Having to pay for overpriced auto insurance can take a big chunk out of your checking account and make it hard to pay other bills. Comparing price quotes is free and is an excellent way to help make ends meet. Many insurers vie for your business, and because of this it can be hard to compare car insurance companies and get the definite best rate
If you have insurance now or are just looking to switch companies, you can follow these tips to find the best rates while maximizing coverage. Finding the best rates in Gadsden is not rocket science. Alabama drivers only need an understanding of the tricks to shop online.
Cut your auto insurance rates with discounts
Car insurance can cost a lot, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not know about. Some discounts apply automatically at the time you complete a quote, but some may not be applied and must be requested specifically before they will apply. If you don’t get every credit available, you are throwing money away.
- Federal Employees – Employees or retirees of the government may qualify you for a discount with select insurance companies.
- Passive Restraints – Vehicles with factory air bags may earn rate discounts of 20% or more.
- Safe Drivers – Safe drivers can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates than less cautious drivers.
- College Student – Youth drivers living away from home attending college without a vehicle on campus can be insured at a reduced rate.
- New Car Discount – Buying coverage on a new vehicle can be considerably cheaper due to better safety requirements for new cars.
Drivers should understand that most discounts do not apply the the whole policy. Some only apply to individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. So when it seems like you could get a free auto insurance policy, you’re out of luck. But any discount will cut your premiums.
To choose companies with discount auto insurance rates in Gadsden, follow this link.
Free Quotes for Auto Insurance in Gadsden, Alabama
There are a lot of ways you can shop for auto insurance but some are more efficient than others. You can waste hours discussing policy coverages with insurance companies in Gadsden, or you could save time and use the internet to get rates in a matter of minutes.
Most of the best insurance companies participate in an industry program where prospective buyers enter their policy data once, and each company can provide price quotes. This saves time by eliminating repetitive form submissions to each individual auto insurance company.
To enter your information into the quoting system, click here (opens in new window).
The single downside to comparing rates this way is you don’t know exactly which companies to get quotes from. If you wish to select from a list of companies for rate comparison, we have assembled a list of low cost auto insurance companies in Alabama. Click here for list of insurance companies in Alabama.
Whichever method you choose, be sure to compare the exact same coverage information with every price quote. If you have different deductibles it will be impossible to make a fair comparison in Gadsden.
Buy Cheaper Auto Insurance with These Tips
Smart consumers have a good feel for the rating factors that play a part in calculating the price you pay for auto insurance. Understanding what impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that will entitle you to lower auto insurance prices.
Shown below are some of the items used by your company to calculate prices.
- Sex matters – The statistics show women are more cautious behind the wheel. However, this does not mean men are WORSE drivers than women. They both cause accidents at about the same rate, but the men have costlier accidents. Men also statistically get more serious tickets such as DWI and reckless driving. Male drivers age 16 to 19 are the most expensive to insure and therefore have the most expensive auto insurance rates.
- Better crash test results mean better rates – Vehicles with good safety scores can get you lower premiums. These vehicles result in less severe injuries and any reduction in injury severity translates into savings for insurance companies passed on to you as lower rates.
- Credit scores impact auto insurance rates – A driver’s credit score is a huge factor in determining your rates. So if your credit score is lower than you’d like, you could potentially save money when insuring your by improving your credit score. Drivers with high credit ratings tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records as compared to drivers with poor credit.
- Your stress level may be raising your rates – Jobs such as doctors, executives and financial analysts tend to pay higher average rates due to job stress and lengthy work days. Conversely, occupations like pilots, engineers and retirees have the lowest average rates.
- Where you reside plays a part – Choosing to live in a rural area is a positive aspect when buying auto insurance. City drivers have more traffic problems and a longer drive to work. Fewer drivers translates into fewer accidents and also fewer theft and vandalism claims.
- Higher deductibles cost less – Physical damage deductibles represent how much money you are required to spend out-of-pocket before your auto insurance pays a claim. Physical damage coverage, termed comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, protects your car from damage. Some examples of claims that would be covered would be colliding with a building, vandalism, or theft. The more money the insured has to pay upfront, the less your company will charge you for insurance.
- Older drivers save more – Youthful drivers in Alabama tend to get distracted easily when behind the wheel so they pay higher auto insurance rates. Older insureds are more responsible, file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel.
- Never allow your policy to lapse – Allowing your coverage to lapse is a guaranteed way to bump up your auto insurance costs. And not only will your rates increase, getting caught without coverage might get you a steep fine or even jail time.You may need to file a SR-22 with the Alabama department of motor vehicles.
More comparisons equals lower rates
In this article, we presented some good ideas how to shop for auto insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Drivers may discover the lowest rates come from some of the lesser-known companies. These companies may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates than their larger competitors like State Farm and Allstate.
Cheaper auto insurance can be sourced from both online companies in addition to many Gadsden insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best rate selection. Some companies do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and many times these smaller companies only sell through independent insurance agents.
Additional auto insurance links
More information is located on the website for the Alabama Department of Insurance. Click here for link. Alabama consumers can view agent and company licensing information, read industry bulletins, and file complaints about an insurance agent or broker.
Also read more on this resource for Alabama auto insurance prices and this page on QuoteClickInsure.com.