Consumers who are new to the process of comparison shopping online are likely to discover purchasing is more work than they thought.
It’s a good idea to do price comparisons before your next renewal since prices tend to go up over time. Just because you had the best price last year you can probably find a better rate quote now. Don’t believe everything you read about auto insurance out there, but I’m going to show you a lot of great tips on how to put money back in your pocket.
Shopping for affordable protection in Emporia is simple if you know the tricks. Basically, every driver who buys auto insurance stands a good chance to be able to find lower rates. Although Virginia car owners need to learn the way insurance companies price online insurance and take advantage of how the system works.
How to compare Emporia auto insurance rate quotes
To find the best auto insurance rates, there are several ways to obtain and compare prices from lots of Virginia auto insurance companies. The recommended way to comparison shop is to get quotes online. This is quite simple and can be completed in just a few minutes using one of these methods.
- One of the best ways to find low rates is a comparison rater form (click to open form in new window). This type of form prevents you from having to do multiple quote forms for each price estimate. One form submission gets rate comparisons instantly. It’s definitely the quickest method.
- A less efficient way to find more affordable insurance requires visiting the website for each individual company to request a price quote. For sake of this example, we’ll assume you want to compare rates from Geico, Allstate and Liberty Mutual. You would be required to visit each site to input your insurance information, and that explains why we recommend the first method. To view a list of companies in Emporia, click here.
It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but try to keep the same quote information for each quote you get. If you use different liability limits you will not be able to determine the best price in Emporia. Quoting even small variations in limits could throw off the whole comparison. And when comparison shopping, having more price comparisons increases the change that you will find the best offered rates. Some insurance companies are not set up to provide price estimates online, so it’s important to also get rates from those companies as well.
Cheaper Virginia auto insurance quotes with discounts
Companies that sell car insurance don’t necessarily list every possible discount very clearly, so we researched a few of the more well known and the harder-to-find credits available to lower your premiums when you .
- Driver Education Discount – Cut your cost by having your teen driver enroll and complete driver’s education in school or through a local driver safety program.
- Senior Citizen Discount – Mature drivers may receive reduced rates.
- Own a Home and Save – Just being a homeowner can save a few bucks due to the fact that maintaining a home is proof of financial responsibility.
- Low Miles Discount – Keeping the miles down may allow you to get better rates on cars that stay parked.
- Government Employee Discount – Having worked for a branch of the government can earn a discount up to 10% with some auto insurance companies.
- Professional Memberships – Joining qualifying clubs or civic groups is a simple method to lower premiums on your bill.
- First Accident Forgiveness – but a few companies such as Allstate, Progressive, and Geico will let one accident slide before they charge you more for coverage if you have no claims before the accident.
- Driving Data Discount – Emporia drivers who agree to allow their auto insurance company to monitor vehicle usage by using a telematic data system such as In-Drive from State Farm or Allstate’s Drivewise system might get better premium rates as long as the data is positive.
- Seat Belt Usage – Drivers who require all vehicle occupants to buckle up could cut 10% or more on medical payment and PIP coverage.
Don’t be shocked that most discount credits are not given the the whole policy. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. Despite the fact that it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, it’s just not the way it works.
Larger auto insurance companies and a partial list of their discounts are included below.
- State Farm includes discounts for multiple policy, safe vehicle, driver’s education, defensive driving training, good driver, and passive restraint.
- American Family has savings for good driver, bundled insurance, early bird, good student, and accident-free.
- AAA discounts include education and occupation, multi-car, multi-policy, good student, anti-theft, and good driver.
- Geico policyholders can earn discounts including seat belt use, daytime running lights, anti-theft, federal employee, and military active duty.
- Mercury Insurance has discounts for professional/association, ease of repair, anti-theft, annual mileage, and good student.
- Farmers Insurance may include discounts for electronic funds transfer, distant student, good student, youthful driver, and alternative fuel.
- Progressive offers discounts including online quote discount, online signing, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, continuous coverage, good student, and homeowner.
When comparing rates, check with every insurance company to apply every possible discount. Savings may not be available in every state. 
Tailor your auto insurance coverage to you
When it comes to buying adequate coverage, there really is not a cookie cutter policy. Every situation is different.
Here are some questions about coverages that may help you determine if you may require specific advice.
- Is my cargo covered for damage or theft?
- What can I do if my company denied a claim?
- At what point should I drop full coverage?
- Do I qualify for additional discounts?
- Should I file a claim if it’s only slightly more than my deductible?
- Do I have coverage when using my vehicle for my home business?
- Should I have combined single limit or split liability limits?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you know they apply to you then you might want to talk to an agent. If you don’t have a local agent, simply complete this short form.
Car insurance coverages
Knowing the specifics of a auto insurance policy can help you determine which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. Policy terminology can be difficult to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Auto liability insurance
This coverage protects you from injuries or damage you cause to other people or property in an accident. Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have policy limits of 50/100/50 which stand for a limit of $50,000 per injured person, $100,000 for the entire accident, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Occasionally you may see one limit called combined single limit (CSL) that pays claims from the same limit rather than limiting it on a per person basis.
Liability coverage protects against claims such as loss of income, pain and suffering and legal defense fees. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford. Virginia requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/20,000 but you should consider buying higher limits.
Coverage for medical expenses
Med pay and PIP coverage kick in for immediate expenses for things like surgery, hospital visits, rehabilitation expenses, funeral costs and doctor visits. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover both the driver and occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Coverage for collisions
This covers damage to your vehicle caused by collision with an object or car. A deductible applies and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage pays for things such as backing into a parked car, damaging your car on a curb, hitting a parking meter, scraping a guard rail and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. Another option is to choose a higher deductible to bring the cost down.
Comprehensive auto insurance
This coverage pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things such as falling objects, hail damage and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The most your auto insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Coverage for uninsured or underinsured drivers
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage provides protection from other drivers when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered claims include medical payments for you and your occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since many Virginia drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (25/50/20 in Virginia), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. So UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked. Usually your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Additional auto insurance information is available on the Virginia Bureau of Insurance website through this link. Virginia consumers can read industry bulletins, report car insurance fraud, and learn about insurance regulations.