Finding the lowest price for Bellevue auto insurance can be complicated if you are a beginner to online rate quotes. But relax because we’re going to show you how.
What determines how much you pay?
It’s important that you understand the factors that play a part in calculating the rates you pay for auto insurance. Understanding what influences your rates enables informed choices that can help you get better auto insurance rates.
Shown below are a partial list of the pieces auto insurance companies consider when setting your rates.
- Your age impacts your rates – Older drivers are viewed as being more responsible, tend to file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel. Teen drivers are statistically proven to be careless and easily distracted behind the wheel therefore auto insurance rates are much higher.
- Men fork out a little more – Statistics demonstrate that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. That doesn’t necessarily mean that men are WORSE drivers than women. Women and men have accidents in similar percentages, but the male of the species cause more damage. Men also tend to get more serious tickets like DUI and reckless driving. Male drivers age 16 to 19 are several times more likely to be in an accident and thus pay the highest rates.
- High deductibles save money – Insurance for physical damage to your car, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your car. A few examples of covered claims would be running into the backend of another car, collision with an animal, and burglary. Deductibles for physical damage are how much you are required to spend out-of-pocket before your auto insurance pays a claim. The more expense you have to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.
- Traffic violations increase rates – Even one citation can increase rates by twenty percent. Good drivers tend to pay less for car insurance than bad drivers. If you have serious violations like DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions may find they need to submit a SR-22 form with the DMV in their state in order to continue driving.
- Keep rates low by being claim-free – Car insurance companies in Washington generally give discounts to policyholders who are claim-free. If you file claims often, you can look forward to either policy cancellation or increased premiums. Auto insurance is designed for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
Automobile Insurance Quotes in Bellevue, Washington
There are several ways to shop for auto insurance, but some are more efficient than others. You could spend the better part of a day driving to agents in Bellevue, or you could use the internet to achieve your goal.
Many popular insurance companies are enrolled in a marketplace that allows shoppers to send in one quote, and each company then gives them pricing based on the submitted data. This saves time by eliminating quote requests to each company.
To submit your quote information now, click to open in new window.
The one disadvantage to getting quotes like this is you cannot specify the providers you want to price. So if you prefer to pick specific providers to receive pricing from, we have assembled a list of the cheapest auto insurance companies in Washington. Click to view list.
It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but be sure to compare the exact same coverages for each comparison quote. If each company quotes different values for each quote you will not be able to make a fair comparison in Bellevue. Slightly different limits may result in a large different in cost. Just keep in mind that more quotes will increase your chances of finding a better price.
Are you getting all your discounts?
The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but you can get discounts to help bring down the price. Certain discounts will be applied when you get a quote, but a few must be requested specifically before they will apply.
- Student Driver Training – Cut your cost by having your teen driver take driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
- Anti-theft System – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems can help prevent theft and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
- Multiple Cars – Insuring all your vehicles on one policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
- Drive Less and Save – Driving fewer miles can qualify you for a substantially lower rate.
- Braking Control Discount – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems are safer to drive and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Good Student Discount – A discount for being a good student can get you a discount of up to 25%. The discount lasts up until you turn 25.
- Auto/Home Discount – When you have multiple policies with one company you may earn approximately 10% to 15%.
- College Student – Kids in college living away from home attending college and do not have a car can receive lower rates.
- Payment Method – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time rather than paying monthly you can actually save on your bill.
- Passive Restraint Discount – Vehicles with factory air bags or motorized seat belts can receive discounts up to 30%.
Keep in mind that some credits don’t apply to the entire policy premium. Most only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as comp or med pay. Just because you may think having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, you’re out of luck. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce the cost of coverage.
For a list of insurance companies with discount auto insurance rates in Washington, click this link.
Price shop online but buy from a local Bellevue agent
Some consumers would rather visit with an insurance agent and that is a personal choice. The biggest benefit of getting online price quotes is you may find lower rates and still have an agent to talk to. And supporting small agencies is important particularly in Bellevue.
Once you complete this form (opens in new window), your coverage information gets sent to participating agents in Bellevue who will compete to get your business. There is no reason to drive around because quoted prices will be sent straight to your inbox. Now that’s easy! You can find the lowest rates and work with a local agent.
Shown below are agents in Bellevue willing to provide price quote information.
- Farmers Insurance Group – 400 108th Ave NE # 202, Bellevue, WA 98004 – (425) 450-0303
- Dale S Yamamoto Insurance – 713 110th Ave NE # 205, Bellevue, WA 98004 – (425) 453-7165
- Joe Hughes Agency – 3805 108th Ave NE # 204, Bellevue, WA 98004 – (425) 827-8066
- Allstate Insurance – 15015 Main St # 202, Bellevue, WA 98007 – (425) 392-8388
- Baugh-Schlepp Insurance – 14400 Bel Red Rd # 110, Bellevue, WA 98007 – (425) 641-0367
For a complete listing of Bellevue insurance agents, go to this page.
Selecting a company shouldn’t rely on just a cheap price. Some important questions to ask are:
- If your car is totalled, how to they determine the replacement cost?
- Which company do they place the most coverage with?
- Are they properly licensed to sell insurance in Washington?
- What insurance companies do they work with?
- Will you be dealing directly with the agent or with a Custom Service Representative (CSR)?
- Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?
- Do they assist clients in filing claims?
Once you have positive feedback in addition to an acceptable price estimate, most likely you have located an provider that will provide auto insurance coverage.
More information can be found on the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner website. Click here for link. Washington consumers can find a variety of consumer forms, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, find out which companies have the most complaints, and view agent and company licensing information.
Other useful links include this online resource for auto insurance quotes in Washington and this page where you can also get Bellevue auto insurance quotes.
And the best car insurance company is…
We just presented many tips how you can reduce auto insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the higher the chance of saving money. Drivers may discover the biggest savings come from a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising.
Drivers change insurance companies for a variety of reasons including extreme rates for teen drivers, an unsatisfactory settlement offer, high prices and even not issuing a premium refund. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, finding a great new company is less work than it seems.
As you shop your coverage around, it’s a bad idea to reduce needed coverages to save money. In many instances, an insured dropped liability coverage limits only to find out that the savings was not a smart move. The aim is to buy enough coverage for the lowest price while still protecting your assets.