few need to be inquired about before you will receive the discount. If you don’t get every credit available, you’re paying more than you need to.

• Discount for Good Grades – Getting good grades can save 20 to 25%. This discount can apply up to age 25.
• Federal Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job can save as much as 8% with select insurance companies.
• Senior Citizens – If you’re over the age of 55, you may qualify for better car insurance rates.
• Military Discounts – Having a deployed family member could mean lower rates.
• Driver’s Ed – Have your child enroll in driver’s education in high school.
• Braking Control Discount – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems prevent accidents and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
• Safety Course Discount – Taking part in a course teaching defensive driving skills could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.

It’s important to understand that most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as comp or med pay. So even though it sounds like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it doesn’t quite work that way. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce the amount you have to pay.

For a list of providers offering car insurance discounts in Florida, click here.

Where Can I Get Cheap Tallahassee Car Insurance?

Most major insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate and GEICO allow you to get price estimates on their websites. Getting online quotes is quite simple as you just type in as requested by the quote form. Upon sending the form, their rating system pulls credit information and your driving record and gives you a price quote based on these and other factors.

Quoting online makes it a lot easier to compare rates but having to visit several different sites and fill out multiple forms is monotonous and tiresome. But it’s absolutely necessary to do this in order to get lower prices.

There is a better way to compare rates

An easier way to find lower prices makes use of a single form that gets prices from a lot of companies. The form is fast, reduces the work, and makes rate comparisons much easier. After sending your information, it is quoted and you can select your choice of the resulting price quotes.

If a lower price is quoted, you can simply submit the application and purchase the new policy. The whole process only takes a few minutes and you will find out if you’re overpaying now.

If you want to find out how much you can save on car insurance, click here to open in a new tab and begin entering your coverage information. If you have coverage now, it’s recommended you input the limits and deductibles as shown on your current policy. This makes sure you will receive an apples-to-apples comparison based on similar coverages.

Car insurance coverages and their meanings

Learning about specific coverages of your policy can help you determine the best coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.

Auto collision coverage

Collision insurance pays for damage to your vehicle resulting from a collision with another car or object. You have to pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision coverage protects against things such as backing into a parked car, crashing into a ditch, driving through your garage door and colliding with another moving vehicle. This coverage can be expensive, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. Drivers also have the option to raise the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Medical expense coverage

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance reimburse you for immediate expenses for doctor visits, ambulance fees and hospital visits. The coverages can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. Coverage applies to all vehicle occupants in addition to any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Comprehensive protection

This pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for claims like hitting a bird, damage from a tornado or hurricane and hitting a deer. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Liability auto insurance

Liability insurance provides protection from damage that occurs to other’s property or people by causing an accident. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have limits of 25/50/25 that translate to a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Occasionally you may see a combined single limit or CSL which provides one coverage limit rather than limiting it on a per person basis.

Liability coverage protects against things like funeral expenses, emergency aid, repair costs for stationary objects, bail bonds and loss of income. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase higher limits if possible. Florida state minimum liability requirements are 10,000/20,000/10,000 but drivers should carry better liability coverage.

Uninsured or underinsured coverage

This protects you and your vehicle when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered losses include injuries to you and your family as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Since a lot of drivers have only the minimum liability required by law (10/20/10 in Florida), their limits can quickly be used up. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is important protection for you and your family. Frequently your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.

And the best car insurance company is…

Budget-conscious car insurance is available both online and also from your neighborhood Tallahassee agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best selection. A few companies may not provide online price quotes and these regional insurance providers work with independent agents.

When trying to cut insurance costs, it’s very important that you do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. In many cases, someone dropped collision coverage to discover at claim time that it was a big mistake. The ultimate goal is to find the BEST coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.

You just read a lot of ways to save on car insurance. The key thing to remember is the more you quote, the better your comparison will be. Drivers may discover the lowest priced car insurance comes from a lesser-known regional company.