Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can drain your checking account and put a big crunch on your finances. Doing a price comparison is free and is an excellent way to make sure you’re not throwing money away. Lots of insurance companies contend to insure your vehicles, so it’s not easy to compare every company to discover the definitive best rates possible.
How much can you save with these seven discounts?
Car insurance is not cheap, but you can get discounts to help offset the cost. Some discounts apply automatically at the time of quoting, but less common discounts must be manually applied before you will receive the discount. If you aren’t receiving every discount available, you are throwing money away.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Keeping the miles down could qualify for a substantially lower rate.
- College Student – Children who are attending college and do not have access to a covered vehicle can receive lower rates.
- Drivers Ed for Students – Cut your cost by having your teen driver successfully complete driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
- Senior Discount – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may be able to get a discount up to 10%.
- Sign Online – Some insurance companies will give a small break for buying a policy and signing up on their website.
- Payment Discounts – By paying your policy upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you may reduce your total bill.
- Anti-lock Brake Discount – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes can reduce accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
As a disclaimer on discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire policy premium. A few only apply to individual premiums such as liability and collision coverage. So even though they make it sound like you could get a free car insurance policy, you won’t be that lucky. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce your overall premium however.
To choose insurers offering car insurance discounts in Pennsylvania, click this link.
How much car insurance do I need?
When choosing proper insurance coverage for your vehicles, there really is not a cookie cutter policy. Everyone’s situation is unique and your policy should reflect that. These are some specific questions might help in determining if you might need an agent’s assistance.
- Where can I get insurance after a DUI in Pennsylvania?
- Why does it cost so much to insure a teen driver in Meadville?
- How can I get high-risk coverage after a DUI?
- Do I need rental car coverage?
- What is high-risk coverage and where do I buy it?
- I don’t drive much so do I pay less?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, 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.
What car insurance coverages do you need?
Learning about specific coverages of a car insurance policy can be of help when determining appropriate coverage for your vehicles. The terms used in a policy can be confusing and reading a policy is terribly boring. Below you’ll find the usual coverages offered by car insurance companies.
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision
Comprehensive insurance covers damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers things such as damage from flooding, hitting a bird and hitting a deer. 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 not worth carrying full coverage.
Liability car insurance
Liability coverage can cover damage or injury you incur to people or other property in an accident. It consists of three limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You might see policy limits of 100/300/100 which stand for $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and a limit of $100,000 paid for damaged property. Another option is a combined limit that pays claims from the same limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability coverage protects against claims like emergency aid, medical expenses and repair bills for other people’s vehicles. How much coverage you buy is up to you, but buy as high a limit as you can afford. Pennsylvania state law requires minimum liability limits of 15,000/30,000/5,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy more coverage.
UM/UIM Coverage
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage provides protection when the “other guys” do not carry enough liability coverage. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your occupants as well as damage to your vehicle.
Since a lot of drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (which is 15/30/5), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Usually these limits are set the same as your liablity limits.
Collision protection
Collision insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage pays for claims such as damaging your car on a curb, crashing into a building, colliding with a tree, sustaining damage from a pot hole and rolling your car. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are older. Another option is to choose a higher deductible to bring the cost down.
Medical costs insurance
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage kick in for short-term medical expenses such as nursing services, pain medications and dental work. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. It covers all vehicle occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP coverage is not available in all states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Learn more today
Additional information is located on the website for the Pennsylvania Insurance Department through this link. Consumers can find disaster information, get help finding coverage, and file complaints about an insurance agent or broker.
Other useful links include FindNewCarInsurance.com and this resource to find Meadville, PA insurance agents.
In conclusion
Throughout this article, we presented a lot of ways to compare car insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more providers you compare, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Drivers may discover the best price on car insurance is with an unexpected company. Smaller companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive or Geico.
Discount car insurance is attainable on the web and with local Meadville insurance agents, so compare prices from both to have the best rate selection. Some insurance companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and many times these small insurance companies only sell through independent insurance agents.