If you’re new to shopping for car insurance online, you may be overwhelmed by the hoards of online companies competing for business in Sykesville.
Cut your premium with these seven discounts
Companies offering auto insurance do not advertise all their discounts very clearly, so we researched both the well known and the more hidden savings tricks you should be using. If you’re not getting every credit possible, you are throwing money away.
- Save with a New Car – Putting insurance coverage on a new car can save up to 30% due to better safety requirements for new cars.
- Claim Free – Drivers who don’t have accidents pay much less when compared with accident-prone drivers.
- Payment Discounts – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of making monthly payments you can actually save on your bill.
- Senior Discount – Older drivers can possibly qualify for a discount up to 10%.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Driving fewer miles could be rewarded with discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
- Auto/Life Discount – Select insurance companies reward you with lower rates if you buy a life insurance policy as well.
- Discounts for Safe Drivers – Drivers who don’t get into accidents may save up to 50% more than drivers with accidents.
Consumers should know that most discounts do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Some only apply to individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So even though it sounds like it’s possible to get free car insurance, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
For a list of companies offering car insurance discounts in Sykesville, click this link.
What is the best insurance coverage?
When choosing the best car insurance coverage for your vehicles, there is no one size fits all plan. Everyone’s situation is a little different.
These are some specific questions could help you determine if your insurance needs could use an agent’s help.
- What are the financial responsibility laws in Maryland?
- Does my medical payments coverage pay my health insurance deductible?
- Can I pay claims out-of-pocket if I buy high deductibles?
- What should my uninsured motorist coverage limits be in Maryland?
- How many claims can I have before being cancelled?
- Do I have coverage when pulling a U-Haul trailer?
- Should I buy more coverage than the required Maryland minimum liability coverage?
If you’re not sure about those questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to an agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form. It only takes a few minutes and can provide invaluable advice.
Can you really save that much by switching?
Maryland consumers get pounded daily by advertisements for car insurance savings from companies such as 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. All the ads say the same thing about savings if you change your policy.
How do they all make almost identical claims? It’s all in the numbers.
Different companies can use profiling for the driver that is profitable for them. A good example of a desirable insured might be over the age of 40, a clean driving record, and has excellent credit. Any new insured who matches those parameters gets the lowest rates and therefore will save quite a bit of money when switching.<img class="alignright" style="padding-top:15px;" src="https://www.carinsurancediy.com/wp-content/uploads/ci175-115.jpg" alt="Sykesville insurance quotes“/>
Drivers who don’t measure up to the “perfect” profile will be charged a higher premium and this can result in the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads state “drivers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that kind of money. That’s the way insurance companies can make the claims of big savings. That is why you absolutely need to get quotes from several different companies. Because you never know the company that will provide you with the cheapest rates.
Additional detailed information can be read at the Maryland Insurance Administration website. Maryland drivers can learn about insurance regulations, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, find a variety of consumer forms, and get help finding coverage.
Car insurance coverages explained
Understanding the coverages of your policy can help you determine appropriate coverage for your vehicles. Car insurance terms can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Collision coverages – Collision coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision coverage protects against claims such as colliding with a tree, crashing into a ditch, hitting a mailbox, sideswiping another vehicle and backing into a parked car. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. Drivers also have the option to bump up the deductible to bring the cost down.
Coverage for medical expenses – Med pay and PIP coverage kick in for immediate expenses for things like rehabilitation expenses, dental work and ambulance fees. They are utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover you and your occupants in addition to if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Comprehensive car insurance – This coverage will pay to fix damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for claims such as rock chips in glass, damage from flooding and vandalism. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Coverage for uninsured or underinsured drivers – Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and also any damage incurred to your vehicle.
Because many people only carry the minimum required liability limits (30/60/15), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked.
Auto liability – This coverage can cover damage or injury you incur to other people or property in an accident. It consists of three limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have values of 100/300/100 which means a limit of $100,000 per injured person, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability coverage pays for claims like court costs, medical expenses and structural damage. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible. Maryland requires drivers to carry at least 30,000/60,000/15,000 but you should think about purchasing higher limits.
More quotes mean more savings
When shopping online for car insurance, never reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are a lot of situations where consumers will sacrifice comprehensive coverage or liability limits and found out when filing a claim that it was a big mistake. Your strategy should be to purchase plenty of coverage at the best price while not skimping on critical coverages.
In this article, we covered many ideas to get a better price on car insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more times you quote, the better your chances of lowering your rates. Consumers could even find that the best prices are with an unexpected company.
Drivers change insurance companies for a number of reasons such as unfair underwriting practices, delays in paying claims, extreme rates for teen drivers or lack of trust in their agent. Regardless of your reason, finding a great new company is less work than it seems.