Getting the most affordable Walker auto insurance can seem to be challenging for drivers that are relatively new to comparing prices on the internet. With dozens of companies competing online, how are drivers expected to effectively compare all the different companies and get better auto insurance prices?
If you have insurance now or need a new policy, you can follow these tips to reduce the price you pay and possibly find even better coverage. The purpose of this post is to help educate you on how to effectively get price quotes. Louisiana drivers just need to learn how to compare rates on the web.
Get affordable Louisiana auto insurance rates with discounts
Some insurers don’t always advertise all available discounts in a way that’s easy to find, so the below list has a few of the more common and also the lesser-known discounts you could be receiving when you .
- Discounts for Federal Employees – Simply working for the federal government could provide a small rate reduction with a few auto insurance companies.
- No Claim Discounts – Drivers who don’t have accidents can earn big discounts in comparison with drivers who are more careless.
- Payment Method – If you pay your bill all at once rather than paying in monthly installments you can avoid monthly service charges.
- Good Drivers – Insureds without accidents may receive a discount up to 45% than their less cautious counterparts.
- College Student – Kids who live away from home at college and do not have a car may qualify for this discount.
- Data Collection Discounts – Policyholders that allow data collection to analyze driving habits by installing a telematics device like Drivewise from Allstate or In-Drive from State Farm may see discounts as long as the data is positive.
- Walker Homeowners Pay Less – Owning a house in Walker can save you money because maintaining a house shows financial diligence.
- Service Members Pay Less – Being deployed with a military unit could trigger a small discount.
It’s important to understand that most discounts do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only cut individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. Despite the fact that it seems like it’s possible to get free car insurance, companies don’t profit that way.
If you would like to view companies that provide some of the discounts listed above in Louisiana, click here.
There are a lot of ways you can shop for auto insurance but there is one way that is less labor-intensive and much quicker. You can waste a few hours (or days) discussing policy coverages with local insurance agents in Walker, or you could use online quotes to get the quickest rates.
Most car insurance companies participate in a marketplace that allows shoppers to enter their policy data once, and every company can give them a price based on the submitted data. This prevents consumers from doing repetitive form submissions to each company.
To find out how much you’re overpaying now click to open in new window.
The one downside to using this type of form is you are unable to specify which insurance companies to get quotes from. If you prefer to choose specific insurance companies to compare rates, we have a page of auto insurance companies in Louisiana. Click here to view list.
Which method you use is up to you, but be sure you’re using equivalent quote data for every company. If you use different deductibles it will be impossible to determine which rate is truly the best in Walker.
Do you really save 40% when you switch?
Consumers can’t get away from all the ads that claim the lowest prices by companies like State Farm and Allstate. They all seem to seem to make the promise about how much you will save if you get a free and switch to their company.
How does every company claim to save you money? This is the trick they use.
Auto insurance companies require specific criteria for the type of driver that earns them the most money. An example of a driver they prefer might be described as over the age of 50, has no tickets, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A propective insured that fits those parameters receive the lowest rate quotes and will also save money with a new company.
Potential insureds who fall short of those standards will be charged higher premium rates which usually ends up with the customer not purchasing. The trick is to say “customers who switch” not “all people who quote” save that much. That is how insurance companies can make the claims of big savings. This really illustrates why you absolutely need to compare often. It is just not possible to predict which auto insurance company will give you the biggest savings.
Educate yourself about auto insurance coverages
Knowing the specifics of your auto insurance policy can help you determine appropriate coverage for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy.
Comprehensive coverage
Comprehensive insurance coverage covers damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You need to pay your deductible first then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like rock chips in glass, damage from a tornado or hurricane and damage from getting keyed. The maximum payout a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage
This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when the “other guys” do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for injuries to you and your family and also any damage incurred to your vehicle.
Due to the fact that many Louisiana drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (15/30/25), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked.
Liability auto insurance
This coverage provides protection from injuries or damage you cause to people or other property in an accident. This insurance protects YOU against claims from other people. It does not cover damage to your own property or vehicle.
Coverage consists of three different limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You might see liability limits of 50/100/50 that means you have a $50,000 limit per person for injuries, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and property.
Liability coverage pays for things such as medical expenses, legal defense fees, pain and suffering, repair costs for stationary objects and emergency aid. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but you should buy as large an amount as possible. Louisiana state law requires minimum liability limits of 15,000/30,000/25,000 but drivers should carry better liability coverage.
Collision protection
This coverage covers damage to your vehicle resulting from colliding with an object or car. You will need to pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage protects against claims such as scraping a guard rail, hitting a parking meter and crashing into a ditch. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. You can also choose a higher deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Medical payments coverage and PIP
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage kick in for expenses such as dental work, X-ray expenses, rehabilitation expenses and ambulance fees. 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 any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not available in all states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Summing up your auto insurance search
Drivers leave their current company for any number of reasons including questionable increases in premium, policy non-renewal, unfair underwriting practices and even high prices. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, finding a great new company is pretty easy and you might even save some money in the process.
We covered a lot of techniques to lower your auto insurance rates. The key thing to remember is the more you , the better chance you’ll have of finding . You may be surprised to find that the lowest rates are with a small mutual company.
Cheaper auto insurance can be bought both online in addition to many Walker insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. A few companies do not offer online price quotes and most of the time these smaller companies sell through independent agents.
Louisiana auto insurance information
More detailed Louisiana auto insurance information can be read at the Louisiana Department of Insurance website. Louisiana drivers can view agent and company licensing information, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.