Expensive car insurance can drain your checking account and make it hard to pay other bills. You have multiple insurers to pick from, and though it is a good thing to have a selection, it makes it harder to find the lowest rates.
Buying car insurance in Peterborough is not rocket science. If you have insurance now or need new coverage, you can follow these tips to get lower rates and still get good coverage. New Hampshire consumers just need to understand how to get comparison rates on the web.
Car insurance quotes and discounts
Car insurance is not cheap, but there’s a good chance there are discounts that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at the time of purchase, but some discounts are required to be specially asked for before being credited.
- Discount for Passive Restraints – Cars that have air bags may get savings of 20% or more.
- No Accidents – Drivers with accident-free driving histories pay less in comparison with insureds who have frequent claims or accidents.
- Anti-theft Discount – Cars and trucks equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems are stolen less frequently and that can save you a little bit as well.
- Policy Bundle Discount – If you can bundle your home and auto insurance and place coverage with the same company you could save nearly 15% which can help you find .
- New Vehicle Savings – Adding a new car to your policy can save you some money since new vehicles have better safety ratings.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – By making one initial payment instead of monthly or quarterly installments you can actually save on your bill.
- Discounts for Seat Belt Usage – Drivers who always wear seat belts and also require passengers to fasten their seat belts could cut 10% or more off PIP or medical payments premium.
- Professional Memberships – Having an affiliation with a professional or civic organization is a simple method to lower premiums when shopping for car insurance.
Policy discounts save money, but most discount credits are not given the the whole policy. Some only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. If you do the math and it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, it doesn’t quite work that way. But all discounts will reduce the amount you pay for coverage.
To see insurance companies who offer cheap car insurance quotes in Peterborough, follow this link.
When to talk to an agent
Certain consumers would rather have an agent’s advice and that is OK! Professional agents can answer important questions and will help you if you have claims. The best thing about comparing rate quotes online is the fact that you can find the best rates but still work with a licensed agent.
To find an agent, once you fill out this form (opens in new window), the quote information is submitted to companies in Peterborough who want to provide quotes for your insurance coverage. It’s much easier because you don’t need to do any legwork because prices are sent directly to your email. In the event you want to get a comparison quote from one company in particular, you would need to find their quoting web page and fill out their quote form.
Selecting an insurance company should include more criteria than just a cheap price quote. Any agent should be forthright in answering these questions:
- Can they give you a list of client referrals?
- Do they have any clout with companies to ensure a fair claim settlement?
- If you raise deductibles, how much can you save?
- How many years of experience in personal auto insurance do they have?
- Do you work with a CSR or direct with the agent?
- If you have an accident, will your rates go up?
- Are they actively involved in the community?
- Has the agent ever had any license suspensions?
How to choose the best car insurance agent in Peterborough
If you’re trying to find a local Peterborough insurance agency, it can be helpful to understand the different types of agents and how they work. Car insurance agencies are considered either captive agents or independent agents. Both can insure your vehicles properly, but we need to point out how they are different since it could factor into buying decisions.
Captive Car Insurance Agents
Agents that choose to be captive can usually just insure with one company such as State Farm, Allstate, or Farmers Insurance. These agents are not able to shop your coverage around so always compare other rates. They are very knowledgeable on what they offer and that enables them to sell even at higher rates.
Listed below are Peterborough captive agencies that can give you price quote information.
Allstate Insurance – 105 Grove St – Peterborough, NH 03458 – (603) 924-5970
Independent Insurance Agents
Independent agents are not employed by any specific company so they have the ability to put coverage through lots of different companies and find you the best rates. To move your coverage to a new company, your agent can just switch to a different company which requires no work on your part.
If you need cheaper car insurance rates, it’s a good idea to get insurance quotes from at least one independent agent so that you have a good selection of quotes to compare.
The following is a list of independent agents in Peterborough that can give you price quote information.
Bellows-Nichols Agency Inc – 10 Main St – Peterborough, NH 03458 – (603) 924-7155
Masiello Insurance – 7 School St # 10 – Peterborough, NH 03458 – (603) 924-9686
Edward L Despres Insurance – 39 Grove St # 6 – Peterborough, NH 03458 – (603) 924-7175
To view additional Peterborough insurance agents, you may want to visit this list of Peterborough, NH car insurance agents.
Do you really save 40% when you switch?
New Hampshire consumers can’t avoid all the ads that claim the best rates by State Farm, Geico and Progressive. They all tend to make the same promise of big savings after switching your policy.
How do they all say the same thing? This is how they do it.
Car insurance companies quote the lowest rates for a prospective insured that will not have excessive claims. For example, a profitable risk profile could possibly be over age 30, has never had a policy lapse, and drives a safe vehicle. A driver who fits those characteristics may get the lowest auto insurance rates in Peterborough and will also save when they switch companies.
Drivers who do not match the “perfect” profile will probably have to pay a higher rate which translates to the customer not purchasing. If you listen to the ad wording, they say “customers who switch” not “everyone that quotes” can save as much as they claim. That is how companies can make claims like that. Each company has different criteria, so it’s extremely important to compare quotes as often as possible. Because without a comparison, you cannot know which insurance companies will have the best rates at this point in time.
Car insurance coverages and their meanings
Knowing the specifics of your car insurance policy helps when choosing appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. Car insurance terms can be difficult to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. Listed below are typical coverages found on most car insurance policies.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision)
This coverage covers damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like damage from flooding, rock chips in glass, theft and fire damage. The highest amount a car insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Medical expense insurance
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage provide coverage for immediate expenses for things like ambulance fees, X-ray expenses and hospital visits. They are utilized in addition to your health insurance program or if you do not have health coverage. Coverage applies to you and your occupants and will also cover any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers
This coverage gives you protection from other motorists when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered losses include injuries to you and your family and damage to your vehicle.
Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law (25/50/25), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea.
Collision coverage
This covers 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 can pay for claims like crashing into a building, colliding with another moving vehicle, sideswiping another vehicle, damaging your car on a curb and rolling your car. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. You can also raise the deductible to bring the cost down.
Liability coverages
This coverage provides protection from damage or injury you incur to a person or their property. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You commonly see limits of 100/300/100 which stand for $100,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $100,000.
Liability coverage pays for things such as court costs, emergency aid, legal defense fees, structural damage and attorney fees. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase higher limits if possible. New Hampshire state law requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/25,000 but you should think about purchasing better liability coverage.
More tips and info about car insurance is available at the New Hampshire Insurance Department website. Consumers can learn about specific coverages, read consumer alerts, and read state legal mandates and laws.
Car insurance savings summarized
We covered a lot of information how to shop for car insurance online. It’s most important to understand that the more quotes you get, the better chance you’ll have of finding . You may be surprised to find that the lowest priced car insurance comes from an unexpected company. These smaller insurers can often provide lower premium rates in certain areas compared to the large companies like Allstate, Geico and Progressive.
Cheaper car insurance can be bought from both online companies and from local agencies, so you need to with both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance providers may not provide price quotes online and usually these small insurance companies only sell through independent agents.