Are you tired of robbing Peter to pay Paul to pay your car insurance bill each month? Your situation is no different than most other car owners in Rhode Island.
Having so many insurance companies to choose from, it’s nearly impossible to find the cheapest company.
It’s smart to take a look at other company’s rates periodically because prices change regularly. Just because you found the best deal on your last policy you can probably find a lower rate today. Don’t believe everything you read about car insurance on the internet, so we’re going to give you some excellent ideas to save money.
How to Get Car Insurance in Cumberland
To find the best car insurance prices, there are several ways to get quotes from local in Cumberlandcar insurance companies. The best way to find the cheapest insurance rates involves getting comparison quotes online. This can be done in several different ways.
- The single most time-saving way consumers can make multiple comparisons is to use a rate comparison form click to view form in new window. This form prevents you from having to do separate quotation requests for each company. One quote request will get you price quotes from multiple companies.
- A more difficult way to compare rate quotes is spending the time to visit each company’s website and request a quote. For instance, let’s assume you want to compare Liberty Mutual, Farmers and American Family. To get each rate you have to go to every website and enter your policy data, which is why the first method is more popular.
To view a list of companies in Cumberland, click here.
Which method you use is up to you, but make darn sure you compare identical coverage information on every quote. If you use different liability limits it’s not possible to determine the best price in Cumberland. Quoting even small variations in coverage limits may cause a big price difference. Keep in mind that quoting more will enable you to find better pricing.
Lower rates by qualifying for these nine discounts
Companies offering auto insurance don’t list every discount very clearly, so the following is a list of both well-publicized as well as the least known discounts you could be receiving.
- Braking Control Discount – Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control are safer to drive and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Clubs and Organizations – Participating in certain professional organizations is a good way to get lower rates on car insurance.
- Employee of Federal Government – Employees or retirees of the government could cut as much as 10% off with certain companies.
- Save with a New Car – Putting insurance coverage on a new car can save up to 30% because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
- Air Bag Discount – Cars that have air bags or motorized seat belts can receive discounts of more than 20%.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – By paying your policy upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you may reduce your total bill.
- Auto/Home Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles with one company you may save up to 20% off your total premium.
- Military Rewards – Being deployed with a military unit could mean lower rates.
- Discount for Swiching Early – A few companies offer discounts for signing up prior to your current policy expiring. The savings is around 10%.
A little note about advertised discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to all coverage premiums. The majority will only reduce specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies don’t profit that way.
To choose companies with discount car insurance rates in Rhode Island, click here to view.
Car insurance is unique, just like you
When it comes to buying coverage, there isn’t really a “best” method to buy coverage. Everyone’s situation is a little different so your insurance should reflect that Here are some questions about coverages that can help discover if you would benefit from an agent’s advice.
- Is rental equipment covered for theft or damage?
- Why does it cost so much to insure a teen driver in Cumberland?
- Is pleasure use cheaper than using my vehicle to commute?
- What should my uninsured motorist coverage limits be in Rhode Island?
- Is my nanny covered when driving my vehicle?
- What is the difference between comprehensive and collision coverage?
- Are split liability limits better than a combined single limit?
- Do I have coverage if my license is suspended?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
Even more information is located at the Rhode Island Division of Insurance Regulation website. Visitors are able to file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, download brochures, and find out industry alerts.
Other useful links include this resource for Rhode Island car insurance prices and this page of Cumberland insurance agents.
Car insurance specifics
Having a good grasp of your car insurance policy can be of help when determining the best coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. The terms used in a policy can be confusing and coverage can change by endorsement. These are typical coverage types available from car insurance companies.
Coverage for liability
This coverage will cover injuries or damage you cause to other people or property that is your fault. It protects YOU from legal claims by others, and doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show values of 50/100/50 which stand for $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $50,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability coverage pays for claims such as repair costs for stationary objects, funeral expenses, loss of income and legal defense fees. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a personal decision, but you should buy as high a limit as you can afford. Rhode Island state law requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/25,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy higher limits.
UM/UIM Coverage
This protects you and your vehicle from other drivers when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include hospital bills for your injuries and damage to your vehicle.
Since a lot of drivers have only the minimum liability required by law (25/50/25 in Rhode Island), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.
Coverage for collisions
Collision coverage will pay to fix damage to your vehicle resulting from a collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision can pay for things like hitting a mailbox, colliding with a tree, driving through your garage door, backing into a parked car and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are older. It’s also possible to bump up the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Medical costs insurance
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance kick in for immediate expenses like funeral costs, ambulance fees and dental work. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover all vehicle occupants in addition to any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision
This coverage will pay to fix damage that is not covered by collision coverage. A deductible will apply and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things like damage from getting keyed, hitting a deer and a broken windshield. The most your car insurance company will pay is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Quote often and quote early
Lower-priced car insurance can be found on the web and also from your neighborhood Cumberland agents, so compare prices from both to have the best selection. There are still a few companies who may not provide online quoting and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.
As you prepare to switch companies, do not buy poor coverage just to save money. There are many occasions where an accident victim reduced liability limits or collision coverage to discover at claim time that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. The aim is to find the BEST coverage at a price you can afford.
In this article, we presented a lot of techniques to lower your car insurance rates. The key concept to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Drivers may discover the lowest premiums are with the smaller companies. They may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments than their larger competitors like Progressive and Geico.