Price shopping your Taneytown auto insurance is always nearly impossible for consumers not familiar with buying insurance online. Consumers have so many options available that it can quickly become more work than you anticipated to compare prices in Taneytown.
It’s smart to compare rates occasionally due to the fact that insurance rates trend upward over time. Even if you think you had the best rates on your last policy there may be better deals available now. There is a lot of bad information regarding auto insurance on the internet, so I’m going to show you the best ways to stop overpaying for insurance.
How to Compare Taneytown Auto Insurance Costs
Most companies like Progressive, Geico, Allstate and State Farm quote insurance quotes on their websites. This process is fairly straightforward as you simply type in your required coverages into the quote form. After you complete the form, the system obtains information on your driving record and credit history and provides a quote determined by many factors.
Online price quotes simplifies rate comparisons, but the process of having to visit each company’s website and repetitively enter the same data into a form can be a bit tiresome and repetitive. But it’s absolutely necessary to do this in order to find better auto insurance pricing.
The easy way to compare rates
The quickest way to locate the lowest prices is to use a quote form to obtain quotes from several different companies. This type of form saves time, eliminates repetitive work, and makes online quotes much easier to do. As soon as the form is sent, it gets priced with multiple companies and you can pick your choice of the returned quotes.
If the quotes result in lower rates, you can simply submit the application and buy the new coverage. The entire process just takes a couple of minutes and may save quite a bit of money.
To save time and get comparison pricing now, click here to open in a new tab and input your coverage information. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended that you enter the coverages as shown on your current policy. This guarantees you are getting a fair comparison for exact coverage.
Take these seven discounts and save
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but you may find discounts to help bring down the price. Some discounts apply automatically at the time you complete a quote, but a few must be specially asked for before they will apply.
- Anti-lock Brake System – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles are safer to drive and will save you 10% or more.
- College Student – Children who attend school more than 100 miles from home and do not have access to a covered vehicle can be insured at a reduced rate.
- Own a Home – Being a homeowner can help you save on auto insurance due to the fact that maintaining a home shows financial diligence.
- Federal Government Employee – Simply working for the federal government could cut as much as 10% off with a few auto insurance companies.
- Passive Restraints – Vehicles equipped with air bags or motorized seat belts can get savings of up to 25% or more.
- Low Mileage – Low mileage vehicles can earn better rates on cars that stay parked.
- Organization Discounts – Belonging to certain professional organizations could qualify you for a break when shopping for auto insurance.
Keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. Just because it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, auto insurance companies aren’t that generous. But all discounts will cut your overall premium however.
Which policy gives me the best coverage?
When it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage, there really is not a one size fits all plan. Every insured’s situation is different.
For instance, these questions could help you determine if your insurance needs would benefit from professional advice.
- Is my vehicle covered by my employer’s policy when using it for work?
- What is high-risk coverage and where do I buy it?
- Do I need PIP coverage since I have good health insurance?
- Will I lose any money if I cancel my policy before it expires?
- Are rental cars covered under my policy?
- Do I get a pro-rated refund if I cancel my policy early?
- Is business property covered if stolen from my car?
If you’re not sure about those questions but one or more may apply to you, you may need to chat with an agent. To find an agent in your area, complete this form.
Auto insurance coverages and their meanings
Having a good grasp of your policy can help you determine which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Collision coverages – This coverage covers damage to your vehicle from colliding with an object or car. A deductible applies and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision coverage pays for claims like hitting a parking meter, hitting a mailbox and colliding with a tree. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so consider removing coverage from older vehicles. Another option is to increase the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Coverage for liability – Liability insurance will cover damage that occurs to people or other property. Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. Your policy might show limits of 100/300/100 which means a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $100,000. Some companies may use one number which is a combined single limit which provides one coverage limit without having the split limit caps.
Liability can pay for things like loss of income, bail bonds, medical services, attorney fees and medical expenses. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but you should buy higher limits if possible. Maryland requires drivers to carry at least 30,000/60,000/15,000 but you should think about purchasing more coverage.
Medical costs insurance – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP reimburse you for short-term medical expenses for things like funeral costs, pain medications, chiropractic care, prosthetic devices and EMT expenses. The coverages can be used in conjunction with a health insurance program or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover all vehicle occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision – This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. A deductible will apply and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive insurance covers things such as hitting a bird, hitting a deer, fire damage, theft and damage from getting keyed. The highest amount a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.
UM/UIM Coverage – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage provides protection from other drivers 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.
Due to the fact that many Maryland drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (which is 30/60/15), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. So UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family. Usually these limits do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
In the end, you save
You just read a lot of information how to reduce auto insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more quotes you get, the higher the chance of saving money. Drivers may discover the best price on auto insurance is with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising.
Cheaper auto insurance is attainable on the web in addition to many Taneytown insurance agents, and you need to price shop both so you have a total pricing picture. Some auto insurance companies do not provide online price quotes and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.
People switch companies for a variety of reasons including poor customer service, high prices, policy cancellation or even policy non-renewal. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, finding a new auto insurance company is not as hard as you think.
Additional auto insurance information can be read on the Maryland Insurance Administration website through this link. Consumers can read consumer alerts, view agent and company licensing information, and get help finding coverage.
Other informative sites include this online resource for free quotes in Maryland and this list of agents in Taneytown, MD.