Tired of scraping the payment together to buy car insurance? Your situation is no different than many other Arizona consumers. Due to the increasing number of options when it comes to car insurance, it can be diffult for people to choose the cheapest car insurance provider.
Car insurance policy discounts you can’t miss
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but there are discounts available to cut the cost considerably. Some trigger automatically at the time you complete a quote, but lesser-known reductions have to be specifically requested before they will apply. If you are not receiving all the discounts you qualify for, you could be paying more than you need to.
- Accident Free – Claim-free drivers get the best car insurance rates when compared with accident-prone drivers.
- Multiple Cars – Buying insurance for more than one vehicle with one company can get a discount for every vehicle.
- Auto/Home Discount – When you combine your homeowners and auto insurance with the same insurance company you could earn a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
- Data Collection Discounts – Drivers that enable data collection to look at vehicle usage by using a small device installed in their vehicle such as Snapshot from Progressive or Drivewise from Allstate could see a rate decrease if they have good driving habits.
- Good Student Discount – Being a good student can earn a discount of 20% or more. Earning this discount can benefit you up to age 25.
As a footnote on discounts, most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. Some only reduce specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though the math looks like adding up those discounts means a free policy, you won’t be that lucky. Any amount of discount will help lower your overall premium however.
A list of companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts are included below.
- State Farm includes discounts for defensive driving training, accident-free, Drive Safe & Save, safe vehicle, and good student.
- American Family offers premium reductions for defensive driver, good student, TimeAway discount, bundled insurance, and multi-vehicle.
- Geico may have discounts that include federal employee, defensive driver, membership and employees, multi-vehicle, anti-lock brakes, and daytime running lights.
- 21st Century policyholders can earn discounts including automatic seat belts, student driver, driver training, homeowners, 55 and older, early bird, and anti-lock brakes.
- Progressive has savings for good student, online signing, multi-vehicle, homeowner, and online quote discount.
When getting a coverage quote, ask every insurance company which discounts they offer. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts may not apply in every state. To find insurance companies with the best discounts in Cave Creek, click this link.
Insurance agents can help
When choosing adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there is no best way to insure your cars. Every insured’s situation is different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For example, these questions can help discover if your insurance needs might need professional guidance.
- Is Arizona a no-fault state?
- Does my vehicle need full coverage?
- Do I have coverage when pulling a U-Haul trailer?
- Are there companies who specialize in insuring high-risk drivers?
- Is business equipment covered while in my vehicle?
- Does my personal policy cover me when driving my company car?
- How can I get high-risk coverage after a DUI?
- Is my babysitter covered when using my vehicle?
If you’re not sure about those questions but you know they apply to you, you may need to chat with a licensed insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, take a second and complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and can help protect your family.
Learn about car insurance coverages
Learning about specific coverages of a car insurance policy can be of help when determining which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. These are the normal coverages available from car insurance companies.
Collision coverage protection
Collision insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision coverage pays for claims like hitting a parking meter, crashing into a ditch, crashing into a building, damaging your car on a curb and scraping a guard rail. This coverage can be expensive, so consider removing coverage from older vehicles. You can also raise the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Comprehensive coverages
This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for claims like vandalism, damage from a tornado or hurricane, damage from getting keyed and falling objects. The maximum payout your car insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Auto liability
Liability insurance can cover damage that occurs to a person or their property that is your fault. This coverage protects you against other people’s claims. Liability doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
Coverage consists of three different limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You might see values of 100/300/100 which stand for $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability insurance covers things like legal defense fees, loss of income, court costs, structural damage and medical services. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a personal decision, but consider buying higher limits if possible. Arizona requires minimum liability limits of 15,000/30,000/10,000 but you should consider buying better liability coverage.
Uninsured and underinsured coverage
This provides protection from other motorists when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered claims include hospital bills for your injuries and damage to your vehicle.
Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits (Arizona limits are 15/30/10), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. So UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.
Coverage for medical payments
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP provide coverage for short-term medical expenses for things like pain medications, hospital visits, doctor visits and surgery. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. Coverage applies to not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
More Arizona car insurance information
Additional detailed information is available at the Arizona Department of Insurance website. Arizona consumers can read enforcement actions against agents and companies, read state legal mandates and laws, and view agent and company licensing information.
Summing up your car insurance search
You just read quite a bit of information on how to compare car insurance auto insurance rates online. It’s most important to understand that the more companies you get premium rates for, the better your chances of lowering your premium rates. Drivers may discover the best price on car insurance is with a small mutual company. Smaller companies often have lower premium rates on specific markets than their larger competitors like State Farm, Geico and Nationwide.
As you restructure your insurance plan, it’s a bad idea to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. In many instances, consumers will sacrifice liability coverage limits and discovered at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. The aim is to buy enough coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.