Pretty sure you bought high-priced car insurance? Don’t sweat it because you’re not the only one. Big-name insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, Geico and Progressive continually hit you with TV and radio ads and consumers find it hard to see through the cute green geckos and mayhem and do the work needed to find the best deal.
Informed consumers can cut your costs
The best way to find cheaper car insurance is to take a look at some of the factors that aid in calculating the rates you pay for car insurance. When consumers understand what determines base rates, this enables informed choices that could result in cheaper rates.
- Save money with alarm systems – Purchasing a vehicle with advanced anti-theft systems can help lower your premiums. Theft prevention features such as OnStar, LoJack tracking, and tamper alarms all help stop car theft and help bring rates down.
- Bundle and save – Most larger car insurance companies give a discount to insureds that purchase more than one policy. It’s known as a multi-policy discount. The discount can be ten percent or more. Even if you qualify for this discount already, it’s still a good idea to compare rates to ensure the best deal.There is a good possibility that you can save more without the discount by buying from different companies
- Liability coverage – Liability insurance is the protection if ever you are found to be at fault for damages from an accident. Your policy’s liability insurance provides legal defense to attempt to prove you were not liable. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so drivers should carry high limits.
- Premiums and your address – Choosing to live in less populated areas is a positive aspect when it comes to car insurance. Fewer drivers on the road means reduced accidents and lower theft and vandalism rates. Residents of big cities regularly have much more traffic and more time behind the wheel. Longer commute distances means more chances of being involved in an auto accident.
How to buy car insurance online
Reducing your insurance rates can be relatively painless. The only thing you need to do is take time getting comparison quotes to find. This can be done in several different ways.
If you are pressed for time, the simplest way to get quotes for comparison is a comparison rater form (click to open form in new window). This quick form saves time by eliminating repetitive form submissions for each company. One simple form gets prices estimates from many national carriers.
A harder way to analyze rates is to take the time to go to the website of each company and go through the quote process again. For instance, we’ll pretend you need rates from Auto-Owners, Liberty Mutual and GMAC. To get rate quotes you would need to take the time to go to each site to enter your coverage information, which is not fast way to get rate quotes.
For a handy list of car insurance company links in Niles, click here.
If you have time to kill, the last way of getting rate comparisons is to waste gas driving to all the different Niles insurance agencies. Quoting online eliminates this option unless you’re the type of person who wants the guidance that only a licensed agent can provide. However, consumers can get prices online but buy the policy through an agent.
Which method you use is up to you, but do your best to enter apples-to-apples coverage information for each quote you get. If each company quotes different deductibles it’s impossible to determine the lowest rate in Niles.
Don’t believe everything you hear
Consumers can’t avoid all the ads that claim the cheapest auto insurance rates by State Farm, Geico and Progressive. All the companies say the same thing about how much you will save if you change to them.
How is it possible that every company can cost less than your current company? Here is how they do it.
Companies quote their cheapest rates for the type of driver that will not have excessive claims. An example of a desirable risk might be described as over the age of 35, has had continuous coverage, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A customer getting a price quote who matches that profile will get low rates and therefore will save when they switch companies.
People who fall short of those standards will be charged higher rates and this results in the customer not purchasing. If you pay close attention to the ads, they say “people who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that kind of money. This is how insurance companies can confidently claim big savings. Because of this risk profiling, it’s extremely important to do a quote comparison often. It’s impossible to know with any certainty which company will have the best premium rates at this point in time.
Drivers save money with with these discounts
Some providers don’t always publicize all possible discounts very clearly, so the following list contains a few of the more common and also the lesser-known credits that you can use to lower your rates.
- Early Switch Discount – A few insurance companies give discounts for switching to them early. You can save around 10% with this discount.
- Use Seat Belts – Drivers who require all occupants to buckle up may be able to save a few bucks on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
- Include Life Insurance and Save – Some insurance carriers give a discount if you purchase life insurance from them.
- Discounts for Multiple Vehicles – Drivers who insure multiple cars or trucks with the same car insurance company can reduce rates for all insured vehicles.
- Employee of Federal Government – Federal government employees may qualify for a discount when you with certain companies.
A little note about advertised discounts, most credits do not apply to all coverage premiums. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like comprehensive or collision. So despite the fact that it appears all the discounts add up to a free policy, you aren’t that lucky. But any discount will reduce your policy cost.
A few of the larger companies and some of the discounts can be found below.
- Farm Bureau may have discounts that include driver training, 55 and retired, good student, youthful driver, and renewal discount.
- State Farm offers discounts including defensive driving training, good driver, accident-free, passive restraint, Drive Safe & Save, and multiple autos.
- Progressive may include discounts for multi-policy, online quote discount, continuous coverage, good student, multi-vehicle, homeowner, and online signing.
- Allstate includes discounts for teenSMART discount, passive restraint, 55 and retired, anti-theft, and FullPay discount.
- Nationwide offers premium reductions for business or organization, defensive driving, Farm Bureau membership, easy pay, good student, and anti-theft.
- MetLife discounts include accident-free, good driver, multi-policy, claim-free, good student, and defensive driver.
When getting , it’s a good idea to every insurance company which discounts they offer. Discounts might not apply in Niles.
Are auto insurance agents a thing of the past?
A small number of people prefer to get advice from a local agent and that is OK! Insurance agents are very good at helping people manage risk and will help you if you have claims. One of the benefits of comparing insurance prices online is the fact that drivers can get lower rates and still choose a local agent.
By using this form (opens in new window), the quote information is instantly submitted to local insurance agents in Niles that can give you and help you find cheaper coverage. You won’t even need to even leave your home due to the fact that quote results will go immediately to your email address. If for some reason you want to get a price quote from a specific car insurance provider, feel free to jump over to their website and complete a quote there.
Picking an insurance company shouldn’t rely on just a cheap price. Here are some questions to ask:
- Does the agency have a current Errors and Omissions policy?
- Will one accident increase rates?
- Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?
- What insurance companies do they recommend if they are an independent agent?
- Do the companies they represent have a solid financial rating?
The type of car insurance agent you choose is important
If you want to buy car insurance from a reliable insurance agent, there are two types of agencies and how they operate. Car insurance policy providers are either independent agents or captive agents depending on their employer. Both write policy coverage, but it’s a good idea to understand the difference in how they write coverage because it can influence your agent selection.
Captive Insurance Agents
Captive agencies can only write with one company like Allstate and State Farm. Captive agencies are unable to shop your coverage around so they really need to provide good service. These agents are very knowledgeable in insurance sales and that enables them to sell even at higher rates.
The following are Niles captive agencies who can help you get comparison quotes.
Allstate Insurance – 92 E Main St – Niles, MI 49120 – (269) 684-4800
Farm Bureau Insurance – 2006 S 11th St # 2 – Niles, MI 49120 – (269) 684-1717
State Farm Insurance – 2527 S 11th St # 1 – Niles, MI 49120 – (269) 683-2025
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Agents that choose to be independent are not employed by one company and that gives them the ability to insure with an assortment of companies and potentially find a lower price. To move your coverage to a new company, they simply switch companies in-house and you won’t have to switch agencies. When shopping rates, you definitely need to compare quotes from several independent insurance agents so that you can do a thorough price comparison.
Below is a short list of independent agencies in Niles that are able to give rate quotes.
Insurance Strategies – 1521 Orchard Ln – Niles, MI 49120 – (269) 684-9402
Melody Colburn Insurance – 205 N 5th St – Niles, MI 49120 – (269) 684-5197
To view more licensed insurance agents in Niles, link to this directory of car insurance agencies in Niles.
Additional detailed information is located at the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation website. Visitors are able to read state legal mandates and laws, read consumer alerts, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.
The following information may also be useful.
Affordable car insurance is out there
The cheapest car insurance is possible on the web and also from your neighborhood Niles agents, and you need to price shop both in order to have the best chance of saving money. A few companies do not offer online rate quotes and usually these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.
While you’re price shopping online, never reduce needed coverages to save money. There have been many cases where someone dropped liability limits or collision coverage and found out when filing a claim they didn’t purchase enough coverage. The aim is to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the best price, not the least amount of coverage.
You just learned a lot of tips how to get a better price on car insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more providers you compare, the better likelihood of getting . Consumers may even find the biggest savings come from a lesser-known regional company. These smaller insurers may have significantly lower prices on certain market segments than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm and Allstate.