Purchasing cheap Bastrop car insurance online is somewhat difficult for consumers new to comparison shopping online. With dozens of companies competing online, how can consumers possibly compare every one to find the cheapest available price?
It’s important to take a look at other company’s rates before your policy renews because insurance rates tend to go up over time. Even if you got the best deal a couple years back there may be better deals available now. So block out anything you think you know about car insurance because you’re going to get a crash course in the quickest way to lower your annual insurance bill.
How to Compare Car Insurance Quotes in Bastrop, LA
To find the best car insurance prices, there are several ways of comparing rates from car insurance companies in your area. One of the best ways to find competitive insurance rates is to perform an online rate comparison. This can be accomplished in several different ways.
- The single most time-saving way to compare a lot of rates at once would be an industry-wide quote request form click here to open form in new window. This easy form keeps you from doing separate forms for each company you want a rate for. One simple form will return price quotes direct from many companies. Recommended for those who want to invest the least amount of time.
- A less efficient way to get comparison quotes is to manually visit the website of each company to complete their respective quote request forms. For examples sake, we’ll pretend you want rates from USAA, State Farm and Allstate. To get rate quotes you would need to take the time to go to each site to enter your coverage information, which is why most consumers use the first method. For a list of links to insurance companies in Bastrop, click here.
It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just be sure to compare apples-to-apples coverages for every quote you compare. If the quotes have mixed coverages you will not be able to decipher which rate is best in Bastrop. Just a small difference in limits may result in a large different in cost. Keep in mind that more quotes will increase your chances of finding the best rates.
Car insurance ads bend the truth
Car insurance providers like State Farm, Allstate and Geico regularly use ads in print and on television. They all make an identical promise that you’ll save big if you move your coverage to them. How does each company make the same claim? This is how they do it.
Insurance companies are able to cherry pick for the driver that is profitable for them. For instance, a desirable insured could possibly be between 30 and 50, has no prior claims, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A customer getting a price quote that hits that “sweet spot” will get very good rates and is almost guaranteed to pay quite a bit less when switching companies.
Potential insureds who do not match this ideal profile will be quoted higher rates which leads to the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ad wording is “drivers who switch” not “people who quote” save that much. That’s why companies can advertise the savings.
This emphasizes why it is so important to get as many quotes as possible. You cannot predict which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.
Cut your premium with these ten discounts
Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but discounts can save money and there are some available to reduce the price significantly. Certain discounts will be applied when you quote, but some may not be applied and must be specifically requested prior to getting the savings.
- Accident Forgiveness – A few companies permit an accident before your rates go up so long as you haven’t had any claims prior to the accident.
- Student in College – Any of your kids who live away from home and don’t have a car may qualify for this discount.
- Multi-policy Discount – When you have multiple policies with one company you may save up to 20% off your total premium.
- Homeowners Discount – Simply owning a home may trigger a car insurance policy discount because owning a home is proof that your finances are in order.
- Life Insurance Discount – Some companies give lower rates if you buy a life insurance policy as well.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – By paying your policy upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save up to 5%.
- Good Student Discount – A discount for being a good student can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. This discount can apply until age 25.
- Claim Free – Drivers who don’t have accidents pay less when compared with drivers who are more careless.
- Anti-lock Brake Discount – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles can reduce accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Paperless Signup – Certain companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying your policy digitally online.
Consumers should know that many deductions do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Some only reduce individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So when it seems like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it just doesn’t work that way. But all discounts will reduce your overall premium however.
To see a list of insurance companies with the best car insurance discounts in Bastrop, click this link.
Car insurance coverage specifics
Having a good grasp of your policy can be of help when determining the best coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. The terms used in a policy can be confusing and coverage can change by endorsement.<img class="alignright" style="padding-top:15px;" src="https://www.carinsurancediy.com/wp-content/uploads/ci175-62.jpg" alt="Bastrop Louisiana auto insurance“/>
UM/UIM Coverage
Your UM/UIM coverage gives you protection when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your vehicle.
Due to the fact that many Louisiana drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (15/30/25), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea. Most of the time these coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.
Collision coverage protection
This will pay to fix damage to your vehicle from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You will need to pay your deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision insurance covers things like sideswiping another vehicle, colliding with a tree, hitting a mailbox, hitting a parking meter and backing into a parked car. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. You can also bump up the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision
This pays to fix your vehicle from damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. A deductible will apply then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims like hitting a bird, theft and vandalism. The highest amount your car insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Liability insurance
Liability insurance will cover damage or injury you incur to people or other property by causing an accident. This insurance protects YOU from legal claims by others, and 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. You commonly see limits of 100/300/100 which stand for $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $100,000. Another option is one number which is a combined single limit that pays claims from the same limit without having the split limit caps.
Liability insurance covers claims like loss of income, bail bonds and legal defense fees. How much coverage you buy is up to you, but consider buying as high a limit as you can afford. Louisiana state law requires minimum liability limits of 15,000/30,000/25,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy more coverage.
Medical costs insurance
Med pay and PIP coverage kick in for immediate expenses such as surgery, dental work and ambulance fees. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. It covers both the driver and occupants as well as if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Additional car insurance information can be found on the Louisiana Department of Insurance website located here. Louisiana drivers can discover disciplinary actions, find out which companies have the most complaints, and view agent and company licensing information.
Shop smart and save
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, it’s not a good idea to buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There have been many situations where consumers will sacrifice full coverage only to discover later that the savings was not a smart move. Your aim should be to find the BEST coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
Insureds leave their current company for many reasons like high rates after DUI convictions, not issuing a premium refund, unfair underwriting practices and even delays in paying claims. It doesn’t matter what your reason, choosing a new company is easier than you think.
Cheap car insurance is possible online in addition to many Bastrop insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some companies do not provide the ability to get a quote online and many times these smaller companies only sell through independent insurance agents.