Finding better rates for Covington car insurance is always difficult for consumers not familiar with shopping for insurance online. You have so many options that it can quickly become a lot of work to find lower rates in Covington.
You should make it a habit to shop coverage around occasionally due to the fact that insurance rates are constantly changing. Even if you got the lowest price a few years ago there is a good chance you can find better rates now. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about car insurance because you’re about to find out the fastest way to find the best coverage while lowering your premiums.
The purpose of this article is to tell you how to effectively get price quotes and some tips to save money. If you are paying for car insurance now, you will be able to reduce your rates substantially using these tips. But Louisiana car owners must learn how the larger insurance companies sell insurance online and apply this information to your search.
Be sure to get all your discounts
Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you can get discounts that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of quoting, but lesser-known reductions have to be specially asked for before being credited.
- Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your bill all at once instead of paying each month you could save 5% or more.
- Defensive Driving Course – Taking a course teaching defensive driving skills could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
- New Vehicle Savings – Putting insurance coverage on a new car can save up to 30% due to better safety requirements for new cars.
- No Charge for an Accident – A few companies will forgive one accident before raising your premiums so long as you haven’t had any claims for a set time period.
- Life Insurance Discount – Companies who offer life insurance give a break if you buy auto and life insurance together.
It’s important to note that most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. Even though it may seem like all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies don’t profit that way. But all discounts will cut the cost of coverage.
To choose companies with discount car insurance rates in Covington, follow this link.
Car insurance coverages and their meanings
Learning about specific coverages of your policy can be of help when determining the best coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. The terms used in a policy can be difficult to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Collision coverages – This will pay to fix damage to your vehicle resulting from a collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision coverage protects against things like hitting a mailbox, colliding with another moving vehicle, sideswiping another vehicle, crashing into a building and colliding with a tree. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Coverage for uninsured or underinsured drivers – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. This coverage pays for hospital bills for your injuries as well as damage to your vehicle.
Due to the fact that many Louisiana drivers have only the minimum liability required by law (which is 15/30/25), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is very important. Usually your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.
Comprehensive car insurance – Comprehensive insurance covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive can pay for things like a tree branch falling on your vehicle, damage from a tornado or hurricane, hitting a bird, hail damage and rock chips in glass. The highest amount you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider dropping full coverage.
Liability car insurance – Liability insurance will cover damage that occurs to a person or their property. It protects you from legal claims by others. It does not cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You commonly see limits of 100/300/100 that means you have $100,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $100,000. Alternatively, you may have one number which is a combined single limit which provides one coverage limit without having the split limit caps.
Liability coverage protects against things like structural damage, medical expenses and loss of income. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is up to you, but consider buying as much as you can afford. Louisiana requires minimum liability limits of 15,000/30,000/25,000 but you should consider buying more liability than the minimum.
Coverage for medical expenses – Med pay and PIP coverage kick in for expenses for things like EMT expenses, rehabilitation expenses, hospital visits and prosthetic devices. They can be utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP coverage is not an option in every state and may carry a deductible
More consumer information in Louisiana
More information can be read on the Louisiana Department of Insurance website found here. Louisiana drivers can read consumer alerts, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, and learn about specific coverages.
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More effort can pay off
Discount car insurance can be bought from both online companies and also from your neighborhood Covington agents, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. A few companies may not provide online price quotes and many times these small insurance companies only sell through independent insurance agents.
Consumers switch companies for a number of reasons such as policy non-renewal, being labeled a high risk driver, extreme rates for teen drivers or even poor customer service. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, finding the right car insurance provider can be easy and end up saving you some money.
We just covered a lot of ways to save on car insurance. The key thing to remember is the more you quote, the better your comparison will be. Consumers could even find that the biggest savings come from a lesser-known regional company.