Paying for high-priced car insurance can overdraw your personal savings and make it hard to pay other bills. Comparing price quotes is a great way to help make ends meet.
Online insurance companies like Progressive, State Farm and Geico increase brand awareness with fancy advertisements and consumers find it hard to ignore the propoganda and take the time to shop coverage around.
Factors that affect insurance rates
Smart consumers have a good feel for the factors that go into determining car insurance rates. Understanding what influences your rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with big savings.
Listed below are some of the items used by your company to calculate rates.
- Men are more aggressive – The statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, don’t assume that women are BETTER drivers than men. Men and women have accidents at about the same rate, but the men cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Men also statistically receive more costly citations such as DWI and reckless driving.
- Liability coverage is peace of mind – The liability section of your policy provides coverage if ever you are found to be at fault for damages from an accident. Liability insurance provides legal defense up to the limits shown on your policy. This coverage is very inexpensive compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so drivers should carry high limits.
- Cautious drivers pay less – Whether or not you get tickets has a lot to do with how much you pay for insurance. Careful drivers have lower premiums than people who have multiple driving citations. Only having one speeding ticket can boost insurance rates by twenty percent. Drivers with severe tickets like reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence are required to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) with their state motor vehicle department in order to drive a vehicle legally.
- Add-on coverages can add up – There are a ton of extra coverages that you can get tricked into buying on your policy. Coverages like roadside assistance, accidental death and membership fees may be costing you every month. They may seem like a good idea when talking to your agent, but your needs may have changed so get rid of them and save.
- Being married is a good thing – Having a spouse can get you a discount on your car insurance policy. Having a significant other translates into being more responsible and statistics show married couples file fewer claims.
- No coverage gaps is important – Allowing your coverage to lapse is a guaranteed way to trigger a rate increase. And not only will your rates increase, but being ticketed for driving with no insurance can result in a steep fine or even jail time.
- Where you live can impact rates – Living in a rural area can save you money when insuring your vehicles. Less people living in that area means fewer accidents and a lower car theft rate. Urban drivers regularly have traffic congestion and longer commutes to work. Higher commute times translates into higher accident risk.
Finding Car Insurance in Newport, RI
There are a variety of methods to compare car insurance prices but one way is more efficient than others. You can waste a lot of time discussing policy coverages with agents in Newport, or you can stay home and use online quoting to maximize your effort.
Many popular insurance companies participate in a marketplace that enables customers to enter their policy data once, and each company provides a quote determined by their information. This prevents consumers from doing form submissions to every company.
To find out what other companies charge click here to open in new window.
The single downside to using this type of system is you can’t choose the insurers to get pricing from. So if you prefer to choose specific insurance companies to compare rates, we have assembled a list of car insurance companies in Rhode Island. Click here for list of insurance companies in Rhode Island.
It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but ensure you are comparing apples-to-apples coverages and limits for every company. If your comparisons have different limits and deductibles on each one it’s not possible to truly determine the lowest rate in Newport. Slightly different coverage limits can result in a big premium difference. Keep in mind that quoting more helps locate lower pricing.
Is there truth in advertising?
Car insurance providers like Allstate and Progressive constantly bombard you with ads in print and on television. They all have a common claim about savings if you switch to them. How do they all make the same claim? This is how they do it.
All the different companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer that earns them a profit. A good example of a profitable customer might be between the ages of 40 and 55, a clean driving record, and has a short commute. A propective insured who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and most likely will save a lot of money.
Potential customers who don’t qualify for the “perfect” profile will have to pay a higher premium and this can result in business not being written. The ads say “people who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that much money. This is how insurance companies can claim big savings.
Because of the profiling, you absolutely need to compare many company’s rates. It’s not possible to predict which car insurance company will fit your personal profile best.
Discounts are great for lower rates
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, buy you may qualify for discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Certain discounts will be applied at quote time, but some may not be applied and must be requested specifically before you get the savings.
- Service Members Pay Less – Having a deployed family member may qualify for rate reductions.
- Passive Restraints – Vehicles equipped with air bags or motorized seat belts can get savings of more than 20%.
- Own a Home – Owning a home in Newport can help you save on car insurance due to the fact that maintaining a home requires personal responsibility.
- Theft Prevention Discount – Vehicles with anti-theft systems can help prevent theft and will save you 10% or more.
- Discounts for Safe Drivers – Safe drivers can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates than drivers with accident claims.
- Low Mileage – Keeping the miles down can qualify you for better rates on cars that stay parked.
- Organization Discounts – Being a member of a professional or civic organization may earn a discount when buying car insurance.
- Anti-lock Brakes – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems can reduce accidents and will save you 10% or more.
- Bundle and Save – If you insure your home and vehicles with one company you will save 10% to 20% off each policy.
- No Accidents – Drivers who don’t have accidents pay less when compared to drivers who are more careless.
Drivers should understand that many deductions do not apply to your bottom line cost. Some only reduce individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. So when it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, you won’t be that lucky. Any amount of discount will reduce the amount you have to pay.
For a list of companies with the best car insurance discounts in Newport, click here.
Much more information about car insurance in Rhode Island can be read on the website for the Rhode Island Division of Insurance Regulation found here. Visitors are able to report car insurance fraud, find out which companies have the most complaints, find out industry alerts, and find a variety of consumer forms.
The following articles may also be useful.
In the end, you save
We just covered a lot of techniques to shop for car insurance online. The key thing to remember is the more quotes you get, the higher the chance of saving money. Consumers could even find that the best prices are with the smaller companies. They may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments compared to the large companies like Geico and State Farm.
When buying insurance coverage, don’t be tempted to buy poor coverage just to save money. There have been many situations where an accident victim reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to find out that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your aim should be to buy the best coverage you can find at the best price, not the least amount of coverage.
Cheap car insurance can be bought on the web and with local Newport insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best selection. Some insurance providers do not offer you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.