Buying low-cost Phoenix auto insurance over the internet is challenging for consumers not familiar with online price comaprisons. With a ridiculous number of choices, how can anyone have a chance to compare every company to locate the best available price?
Finding affordable coverage in Phoenix is easy if you know what you’re doing. If you have car insurance now, you should be able to reduce your rates substantially using these techniques. But Arizona car owners do need to understand how companies sell insurance online and use this information to your advantage.
Quick Phoenix Auto Insurance Quotes
To find the best auto insurance prices, there are several ways to get quotes from auto insurance companies in your area. The best method to find the cheapest insurance rates is simply to get online rate quotes. This is very easy and can be done in a couple of different ways.
One of the best ways consumers can analyze rates is to use a rate comparison form (click to open form in new window). This easy form saves time by eliminating repetitive form submissions to each individual auto insurance company. One form submission will get you price quotes from multiple companies. Recommended for those who want to invest the least amount of time.
A more difficult way to get comparison quotes consists of visiting the website for every company you want to comare to complete a price quote. For examples sake, let’s say you want to compare Auto-Owners, Geico and Farmers. To get each rate you have to visit each site to enter your coverage information, which is why most consumers use the first method.
To view a list of companies in Phoenix, click here.
The least recommended method to compare rates is driving to and from local Phoenix insurance agencies. Shopping for auto insurance online makes this process obsolete unless you want the personal advice of a local Phoenix agent. However, consumers can price shop your coverage online but still have the advice of a local agent and you’ll learn how to do that later.
It’s up to you how you get prices quotes, just make absolute certain that you use apples-to-apples coverage limits and deductibles with each company. If you have unequal deductibles or liability limits it’s impossible to truly determine the lowest car insurance rates in Phoenix. Slightly different coverage limits can make a big difference in price. Just keep in mind that comparing a large number of companies provides better odds of finding better pricing.
Do you really save 40% when you switch?
Auto insurance companies such as Progressive, Allstate and Geico continually stream ads in print and on television. They all seem to make the same claim of big savings after switching your policy. How can each company make almost identical claims?
All companies have a preferred profile for the type of driver that is profitable for them. A good example of a desirable insured might be a mature driver, a clean driving record, and drives newer vehicles. A customer that hits that “sweet spot” will qualify for the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to cut their rates substantially.
Drivers who do not match these standards will be charged a higher premium which leads to the customer not buying. The ads say “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that kind of money. That’s the way companies can truthfully make the claims of big savings. That is why it is so important to quote coverage with many companies. It’s not possible to predict the company that will have the lowest rates.
More discounts equal less premium
Companies that sell car insurance don’t always publicize all available discounts very well, so the following is a list of both well-publicized as well as the least known discounts you could be receiving.
- Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Drivers who require all occupants to buckle their seat belts can save 10% or more off the personal injury premium cost.
- Life Insurance Discount – Some companies give lower rates if you buy a life insurance policy as well.
- Anti-theft Discount – Anti-theft and alarm systems help deter theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Good Students Pay Less – A discount for being a good student can earn a discount of 20% or more. The discount lasts up until you turn 25.
- Lower Rates for Military – Being deployed with a military unit can result in better rates.
- Government Employees – Employees or retirees of the government could cut as much as 10% off with a few auto insurance companies.
- Discount for New Cars – Adding a new car to your policy is cheaper because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
- Defensive Driver – Successfully completing a driver safety course could save 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
- Multi-policy Discount – If you have multiple policies with one insurance company you may save approximately 10% to 15%.
- Fewer Miles Equal More Savings – Driving fewer miles could be rewarded with lower rates on the low mileage vehicles.
It’s important to note that most credits do not apply the the whole policy. Most only cut specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. So despite the fact that it appears all those discounts means the company will pay you, auto insurance companies aren’t that generous.
For a list of insurers with the best auto insurance discounts in Phoenix, click here to view.
But I prefer to buy car insurance from an agent
Certain consumers just want to sit down with an agent. One of the best bonuses of getting online price quotes is you can get lower rates but still work with a licensed agent.
Upon completion of this simple form, your insurance data is instantly submitted to insurance agents in Phoenix who will give you bids for your insurance coverage. You don’t have to visit any agencies because quoted prices will be sent straight to your inbox. Now that’s easy! You can find better rates AND an agent nearby.
Picking an provider should depend on more than just a cheap price. Ask your prospective agent these questions:
- Are they able to influence company decisions when a claim is filed?
- Do clients work directly with the agent or are most inquiries handled by a CSR?
- Will vehicle repairs be made with aftermarket parts or OEM replacement parts?
- Which insurance companies are they affiliated with?
- Do the coverages you’re quoting properly cover your vehicle?
- If you have an accident, are you able to get your vehicle repaired at the shop of your choice?
- How much can you save by raising your physical damage deductibles?
- Can they give you a list of client referrals?
If you wish to select a specific agent in Phoenix, click here to link.
After getting reasonable responses to all your questions and an acceptable price quote, you’ve probably found an provider that meets your needs to insure your vehicles.
More detailed Arizona auto insurance information is available at the Arizona Department of Insurance website. Visitors are able to report car insurance fraud, file complaints about a company, read industry bulletins, and view agent and company licensing information.
More related Phoenix auto insurance information:
Information about specific coverages
Learning about specific coverages of a auto insurance policy can help you determine appropriate coverage at the best deductibles and correct limits. Auto insurance terms can be ambiguous and coverage can change by endorsement.
Collision protection
Collision coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. A deductible applies and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision coverage protects against things like hitting a parking meter, hitting a mailbox and backing into a parked car. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision)
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first have to pay a deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things like hail damage, a broken windshield and hitting a deer. The maximum payout you’ll receive from a claim is the actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Liability
This will cover damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property by causing an accident. It protects YOU against claims from other people. Liability doesn’t 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 liability limits of 50/100/50 which means a limit of $50,000 per injured person, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and property.
Liability coverage protects against things such as funeral expenses, emergency aid, bail bonds and pain and suffering. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible. Arizona requires drivers to carry at least 15,000/30,000/10,000 but you should think about purchasing more liability than the minimum.
Medical expense insurance
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for bills for ambulance fees, surgery, nursing services and X-ray expenses. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. Coverage applies to all vehicle occupants and also covers any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is only offered in select states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers
This protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Because many people only carry the minimum required liability limits (15/30/10 in Arizona), their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is important protection for you and your family.
Summing up your auto insurance search
Throughout this article, we presented quite a bit of information on how to lower your auto insurance rates. The most important thing to understand is the more quotes you get, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may even discover the lowest priced auto insurance comes from an unexpected company.
Drivers change insurance companies for any number of reasons including unfair underwriting practices, questionable increases in premium, not issuing a premium refund and even denial of a claim. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, finding the right auto insurance provider can be easy and end up saving you some money.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, it’s a bad idea to reduce needed coverages to save money. There have been many cases where an insured cut collision coverage and found out when filing a claim they didn’t have enough coverage. Your goal should be to purchase plenty of coverage at the best price, not the least amount of coverage.