Nobody likes buying auto insurance, especially knowing their premiums are too high. Insurance companies such as State Farm and Geico promote their brand names with ads and it is challenging if not impossible to see through the deception and do the work needed to find the best deal.
If you have insurance now or are shopping for new coverage, you can follow these tips to find the best rates and possibly find even better coverage. Buying car insurance in Farmington is easy if you know what you’re doing. Minnesota consumers just need to understand how to buy auto insurance over the internet.
Get more affordable premiums by understanding these factors
Multiple criteria are taken into consideration when you quote your car insurance policy. Some are pretty understandable such as your driving record, although some other factors are less obvious such as your credit history and annual miles driven.
- Married people drive safer – Having a wife or husband may cut your premiums on your auto insurance policy. Marriage means you’re less irresponsible and it’s statistically proven that being married results in fewer claims.
- Multi-policy discounts can save money – Most larger insurance companies allow a discount to customers who have multiple policies with them such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. Even with this discount, drivers will still want to check prices from other companies to verify if the discount is saving money.
- Gender impacts costs – Over the last 30 years, statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. This data doesn’t prove that women are better drivers. Both sexes are responsible for at-fault accidents in similar numbers, but the males get into accidents with more damage. In addition to higher claims, males also receive more costly citations like DWI (DUI) or reckless driving. Males from age 16 to 21 are several times more likely to be in an accident so they pay the highest premiums.
- Expect high rates for teens – Older people are proven to be safer behind the wheel, cost insurance companies less in claims and are safer drivers.Youthful drivers have a tendency to get distracted easily when behind the wheel so auto insurance rates are higher.
Lower-cost Minnesota auto insurance quotes with discounts
Auto insurance is expensive, but there may be some discounts that could drop your premiums quite a bit. Certain credits will be shown at quote time, but some need to be specially asked for before they will apply.
- First Accident Forgiveness – Not necessarily a discount, but companies like Liberty Mutual, Allstate and State Farm will let one accident slide before they charge you more for coverage so long as you haven’t had any claims for a set time period.
- Renewal Discounts – A few insurance companies give discounts for switching to them before your current expiration date. It can save you around 10%.
- Good Student Discount – Being a good student may save you up to 25%. This discount can apply until age 25.
- Discount for Low Mileage – Driving less may enable drivers to earn lower premium rates on the low mileage vehicles.
- Early Payment Discounts – By paying your entire bill at once as opposed to paying monthly you can avoid monthly service charges.
- ABS and Traction Control Discounts – Cars and trucks that have steering control and anti-lock brakes can reduce accidents so you can save 10 percent or more.
- Safety Course Discount – Taking a course in safe driver could possibly earn you a 5% discount and easily recoup the cost of the course.
- Government Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job can earn a discount up to 10% with certain companies.
- College Student – Children who are enrolled in a college that is more than 100 miles from home and don’t have a car may qualify for this discount.
- Passenger Safety Discount – Vehicles with factory air bags or automatic seat belts may earn rate discounts of 20% or more.
One last thing about discounts, some of the credits will not apply the the whole policy. Some only reduce individual premiums such as liability and collision coverage. Despite the fact that it seems like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
A partial list of companies that may include some of the above discounts include:
When comparing rates, check with every insurance company which discounts can lower your rates. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts might not apply in every state. To locate providers with discount rates in Minnesota, click here to view.
Save $387 a year? Really?
Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements that claim the cheapest prices from companies such as 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. They all advertise claims about how much you will save if you just switch your policy.
How does every auto insurance company cost less than your current company? It’s all in the words they use.
Most companies have a certain “appetite” for a prospective insured that is profitable for them. A good example of a desirable insured might have to be a female over age 40, has never had a claim, and has a high credit rating. Any person who matches those parameters receives the best car insurance rates as well as save quite a bit of money when switching.
Consumers who do not meet those standards will get higher premiums and this results in the customer not purchasing. The ad wording is “customers who switch” not “everyone who quotes” save that much. That is how companies can make those statements. This illustrates why it’s extremely important to compare many company’s prices. It’s impossible to know with any certainty which company will provide the lowest premium rates.
Even more information can be read at the Minnesota Department of Commerce website. Visitors are able to read consumer alerts, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, find out which companies have the most complaints, and report car insurance fraud.
The following articles may also be useful.
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- Tested Tricks for Cheaper Farmington Hills Auto Insurance
Do the work, save more money
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, it’s not a good idea to reduce needed coverages to save money. In too many instances, drivers have reduced collision coverage and learned later that the savings was not a smart move. The aim is to get the best coverage possible at the lowest possible cost, but do not sacrifice coverage to save money.
Throughout this article, we presented a lot of tips how to reduce auto insurance rates online. The most important thing to understand is the more times you quote, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even find the lowest rates come from some of the lesser-known companies. Some small companies can often provide lower car insurance rates in certain areas compared to the large companies like State Farm and Allstate.