Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can bottom out your bank account and make it hard to pay other bills. Comparing cost estimates is a smart way to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket.
Many insurers compete to insure your vehicles, and it can be difficult to compare rates to get the cheapest price
If you currently have a car insurance policy, you will be able to cut costs considerably using these methods. Buying car insurance in Seaside is quite easy. Although Oregon vehicle owners need to have an understanding of the way companies compete online and take advantage of how the system works.
Verify you’re receiving every discount
Some insurers do not list all possible discounts very clearly, so the below list has both the well known as well as the least known credits available to bring down your rates. If you are not receiving all the discounts you deserve, you’re just leaving money on the table.
- Data Collection Discounts – Seaside drivers who agree to allow data collection to analyze when and where they use their vehicle by using a telematic data system such as In-Drive from State Farm or Allstate’s Drivewise system could save a few bucks if their driving habits are good.
- Discounts for New Vehicles – Adding a new car to your policy may earn a small discount because new vehicles keep occupants safer.
- Passive Restraint Discount – Cars that have air bags or motorized seat belts may qualify for discounts of 25 to 30%.
- Safe Driver Discount – Drivers who don’t get into accidents could pay up to 40% less than less cautious drivers.
- Multiple Vehicles – Drivers who insure all your vehicles with the same car insurance company can get a discount on all vehicles.
- Driver Safety – Taking time to complete a driver safety course could earn you a small percentage discount and make you a better driver.
- Discount for Low Mileage – Low mileage vehicles can earn lower car insurancerates on the low mileage vehicles.
- Save over 55 – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you can possibly qualify for reduced rates.
- Driver’s Education for Students – Have your child successfully complete driver’s ed class as it can save substantially.
Discounts reduce rates, but you should keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. So despite the fact that it appears you would end up receiving a 100% discount, it doesn’t quite work that way.
Companies and some of the premium reductions they offer are shown below.
- Geico discounts include multi-vehicle, seat belt use, emergency military deployment, driver training, defensive driver, and anti-lock brakes.
- Travelers offers discounts for multi-car, IntelliDrive, driver training, hybrid/electric vehicle, payment discounts, and good student.
- Nationwide has savings for good student, multi-policy, easy pay, business or organization, and family plan.
- Farmers Insurance may have discounts that include multi-car, electronic funds transfer, business and professional, bundle discounts, alternative fuel, distant student, and youthful driver.
- Esurance offers premium reductions for Pac-12 alumni, multi-car, safety device, good student, renters, anti-theft, and DriveSense.
- State Farm offers discounts including Steer Clear safe driver discount, multiple autos, student away at school, anti-theft, and defensive driving training.
- Progressive may offer discounts for good student, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, online quote discount, continuous coverage, and homeowner.
- Mercury Insurance includes discounts for ease of repair, professional/association, good driver, age of vehicle, accident-free, and location of vehicle.
Before buying, ask each insurance company the best way to save money. Some of the discounts discussed earlier might not be offered on policies in your area.
Learn about car insurance coverages
Having a good grasp of your policy can be of help when determining the best coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Car insurance terms can be difficult to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. Below you’ll find the usual coverages found on most car insurance policies.
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision – Comprehensive insurance will pay to fix damage from a wide range of events other than collision. A deductible will apply then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for things like fire damage, damage from a tornado or hurricane and damage from flooding. The maximum payout your car insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Liability auto insurance – This coverage protects you from injuries or damage you cause to other people or property by causing an accident. Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You commonly see liability limits of 50/100/50 that translate to a limit of $50,000 per injured person, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $50,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability can pay for things like pain and suffering, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, structural damage and repair costs for stationary objects. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but buy as large an amount as possible. Oregon state law requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/20,000 but you should think about purchasing more coverage.
Medical costs insurance – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for bills for X-ray expenses, rehabilitation expenses and surgery. The coverages can be used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. It covers all vehicle occupants and will also cover any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is only offered in select states and may carry a deductible
UM/UIM Coverage – This provides protection when the “other guys” either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered losses include injuries to you and your family and damage to your vehicle.
Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law (25/50/20), their limits can quickly be used up. So UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.
Collision coverage – Collision insurance covers damage to your vehicle caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision coverage pays for claims like driving through your garage door, damaging your car on a curb and rolling your car. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. You can also bump up the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
More detailed Oregon car insurance information can be read at the Oregon Insurance Division website. Oregon consumers can read state legal mandates and laws, find out industry alerts, and download brochures.
Additional helpful sites include QuoteClickInsure.com and this list of agents in Seaside, OR.
Quote more, save more
Affordable car insurance is possible both online in addition to many Seaside insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best rate selection. Some companies do not provide internet price quotes and many times these small, regional companies provide coverage only through independent agencies.
We just showed you many tips how you can get a better price on car insurance. The key concept to understand is the more times you quote, the better chance you’ll have of finding . You may even discover the most savings is with a small mutual company. These companies may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate, Geico and Progressive.