Are you intimidated by the sheer number of auto insurance options in Weirton? Many other drivers are as well. You have so many options available that it can easily become a big hassle to find the best price.
Comprehensive Auto Insurance Comparison in Weirton, West Virginia
Most companies such as Geico, State Farm and Progressive allow you to get insurance quotes online. Getting online quotes doesn’t take a lot of time as you just enter the coverages you want as detailed in the form. When complete, the company’s rating system collects reports for credit and driving violations and provides a quote.
Online quotes makes it a lot easier to compare rates but the work required to visit several different sites and type in the same information gets old quite quickly. But it’s absolutely necessary to perform this step if you are searching for the best price possible.
There is a better way to compare rates
The preferred way to compare rates requires only one form that analyzes rates from a lot of companies. This type of form saves time, reduces the work, and makes rate comparisons much easier. As soon as you send your information, it gets priced and you are able to buy any of the quotes returned. If the quotes result in lower rates, it’s easy to complete the application and buy the policy. This process takes just a few minutes to complete and can result in significant savings.
To save time and get comparison pricing now, click here to open in new window and enter your information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you enter your coverages exactly as they are listed on your policy. Doing this guarantees you will get rate comparison quotes based on similar coverages.
Take advantage of discounts
Car insurance companies don’t always list all available discounts very clearly, so here is a list some of the best known and the more hidden auto insurance savings. If you’re not getting every credit possible, you’re just leaving money on the table.
- Use Seat Belts – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use their safety belts can save 10% or more off the personal injury premium cost.
- Clubs and Organizations – Being a member of a qualifying organization could trigger savings when shopping for auto insurance.
- Low Mileage – Low mileage vehicles could qualify for better rates on cars that stay parked.
- Payment Discounts – If paying your policy premium upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save 5% or more.
- Driver’s Ed – Have your child take driver’s ed class in high school.
- Air Bag Discount – Vehicles with factory air bags or automatic seat belts can receive discounts of more than 20%.
- Multiple Policy Discount – When you combine your home and auto insurance with the same insurance company you may earn at least 10% off all policies.
- Resident Student – Youth drivers living away from home attending college and don’t have a car may be able to be covered for less.
- Discounts for Safe Drivers – Safe drivers may save up to 50% more than drivers with accidents.
- Braking Control Discount – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes can reduce accidents and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
A little note about advertised discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to the overall cost of the policy. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though it may seem like you can get free auto insurance, you won’t be that lucky.
To see a list of providers who offer auto insurance discounts in Weirton, click here to view.
Do I need a local agent?
Certain consumers would rather talk to a local agent and that is OK! Professional agents can answer important questions and give you someone to call. One of the great benefits of price shopping on the web is that you can obtain better rates but also keep your business local.
Upon completion of this simple form, your coverage information gets sent to insurance agents in Weirton who will give you bids to get your business. There is no need to leave your house as quotes are delivered immediately to your email address.
Deciding on an insurer needs to be determined by more than just the price. Any agent should have no problem answering these questions:
- Are they full-time agents?
- How much can you save by raising your physical damage deductibles?
- Are claim adjusters local or do you have to take your car somewhere else?
- If they are an independent agency, which companies do they recommend?
- Do you have coverage for a rental car if your vehicle is in the repair shop?
- Can they provide you with a list of referrals?
- Which members of your family are coverage by the policy?
- Does the agency have a good rating with the Better Business Bureau?
Two types of Weirton insurance agents
When searching for a good insurance agency, you need to know there are two types of insurance agents from which to choose. Weirton agents are either captive or independent. Both types can insure your vehicles, but it’s good to learn the differences since it may influence the selection process.
Captive Insurance Agents
This type of agents can only place business with one company such as State Farm, AAA, Farmers Insurance or Allstate. They are unable to compare other company’s rates so they have no alternatives for high prices. Captives are trained well on their company’s products and that can be a competitive advantage. Some consumers prefer to buy insurance from these agents mainly due to the brand legacy and strong financial ratings.
The following are captive insurance agents in Weirton who may provide you with rate quotes.
- State Farm Insurance – 3318 West St – Weirton, WV 26062 – (304) 748-3535
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Independent agents are not locked into one company but rather can write business with many different companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. If you are not satisfied with one company, your agent can switch companies without you having to go to a different agency. When comparison shopping, we recommend you contact several independent insurance agents for maximum quote selection.Most can insure with smaller regional carriers which can be an advantage.
Shown below are independent agencies in Weirton that can give you price quote information.
- B C Yanni Agency Inc – 249 Beacon Dr – Weirton, WV 26062 – (304) 723-2330
- Kowalski Insurance and Financial – 3350 Pennsylvania Ave – Weirton, WV 26062 – (304) 723-7283
- Larry Pratt Agency – 3045 Pennsylvania Ave # 6 – Weirton, WV 26062 – (304) 723-4412
- Nationwide Insurance – 3319 Pennsylvania Ave # A – Weirton, WV 26062 – (304) 723-3311
To view a full list of auto insurance agents in Weirton, go to this page.
After receiving reasonable responses to all your questions in addition to an acceptable price estimate, you may have just found an insurance agent that will insure your vehicles. Just keep in mind you can always terminate your policy at any time so don’t think you’re contractually obligated to your new company for the entire policy term.
More detailed West Virginia auto insurance information can be found at the West Virginia Insurance Commission website. Visitors are able to read consumer alerts, find out which companies have the most complaints, view agent and company licensing information, and find disaster information.
Other useful links include this page for auto insurance in West Virginia and this page where you can also get Weirton auto insurance quotes.
Do you really save 40% when you switch?
Consumers can’t ignore all the ads for cheaper car insurance by companies like Geico, State Farm and Progressive. They all seem to make an identical promise about savings after switching to them.
How do they all make the same claim?
Insurance companies have a preferred profile for the type of driver they prefer to insure. For instance, a preferred risk could be over the age of 40, owns a home, and drives newer vehicles. A propective insured who matches those parameters receives the best rates and as a result will probably save quite a bit of money when switching.
Potential insureds who don’t measure up to the “perfect” profile will have to pay more money and this can result in the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ad wording is “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that kind of money. That’s why companies can advertise the savings. Because of the profiling, it is so important to compare as many rates as you can. It’s just too difficult to predict the company that will have the lowest rates.
Auto insurance coverages
Having a good grasp of your policy can be of help when determining which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. The terms used in a policy can be difficult to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring.
Liability car insurance
This coverage provides protection from damages or injuries you inflict on other people or property. Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You commonly see values of 100/300/100 that means you have $100,000 bodily injury coverage, a limit of $300,000 in injury protection per accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability coverage protects against things such as attorney fees, loss of income, emergency aid 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 much as you can afford. West Virginia requires minimum liability limits of 20,000/40,000/10,000 but you should consider buying higher limits.
Uninsured or underinsured coverage
Your UM/UIM coverage gives you protection when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. This coverage pays for hospital bills for your injuries as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since many West Virginia drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (20/40/10), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is very important.
Medical expense coverage
Med pay and PIP coverage provide coverage for short-term medical expenses like X-ray expenses, chiropractic care and surgery. They can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is not available in all states and may carry a deductible
Comprehensive protection
This covers damage from a wide range of events other than collision. A deductible will apply then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for claims like vandalism, hitting a deer, theft and fire damage. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Auto collision coverage
Collision insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision coverage pays for things such as colliding with a tree, hitting a mailbox and driving through your garage door. This coverage can be expensive, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. Another option is to choose a higher deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
More effort can pay off
People change insurance companies for a variety of reasons including an unsatisfactory settlement offer, delays in responding to claim requests, poor customer service or lack of trust in their agent. No matter why you want to switch, finding a new auto insurance company is not as difficult as it may seem.
When trying to cut insurance costs, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, someone dropped liability coverage limits only to regret that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your focus should be to buy enough coverage at the best price, not the least amount of coverage.
Cheaper auto insurance can be bought online in addition to many Weirton insurance agents, and you should be comparing both to have the best selection. There are still a few companies who do not provide the ability to get a quote online and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.