Overwhelmed by the wide range of auto insurance choices in Mentor? Many other drivers are as well. There are so many options available that it can turn into a challenge to locate the lowest price.
Understand what determines the rate you pay
Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that come into play when calculating your auto insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates allows you to make educated decisions that can help you get better auto insurance rates.
The list below includes some of the items companies use to determine your rates.
- Don’t buy coverages you don’t need – There are a lot of extra bells and whistles that you can get tricked into buying when buying auto insurance. Coverages like rental car reimbursement, accidental death and membership fees may be costing you every month. These coverages may sound good initially, but your needs may have changed so get rid of them and save.
- Bad driving skills means higher rates – Whether or not you get tickets has a lot to do with how much you pay for insurance. Only having one ticket can increase rates forty percent or more. Good drivers tend to pay less for car insurance than their less careful counterparts. Drivers with dangerous tickets such as DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions are required to file a SR-22 with the DMV in their state in order to prevent a license revocation.
- High deductibles save money – Physical damage insurance, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, protects your car from damage. Some instances where coverage would apply are colliding with a building, vandalism, and rolling your vehicle. Physical damage deductibles are the amount of money you are required to spend out-of-pocket before a claim is paid by your company. The more you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the less your auto insurance will be.
- More miles equals more premium – The more miles you rack up on your car in a year’s time the more you’ll pay to insure your vehicle. Most companies charge to insure your cars based upon how you use the vehicle. Cars used primarily for pleasure use get more affordable rates than those used for commuting. Double check that your auto insurance policy properly reflects how each vehicle is driven.
- Higher safety ratings means cheaper insurance – Safer cars tend to have better insurance rates. The safest vehicles result in less severe injuries and lower injury rates translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and lower rates for you.
- Never go without insurance – Having an insurance coverage lapse will be a fast way to trigger a rate increase. Not only will rates go up, getting caught without coverage might get you a hefty fine and possibly a revoked license.
- One company can mean more discounts – Many companies give discounts to people who buy several policies from them such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. Discounts can amount to anywhere from five to ten percent in most cases. Even if you’re getting this discount you may still want to compare other company rates to confirm you are receiving the best rates possible.
- Are you male or female? – Statistics show women are more cautious behind the wheel. That doesn’t necessarily mean that men are worse drivers. Men and women cause accidents in similar numbers, but men cause more damage. Men also have more aggressive citations such as DWI and reckless driving. Youthful male drivers tend to get in the most accidents and therefore have the most expensive auto insurance rates.
Compare the Market for Auto Insurance in Mentor
All major auto insurance companies like Progressive, Allstate and Geico allow you to get prices for coverage online. The process is quite simple as you simply type in the coverage amounts you desire into a form. After you complete the form, the system obtains information on your driving record and credit history and provides a quote.
This streamlines rate comparisons, but the work required to visit different websites and fill out multiple forms is monotonous and tiresome. But it is imperative to perform this step if you want to find the best price on auto insurance.
An easier way to get multiple rate quotes utilizes a single form that obtains quotes from a bunch of companies at once. This type of form saves time, reduces the work, and makes online price comparison much easier to do. After your information is entered, it is rated and you can select any one of the quotes returned. If you find a better price you simply finish the application and buy the policy. This process only takes a few minutes and you will find out if you’re overpaying now.
To quickly find out what other companies charge, click here to open in a new tab and input your coverage information. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you input deductibles and limits exactly as shown on your declarations page. Doing this assures you are getting an apples-to-apples comparison based on identical coverages.
Do you qualify for discounts?
Car insurance companies don’t always advertise every discount very clearly, so we researched both the well known and also the lesser-known auto insurance savings.
- Accident Forgiveness – Certain companies will allow you to have one accident before your rates go up so long as you haven’t had any claims for a set time period.
- Multiple Vehicles – Insuring multiple vehicles on one policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
- Discount for New Cars – Insuring a new car can be considerably cheaper compared to insuring an older model.
- Accident Free – Claim-free drivers can earn big discounts when compared to frequent claim filers.
- Safe Drivers – Drivers who don’t get into accidents may receive a discount up to 45% less than less cautious drivers.
- Drivers Education – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to complete a driver education course if it’s offered in school.
- Federal Employees – Simply working for the federal government could cut as much as 10% off with a few auto insurance companies.
- Good Student Discount – This discount can earn a discount of 20% or more. The discount lasts up until you turn 25.
- Drive Less and Save – Driving fewer miles can earn better rates on cars that stay parked.
It’s important to note that many deductions do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as liability and collision coverage. So even though it sounds like you can get free auto insurance, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
Even more information is located at the Ohio Department of Insurance website. Ohio consumers can read state legal mandates and laws, get help finding coverage, and view agent and company licensing information.
Other related articles:
- Top Ways to Find the Best Insurance Agent in Mentor
- Learn How to Find the Lowest Price on Mentor Auto Insurance
More effort can pay off
The cheapest auto insurance can be found both online in addition to many Mentor insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. There are still a few companies who do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and these small insurance companies work with independent agents.
Throughout this article, we presented a lot of ways to shop for auto insurance online. It’s most important to understand that the more rate quotes you have, the better your comparison will be. You may even find the lowest priced auto insurance comes from a lesser-known regional company.
As you prepare to switch companies, never reduce needed coverages to save money. In too many instances, an accident victim reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to regret that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The ultimate goal is to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest price while still protecting your assets.