Top 8 Tips to Save on Car Insurance in Oshkosh, WI

Saving money on Oshkosh car insurance is hard for beginners to comparing rates online. Drivers have so many choices that it can quickly become a challenge to find the best price in Oshkosh.

Consumers should take time to take a look at other company’s rates once or twice a year due to the fact that insurance rates are usually higher with each renewal. Even if you got the lowest price a couple years back you will most likely find a better rate today. There is a lot of bad advice regarding car insurance on the web, but I’m going to show you a lot of great tips on how to quit paying high car insurance rates.

Finding Car Insurance in Oshkosh, WI

Comparing car insurance rates can take hours if you aren’t aware of the fastest way to get free quotes. You could waste time discussing policy coverages with local insurance agents in Oshkosh, or you can utilize online quoting to quickly compare rates.

Many popular insurance companies belong to a marketplace where prospective buyers enter their policy data once, and each company provides a quote based on that data. This prevents consumers from doing repetitive form submissions to every company.

To find out how much you can save on car insurance click here (opens in new window).

The only downside to pricing coverage this way is you can’t choose which carriers you want pricing from. So if you prefer to choose individual companies to receive pricing from, we have assembled a list of car insurance companies in Wisconsin. Click to view list.

Which method you use is up to you, but be sure to compare exactly the same coverages and limits with each company. If you are comparing unequal deductibles or liability limits you will not be able to make an equal comparison in Oshkosh. Slightly different insurance coverages may cause a big price difference. And when quoting car insurance, remember that quoting more helps you find lower pricing.

Are you falling for claims of savings?

Companies like 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm consistently run television and radio advertisements. All the ads say the same thing that you’ll save big if you change your policy. But how can every company make almost identical claims?

Different companies have a certain “appetite” for the right customer that is profitable for them. For example, a desirable insured might be profiled as between the ages of 30 and 50, is a homeowner, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. Any driver who fits that profile gets the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to pay quite a bit less when switching companies.

Consumers who fall outside these standards will be quoted higher prices and this can result in the customer not buying. The ad wording is “people who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save money. That is how insurance companies can make those claims. This emphasizes why it is so important to get as many comparisons as possible. You cannot predict which company will fit your personal profile best.

Companies offer discounts so take them!

Companies do not list every available discount very clearly, so we took the time to find both well-publicized and also the lesser-known savings tricks you should be using.

• Auto/Home Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles with the same company you could get a discount of at least 10% off all policies.
• Homeowners Pay Less – Simply owning a home may earn you a small savings because owning a home is proof that your finances are in order.
• Safety Course Discount – Taking a course in driver safety could cut 5% off your bill and easily recoup the cost of the course.
• Drive Less and Save – Keeping the miles down could qualify for lower rates on the low mileage vehicles.
• Early Signing – Some companies give discounts for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiring. This can save 10% or more.
• Good Students Pay Less – Getting good grades can save 20 to 25%. The good student discount can last well after school through age 25.
• Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your bill all at once instead of monthly or quarterly installments you can actually save on your bill.
• Safe Drivers – Drivers who avoid accidents can pay as much as 50% less than less cautious drivers.

It’s important to note that many deductions do not apply to all coverage premiums. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. So even though they make it sound like all those discounts means the company will pay you, you won’t be that lucky.

For a list of insurers with discount car insurance rates in Wisconsin, click here.

Even more information can be found at the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance website. Visitors are able to read consumer alerts, find out industry alerts, and report car insurance fraud.

Parts of your car insurance policy

Having a good grasp of your policy can help you determine the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Car insurance terms can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.

Auto liability insurance

This coverage will cover damage that occurs to other people or property in an accident. It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see values of 25/50/25 which means a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery.

Liability insurance covers things like repair costs for stationary objects, attorney fees, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and court costs. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but buy as large an amount as possible. Wisconsin requires drivers to carry at least 50,000/100,000/55,000 but you should think about purchasing higher limits.

Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance

This provides protection from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your vehicle.

Since many Wisconsin drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (50/100/55 in Wisconsin), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked.

Collision coverage

This covers damage to your vehicle resulting from a collision with an object or car. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision coverage protects against claims like driving through your garage door, crashing into a ditch and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Insurance for medical payments

Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for short-term medical expenses for things like hospital visits, pain medications, chiropractic care, rehabilitation expenses and nursing services. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. Medical payments and PIP cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and also covers getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not available in all states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)

Comprehensive insurance coverage will pay to fix damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive can pay for things like a broken windshield, damage from getting keyed, vandalism and theft. The most your car insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Smart consumers save more

As you prepare to switch companies, it’s very important that you do not sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. Too many times, consumers will sacrifice uninsured motorist or liability limits and discovered at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. The ultimate goal is to purchase plenty of coverage at a price you can afford.

In this article, we covered a lot of tips how to compare car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more quotes you get, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may even discover the best price on car insurance is with a lesser-known regional company.

Insureds change insurance companies for a variety of reasons including being labeled a high risk driver, not issuing a premium refund, high rates after DUI convictions or unfair underwriting practices. No matter why you want to switch, switching car insurance companies is not as difficult as it may seem.