Shopping for cheap Flagstaff car insurance online may be difficult for people who are new to price shopping online. With dozens of insurance companies available, how can consumers even start to compare every one to find the lowest rates?
It’s a good habit to shop coverage around quite often because prices are rarely the same from one policy term to another. Even if you think you had the best deal a few years ago you can probably find a better price now. Ignore everything you know about car insurance because you’re about to find out the best methods to find great coverage at a great price.
Save money by taking advantage of these discounts
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but discounts can save money and there are some available to reduce the price significantly. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied when you get a quote, but less common discounts must be requested specifically before you get the savings. If you don’t get every credit possible, you are throwing money away.
- Safe Drivers – Drivers who don’t get into accidents can pay as much as 50% less than their less cautious counterparts.
- Military Discounts – Being deployed with a military unit could mean lower rates.
- Early Switch Discount – Some insurance companies reward drivers for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiration. It’s a savings of about 10%.
- Seat Belt Usage – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to use a seat belt could save 15% off your PIP or medical payments premium.
- Senior Discount – If you’re over the age of 55, you can possibly qualify for reduced rates.
- E-sign – Some insurance companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks simply for signing digitally online.
- Anti-theft System – Anti-theft and alarm systems can help prevent theft and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
It’s important to understand that most discounts do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like collision or personal injury protection. Just because it seems like you could get a free car insurance policy, companies don’t profit that way. Any qualifying discounts will cut the cost of coverage.
To choose companies with the best car insurance discounts in Flagstaff, follow this link.
Tips to Get Lower Flagstaff Rates
Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that can help you get big savings.
Listed below are some of the items used by your company to calculate your rates.
- Men pay higher rates – Statistics demonstrate that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. However, this does not mean men are worse drivers. Women and men are in accidents at about the same rate, but the male of the species have costlier accidents. Men also tend to get more serious tickets like DUI and reckless driving. Youthful male drivers are the most expensive to insure and therefore have the most expensive car insurance rates.
- Car features impact rates – Owning a car with an alarm system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft devices like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar can help prevent your car from being stolen.
- Bad driving skills means higher rates – Whether or not you get tickets has a huge affect on how much you pay. Good drivers have lower premiums than people who have multiple driving citations. Just one ticket can increase rates by twenty percent. Drivers with severe tickets such as DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions are required to file a SR-22 with their state motor vehicle department in order to drive a vehicle legally.
- Increase deductibles and save – Physical damage insurance, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your car. Examples of covered claims are running into the backend of another car, damage from fire, and burglary. The deductibles are how much you are willing to pay out-of-pocket before a claim is paid by your company. The more money you’re willing to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.
- Higher safety ratings means cheaper insurance – Cars with high safety ratings can get you lower premiums. The safest vehicles have better occupant injury protection and lower injury rates translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and lower rates for you.
- Your location affects your rates – Living in a small town can save you money when buying car insurance. Drivers who live in large cities tend to have traffic congestion and much longer commute distances. Fewer people translates into fewer accidents and a lower car theft rate.
- Liability insurance protects assets – Your policy’s liability coverage provides coverage if ever you are found liable for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. Liability provides legal defense which can be incredibly expensive. This coverage is very inexpensive as compared to coverage for physical damage, so do not cut corners here.
- Occupation reflects on rates – Did you know your car insurance rates can be affected by your occupation? Jobs such as real estate brokers, architects and stock brokers are shown to have the highest rates attributed to stressful work requirements and lots of time spent at work. On the other hand, jobs such as pilots, students and homemakers pay the least.
When should I use an insurance agent?
When it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage, there isn’t really a one size fits all plan. Every insured’s situation is different.
For instance, these questions can aid in determining if your insurance needs would benefit from an agent’s advice.
- What is covered by UM/UIM coverage?
- Do I need motorclub coverage?
- Is my cargo covered for damage or theft?
- Should I buy more coverage than the required Arizona minimum liability coverage?
- Why am I required to get a high-risk car insurance policy?
- Are there companies who specialize in insuring high-risk drivers?
- Is a new car covered when I drive it off the dealer lot?
- Am I covered when driving a rental car?
- Am I covered when driving on a suspended license?
If you’re not sure about those questions, you might consider talking to a licensed insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and you can get the answers you need.
More information can be read on the Arizona Department of Insurance website found here. Arizona drivers can read industry bulletins, find out industry alerts, and view a list of available companies.
Quote often and quote early
As you restructure your insurance plan, it’s not a good idea to skimp on coverage in order to save money. There are a lot of situations where someone dropped comprehensive coverage or liability limits and found out when filing a claim that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your goal should be to buy the best coverage you can find at a price you can afford while still protecting your assets.
Throughout this article, we presented some good ideas how you can shop for car insurance online. The key thing to remember is the more rate quotes you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers could even find that the best price on car insurance is with a lesser-known regional company.
Consumers switch companies for any number of reasons including extreme rates for teen drivers, denial of a claim, an unsatisfactory settlement offer or being labeled a high risk driver. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, choosing a new company can be pretty painless.