Finding affordable Billings auto insurance is nearly impossible for beginners to comparing rates online. People have so many options available that it can be a challenge to find the best price in Billings.
Consumers should take time to shop coverage around every six months since rates fluctuate regularly. Just because you found the lowest price on your last policy you can probably find a lower rate today. You can find a lot of wrong information about auto insurance online, so we’re going to give you some great ideas on how to put money back in your pocket.
If you are insured now or are looking for a new policy, you can use these techniques to reduce the price you pay while maintaining coverages. The purpose of this article is to instruct you on the best way to quote coverages and some money-saving tips. Montana consumers only need to know the best way to get comparison quotes online.
How to Get Cheap Auto Insurance in Billings
Getting a lower price on insurance doesn’t have to be difficult. All you need to do is spend a few minutes on the computer comparing rate quotes provided by online insurance companies. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in several different ways.
- The best way to compare a lot of rates at once is an all-inclusive rate comparison click to view form in new window. This form prevents you from having to do separate quotes for every auto insurance company. One quote request will return quotes direct from many companies. This is by far the quickest method.
- A more time consuming way to get quotes online requires you to visit the website for each individual company to complete their respective quote request forms. For instance, we’ll pretend you want to compare Geico, State Farm and GMAC. To get rate quotes you would need to go to every website to input your insurance information, which is why the first method is more popular. To view a list of companies in Billings, click here.
- The hardest method of comparing rate quotes to and from local Billings insurance agencies. The internet has reduced the need for local agents unless you have a need for the personal advice that only a license agent can provide. You can, however, obtain prices from the web and get advice from an agent in your area and we’ll touch on that later.
It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just be sure to compare identical quote information on every quote you get. If the quotes have different limits and deductibles on each one then you won’t be able to determine the best price in Billings.
Why your price might be higher
It’s important that you understand some of the elements that come into play when calculating your auto insurance rates. Knowing what influences your rates helps enable you to make changes that could result in better auto insurance rates.
The list below includes some of the factors that factor into premiums.
- Males pay more for insurance – Statistics show that women are safer drivers than men. That doesn’t necessarily mean that women are BETTER drivers than men. Women and men cause accidents at a similar rate, but the males cause more damage. They also receive more costly citations such as DWI and reckless driving. Young males are most likely to cause an accident and thus pay the highest rates.
- How credit affects auto insurance rates – Credit rating is a important factor in your rate calculation. People with excellent credit tend to be more responsible than drivers with lower credit scores. Therefore, if your credit history can use some improvement, you could be paying less to insure your by improving your credit score.
- High deductibles save money – Physical damage deductibles represent how much money you are willing to pay out-of-pocket before a claim is paid by your company. Physical damage coverage, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, protects your car from damage. Some examples of claims that would be covered would be colliding with a building, damage from fire, or theft. The more money the insured has to pay upfront, the less your auto insurance will be.
- Add-on coverages can add up – There are a lot of add-on coverages that you can get tricked into buying on your auto insurance policy. Coverages for vanishing deductibles, accidental death and additional equipment coverage are some examples. These may sound like a good investment when talking to your agent, but now you might not need them so eliminate them to save money.
- Theft deterrents lower rates – Owning a car with anti-theft technology or alarm system can get you a discount on your auto insurance. Anti-theft devices such as vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems can help prevent car theft.
Lower rates by qualifying for discounts
Insuring your fleet can be pricey, but companies offer discounts that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically when you quote, but some must be manually applied before you get the savings. If you’re not getting every credit you qualify for, you’re just leaving money on the table.
- Claim Free – Drivers who don’t have accidents pay much less when compared to drivers who are more careless.
- Government Employees – Active or retired federal employment may qualify you for a discount with certain companies.
- Accident Forgiveness – A handful of insurance companies permit an accident before your rates go up so long as you haven’t had any claims for a certain period of time.
- Sign Online – A handful of insurance companies will give a small break simply for signing digitally online.
- Safe Driver Discount – Drivers who avoid accidents may save up to 50% more than drivers with accidents.
- Discount for New Cars – Adding a new car to your policy can save up to 30% because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
- Anti-theft Discount – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems help deter theft and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Homeowners Discount – Being a homeowner can help you save on auto insurance because maintaining a house shows financial diligence.
- Multiple Cars – Buying coverage for all your vehicles on the same auto insurance policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
A little note about advertised discounts, most credits do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most cut individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. Just because you may think you could get a free auto insurance policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way. But all discounts will help reduce your overall premium however.
To see a list of providers with discount auto insurance rates in Montana, click this link.
Is my situation unique?
When it comes to buying the best auto insurance coverage, there really is no single plan that fits everyone. Each situation is unique.
Here are some questions about coverages that may help highlight if you could use an agent’s help.
- Do all my vehicles need collision coverage?
- Will I be non-renewed for getting a DUI or other conviction?
- Can I get a multi-policy discount for packaging my home and auto coverage?
- When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
- Do I qualify for additional discounts?
- Can I pay claims out-of-pocket if I buy high deductibles?
- Why am I required to buy high-risk coverage?
- Do I have coverage when making deliveries for my home business?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but one or more may apply to you, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, complete this form. It is quick, free and can provide invaluable advice.
Your local neighborhood insurance agent
Some people would prefer to buy from a local agent. Agents are trained to spot inefficiencies and give you someone to call. The best thing about getting online price quotes is you can get the best rates but also keep your business local. And providing support for local insurance agencies is important especially in Billings.
By using this short form, the quote information gets sent to local insurance agents in Billings who will compete for your insurance coverage. You don’t have to visit any agencies due to the fact that quote results will go to your email. It doesn’t get any easier!
Is a captive or independent insurance agent right for you?
When looking for a reputable insurance agent or broker, you need to know there are two different types of agents to choose from. Agencies in Billings are categorized either independent (non-captive) or captive. While both can write coverage properly, but it’s important to know how they differ since it can impact your agent selection.
Independent Insurance Agents
These agents are not locked into one company so they can insure your vehicles with many different companies and potentially find a lower price. To move your coverage to a new company, they simply move the coverage in-house and you won’t have to switch agencies.
When shopping rates, it’s a good idea to include price quotes from at least one independent agent to get the best comparison.Many can place coverage with lesser-known insurance companies which may provide better rates.
The following is a list of independent agencies in Billings that can give you pricing information.
- John Lenhardt Agency – 1643 24th St W # 211 – Billings, MT 59102 – (406) 652-6600
- Insurance Agency-Montana Inc – 2680 Overland Ave # C – Billings, MT 59102 – (406) 652-9786
- Connie Johnson Agency – 430 Grand Ave – Billings, MT 59101 – (406) 248-3111
- Key Insurance – 711 N 27th St – Billings, MT 59101 – (406) 256-5838
- Western States Insurance – 2180 Overland Ave # 102 – Billings, MT 59102 – (406) 656-9800
Captive Insurance Agents
Captive agents work for only one company such as AAA, Allstate, State Farm, Farmers Insurance or Liberty Mutual. They generally cannot give you multiple price quotes so they have no alternatives for high prices. These agents are well schooled on their products and sales techniques which helps them compete with independent agents. Consumers frequently purchase coverage from captives partially due to the brand legacy and solid financial strength.
Listed below are Billings captive agencies that can give you rate quotes.
- Farmers Insurance Group – 3025 Grand Ave – Billings, MT 59102 – (406) 652-4422
- State Farm Insurance – 503 Wicks Ln # 3 – Billings, MT 59105 – (406) 248-8088
- Farm Bureau Insurance – 1597 Avenue D # 5 – Billings, MT 59102 – (406) 255-2333
- Allstate Insurance – 1523 14th St W – Billings, MT 59102 – (406) 656-1331
To view a complete directory of auto insurance agents in Billings, view this link.
Deciding on a car insurance agent should depend on more than just the price. These questions are important to ask:
- Are they full-time agents?
- If you have an accident, will your rates go up?
- If you have an accident, are you able to get your vehicle repaired at the shop of your choice?
- How are they compensated?
- Do they specialize in personal lines coverage?
- How much can you save by raising your physical damage deductibles?
- What insurance company do they write the most business with?
After receiving reasonable responses to these questions and an affordable coverage quote, you have narrowed it down to an auto insurance agent that can service your policy.
Online plus local equals savings
When shopping online for auto insurance, it’s not a good idea to skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. In too many instances, an insured dropped physical damage coverage only to regret that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your strategy should be to get the best coverage possible for the lowest price, not the least amount of coverage.
We just presented many ideas to get a better price on auto insurance. The key thing to remember is the more you quote, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may even discover the most savings is with a lesser-known regional company.
Drivers switch companies for a number of reasons such as high prices, delays in responding to claim requests, not issuing a premium refund or even denial of a claim. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch finding a new company is easier than you think.
Find out more about auto insurance
Additional auto insurance information can be read on the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance website. Click here for link. Montana consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, read industry bulletins, and file complaints about a company.
Other informative sites include Wikipedia and this link where you can make Billings auto insurance comparisons.