Are you overwhelmed by the crazy number of auto insurance choices that you can choose from? There are so many choices to choose from that it can quickly become a chore to find the lowest price. If you live there, you know that Statesville has lots to offer, but getting gouged by high auto insurance rates can make it nearly impossible for many drivers to buy proper levels of coverage.
Consumers should take time to do price comparisons at least once a year due to the fact that insurance rates change quite often. Despite the fact that you may have had the best rate at your last renewal there may be better deals available now. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because you’re going to get a crash course in how to quote online to remove unneeded coverages and save money.
Shopping for lower auto insurance rates can be a lot of work if you aren’t aware of the most efficient way. You can waste hours talking about coverages with agents in Statesville, or you can utilize the web to achieve your goal.
Most car insurance companies participate in a marketplace where prospective buyers send in one quote, and each participating company then gives them pricing determined by their information. This saves time by eliminating form submissions to every company.
To enter your information into the quoting system, click here (opens in new window).
One minor caviat to using this type of form is you are unable to specify which providers to get pricing from. So if you want to choose specific providers for rate comparison, we put together a list of companies who write auto insurance in North Carolina. Click to view list.
However you get your quotes, make sure you are using identical coverage data with each company. If you use mixed coverages it will be very difficult to determine the best price in Statesville.
What determines auto insurance prices?
Consumers need to have an understanding of a few of the rating criteria that help determine your auto insurance rates. If you have a feel for what determines base rates, this enables informed choices that could help you find better auto insurance rates. Multiple criteria are part of the calculation when you get your auto insurance bill. Some are obvious like an MVR report, but other criteria are less obvious such as your marital status or your financial responsibility.
The itemized list below are most of the major factors used by your company to calculate premiums.
- Add-on coverages you don’t use – Insurance policies have a lot of additional coverages that sound like a good idea at the time if you aren’t careful. Coverages for roadside assistance, death and dismemberment, and additional equipment coverage could be just wasting money. They may seem good when discussing your needs, but if you don’t need them consider taking them off your policy.
- How’s your driving record? – Attentive drivers get better rates than bad drivers. Even one chargable violation can increase rates by twenty percent. Drivers who get severe tickets such as reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence may find that they have to to prove financial responsibility to the state department of motor vehicles in order to drive a vehicle legally.
- Better premiums with anti-theft devices – Selecting a car model with a theft deterrent system can help lower your rates. Anti-theft devices such as vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems can thwart vehicle theft.
- Liability coverage is peace of mind – Liability insurance will afford coverage if ever you are found to be at fault for damages from an accident. It will provide legal defense to attempt to prove you were not liable. Liability insurance is quite affordable compared to comp and collision, so drivers should carry high limits.
These discounts can cut auto insurance rates
Some companies do not advertise the complete list of policy discounts very clearly, so we took the time to find both well-publicized as well as the least known credits available to bring down your rates.
- Defensive Driver Discounts – Taking time to complete a course in defensive driver can save you 5% or more if your company offers it.
- No Accidents – Insureds who avoid accidents and claims pay less compared to insureds who have frequent claims or accidents.
- One Accident Forgiven – This one is not really a discount per se, but a few companies such as Geico, Allstate and Liberty Mutual permit an accident before raising your premiums so long as you are claim-free for a particular time prior to the accident.
- Anti-lock Brakes – Cars that have anti-lock braking systems are much safer to drive and the ABS can save up to 10%.
- Government Employee Discount – Simply working for the federal government can save as much as 8% with a few auto insurance companies.
- 55 and Retired – Seniors may be able to get lower premium rates.
- Multiple Vehicles – Having all your vehicles with one company could earn a price break for each car.
- College Student Discount – who are enrolled in higher education away from home and don’t have a car may be able to be covered for less.
As a sidenote, most discounts do not apply to the entire cost. Most only reduce individual premiums such as collision or personal injury protection. Just because you may think adding up those discounts means a free policy, you’re out of luck.
A list of companies and a partial list of their discounts are detailed below.
- State Farm discounts include Steer Clear safe driver discount, Drive Safe & Save, defensive driving training, safe vehicle, good driver, and good student.
- Liberty Mutual has savings for newly retired, safety features, multi-car, teen driver discount, new graduate, and hybrid vehicle.
- American Family has discounts for early bird, Steer into Savings, multi-vehicle, accident-free, defensive driver, TimeAway discount, and bundled insurance.
- Progressive offers premium reductions for multi-policy, online signing, good student, multi-vehicle, continuous coverage, online quote discount, and homeowner.
- Farmers Insurance offers discounts including distant student, mature driver, multi-car, youthful driver, and homeowner.
- Auto-Owners Insurance may offer discounts for anti-theft, multi-policy, company car, good student, and teen driver.
- SAFECO includes discounts for anti-lock brakes, homeowner, teen safety rewards, accident prevention training, multi-car, drive less, and bundle discounts.
Check with each company which discounts you qualify for. Savings may not be offered in every state. If you would like to choose from a list of auto insurance companies who offer free auto insurance quotes in North Carolina, click this link.
Buying from insurance agencies
Many people still like to go talk to an agent and that is recommended in a lot of cases Experienced insurance agents can help determine the best coverages and will help you if you have claims. The biggest benefit of getting free rate quotes online is that you can obtain cheap rate quotes and still have an agent to talk to. Buying from local agencies is important especially in Statesville.
After completing this short form, your coverage information is submitted to local insurance agents that can give you for your insurance coverage. It simplifies rate comparisons since you won’t have to find an agent since rate quotes are delivered to your email. If you wish to compare rates from a specific insurance company, just jump over to their website and fill out the quote form the provide.
When researching a local insurance agency, it can be helpful to understand the types of agencies from which to choose. Agencies in Statesville may be either independent (non-captive) or captive. Either can write auto insurance policies, but it’s important to point out the difference in the companies they write for because it can impact your agent selection.
Independent Auto Insurance Agents
Independent agents are not employed by any specific company and that is an advantage because they can write policies with lots of companies and potentially find a lower price. To transfer your coverage to a different company, the business is moved internally which is easy for the insured.
When shopping rates, you will want to get quotes from independent agents to get the best comparison. Most independent agents also contract with smaller companies which can save you money.
Shown below is a small list of independent insurance agents in Statesville that can give you rate quotes.
- Barker-Griffin Insurance – 125 E Front St – Statesville, NC 28677 – (704) 871-8002
- Marvin Laxton Insurance – 119 Water St # C – Statesville, NC 28677 – (704) 872-0099
Captive Insurance Agents
Agents that choose to be captive work for only one company and examples are AAA, Allstate, State Farm, or Farmers Insurance. Captive agents cannot provide other company’s prices so they are skilled at selling on more than just price. These agents are trained well on the products they sell and that enables them to sell even at higher rates. Some people will only use the same captive agent primarily because of high brand loyalty and the convenience of having a single billing for all their coverages.
Shown below is a list of captive insurance agents in Statesville that can give you price quote information.
- State Farm Insurance – 1809 E Broad St # A – Statesville, NC 28625 – (704) 873-1914
- Farm Bureau Insurance – 1113 Davie Ave – Statesville, NC 28677 – (704) 878-6552
- Allstate Insurance – 1310 Davie Ave – Statesville, NC 28677 – (704) 873-6338
To locate insurance agents near you, visit this directory of auto insurance agencies in Statesville, NC.
Selecting an car insurance agent should include more criteria than just a cheap quote. Some important questions to ask are:
- How long has the business existed?
- How experiences are they in personal risk management?
- Is there a 24/7 contact number?
- Can you get a list of referrals?
- Is coverage determined by price?
- Will a damage claim use OEM or aftermarket replacement parts?
Don’t give up on affordable coverage
Consumers who switch companies do it for a number of reasons such as an unsatisfactory settlement offer, poor customer service, unfair underwriting practices or even delays in responding to claim requests. Whatever your reason, finding the right auto insurance provider is not as hard as you think.
We just covered many ideas to shop for auto insurance online. It’s most important to understand that the more companies you get premium rates for, the better chance you’ll have of finding . You may even discover the most savings is with some of the lesser-known companies.
The cheapest auto insurance is available on the web as well as from insurance agents, so get from both of them to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some companies do not offer the ability to get quotes online and these small, regional companies sell through independent insurance agencies.
Additional resources for North Carolina consumers
Much more information about auto insurance in North Carolina can be found on the North Carolina Department of Insurance website located here. North Carolina drivers can get help finding coverage, report car insurance fraud, and find a variety of consumer forms.