Feel like you’re a prisoner to an overpriced car insurance policy? Believe me, there are many people just like you. With consumers having so many companies and agents to choose from, it’s difficult to find the lowest price insurer.
It’s a good habit to price shop coverage periodically because insurance rates tend to go up over time. If you had the lowest price a year ago you may be paying too much now. You’ll find quite a bit of inaccurate information about car insurance online, so we’re going to give you some solid techniques on how to reduce your car insurance bill.
Verify you’re getting all your discounts
Car insurance companies don’t necessarily list all available discounts in an easy-to-find place, so here is a list some of the best known and also the lesser-known car insurance savings. If they aren’t giving you every credit you deserve, you are throwing money away.
- Multi-car Discount – Buying insurance for more than one vehicle on the same car insurance policy qualifies for this discount.
- Clubs and Organizations – Participating in a qualifying organization is a good way to get lower rates when shopping for car insurance.
- Homeowners Pay Less – Owning a home in Choteau may earn you a small savings because of the fact that having a home demonstrates responsibility.
- Payment Discounts – If you pay your bill all at once instead of monthly or quarterly installments you may reduce your total bill.
- Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Cars that have air bags can qualify for discounts of 20% or more.
- Multiple Policy Discount – If you have multiple policies with the same company you may earn up to 20% off your total premium.
It’s important to note that most credits do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. So even though it sounds like all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
To choose providers with discount car insurance rates in Montana, click here.
Finding Car Insurance in Choteau, MT
Most major insurance companies like Allstate and Progressive provide pricing directly from their websites. Getting quotes is fairly straightforward as you simply type in your personal and coverage information as detailed in the form. Once you submit the form, their rating system collects reports for credit and driving violations and quotes a price. Online price quotes makes comparing rates easy, but the process of having to visit many different websites and type in the same information can be a bit repetitive. But it’s very important to do this in order to find a better rate.
Rate comparisons made easy
A less time-consuming method to compare rates utilizes a single form that obtains quotes from a lot of companies. It saves time, reduces the work, and makes comparison shopping much more enjoyable. Immediately after you send the form, your coverage is rated and you can select any or none of the resulting price quotes. If you find a better price it’s easy to complete the application and buy the policy. The entire process takes less than 15 minutes and you’ll know if lower rates are available.
In order to find out how much you can save on car insurance, click here to open in a new tab and enter your information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you type in deductibles and limits exactly as they are listed on your policy. Doing this guarantees you will be getting a price comparison based on similar coverages.
Can switching companies really save?
Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements that promise big savings by Allstate and Progressive. They all seem to say the same thing about savings if you move to their company.
How does each company make the same claim?
All the different companies have a certain “appetite” for the right customer that makes them money. For instance, a desirable insured could be over the age of 50, has no driving citations, and has a short commute. A propective insured who fits that profile will get the preferred rates and as a result will probably save quite a bit of money when switching.
Potential customers who do not match these standards will be quoted higher rates and this can result in business not being written. The ad wording is “drivers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that kind of money. This is how insurance companies can state the savings. This emphasizes why drivers should quote coverage with many companies. It is impossible to predict the company that will provide you with the cheapest rates.
Car insurance coverages explained
Knowing the specifics of car insurance aids in choosing the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. The terms used in a policy can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring. These are typical coverages found on the average car insurance policy.
Liability
This provides protection from damage that occurs to other people or property by causing an accident. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. Your policy might show liability limits of 100/300/100 that translate to a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $300,000 in injury protection per accident, and a total limit of $100,000 for damage to vehicles and property.
Liability insurance covers things like structural damage, pain and suffering and loss of income. How much coverage you buy is your choice, but you should buy higher limits if possible. Montana state minimum liability requirements are 25,000/50,000/10,000 but drivers should carry higher limits.
Insurance for medical payments
Med pay and PIP coverage provide coverage for immediate expenses for EMT expenses, X-ray expenses, surgery, dental work and doctor visits. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance program or if there is no health insurance coverage. Coverage applies to all vehicle occupants in addition to if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Collision coverage
Collision coverage pays for damage to your vehicle from colliding with another car or object. You have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision coverage pays for things like colliding with a tree, backing into a parked car and rolling your car. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. Another option is to raise the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)
Comprehensive insurance will pay to fix damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first must pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as theft, hitting a bird and falling objects. The most a car insurance company will pay at claim time is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.
Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance
This coverage protects you and your vehicle when other motorists either have no liability insurance or not enough. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and also any damage incurred to your vehicle.
Due to the fact that many Montana drivers have only the minimum liability required by law (Montana limits are 25/50/10), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea.
Quote more, save more
We’ve covered many tips how you can shop for car insurance online. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. Drivers may discover the biggest savings come from the smaller companies. Smaller companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive and Geico.
When you buy insurance online, it’s not a good idea to skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. In many cases, consumers will sacrifice full coverage only to find out that it was a big mistake. Your aim should be to purchase plenty of coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.
Montana car insurance information
Even more information can be found at the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance website. Montana consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, get help finding coverage, and file complaints about an insurance agent or broker.