Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can dwindle your personal savings and put a big crunch on your finances. Doing a price comparison is a great way to lower your monthly bill.
Insurance companies such as State Farm, Farmers Insurance, Geico and Allstate constantly blast consumers with advertising and it is challenging if not impossible to ignore the flying pigs and cute green geckos and do the work needed to find the best deal.
How much can you save with discounts?
Car insurance is not cheap, buy you may qualify for discounts to help offset the cost. A few discounts will automatically apply at the time you complete a quote, but a few must be manually applied before you get the savings.
- Student Driver Training – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to complete a driver education course if offered at their school.
- Paperless Signup – A few companies may give you up to $50 just for signing your application on their website.
- Multiple Policy Discount – When you combine your home and auto insurance with one insurance company you may earn at least 10% off all policies.
- Theft Prevention Discount – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems prevent vehicle theft and will save you 10% or more.
- No Claims – Good drivers with no accidents pay less when compared to frequent claim filers.
- Resident Student – Children living away from home attending college and do not have a car may qualify for this discount.
- Senior Citizens – Mature drivers may be able to get a small decrease in premiums.
Drivers should understand that some credits don’t apply to the entire policy premium. Most only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as medical payments or collision. Just because you may think all the discounts add up to a free policy, you’re out of luck. But any discount will help reduce your premiums.
To see a list of companies who offer car insurance discounts in Louisiana, click this link.
You have some control over your rates
It’s important that you understand some of the elements that come into play when calculating the rates you pay for car insurance. Understanding what influences your rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.
The list below includes some of the factors used by your company to calculate premiums.
- Bump up deductibles to save – Physical damage insurance, also known as collision and other-than-collision, protects your car from damage. Some instances where coverage would apply are running into the backend of another car, collision with an animal, or theft. Your deductibles are the amount of money you are willing to pay out-of-pocket before a claim is paid by your company. The higher the amount you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the lower your rates will be.
- Better credit scores mean better rates – A driver’s credit score is a huge factor in your rate calculation. Therefore, if your credit history is lower than you’d like, you could potentially save money when insuring your by repairing your credit. Drivers with high credit ratings tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than drivers with poor credit.
- Special features that cut premiums – Driving a car with anti-theft technology or alarm system can help lower your rates. Anti-theft features such as LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM’s OnStar system all hinder auto theft.
- Liability coverage is cheap – The liability section of your policy will protect you when you are found to be at fault for damages from an accident. Liability provides you with a defense in court which can be incredibly expensive. Liability insurance is quite affordable compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so do not cut corners here.
- Do you work long hours in a high stress job? – Jobs such as doctors, architects and accountants are shown to have higher rates than average due to stressful work requirements and lots of time spent at work. On the flip side, occupations such as actors, athletes and the unemployed pay the least.
- Mature drivers pay less – Youthful drivers in Louisiana are known to be careless and easily distracted when driving so they pay higher car insurance rates. Having to add a youthful driver to your policy can be very expensive. More mature drivers are more cautious drivers, statistically cause fewer accidents and receive fewer citations.
But I prefer to buy car insurance from an agent
Certain consumers just want to sit down with an agent and that is just fine! The biggest benefit of comparing rates online is that you can obtain the lowest rates but still work with a licensed agent. And providing support for local insurance agencies is important especially in Natchitoches.
To find an agent, once you fill out this simple form, the coverage information is immediately sent to insurance agents in Natchitoches who will give you bids for your coverage. There is no reason to visit any agencies as quotes are delivered to the email address you provide. How cool is that?! You’ll get the best rates and work with a local agent.
Two types of insurance agencies
When searching for a good Natchitoches insurance agent, there are a couple of types of agencies from which to choose. Agents can either be independent (non-captive) or captive.
Independent Agents
These agents are not required to write business for one company so they can insure your vehicles with multiple insurance companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. If you are not satisfied with one company, the business is moved internally and you don’t have to find a new agent. When shopping rates, you should always contact at a minimum one independent agency for the best price selection.
Listed below are Natchitoches independent insurance agents who can help you get rate quotes.
Etheredge Agency – 562 2nd St – Natchitoches, LA 71457 – (318) 357-0901
Jim Williams Insurance – Hunts Shopping Ctr – Natchitoches, LA 71457 – (318) 239-0468
Mc Rae Insurance Inc – 2501 Mcrae Ave – Natchitoches, LA 71457 – (318) 239-2704
ECB Agency – 4502 Highway 3278 – Natchitoches, LA 71457 – (318) 357-8870
Traber Agency Inc – 129 Saint Denis St – Natchitoches, LA 71457 – (318) 357-8277
Captive Insurance Agents
Captive agents can only write with one company and examples are AAA, Allstate, State Farm, Farmers Insurance or Liberty Mutual. They are unable to place coverage with different providers so they have no alternatives for high prices. Captives receive extensive training on their company’s products and that can be a competitive advantage.
Below are Natchitoches captive agencies who can help you get comparison quotes.
Farm Bureau Insurance – 1911 Highway 1 S – Natchitoches, LA 71457 – (318) 352-8111
State Farm Insurance – 304 South Dr – Natchitoches, LA 71457 – (318) 352-8361
Allstate Insurance – 4080 University Pkwy – Natchitoches, LA 71457 – (318) 352-4236
To view a full list of Natchitoches captive agents, view this link.
Selecting an insurance agency needs to be determined by more than just the price. Some important questions to ask are:
- What is the agency’s Better Business Bureau rating?
- If you have an accident, will your rates go up?
- Is vehicle mileage a factor when determining depreciation for repairs?
- Do they make recommendations based only on price?
- How many years of experience in personal lines insurance coverages do they have?
- Are they able to influence company decisions when a claim is filed?
- Do the companies they represent have a solid financial rating?
Once you have acceptable answers for all questions you ask and an acceptable price quote, you have narrowed it down to an auto insurance agent that meets your needs to adequately provide car insurance.
Additional information is available on the website for the Louisiana Department of Insurance found here. Louisiana consumers can find disaster information, get help finding coverage, and discover disciplinary actions.
Summing up your car insurance search
We just showed you some good ideas how you can lower your car insurance rates. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may be surprised to find that the lowest rates come from some of the lesser-known companies. These companies often have lower prices on specific markets than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm or Progressive.
While you’re price shopping online, it’s very important that you do not buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There are a lot of situations where an insured cut physical damage coverage only to find out that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The proper strategy is to purchase a proper amount of coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.