I can’t think of a single person who likes paying for car insurance, especially knowing the price is too high.
You have multiple insurance companies to purchase coverage from, and although it’s nice to have multiple companies, having more auto insurance companies makes it harder to find the best rates for your vehicles.
You should make it a habit to take a look at other company’s rates occasionally since rates are adjusted regularly by insurance companies. Despite the fact that you may have had the best rates a few years ago the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. You can find a lot of misleading information regarding car insurance on the web, but by reading this article, you’re going to learn some solid techniques on how to find cheap car insurance in Omaha.
Buying car insurance in Omaha is not rocket science. Just about anyone who has to buy car insurance should be able to save money. But Nebraska drivers do need to know the methods companies use to market on the web and use this information to your advantage.
Omaha Car Insurance Comparisons
Most major insurance companies like State Farm and Allstate quote pricing directly from their websites. Getting online rates is quite simple as you simply enter your coverage information as requested by the quote form. After you submit the form the company’s rating system collects credit information and your driving record and generates a price. This helps simplify price comparisons, but the process of having to visit multiple sites and fill out multiple forms can be a bit repetitive. But it’s very important to do this if you are searching for lower prices.
Compare rates the easy way
The quickest way to lower your rates is to use a quote form to obtain quotes from a lot of companies. This type of form saves time, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes online shopping a little more enjoyable. Immediately after submitting the form, it is rated and you are able to buy your choice of the price quotes you receive. If a lower price is quoted, it’s easy to complete the application and purchase the new policy. The whole process can be completed in a matter of minutes and you’ll know if lower rates are available.
To find out if lower rates are available, click here to open in a new tab and enter your vehicle and coverage information. If you currently have coverage, we recommend that you enter the limits and deductibles just like they are on your policy. Doing this assures you will have rate comparison quotes using the same coverage and limits.
Cut your premium with these six discounts
Companies don’t always publicize all available discounts very clearly, so we took the time to find some of the more common and also the lesser-known discounts you could be receiving.
- Own a Home – Simply owning a home may trigger a car insurance policy discount because of the fact that having a home shows financial diligence.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Low mileage vehicles could be rewarded with a substantially lower rate.
- New Vehicle Savings – Adding a new car to your policy can be considerably cheaper due to better safety requirements for new cars.
- Anti-theft Discount – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems prevent vehicle theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Auto/Home Discount – When you have multiple policies with the same insurance company you will save 10% to 20% off each policy.
- Senior Discount – If you’re over the age of 55, you may qualify for better car insurance rates.
It’s important to note that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the overall cost of the policy. Some only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. Just because it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, it just doesn’t work that way.
To see a list of insurers with discount car insurance rates in Omaha, click this link.
Learn about car insurance coverages
Understanding the coverages of your policy aids in choosing appropriate coverage at the best deductibles and correct limits. Car insurance terms can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Shown next are the normal coverages offered by car insurance companies.
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers
This coverage protects you and your vehicle when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include hospital bills for your injuries as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law (Nebraska limits are 25/50/25), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked.
Medical expense insurance
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for bills for things like funeral costs, chiropractic care and rehabilitation expenses. They can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is only offered in select states and may carry a deductible
Liability car insurance
Liability insurance protects you from damage that occurs to a person or their property by causing an accident. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. Your policy might show limits of 100/300/100 which stand for a limit of $100,000 per injured person, $300,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $100,000.
Liability coverage pays for things like legal defense fees, pain and suffering, medical expenses and loss of income. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy as large an amount as possible. Nebraska state law requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/25,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy more liability than the minimum.
Collision insurance
This pays for damage to your vehicle resulting from colliding with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision coverage pays for claims like colliding with a tree, driving through your garage door, rolling your car and scraping a guard rail. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Another option is to choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision)
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like fire damage, damage from getting keyed, a tree branch falling on your vehicle, theft and a broken windshield. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider dropping full coverage.
A tidy conclusion
We’ve covered a lot of ways to shop for car insurance online. The key concept to understand is the more providers you compare, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. Consumers could even find that the best prices are with a lesser-known regional company. Some small companies may cover specific market segments cheaper as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive and Geico.
Discount car insurance is available from both online companies and with local Omaha insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best rate selection. Some insurance companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these small, regional companies sell through independent agents.
While you’re price shopping online, it’s very important that you do not sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. In many cases, consumers will sacrifice physical damage coverage and learned later that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your strategy should be to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate.
More detailed Nebraska car insurance information can be found at the Nebraska Department of Insurance website. Visitors are able to read state legal mandates and laws, learn about insurance regulations, and learn about specific coverages.