Consumers who are new to comparing rates online can find purchasing the cheapest Frostburg auto insurance is harder than they anticipated.
If you are paying for car insurance now, you will be able to cut costs considerably using these methods. The purpose of this article is to introduce you to how to get online quotes and some tips to save money. Nevertheless, Maryland car owners do need to know how insurance companies price insurance differently and use this information to your advantage.
Auto Insurance Prices in Frostburg, Maryland
The are a couple different ways to get quotes and find the best price. The easiest way by far to find competitive insurance rates is to use the internet to compare rates. It is quite easy and can be accomplished using a couple different methods.
- Probably the best way consumers can make multiple comparisons is to use a rate comparison form (click to open form in new window). This easy form saves time by eliminating a different quote for each company you want a rate for. One quote request gets rate comparisons instantly. Just one form and you’re done.
- A slightly less efficient method to get comparison quotes is spending the time to visit the website for every company you want to comare and request a quote. For instance, let’s assume you want rates from Liberty Mutual, Allstate and State Farm. To find out each rate you need to take the time to go to each site to input your insurance information, which is why the first method is more popular.
For a handy list of car insurance company links in Frostburg, click here.
- The least efficient way to get comparison rates is to spend your day driving to different Frostburg agent offices. The ability to buy insurance online eliminates the need for an insurance agent unless you want the professional guidance only provided by licensed Frostburg agents. It is possible to obtain prices from the web but buy from a local insurance agent. We’ll cover that shortly.
Whichever way you use, double check that you are using the exact same coverage information for every quote you compare. If each company quotes mixed coverages it’s impossible to truly determine the lowest rate in Frostburg. Quoting even small variations in coverage limits can make a big difference in price. And when price shopping your coverage, having more price comparisons will enable you to find the best offered rates.
Do you qualify for a discount?
Auto insurance companies do not advertise all their discounts very well, so the following is a list of some of the best known and the more hidden discounts you could be receiving.
- Homeowners Discount – Being a homeowner may earn you a small savings because owning a home requires personal responsibility.
- Defensive Driver – Successfully completing a driver safety course could save 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
- 55 and Retired – Mature drivers may receive a discount up to 10%.
- Theft Prevention System – Vehicles with anti-theft systems can help prevent theft and will save you 10% or more.
- Discount for Life Insurance – Companies who offer life insurance give a discount if you purchase a life insurance policy as well.
- Good Student Discount – Performing well in school can get you a discount of up to 25%. Earning this discount can benefit you up to age 25.
- Paperless Signup – A few companies may give you up to $50 just for signing your application over the internet.
Consumers should know that most discounts do not apply the the whole policy. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, auto insurance companies aren’t that generous.
To choose insurance companies who offer auto insurance discounts in Maryland, click here.
What if I want to buy from a local Frostburg agent?
Some people prefer to talk to a local agent. One of the best bonuses of comparing rates online is you may find the best rates and still choose a local agent.
To find an agent, once you fill out this form (opens in new window), the quote information is transmitted to local insurance agents who will return price quotes to get your business. You won’t need to visit any agencies since price quotes are sent immediately to your email address. Now that’s easy! Get lower rates AND an agent nearby.
Choosing an insurer needs to be determined by more than just the price. These are valid questions to ask:
- Is the agency involved in supporting local community causes?
- Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?
- Is working in the agency their full-time job?
- Are you getting all the discounts the company offers?
- Are they able to influence company decisions when a claim is filed?
- If you have an accident, will your rates go up?
How to choose the best insurance agent in Frostburg
When looking for an insurance agent, there are a couple of types of agencies that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Agents are categorized either captive or independent (non-captive).
Captive Agents
These agents have only one company to place business with and some examples include State Farm, AAA, Farmers Insurance or Allstate. These agents are unable to give you multiple price quotes so they have to upsell other benefits. Captive agencies are usually quite knowledgeable on their company’s products which helps them compete with independent agents. Consumers frequently buy insurance from these agents mostly because of loyalty to the company and strong financial ratings.
Independent Agents
Independent insurance agents are not required to write business for one company so they have the ability to put coverage with lots of companies depending on which coverage is best. To transfer your coverage to a different company, an independent agent can move your coverage without you having to go to a different agency. When shopping rates, it’s a good idea to include several independent insurance agents for maximum quote selection. They also have the ability to place coverage with smaller companies which may provide better rates.
The following are Frostburg independent insurance agencies that are able to give comparison quotes.
- Armstrong Insurance – 125 Mount Pleasant St – Frostburg, MD 21532 – (301) 689-6807
- Frostburg Insurance and Fncl Svc – 124 E Main St – Frostburg, MD 21532 – (301) 689-0595
For a complete listing of Frostburg insurance agents, please click here.
After receiving good answers to these questions and a low price estimate, you may have just found an auto insurance agent that is a good match to service your policy.
Car insurance coverage information
Knowing the specifics of your policy aids in choosing appropriate coverage at the best deductibles and correct limits. Auto insurance terms can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Liability
Liability coverage provides protection from damage or injury you incur to people or other property by causing an accident. This coverage protects you from claims by other people. It does not cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: 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 means $50,000 bodily injury coverage, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and a limit of $50,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability can pay for claims like bail bonds, medical expenses, court costs and funeral expenses. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford. Maryland requires drivers to carry at least 30,000/60,000/15,000 but you should think about purchasing more coverage.
Coverage for collisions
This coverage will pay to fix damage to your vehicle resulting from a 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 claims like hitting a mailbox, scraping a guard rail and rolling your car. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. Another option is to bump up the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)
Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle from other motorists when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your occupants and damage to your vehicle.
Since a lot of drivers have only the minimum liability required by law (30/60/15), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. So UM/UIM coverage is very important.
Comprehensive insurance
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as damage from getting keyed, damage from flooding, fire damage and vandalism. The maximum payout a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for expenses like X-ray expenses, chiropractic care and rehabilitation expenses. They are often used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants in addition to being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Final thoughts
Discount auto insurance is available both online as well as from independent agents in Frostburg, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some auto insurance companies don’t offer online price quotes and many times these small insurance companies only sell through independent insurance agents.
Insureds who switch companies do it for a number of reasons such as unfair underwriting practices, high rates after DUI convictions, delays in responding to claim requests or even an unsatisfactory settlement offer. No matter why you want to switch, finding a new auto insurance company is pretty simple and you could end up saving a buck or two.
Throughout this article, we presented a lot of ways to reduce auto insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more quotes you get, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers could even find that the biggest savings come from a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising.
More tips and info about auto insurance is available at the Maryland Insurance Administration website. Maryland drivers can read industry bulletins, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, read state legal mandates and laws, and discover disciplinary actions.