Being forced to pay for overpriced auto insurance premiums can dry up your family’s budget and force you to make sacrifices. Consumers have many auto insurance companies to buy insurance from, and though it is a good thing to have multiple companies, too many choices makes it more difficult to locate the cheapest rates.
Finding affordable coverage in Hatch is simple if you know the tricks. If you have a policy now or are just looking to switch companies, you can learn to find better prices and still get good coverage. New Mexico drivers just need to learn the proper methods to find the lowest price on the web.
Auto insurance discounts help lower rates
Auto insurance companies don’t necessarily list every policy discount in an easy-to-find place, so here is a list a few of the more common and the more hidden credits that may apply to you.
- Savings for New Vehicles – Adding a new car to your policy may earn a small discount since newer models have better safety ratings.
- Sign Early and Save – Some auto insurance companies provide a discount for renewing your policy early. It can save you around 10%.
- Telematics Discount – Drivers who elect to allow their company to study when and where they use their vehicle by using a small device installed in their vehicle such as State Farm’s In-Drive may get a rate reduction as long as they are good drivers.
- Theft Deterent – Anti-theft and alarm system equipped vehicles help deter theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Low Miles Discount – Driving less can earn discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
- Braking Control Discount – Cars equipped with ABS or steering control prevent accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Discount for Life Insurance – Some insurance carriers give a discount if you purchase some life insurance in addition to your auto policy.
- Good Students Pay Less – Performing well in school may save as much as 25% on a . You can use this discount normally up to age 25.
- Early Payment Discounts – If you can afford to pay the entire bill rather than paying monthly you can avoid monthly service charges.
- Cautious Driver Discount – Accident-free drivers may receive a discount up to 45% than less cautious drivers.
We need to note that some of the credits will not apply to your bottom line cost. Most only reduce individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though it may seem like it’s possible to get free car insurance, auto insurance companies aren’t that generous. But all discounts should help lower the cost of your policy.
Popular auto insurance companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts can be read below.
- Geico may have discounts that include emergency military deployment, air bags, anti-lock brakes, anti-theft, and military active duty.
- Travelers has discounts for payment discounts, good student, new car, IntelliDrive, multi-car, and hybrid/electric vehicle.
- Nationwide policyholders can earn discounts including easy pay, accident-free, anti-theft, good student, business or organization, and family plan.
- Farmers Insurance offers discounts including mature driver, distant student, electronic funds transfer, youthful driver, alternative fuel, and early shopping.
- Esurance may offer discounts for safety device, multi-car, defensive driver, emergency road assistance, and anti-lock brakes.
- State Farm may include discounts for safe vehicle, anti-theft, multiple autos, accident-free, and multiple policy.
- Progressive offers discounts for online signing, homeowner, online quote discount, multi-policy, good student, multi-vehicle, and continuous coverage.
- Mercury Insurance includes discounts for accident-free, age of vehicle, multi-policy, location of vehicle, and multi-car.
When getting a coverage quote, ask all the companies which credits you are entitled to. Depending on the company, some discounts might not be offered on policies in Hatch. For a list of auto insurance companies with discount auto insurance rates in New Mexico, click this link.
Finding a better price on auto insurance is surprisingly easy. You just have to invest a little time comparing price quotes online with multiple companies. You can get a good selection of rate quotes by following the guidelines below.
- One of the fastest ways to get quotes for comparison is an all-inclusive rate comparison (click to open form in new window). This quick form prevents you from having to do repetitive form entry for each price estimate. A single, simple form gets you price quotes from multiple low-cost companies.
- A less efficient way to analyze rates requires a trip to each company website and fill out their own quote form. For examples sake, let’s assume you need rates from Liberty Mutual, 21st Century and Progressive. In order to compare rates, you need to go to each individual site and enter your information, which can be really labor intensive. For a list of companies in Hatch, click here.
- If you have time to kill, the last method to compare price quotes is making phone calls or going to insurance agents’ offices. The fact that you can get quotes online has reduced the need for local agents unless you have a complicated situation and need the peace of mind of a local Hatch agent. Although you can comparison shop your insurance online but buy the policy through an agent.
You can use whichever method you prefer to find lower rates, just make sure you compare the same coverage limits for each price quote. If you enter different coverage information it will be nearly impossible to make a fair rate comparison in Hatch.
Specifics of your auto insurance policy
Knowing the specifics of your policy aids in choosing the right coverages and proper limits and deductibles. Policy terminology can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring. These are the normal coverages found on the average auto insurance policy.
Medical costs insurance
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP reimburse you for short-term medical expenses for funeral costs, surgery and X-ray expenses. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if you lack health insurance entirely. It covers you and your occupants and also covers being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is only offered in select states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Liability insurance
This provides protection from injuries or damage you cause to a person or their property in an accident. It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have policy limits of 50/100/50 which stand for a limit of $50,000 per injured person, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $50,000. Some companies may use one number which is a combined single limit which limits claims to one amount rather than limiting it on a per person basis.
Liability coverage pays for things like medical expenses, structural damage and repair costs for stationary objects. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy as high a limit as you can afford. New Mexico state law requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/10,000 but drivers should carry higher limits.
UM/UIM Coverage
This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered losses include injuries to you and your family as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since many New Mexico drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (New Mexico limits are 25/50/10), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage should not be overlooked. Usually these coverages do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision
This coverage pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like hail damage, hitting a bird and hitting a deer. The maximum payout you’ll receive from a claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider dropping full coverage.
Auto collision coverage
This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from colliding with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision can pay for claims like sustaining damage from a pot hole, colliding with a tree and rolling your car. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are older. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
More comparisons equals lower rates
Affordable auto insurance is attainable from both online companies and with local Hatch insurance agents, and you should be comparing both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some companies may not offer the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these small insurance companies only sell coverage through local independent agencies.
As you restructure your insurance plan, it’s a bad idea to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are a lot of situations where an insured cut uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The aim is to find the BEST coverage at the lowest possible cost, but do not skimp to save money.