Top 8 Ways to Save on Car Insurance in Yarmouth Maine

Saving money on Yarmouth car insurance can seem to be nearly impossible for people who are new to comparison shopping online. People have so many choices that it can be a real hassle to locate the lowest price in Yarmouth.

If you currently have car insurance, you stand a good chance to be able to cut costs considerably using this information. The purpose of this post is to help educate you on the most effective way to quote insurance. Although Maine drivers benefit from understanding how insurance companies determine prices and use this information to your advantage.

How to Lower Your Car Insurance Cost in Yarmouth

Most major insurance companies allow you to get price estimates on their websites. Obtaining pricing is fairly simple as you just enter your required coverages as detailed in the form. Once you submit the form, their system will order reports for credit and driving violations and gives you a price quote based on these factors.

This streamlines rate comparisons, but the work required to visit different websites and enter the same data into a form gets old quite quickly. Unfortunately, it is important to get many rate quotes in order to find the best price on car insurance.

An easier way to find lower prices is to use a quote form that obtains quotes from more than one company. This type of form saves time, requires less work, and makes comparison shopping much easier to do. As soon as you send your information, it is quoted with multiple companies and you can pick any one of the quotes returned. If a lower price is quoted, you can simply submit the application and purchase coverage. The entire process takes 15 minutes at the most and may result in a nice savings.

To find out what other companies charge, simply click here to open in new window and submit your coverage information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you complete the form with your coverages identical to your current policy. Doing this assures you’re receiving a rate comparison based on similar coverages.

Discounts are basically free money

Companies offering auto insurance do not advertise all available discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we researched both the well known and the more hidden savings tricks you should be using.

• Payment Discounts – If you pay your bill all at once instead of paying each month you may reduce your total bill.
• Early Signing – Select companies give a discount for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiration. This can save 10% or more.
• Driver’s Ed – Require your teen driver to complete a driver education course if it’s offered in school.
• Safety Course Discount – Taking part in a course in driver safety can save you 5% or more if you qualify.
• Paperless Signup – Some insurance companies give back up to $50 just for signing your application on their website.
• Use Seat Belts – Drivers who require all occupants to use a seat belt can save up to 15% off your PIP or medical payments premium.
• Discounts for Safe Drivers – Drivers who avoid accidents can pay as much as 50% less than their less cautious counterparts.
• Anti-lock Brakes – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes can avoid accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discounts do not apply the the whole policy. Some only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. So even though it sounds like adding up those discounts means a free policy, it just doesn’t work that way.

To see a list of providers who offer car insurance discounts in Maine, click here.

But I want to work with a local agent

Some consumers prefer to sit down with an agent and that is OK! One of the best bonuses of comparing insurance prices online is you may find the best rates but still work with a licensed agent.

After filling out this quick form, your insurance coverage information gets sent to companies in Yarmouth who will battle for your insurance coverage. There is no need to visit any agencies due to the fact that quote results will go directly to your email. Now that’s easy! You can find better rates without the usual hassles of price shopping.

Deciding on an insurer needs to be determined by more than just the price. Here are some questions to ask:

• If you are a high risk driver, do they have special markets for your coverage?
• Which insurance companies are they affiliated with?
• Do they make recommendations based only on price?
• Is working in the agency their full-time job?
• Do they regularly work with personal auto policies?
• How are claims handled?
• Are you getting all the discounts the company offers?

Compare rates from both independent and captive insurance agencies

If you’re trying to find an insurance agent, there are two types of agencies to choose from. Yarmouth agents can either be independent (non-captive) or captive.

Captive Agents

Captive insurance agents are contracted to one company such as Allstate, Farmers Insurance, State Farm and AAA. Captives cannot compare other company’s rates so it’s a take it or leave it situation. Captive agencies are trained well on their company’s products which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums. Consumers sometimes buy from captive agents mainly due to the prominence of the brand and strong financial ratings.

The following are Yarmouth captive insurance agents that are able to give price quotes.

• Allstate Insurance – 360 Route 1 – Yarmouth, ME 04096 – (207) 846-8979

Independent Agents

These agents are not required to write business for one company but rather can write business with lots of companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. To transfer your coverage to a different company, the agent simply finds a different carrier and you won’t have to switch agencies. When comparison shopping, you should always contact several independent insurance agents to get the best comparison.Many can place coverage with different regional companies which can save you money.

Listed below is a list of independent insurance agencies in Yarmouth willing to provide comparison quotes.

• William R Goddard Insurance – 121 Main St – Yarmouth, ME 04096 – (207) 846-6660
• Stevens Insurance Inc – 10 Forest Falls Dr # 4 – Yarmouth, ME 04096 – (207) 846-3716

To view a complete directory of Yarmouth insurance agents, click here to link.

Upon receiving satisfactory answers to any questions you have and a good coverage price, most likely you have located an insurance agent that meets your needs to service your policy.

Do you really save 40% when you switch?

Progressive, Allstate and GEICO regularly use television and radio advertisements. All the companies have a common claim that you can save if you move your coverage to them. How can each company make the same claim? It’s all in the numbers.

Different companies have a certain “appetite” for the driver that makes them money. An example of a profitable customer might be profiled as over the age of 40, has no driving citations, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A customer getting a price quote who matches those parameters gets the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to cut their rates substantially.

Consumers who are not a match for the requirements will have to pay higher prices and this can result in the customer not buying. The ads say “drivers who switch” not “people who quote” save that much. That is how insurance companies can confidently advertise the way they do. Because of the profiling, you should compare many company’s rates. It’s just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.

The coverage is in the details

Understanding the coverages of car insurance aids in choosing appropriate coverage and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be confusing and coverage can change by endorsement.

Comprehensive car insurance – This pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things like hitting a bird, falling objects and damage from getting keyed. The highest amount a car insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider dropping full coverage.

Coverage for medical expenses – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for short-term medical expenses like pain medications, dental work and chiropractic care. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Liability auto insurance – Liability insurance will cover damage or injury you incur to people or other property. This coverage protects you from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t cover damage to your own property or vehicle.

Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You commonly see limits of 50/100/50 which means a limit of $50,000 per injured person, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $50,000.

Liability insurance covers claims like repair bills for other people’s vehicles, medical expenses, loss of income, attorney fees and repair costs for stationary objects. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but consider buying as large an amount as possible. Maine requires drivers to carry at least 50,000/100,000/25,000 but you should think about purchasing more coverage.

Collision coverage – Collision coverage pays for damage to your vehicle from colliding with another car or object. A deductible applies then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision can pay for things like sustaining damage from a pot hole, damaging your car on a curb, backing into a parked car and driving through your garage door. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. It’s also possible to increase the deductible to bring the cost down.

Coverage for uninsured or underinsured drivers – This provides protection from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered losses include hospital bills for your injuries as well as damage to your vehicle.

Since many Maine drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (50/100/25 in Maine), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked.

In conclusion

Drivers change insurance companies for any number of reasons including not issuing a premium refund, extreme rates for teen drivers, policy cancellation or poor customer service. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch choosing a new insurance company can be pretty painless.

As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, make sure you don’t skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There have been many situations where an insured cut liability coverage limits and learned later that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. The proper strategy is to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the best price, not the least amount of coverage.

In this article, we covered a lot of ways to get a better price on car insurance. The key concept to understand is the more providers you compare, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may even discover the best price on car insurance is with the least-expected company.

Additional reading for car insurance information

Additional detailed information can be found at the Maine Bureau of Insurance website. Consumers can learn about specific coverages, find a variety of consumer forms, and find out industry alerts.

Other informative sites include QuoteClickInsure.com and this link where you can get more info about Yarmouth coverage.