Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can dwindle your savings account and force you to prioritize other expenses. Comparison shopping is free and is an excellent way to make sure you’re not throwing money away.
Drivers have so many insurance companies to purchase coverage from, and though it is a good thing to have multiple companies, having more insurance companies makes it harder to compare rates and cut insurance costs.
Consumers need to check car insurance prices occasionally since rates are constantly changing. Even if you got the best deal a couple years back you can probably find a better price now. Starting right now, block out anything you think you know about car insurance because you’re about to learn the quickest way to remove unneeded coverages and save money.
Choosing the best insurance company for you in Rocky Mount is easy if you know what you’re doing. In a nutshell, every driver who has to buy car insurance stands a good chance to be able to lower their premiums. But North Carolina car owners need to have an understanding of the way insurance companies price insurance differently.
Verify you’re getting all your discounts
Car insurance companies don’t always advertise every discount in a way that’s easy to find, so the following is a list of some of the more common as well as the least known car insurance savings.
- Payment Method – By paying your policy upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save up to 5%.
- Drivers Education – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to complete a driver education course if offered at their school.
- No Accidents – Drivers who don’t have accidents can save substantially as compared to drivers who are more careless.
- Save over 55 – Older drivers may be able to get better car insurance rates.
- Discount for New Cars – Adding a new car to your policy can be considerably cheaper due to better safety requirements for new cars.
- Homeowners Savings – Simply owning a home can help you save on car insurance because owning a home shows financial diligence.
- Multiple Cars – Buying coverage for all your vehicles with the same company could earn a price break for each car.
- Discounts for Safe Drivers – Drivers who don’t get into accidents can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates than their less cautious counterparts.
- Use Seat Belts – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use their safety belts could save 15% on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
As a disclaimer on discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given the the whole policy. Most only reduce individual premiums such as collision or personal injury protection. Even though it may seem like you can get free auto insurance, it doesn’t quite work that way.
For a list of insurance companies offering car insurance discounts in Rocky Mount, follow this link.
When should I talk to an agent?
When choosing adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a perfect coverage plan. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For example, these questions could help you determine if you might need an agent’s assistance.
- Is my business laptop covered if it gets stolen from my vehicle?
- Can I get a multi-policy discount for packaging my home and auto coverage?
- Does my vehicle need full coverage?
- At what point should I drop full coverage?
- What is high-risk coverage and where do I buy it?
- Should I rate my vehicle as pleasure use or commute?
- If my vehicle is totaled, can I afford another vehicle?
- How high should my medical payments coverage be?
- Do I get a pro-rated refund if I cancel my policy early?
- Am I covered by my employer’s commercial auto policy when driving my personal car for business?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you know they apply to you then you might want to talk to a licensed agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, complete this form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier
Car insurance policy specifics
Having a good grasp of a car insurance policy can be of help when determining the right coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Listed below are typical coverage types offered by car insurance companies.
Collision coverages – This coverage will pay to fix damage to your vehicle 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 pays for things like colliding with another moving vehicle, hitting a mailbox and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Another option is to bump up the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance – This coverage provides protection when the “other guys” do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your vehicle.
Due to the fact that many North Carolina drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (North Carolina limits are 30/60/25), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important.
Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision) – Comprehensive insurance covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things such as a broken windshield, damage from getting keyed, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The most you’ll receive from a claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Liability auto insurance – Liability insurance can cover injuries or damage you cause to a person or their property that is your fault. Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You might see limits of 50/100/50 that translate to a limit of $50,000 per injured person, a per accident bodily injury limit of $100,000, and property damage coverage for $50,000.
Liability can pay for claims such as pain and suffering, funeral expenses and medical expenses. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but buy as large an amount as possible. North Carolina state minimum liability requirements are 30,000/60,000/25,000 but drivers should carry more liability than the minimum.
Insurance for medical payments – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for short-term medical expenses like surgery, chiropractic care and prosthetic devices. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance program or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover you and your occupants and also covers getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Informative consumer insurance sites
More tips and info about car insurance is located at the North Carolina Department of Insurance website. Visitors are able to file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, read consumer alerts, and view agent and company licensing information.
In the end, you save
When shopping online for car insurance, it’s a bad idea to skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There are too many instances where an insured cut collision coverage only to regret they didn’t purchase enough coverage. Your focus should be to find the BEST coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
Lower-priced car insurance can be bought online in addition to many Rocky Mount insurance agents, and you should be comparing both in order to have the best chance of saving money. A few companies do not provide the ability to get a quote online and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.