Scraping up a payment for overpriced auto insurance can dwindle your personal savings and put the squeeze on your family’s finances. Doing a price comparison is a smart way to cut your insurance bill. Popular companies such as Geico, 21st Century and Progressive continually hit you with fancy advertisements and it is difficult to see through the cute green geckos and mayhem and take the time to shop coverage around.
How to Get Cheap Auto Insurance in Muskogee, OK
Most major insurance companies such as 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm quote pricing online. The process doesn’t take a lot of time as you just type in your coverage information as detailed in the form. Once you submit the form, their system sends out for credit information and your driving record and returns a price quote based on these and other factors. Being able to quote online simplifies rate comparisons, but the time required to go to many different websites and type in the same information is not the best way to spend an afternoon. But it is imperative to perform this step if you want to find the lowest price.
The easiest way to lower your auto insurance bill utilizes a single form to obtain quotes from a bunch of companies at once. This type of form saves time, reduces the work, and makes quoting online much simpler. Once the form is submitted, it is quoted and you can select your choice of the pricing results.
If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, you can click and sign and purchase the new policy. This process takes 15 minutes at the most and you’ll know if lower rates are available.
To get comparison pricing now, click here and submit your coverage information. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you copy the coverages identical to your current policy. Doing this guarantees you will be getting a fair comparison for exact coverage.
Auto insurance myths debunked
Oklahoma drivers constantly see and hear ads that promise big savings by 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. They all seem to make an identical promise of big savings after switching to their company.
How do they all say the same thing? This is how they do it.
All the different companies can use profiling for the driver they prefer to insure. For instance, a preferred risk might be between the ages of 30 and 50, a clean driving record, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A customer who meets those qualifications will qualify for the lowest rates and therefore will save a lot of money.
Potential insureds who don’t qualify for this ideal profile must pay a higher premium and ends up with business going elsewhere. The ads say “customers that switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save money. That’s why insurance companies can state the savings.
This illustrates why you need to get a wide range of price quotes. It is impossible to predict which company will give you the biggest savings.
Discounts can save BIG
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but companies offer discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Some discounts apply automatically at the time you complete a quote, but some may not be applied and must be inquired about before you will receive the discount. If they aren’t giving you every credit you qualify for, you are paying more than you should be.
- New Car Discount – Buying coverage on a new vehicle can be considerably cheaper compared to insuring an older model.
- Save over 55 – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may receive a small decrease in premiums.
- Theft Prevention System – Anti-theft and alarm systems are stolen less frequently and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Multi-car Discount – Insuring more than one vehicle with the same company qualifies for this discount.
- Low Mileage – Keeping the miles down could qualify for better rates on cars that stay parked.
- Safe Driver Discount – Insureds without accidents may save up to 50% more than drivers with accident claims.
- Bundle and Save – If you have multiple policies with one insurance company you may earn approximately 10% to 15%.
- Good Student Discount – Performing well in school can earn a discount of 20% or more. This discount can apply up to age 25.
- Accident Waiver – A handful of insurance companies allow you one accident before your rates go up if you are claim-free prior to the accident.
Drivers should understand that most credits do not apply to the entire cost. Some only apply to individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So even though they make it sound like you could get a free auto insurance policy, companies don’t profit that way. Any qualifying discounts will cut the cost of coverage.
To choose insurers who offer auto insurance discounts in Muskogee, click here.
Auto insurance policy coverages
Understanding the coverages of auto insurance can be of help when determining the right coverages and proper limits and deductibles. Auto insurance terms can be impossible to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Below you’ll find the normal coverages available from auto insurance companies.
Collision insurance
This pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage pays for things like crashing into a ditch, sustaining damage from a pot hole and damaging your car on a curb. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider removing coverage from older vehicles. Another option is to bump up the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Liability
Liability insurance protects you from damage that occurs to other’s property or people that is your fault. It protects you against other people’s claims, and does not provide coverage for your injuries or vehicle damage.
Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see limits of 25/50/25 which means a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, $50,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Alternatively, you may have one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which provides one coverage limit and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.
Liability insurance covers things like repair bills for other people’s vehicles, emergency aid and court costs. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is your choice, but buy higher limits if possible. Oklahoma requires drivers to carry at least 25,000/50,000/25,000 but you should think about purchasing better liability coverage.
Medical payments coverage and PIP
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance kick in for short-term medical expenses such as surgery, funeral costs, chiropractic care, prosthetic devices and pain medications. The coverages can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if you lack health insurance entirely. It covers you and your occupants in addition to any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Comprehensive coverage
This coverage will pay to fix damage that is not covered by collision coverage. A deductible will apply then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims like hitting a bird, damage from getting keyed, theft and hitting a deer. The most your auto insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage
This gives you protection from other drivers when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include hospital bills for your injuries as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (25/50/25 in Oklahoma), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Frequently these coverages are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.
Additional information can be read on the website for the Oklahoma Insurance Department found here. Oklahoma drivers can find out industry alerts, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, file complaints about a company, and discover disciplinary actions.
Smart shoppers get results
You just read many ways to lower your auto insurance rates. The key concept to understand is the more providers you compare, the higher the chance of saving money. You may even discover the best prices are with some of the lesser-known companies. They often have lower prices on specific markets than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate and Progressive.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, you should never buy poor coverage just to save money. There are many occasions where someone dropped comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to find out that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. The aim is to find the BEST coverage at the best price while still protecting your assets.
Affordable auto insurance is available online in addition to many Muskogee insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both to get a complete price analysis. Some insurance companies do not provide the ability to get a quote online and many times these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.