Expensive car insurance can drain your accounts and force you to prioritize other expenses. Price shopping at each renewal is a great way to ensure you are getting the best deal.
Drivers have multiple insurers to insure vehicles with, and even though it’s nice to have multiple companies, lots of choices makes it harder to find the best rates for your vehicles.
You need to price shop coverage on a regular basis because insurance prices change frequently. Just because you found the best rates a couple years back the chances are good that you can find a lower rate quote today. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about car insurance because we’re going to demonstrate how to use the internet to find great coverage at a great price.
Buying car insurance in Chincoteague is easy if you know what you’re doing. Basically, every driver who is shopping for car insurance stands a good chance to be able to cut their insurance bill. Nevertheless, Virginia drivers must learn how the larger insurance companies price online insurance and apply this information to your search.
Eight discounts for lower Virginia car insurance rates
Companies offering auto insurance do not advertise every available discount in an easy-to-find place, so the below list has some of the more common and also the more inconspicuous discounts that you can inquire about if you .
- Good Grades Discount – This discount can earn a discount of 20% or more. You can use this discount normally up until you turn 25.
- Fewer Miles Equal More Savings – Fewer annual miles may allow you to get slightly better rates than normal.
- Data Collection Discounts – Policyholders that allow driving data collection to track their driving habits by using a small device installed in their vehicle like Drivewise from Allstate or In-Drive from State Farm could possibly reduce rates if they have good driving habits.
- College Student Discount – Children who are attending college without a vehicle on campus can be insured at a reduced rate.
- Auto/Home Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles and insure them with the same company they may give you a discount of over 10 percent off each policy depending on the company.
- Driver Safety – Taking time to complete a defensive driver course could earn you a small percentage discount depending on where you live.
- Professional Organizations – Being a member of qualifying employment or professional organizations could earn you a nice discount when shopping for car insurance.
- Discounts for Seat Belt Usage – Requiring all passengers to buckle up can save a little on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
Please keep in mind that most discounts do not apply to the entire cost. A few only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as medical payments or collision. So when the math indicates adding up those discounts means a free policy, you won’t be that lucky.
The best car insurance companies and their offered discounts are outlined below.
- Geico may have discounts that include multi-policy, emergency military deployment, federal employee, multi-vehicle, five-year accident-free, and daytime running lights.
- USAA offers premium reductions for multi-policy, loyalty savings, driver training, new vehicle, multi-vehicle, vehicle storage, and good student.
- Progressive offers discounts for online signing, good student, online quote discount, continuous coverage, multi-vehicle, and multi-policy.
- American Family may offer discounts for good student, defensive driver, TimeAway discount, air bags, and mySafetyValet.
- Esurance policyholders can earn discounts including good student, multi-policy, Switch & Save, defensive driver, and online shopper.
- Farmers Insurance includes discounts for electronic funds transfer, homeowner, pay in full, early shopping, and mature driver.
- State Farm has savings for anti-theft, passive restraint, safe vehicle, good driver, and defensive driving training.
When quoting, ask each insurance company the best way to save money. Savings might not be offered in every state. To view providers with the best car insurance discounts in Virginia, click this link.
Tailor your car insurance coverage to you
When it comes to buying adequate coverage, there really is not a perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s situation is a little different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. Here are some questions about coverages that can help discover whether or not you would benefit from professional advice.
- When do I need to add a new car to my policy?
- Do I have coverage when pulling a U-Haul trailer?
- Which companies will insure high-risk drivers?
- Will my vehicle be repaired with OEM or aftermarket parts?
- Am I covered when using my vehicle for business?
- Is borrowed equipment or tools covered if stolen or damaged?
- When should I drop full coverage on my vehicle?
- When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
- Should I rate my vehicle as pleasure use or commute?
- Do no-fault laws apply in Virginia?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but a few of them apply, you might consider talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, simply complete this short form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.
Car insurance coverage options
Learning about specific coverages of a car insurance policy can help you determine the best coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Below you’ll find the usual coverages available from car insurance companies.
Medical costs insurance
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance reimburse you for short-term medical expenses like rehabilitation expenses, EMT expenses, funeral costs, ambulance fees and hospital visits. They can be used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover both the driver and occupants in addition to if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is not an option in every state and may carry a deductible
UM/UIM Coverage
Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle when other motorists are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your vehicle.
Since a lot of drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (25/50/20), their limits can quickly be used up. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is very important.
Liability auto insurance
This protects you from injuries or damage you cause to a person or their property by causing an accident. It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. Your policy might show liability limits of 50/100/50 that translate to $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $100,000, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and property.
Liability can pay for things such as bail bonds, pain and suffering, repair costs for stationary objects, emergency aid and attorney fees. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but buy as much as you can afford. Virginia state law requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/20,000 but you should consider buying more liability than the minimum.
Collision coverage
Collision coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision coverage protects against things such as scraping a guard rail, backing into a parked car and hitting a parking meter. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are older. Another option is to raise the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision
Comprehensive insurance coverage will pay to fix damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first must pay your deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive can pay for things such as vandalism, falling objects and fire damage. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
To learn even more about car insurance
More detailed Virginia car insurance information can be found at the Virginia Bureau of Insurance website. Visitors are able to download brochures, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, file complaints about a company, and find out industry alerts.
Summing up your car insurance search
In this article, we presented a lot of information how to shop for car insurance online. The key thing to remember is the more providers you compare, the better your chances of lowering your prices. Drivers may discover the lowest premium rates come from the smaller companies. Regional companies may only write in your state and offer lower prices compared to the large companies like State Farm and Allstate.
When you , you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many cases where an accident victim reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to regret that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your strategy should be to get the best coverage possible for the lowest cost, but do not skimp to save money.
Cheap car insurance is attainable on the web in addition to many Chincoteague insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. There are still a few companies who may not have price quotes online and many times these smaller companies only sell coverage through independent agencies.