Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an overpriced car insurance policy? Trust us, many Gaffney consumers feel financially strained by their car insurance policy.
You have multiple insurers to purchase coverage from, and although it’s nice to be able to choose, so many choices can make it hard to find the best rates for your vehicles.
Pricing the lowest cost car insurance in Gaffney is not that difficult. Basically, every driver who shops for car insurance most likely will be able to cut their insurance bill. Nevertheless, South Carolina car owners benefit from understanding how big insurance companies market insurance on the web and use this information to your advantage.
Informed Drivers can Cut Their Rates
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that come into play when calculating your car insurance rates. Understanding what controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with better car insurance rates.
- Bump up deductibles to save – Insurance for physical damage to your car, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, protects your car from damage. A few examples of covered claims would be collision with another vehicle, damage caused by hail, or theft. Your deductibles are the amount of money you are willing to pay out-of-pocket before your car insurance pays a claim. The more money you have to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.
- Are you male or female? – Statistics show that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. However, this does not mean women are better drivers. Both sexes are in accidents at a similar rate, but the male of the species have costlier accidents. Men also tend to get more serious tickets such as DWI and reckless driving. Young males are several times more likely to be in an accident and are penalized with high car insurance rates.
- Claim-free discounts can add up – Auto insurance companies in South Carolina award better rates to people who file claims infrequently. If you are a frequent claim filer, you can pretty much guarantee higher rates. Auto insurance is designed for larger claims.
- Having a spouse can save you money – Getting married can actually save you money on your car insurance policy. It translates into being more mature and responsible and statistics show married couples file fewer claims.
How to Get Cheap Car Insurance in Gaffney, SC
To find the best car insurance prices, there are several ways of comparing price quotes from different in Gaffney, SCinsurance companies. The easiest way to find competitive insurance rates is to use the internet to compare rates. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in just a few minutes using one of these methods.
- The single most time-saving way to find the lowest comparison rates is to use a rate comparison form like this one (opens in new window). This form saves time by eliminating multiple quote forms for each company. Filling out one form gets rate comparisons from many national carriers.
- A slightly less efficient method to shop for car insurance online consists of going to each individual company website to request a price quote. For examples sake, we’ll pretend you want comparison quotes from Liberty Mutual, State Farm and GMAC. To find out each rate you need to go to every website to enter your coverage information, which is why most consumers use the first method. To view a list of companies in Gaffney, click here.
Whichever way you use, make darn sure you compare the exact same quote information with each company. If you enter mixed coverages it will be next to impossible to determine which rate is truly the best in Gaffney. Having just a slight variation in insurance coverages can make a big difference in price. Just keep in mind that getting more free quotes gives you a better chance of getting a better price.
Save big with these discounts
Car insurance can cost a lot, but companies offer discounts to cut the cost considerably. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically when you get a quote, but less common discounts must be asked about in order for you to get them.
- Homeowners Savings – Simply owning a home may earn you a small savings due to the fact that maintaining a home requires personal responsibility.
- E-sign – A handful of insurance companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks simply for signing on their website.
- Claim Free – Drivers who don’t have accidents can earn big discounts compared to frequent claim filers.
- Employee of Federal Government – Being employed by or retired from a federal job can save as much as 8% with a few car insurance companies.
- Early Switch Discount – Some companies give discounts for signing up prior to your current policy expiring. It’s a savings of about 10%.
- Seat Belt Usage – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to use their safety belts could cut 10% or more off your medical payments premium.
- Theft Prevention Discount – Vehicles with anti-theft systems help deter theft and will save you 10% or more.
- More Vehicles More Savings – Insuring multiple cars or trucks on one policy qualifies for this discount.
- 55 and Retired – Mature drivers can possibly qualify for better car insurance rates.
- Lower Rates for Military – Being deployed with a military unit could mean lower rates.
It’s important to understand that some of the credits will not apply to the entire policy premium. Most only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as comp or med pay. So when it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, it doesn’t quite work that way. But all discounts will help reduce the amount you have to pay.
To see a list of providers with the best car insurance discounts in South Carolina, follow this link.
But I don’t know anything about car insurance
When buying adequate coverage for your vehicles, there really is not a perfect coverage plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s so your insurance needs to address that. These are some specific questions can aid in determining if you will benefit from professional help.
- Is borrowed equipment or tools covered if stolen or damaged?
- Does liability extend to a camper or trailer?
- Am I covered if I crash into my own garage door?
- Do I benefit by insuring my home with the same company?
- Do I need PIP coverage since I have good health insurance?
- How many claims can I have before being cancelled?
- Do I need added coverage for expensive stereo equipment?
- Does my vehicle need full coverage?
- Am I covered when pulling a rental trailer?
- Does my personal auto insurance policy cover using my vehicle for business use?
If you’re not sure about those questions, you might consider talking to an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, simply complete this short form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
More information is available on the website for the South Carolina Department of Insurance located here. South Carolina consumers can download brochures, file complaints about a company, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, and learn about insurance regulations.
Shop smart and save
While you’re price shopping online, it’s not a good idea to skimp on coverage in order to save money. In too many instances, an accident victim reduced full coverage only to regret at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The proper strategy is to purchase plenty of coverage at the best price while still protecting your assets.
Throughout this article, we presented a lot of techniques to compare car insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. Drivers may discover the lowest premiums are with some of the lesser-known companies. Some small companies may only write in your state and offer lower rates than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate and Progressive.