Locating discount Two Rivers car insurance is impossible for consumers that are not comfortable with quoting and online price comparisons. With such a big selection of agents and online companies, how can Two Rivers drivers have a chance to compare every company to locate better car insurance prices?
You should make it a habit to compare rates every six months because car insurance rates trend upward over time. Just because you had the best rate last year you can probably find a better price now. Forget all the misinformation about car insurance because you’re about to learn the right way to properly buy coverages and cut your premium.
Double check you’re getting these seven discounts
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but you may qualify for discounts that can help lower your rates. Some of these disounts will be visible at the time of purchase, but some discounts are required to be manually applied before they will apply.
- Discounts for Multiple Vehicles – Buying insurance for multiple cars on the same car insurance policy can get a discount for every vehicle.
- Include Life Insurance and Save – Not every insurance company offers life insurance, but if they do you may earn lower rates if you buy life insurance.
- Active Military Service – Being on active deployment in the military could trigger a small discount.
- Air Bags and Passive Restraints – Cars that have air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can get savings of 25 to 30%.
- Two Rivers Homeowners Pay Less – Being a homeowner can save you money since home ownership requires personal responsibility.
- Discounts for Seat Belt Usage – Drivers who require all occupants to use a seat belt can save up to 15% on the premium charged for medical payments and/or PIP.
- Defensive Driver – Taking a safe driver class could save 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
Remember that most discounts do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most cut specific coverage prices like collision or personal injury protection. Just because it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy.
A few of the larger companies and some of the premium reductions they offer can be read below.
- Progressive may have discounts that include multi-vehicle, homeowner, multi-policy, online quote discount, continuous coverage, online signing, and good student.
- Farmers Insurance offers discounts including multi-car, good student, youthful driver, early shopping, and electronic funds transfer.
- Farm Bureau includes discounts for renewal discount, safe driver, 55 and retired, good student, youthful driver, and driver training.
- State Farm offers premium reductions for multiple autos, defensive driving training, good driver, Steer Clear safe driver discount, and accident-free.
- Geico offers discounts for anti-theft, membership and employees, multi-policy, federal employee, and driver training.
- SAFECO discounts include bundle discounts, safe driver, multi-car, drive less, anti-lock brakes, homeowner, and teen safe driver.
- Liberty Mutual policyholders can earn discounts including multi-car, new graduate, hybrid vehicle, new move discount, good student, and multi-policy.
When comparing rates, check with each company what discounts are available to you. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts may not apply to policyholders in Two Rivers. If you would like to choose from a list of providers who offer cheap car insurance quotes in Wisconsin, follow this link.
Slick advertising tricks that work
Wisconsin consumers constantly see and hear ads that promise big savings from the likes of State Farm, Geico and Progressive. All the ads try to convey promises that you can save if you switch your car insurance coverage to their company.
How does each company charge you a lower premium? You have to listen carefully.
Insurance providers quote their cheapest rates for the type of driver that will add to their bottom line. An example of this type of driver could possibly be a female over age 40, has few claims, and insures a new vehicle. Any person that meets those criteria will get a cheap rate quote and will also save if they switch.
Consumers who fall outside the requirements will get higher premium rates which usually ends up with the customer not buying. If you listen to the ad wording, they say “drivers that switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much. This is how companies can state the savings. That is why you really need to quote coverage with many companies. It’s impossible to know the company that will have better premium rates than you’re paying now.
Parts of your car insurance policy
Learning about specific coverages of your policy helps when choosing which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. The terms used in a policy can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring.
UM/UIM Coverage – Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle from other drivers when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include injuries to you and your family and damage to your vehicle.
Since many Wisconsin drivers have only the minimum liability required by law (Wisconsin limits are 50/100/55), their limits can quickly be used up. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.
Medical costs insurance – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for bills for ambulance fees, prosthetic devices, rehabilitation expenses and X-ray expenses. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. They cover both the driver and occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is not an option in every state and may carry a deductible
Collision coverages – Collision insurance covers damage to your vehicle resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision coverage protects against claims such as crashing into a ditch, driving through your garage door, scraping a guard rail and damaging your car on a curb. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Drivers also have the option to bump up the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Auto liability insurance – This provides protection from damage that occurs to other people or property by causing an accident. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have limits of 25/50/25 that translate to $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000.
Liability coverage pays for things like pain and suffering, loss of income, bail bonds and emergency aid. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase higher limits if possible. Wisconsin state minimum liability requirements are 50,000/100,000/55,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy more coverage.
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision – This coverage covers damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first must pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims such as theft, hitting a bird, rock chips in glass, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and falling objects. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Even more information can be found at the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance website. Wisconsin drivers can report car insurance fraud, find out industry alerts, find disaster information, and view a list of available companies.
A tidy conclusion
Cost effective car insurance is definitely available both online and with local Two Rivers insurance agents, and you should be comparing both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some car insurance companies may not have online quoting and many times these smaller companies work with independent agents.
Drivers who switch companies do it for many reasons like delays in responding to claim requests, unfair underwriting practices, lack of trust in their agent or even delays in paying claims. It doesn’t matter what your reason, finding a new company is not as difficult as it may seem.
As you prepare to switch companies, it’s not a good idea to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are a lot of situations where drivers have reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to find out that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your goal is to get the best coverage possible for the lowest price, but do not sacrifice coverage to save money.