Are you a victim of overpriced car insurance? Believe me when I say many consumers are feeling buyer’s remorse and feel like there’s no way out. Lots of car insurance companies contend for your insurance dollar, and it can be difficult to compare rates and get the definite best rates possible.
It’s smart to shop coverage around before your policy renews since rates are rarely the same from one policy term to another. Even if you got the lowest price a couple years back you may be paying too much now. You can find a lot of wrong information about car insurance on the web, but we’re going to give you some of the best ways to quit paying high car insurance rates.
You probably qualify for some discounts
Companies don’t list every available discount in an easy-to-find place, so here is a list some of the best known and the harder-to-find savings tricks you should be using. If they aren’t giving you every credit you deserve, you’re just leaving money on the table.
- Homeowners Pay Less – Being a homeowner can help you save on car insurance due to the fact that maintaining a home shows financial diligence.
- Discount for Life Insurance – Some companies give a break if you buy auto and life insurance together.
- Save over 55 – If you’re over the age of 55, you can possibly qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
- Anti-lock Brakes – Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control can reduce accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Early Switch Discount – Some companies give discounts for signing up before your current policy expires. It’s a savings of about 10%.
- Bundle and Save – If you have multiple policies with one insurance company you may earn 10% to 20% off each policy.
- Accident Waiver – Certain companies allow you one accident before hitting you with a surcharge as long as you don’t have any claims for a set time period.
- Claim Free – Drivers who don’t have accidents pay much less when compared to accident-prone drivers.
As a disclaimer on discounts, most discounts do not apply to the entire cost. Most cut specific coverage prices like collision or personal injury protection. Just because it seems like you can get free auto insurance, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
Comprehensive Car Insurance Comparison in Blue Springs, MO
Finding cheaper car insurance prices is surprisingly easy. You just have to invest a few minutes to get quotes online with multiple companies. This is very easy and can be done in several different ways.
- The easiest and least time consuming way to find the lowest comparison rates would be an industry-wide quote request form click here to open form in new window. This type of form eliminates the need for repetitive form submissions for each company. In just a few minutes this one form gets you price quotes from several companies.
- A more time consuming way to shop for car insurance online consists of visiting the website of each company to complete a price quote. For example, we’ll assume you want to compare Farmers, Geico and Travelers. You would have to spend time on each company’s site and enter your policy data, which is why the first method is quicker.
For a list of links to companies insuring cars in Blue Springs, click here.
- The most time-consuming way to compare rates is driving to different Blue Springs agent offices. The ability to buy insurance online has reduced the need for local agents unless you require the personal advice of a local Blue Springs agent. Drivers can comparison shop your insurance online and still use a local agent.
Whichever way you use, make darn sure you compare identical information for every quote you compare. If the quotes have different deductibles it will be next to impossible to truly determine the lowest rate in Blue Springs.
Is my situation unique?
When it comes to buying the right insurance coverage for your vehicles, there is no single plan that fits everyone. Every insured’s situation is different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. These are some specific questions might help in determining if you could use an agent’s help.
- Can I get a multi-policy discount for packaging my home and auto coverage?
- What companies insure drivers after a DUI or DWI?
- Do no-fault laws apply in Missouri?
- Do I need PIP (personal injury protection) coverage in Missouri?
- How much liability coverage do I need in Missouri?
- Is my business laptop covered if it gets stolen from my vehicle?
- Why am I be forced to buy a membership to get insurance from some companies?
- Do I need higher deductibles?
- Who is covered by my policy?
- Which companies will insure high-risk drivers?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but a few of them apply, you may need to chat with a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It’s fast, free and may give you better protection.
Car insurance coverages explained
Having a good grasp of car insurance can be of help when determining the best coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Car insurance terms can be difficult to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. Shown next are typical coverage types found on most car insurance policies.
Liability
This coverage provides protection from damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property by causing an accident. This insurance protects YOU from claims by other people. It does not cover damage to your own property or vehicle.
Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have values of 100/300/100 that means you have $100,000 bodily injury coverage, a limit of $300,000 in injury protection per accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability coverage pays for things such as funeral expenses, emergency aid, medical expenses, repair costs for stationary objects and repair bills for other people’s vehicles. How much coverage you buy is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford. Missouri requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/10,000 but you should consider buying more liability than the minimum.
Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)
Comprehensive insurance pays for damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first have to pay a deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims like a broken windshield, a tree branch falling on your vehicle, theft and hitting a deer. The maximum payout a car insurance company will pay at claim time is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Insurance for medical payments
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for short-term medical expenses for pain medications, hospital visits and dental work. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance program or if you are not covered by health insurance. Coverage applies to you and your occupants as well as getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not available in all states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance
This protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other motorists when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your vehicle.
Since many Missouri drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits (25/50/10 in Missouri), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is important protection for you and your family.
Coverage for collisions
Collision insurance will pay to fix damage to your vehicle resulting from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision coverage pays for things like scraping a guard rail, crashing into a ditch, crashing into a building, sideswiping another vehicle and colliding with another moving vehicle. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. Another option is to choose a higher deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Cheaper insurance is a realistic goal
We just showed you a lot of techniques to get a better price on car insurance. The key concept to understand is the more price quotes you have, the higher the chance of saving money. Consumers may even find the lowest priced car insurance comes from a small mutual company. They can often provide lower rates in certain areas than their larger competitors like State Farm and Allstate.
Budget-conscious car insurance can be found on the web and also from your neighborhood Blue Springs agents, and you need to comparison shop both so you have a total pricing picture. Some companies may not provide the ability to get a quote online and these small insurance companies work with independent agents.