Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy high-priced auto insurance? Believe me, there are many people just like you.
Since consumers have many auto insurance companies to choose from, it’s difficult to locate the lowest price insurer.
You should take the time to check auto insurance prices every six months since insurance rates are constantly changing. Despite the fact that you may have had the lowest rates a few years ago other companies may now be cheaper. Don’t believe everything you read about auto insurance on the internet, so we’re going to give you some solid techniques on how to find cheap auto insurance.
Auto Insurance Comparison Rates in South Charleston, WV
When shopping for auto insurance there are multiple ways of comparing price quotes from auto insurance companies in your area. The best way to compare insurance prices consists of shopping online. It is quite easy and can be accomplished using a couple different methods.
- The fastest way to find low rates is to use a rate comparison form like this one (opens in new window). This easy form keeps you from doing repetitive form submissions to each individual auto insurance company. In just a few minutes this one form will return quotes from multiple low-cost companies.
- A more time consuming way to get quotes online is spending the time to visit the website of each company and request a quote. For sake of this example, let’s assume you want comparison quotes from USAA, 21st Century and Liberty Mutual. To find out each rate you need to take the time to go to each site to enter your coverage information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. To view a list of companies in South Charleston, click here.
- The least recommended way of getting rate comparisons is to spend your day driving to insurance agents’ offices. The ability to buy insurance online can eliminate the need for a local agent unless you prefer the personal advice of a licensed agent. You can, however, comparison shop online but still have the advice of a local agent and we’ll touch on that later.
Whichever way you use, make sure you use apples-to-apples coverages and limits with each company. If you enter differing limits it will be very difficult to truly determine the lowest rate in South Charleston. Quoting even small variations in insurance coverages can mean a large discrepancy in price. And when price shopping your coverage, getting more free quotes will improve the odds of getting the best rates.
Do auto insurance companies bend the truth?
Auto insurance companies such as Allstate, Geico and Progressive regularly use television and radio advertisements. They all seem to make the same claim about savings if you move to them. But how can every company claim to save you money? It’s all in the numbers.
All companies have a certain “appetite” for the driver that earns them a profit. For instance, a desirable insured could be over the age of 50, is a homeowner, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A customer getting a price quote who fits that profile will qualify for the lowest rates and therefore will save a lot of money.
Consumers who are not a match for the “perfect” profile must pay higher prices which usually ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads say “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that kind of money. That is how insurance companies can advertise the savings.
This illustrates why you need to get a wide range of price quotes. It’s just too difficult to predict the company that will have the lowest rates.
Are you getting all your discounts?
The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but you can get discounts to reduce the price significantly. Some trigger automatically when you purchase, but some must be specifically requested before you will receive the discount.
- Defensive Driving Course – Completing a defensive driving course could cut 5% off your bill depending on where you live.
- Discounts for Safe Drivers – Drivers who avoid accidents may receive a discount up to 45% less than their less cautious counterparts.
- Discount for Good Grades – A discount for being a good student can save 20 to 25%. Earning this discount can benefit you until age 25.
- Claim Free – Drivers who don’t have accidents can earn big discounts when compared to bad drivers.
- Use Seat Belts – Requiring all passengers to use their safety belts can save 10% or more off the personal injury premium cost.
- Senior Discount – Mature drivers may be able to get a discount up to 10%.
- Life Insurance – Some companies give a discount if you purchase life insurance.
A little note about advertised discounts, some of the credits will not apply to your bottom line cost. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. So even though they make it sound like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, you’re out of luck. But any discount will reduce the cost of coverage.
For a list of companies with the best auto insurance discounts in South Charleston, click this link.
Buying car insurance locally
A small number of people would rather talk to a local agent. The biggest benefit of price shopping on the web is you can get the best rates but still work with a licensed agent. Supporting local insurance agencies is definitely important in South Charleston.<img class="alignright" style="padding-top:15px" src="https://www.carinsurancediy.com/wp-content/uploads/ci175-52.jpg" alt="South Charleston insurance quotes” />
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this form (opens in new window), the quote information is sent to local insurance agents in South Charleston who will return price quotes to get your business. You never need to leave your house as quotes are delivered to the email address you provide. It doesn’t get any easier! Get lower rates and work with a local agent.
Listed below are South Charleston car insurance companies that can give you price quotes.
Tim Harless Insurance – 301 R H L Blvd, South Charleston, WV 25309 – (304) 744-9370
Allstate Insurance – 4848 Maccorkle Ave SW, South Charleston, WV 25309 – (304) 768-4848
State Farm Insurance – 93 Maccorkle Ave SW, South Charleston, WV 25303 – (304) 744-4747
Kaltenecker Insurance – 5316 Maccorkle Ave SW, South Charleston, WV 25309 – (304) 343-8440
Choosing an provider needs to be determined by more than just a low price. Some important questions to ask are:
- Is working in the agency their full-time job?
- If you have an accident, are you able to get your vehicle repaired at the shop of your choice?
- What is the agency’s Better Business Bureau rating?
- If they are an independent agency, which companies do they recommend?
- Do they regularly work with personal auto policies?
- Can they provide you with a list of referrals?
Upon getting reasonable responses to all your questions and an affordable coverage quote, most likely you have located an insurer that will service your policy.
Additional information can be read on the website for the West Virginia Insurance Commission located here. West Virginia consumers can view a list of available companies, download brochures, and find out which companies have the most complaints.
Additional helpful sites include this page for auto insurance prices in West Virginia and this link which helps you find a South Charleston agent.
Specific coverage details
Learning about specific coverages of your policy aids in choosing which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring. Below you’ll find the usual coverages offered by auto insurance companies.
Liability car insurance
Liability insurance provides protection from injuries or damage you cause to people or other property that is your fault. This insurance protects YOU against other people’s claims, and does not provide coverage for your own vehicle damage or injuries.
Coverage consists of three different limits, 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 which means a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Another option is a combined single limit or CSL which combines the three limits into one amount and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.
Liability can pay for claims such as medical services, pain and suffering, repair costs for stationary objects, legal defense fees and funeral expenses. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase higher limits if possible. West Virginia requires drivers to carry at least 20,000/40,000/10,000 but you should think about purchasing more coverage.
Comprehensive insurance
Comprehensive insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for claims such as theft, hail damage, hitting a deer and damage from getting keyed. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)
This coverage provides protection when other motorists are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include injuries to you and your family and damage to your vehicle.
Since a lot of drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (West Virginia limits are 20/40/10), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is very important. Normally these limits are similar to your liability insurance amounts.
Collision coverage
Collision coverage covers damage to your vehicle resulting from colliding with an object or car. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision can pay for claims like damaging your car on a curb, hitting a parking meter and hitting a mailbox. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Med pay and PIP coverage provide coverage for immediate expenses for ambulance fees, dental work, surgery, funeral costs and doctor visits. The coverages can be used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. Coverage applies to all vehicle occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Better coverage you can count on
You just read many ideas to get a better price on auto insurance. The key thing to remember is the more times you quote, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. You may even discover the most savings is with some of the smallest insurance companies. Some small companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments as compared to the big name companies such as Allstate and Progressive.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. In many instances, someone sacrificed liability limits or collision coverage only to regret that they should have had better coverage. Your strategy should be to buy the best coverage you can find at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.
Cost effective auto insurance is definitely available from both online companies and also from your neighborhood South Charleston agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. Some companies may not provide you the ability to get quotes online and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.