Are you sick and tired of paying out the nose to pay your car insurance bill each month? Your situation is no different than many other Connecticut drivers. Multiple insurers compete for your business, so it’s not easy to compare every company and get the definite lowest rate
Cut your auto insurance rates with these six discounts
Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but there could be available discounts that you may not even be aware of. Some trigger automatically when you quote, but a few must be manually applied before you get the savings. If they aren’t giving you every credit you qualify for, you are throwing money away.
- No Accidents – Good drivers with no accidents pay less when compared with bad drivers.
- Paperwork-free – A handful of insurance companies may give you up to $50 just for signing your application digitally online.
- Safety Course Discount – Taking part in a course in driver safety can save you 5% or more if you qualify.
- Sign Early and Save – A few companies offer discounts for switching policies prior to your current policy expiring. It can save you around 10%.
- Senior Discount – Mature drivers may be able to get a discount up to 10%.
- Clubs and Organizations – Affiliation with a qualifying organization may earn a discount on your policy.
A little note about advertised discounts, some credits don’t apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like comprehensive or collision. Just because it seems like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, you won’t be that lucky. But all discounts will cut your premiums.
To see a list of insurers who offer auto insurance discounts in New Fairfield, click here to view.
But I prefer to buy car insurance from an agent
Some consumers would prefer to buy from a local agent and that is OK! Insurance agents are trained to spot inefficiencies and help you file claims. One of the best bonuses of comparing insurance prices online is the fact that you can find the lowest rates but still work with a licensed agent. Supporting local insurance agencies is definitely important in New Fairfield.
To help locate an agent, after submitting this simple form, your insurance coverage information is immediately sent to local insurance agents in New Fairfield who will give you bids for your insurance coverage. You won’t need to visit any agencies since price quotes are sent to the email address you provide. It doesn’t get any easier!
Choose an insurance agent wisely
When looking for a reputable insurance agent or broker, you must know there are a couple different types of agents to choose from. Insurance agencies in New Fairfield are either independent or captive. Both types can write coverage properly, but it’s worth mentioning the differences since it can impact buying decisions.
Independent Agents
These agents are not required to write business for one company so they can insure your vehicles with many different companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. If your agent finds better pricing, your agent can switch companies and you won’t have to switch agencies. When shopping rates, it’s a good idea to include price quotes from at a minimum one independent agency to have the most options to choose from.
Below are New Fairfield independent insurance agents willing to provide price quote information.
ALCO Insurance – – New Fairfield, CT 06812 – (203) 746-6561
Bob Gyle Insurance – 6 Milltown Rd – New Fairfield, CT 06812 – (203) 746-6562
Captive Agents
Captive agencies have only one company to place business with like AAA, State Farm, Farmers Insurance and Allstate. They usually cannot shop your coverage around so it’s a take it or leave it situation. Captive agencies receive extensive training on the products they sell which can be an advantage.
The following are New Fairfield captive insurance agents that can give you price quotes.
Allstate Insurance – 96 State Route 37 – New Fairfield, CT 06812 – (203) 746-5077
To view a complete directory of auto insurance agents in New Fairfield, please go to this site.
Deciding on an insurance agency shouldn’t rely on just a low price. Any agent should have no problem answering these questions:
- How are claims handled?
- Is vehicle damage repaired with OEM or aftermarket parts?
- What will you get paid if your car is a total loss? How is that amount determined?
- Do they have advanced training designations such as CPCU, AAI, AIC, or CIC?
- Do they make recommendations based only on price?
- How are they compensated?
Once you have received reasonable responses to your questions and an acceptable price quote, you may have just found an insurance agent that will provide auto insurance coverage.
Slick advertising tricks that work
Consumers in Connecticut can’t get away from ads for the lowest price auto insurance from the likes of Allstate and Progressive. All the ads make an identical promise that you can save after switching your coverage to them.
How do they all claim to save you money?
All the different companies have a preferred profile for the type of driver that makes them money. For example, a driver they prefer might be profiled as a mature driver, has no driving citations, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A customer that hits that “sweet spot” gets the lowest rates and therefore will cut their rates substantially.
Potential customers who do not match the “perfect” profile must pay higher rates and ends up with the customer not buying. The ad wording is “people who switch” not “people who quote” save money. This is how insurance companies can advertise the way they do.
This illustrates why drivers must get as many quotes as possible. It’s just too difficult to predict which company will fit your personal profile best.
Auto insurance coverage basics
Understanding the coverages of your auto insurance policy can be of help when determining appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. Auto insurance terms can be confusing and coverage can change by endorsement. These are the normal coverages found on the average auto insurance policy.
Comprehensive coverages
Comprehensive insurance covers damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as rock chips in glass, hail damage, a broken windshield, vandalism and hitting a bird. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Uninsured and underinsured coverage
This coverage provides protection from other motorists when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered losses include medical payments for you and your occupants and also any damage incurred to your vehicle.
Since a lot of drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (Connecticut limits are 20/40/10), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. So UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked. Normally these limits do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Collision coverage
This coverage pays for damage to your vehicle from colliding with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision can pay for claims such as sideswiping another vehicle, colliding with another moving vehicle, scraping a guard rail and hitting a mailbox. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider dropping it from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible to bring the cost down.
Coverage for medical payments
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance provide coverage for short-term medical expenses such as EMT expenses, chiropractic care, nursing services, pain medications and rehabilitation expenses. The coverages can be used in conjunction with a health insurance program or if you lack health insurance entirely. It covers both the driver and occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Liability car insurance
Liability insurance can cover damage that occurs to a person or their property. It protects you against claims from other people. Liability doesn’t 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 might see limits of 25/50/25 that means you have a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a per accident bodily injury limit of $50,000, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Alternatively, you may have a combined limit which provides one coverage limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability can pay for things like pain and suffering, attorney fees and medical expenses. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is up to you, but buy as large an amount as possible. Connecticut requires minimum liability limits of 20,000/40,000/10,000 but you should consider buying more liability than the minimum.
Additional consumer information websites
Additional information is available on the website for the Connecticut Insurance Department located here. Connecticut drivers can find out which companies have the most complaints, file complaints about a company, find a variety of consumer forms, and report car insurance fraud.
Smart consumers save more
We’ve covered many ideas to shop for auto insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the higher the chance of saving money. Consumers may even find the most savings is with a lesser-known regional company. Smaller companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm and Allstate.
Cheaper auto insurance can be found both online and with local New Fairfield insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some companies do not offer online price quotes and these small insurance companies work with independent agents.