Cutting costs on Russellville car insurance might be difficult for people not familiar with online rate comparisons. With such a large choice of companies in the marketplace, it can quickly become a chore to find better prices.
Ten discounts for lower Alabama car insurance rates
Insuring your fleet can be pricey, but you may find discounts that many consumers don’t even know exist. Certain credits will be shown at the time of purchase, but occassionally some discounts must be specifically requested before you get the savings.
- Anti-theft System – Vehicles with anti-theft systems are stolen with less frequency and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Accident Waiver – This one isn’t a discount, but companies like Allstate and State Farm will allow you to have one accident before your rates go up so long as you are claim-free for a certain period of time.
- Good Students Pay Less – Excelling in school can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. The good student discount can last up until you turn 25.
- Senior Citizen Rates – Mature drivers may be able to get lower premium rates.
- Russellville Homeowners Discount – Being a homeowner may earn you a small savings since home ownership is proof that your finances are in order.
- Discounts for Federal Employees – Federal government employees may reduce rates when you depending on your company.
- Low Mileage – Low annual miles may allow you to get cheaper prices.
- Memberships – Being in a qualifying organization could earn you a nice discount on car insurance.
- Paper-free Discount – Some larger companies give back up to $50 for completing your application digitally online.
- Auto/Home Discount – When you combine your home and auto insurance and insure them with the same company you could save over 10 percent off each policy depending on the company.
As a sidenote, many deductions do not apply to all coverage premiums. Some only reduce individual premiums such as comp or med pay. So even though they make it sound like it’s possible to get free car insurance, that’s just not realistic.
Larger car insurance companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts can be read below.
- State Farm offers discounts including accident-free, multiple autos, good student, good driver, driver’s education, multiple policy, and passive restraint.
- Geico has savings for air bags, anti-lock brakes, seat belt use, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, and good student.
- Allstate offers premium reductions for 55 and retired, multi-policy, anti-lock brakes, good student, safe driver, and senior citizen.
- SAFECO may include discounts for multi-car, drive less, safe driver, teen safety rewards, and anti-theft.
- Farm Bureau policyholders can earn discounts including safe driver, multi-vehicle, 55 and retired, youthful driver, driver training, and renewal discount.
- Progressive may offer discounts for homeowner, continuous coverage, multi-vehicle, online quote discount, and good student.
- AAA offers discounts for good driver, good student, multi-car, anti-theft, pay-in-full, and multi-policy.
When getting a coverage quote, ask each insurance company which discounts can lower your rates. Savings may not apply to policies in your area. To view insurers with the best car insurance discounts in Russellville, click this link.
Why you might not save $485 a year
Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements that claim the cheapest auto insurance rates by Allstate, Geico and Progressive. All the ads seem to make the promise that people will save if you change to their company.
It sounds good, but how can they all have lower policy pricing?
Companies have strict underwriting profiles for the type of driver they prefer to insure. For instance, a preferred risk might be described as over the age of 50, has a clean driving record, and drives less than 5,000 miles a year. A customer who fits those characteristics will probably get the lowest auto insurance rates and is almost guaranteed to pay quite a bit less when switching companies.
Consumers who cannot meet this stringent profile will be charged more expensive rates which results in the customer not purchasing. If you pay attention, the ads say “people that switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much when switching. This is how insurance companies can advertise the savings.
Because each company has a different risk profile, it’s extremely important to quotes from several different companies. It’s just not possible to know which insurance companies will have better rates than you’re paying now.
Tailor your car insurance coverage to you
When buying proper insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a single plan that fits everyone. Everyone’s needs are different.
For example, these questions might help in determining whether your personal situation might need an agent’s assistance.
- Is business property covered if stolen from my car?
- Can I afford low physical damage deductibles?
- Do I get a pro-rated refund if I cancel my policy early?
- Should I rate my vehicle as pleasure use or commute?
- Am I covered when driving on a suspended license?
- Is business equipment covered while in my vehicle?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, fill out this quick form. It’s fast, free and you can get the answers you need.
Car insurance policy coverages
Understanding the coverages of a car insurance policy can be of help when determining the best coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The terms used in a policy can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision) – This coverage covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for things like hitting a deer, fire damage, damage from getting keyed and a broken windshield. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim 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.
Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance – This provides protection when the “other guys” either have no liability insurance or not enough. It can pay for medical payments for you and your occupants as well as damage to your vehicle.
Due to the fact that many Alabama drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits (25/50/25), 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. Usually the UM/UIM limits are set the same as your liablity limits.
Collision – Collision insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. A deductible applies and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision can pay for things like rolling your car, scraping a guard rail, hitting a mailbox and sustaining damage from a pot hole. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to raise the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Insurance for medical payments – Med pay and PIP coverage pay for immediate expenses such as X-ray expenses, hospital visits, nursing services and pain medications. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if you do not have health coverage. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is only offered in select states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Auto liability – This coverage can cover damage that occurs to other’s property or people by causing an accident. It protects you from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You commonly see policy limits of 25/50/25 which stand for $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Another option is one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which limits claims to one amount rather than limiting it on a per person basis.
Liability coverage pays for claims such as court costs, medical expenses, loss of income, emergency aid and attorney fees. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is up to you, but buy as large an amount as possible. Alabama requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/25,000 but drivers should carry better liability coverage.
Some additional reading
Additional car insurance information is located on the . Click here for link. Consumers can read industry bulletins, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, read state legal mandates and laws, and report car insurance fraud.
These articles may also be worth reading.
- Proven Ways for Comparing the Cheapest Russellville Arkansas Car Insurance
- Insider Advice on Paying Less for Russellville Auto Insurance
- Tips to Finding a Great Insurance Agency in Russellville
Don’t give up on affordable coverage
Drivers change insurance companies for any number of reasons including lack of trust in their agent, delays in paying claims, questionable increases in premium or high rates after DUI convictions. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch finding the right car insurance provider is not as hard as you think.
When trying to cut insurance costs, you should never buy less coverage just to save a little money. There are many occasions where drivers have reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits and discovered at claim time that they should have had better coverage. Your strategy should be to find the BEST coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
We’ve covered many ideas to save on car insurance. The key thing to remember is the more quotes you get, the better your comparison will be. Consumers could even find that the most savings is with a lesser-known regional company.