Tired of scraping the payment together to insure your vehicles every month? You are no different than many other Georgia consumers. Insurance companies such as Progressive, Geico and Farmers Insurance all claim big savings with ads and it can be hard to ignore the flying pigs and cute green geckos and do the work needed to find the best deal.
You should take the time to take a look at other company’s rates on a regular basis because insurance rates change quite often. Despite the fact that you may have had the lowest rates a year ago the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. There is a lot of bad advice regarding car insurance online but by reading this article, you’re going to learn the best ways to reduce your car insurance bill.
If you have a policy now or are looking for a new policy, you can use this information to get lower rates and possibly find even better coverage. Finding the best rates in Rome is easy if you know what you’re doing. Georgia vehicle owners only need to know the most efficient way to compare company rates online.
Low Cost Rome Car Insurance
All major car insurance companies like 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm allow you to get insurance quotes on the web. This process is fairly straightforward as you simply enter into the quote form. Once entered, their rating system requests information on your driving record and credit history and provides a quote based on these and other factors. This simplifies rate comparisons, but the time it takes to visit a lot of sites and enter the same data into a form can get tiresome after awhile. But it is imperative to do this if you are searching for better car insurance pricing.
Rate comparisons made easy
The preferred way to find lower prices requires only one form that analyzes rates from a bunch of companies at once. This type of form saves time, eliminates form submissions, and makes online price comparison much simpler. Once the form is submitted, your coverage is rated and you can choose your choice of the returned quotes.
If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, you can click and sign and purchase the new policy. The whole process takes just a few minutes to complete and can result in significant savings.
To find out how much you’re overpaying now, click here to open in new window and enter your information. To compare your current rates, we recommend you copy the insurance coverages as shown on your current policy. This way, you will be getting comparison quotes using the exact same coverages.
Cut your car insurance rates with discounts
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but you may find discounts to help bring down the price. A few discounts will automatically apply when you get a quote, but less common discounts must be specifically requested prior to receiving the credit. If you aren’t receiving every discount you qualify for, you’re just leaving money on the table.
- Drivers Ed for Students – Require your teen driver to successfully complete driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
- Multiple Cars – Insuring all your vehicles on the same car insurance policy could earn a price break for each car.
- Defensive Driver – Taking part in a defensive driving course could possibly earn you a 5% discount if you qualify.
- College Student – Youth drivers who live away from home and do not have access to a covered vehicle may be able to be covered for less.
- Good Students Pay Less – A discount for being a good student can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. The good student discount can last up until you turn 25.
As a disclaimer on discounts, some credits don’t apply to your bottom line cost. A few only apply to individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though it sounds like you can get free auto insurance, car insurance companies aren’t that generous. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce the amount you have to pay.
To choose insurance companies who offer car insurance discounts in Georgia, click here to view.
Many Things Influence your Rates
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that go into determining your car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.
- Sex matters – The statistics show that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. That doesn’t necessarily mean that men are WORSE drivers than women. Men and women tend to get into accidents at a similar rate, but the males cause more damage. They also have more aggressive citations such as reckless driving. Male drivers age 16 to 19 are most likely to cause an accident and thus pay the highest rates.
- Marriage pays dividends – Having a wife or husband can get you a discount on car insurance. Having a spouse means you’re more mature than a single person it has been statistically shown that drivers who are married are more cautious.
- Higher deductibles cost less – Coverage for physical damage, also known as collision and other-than-collision, is used to repair damage to your car. Some examples of claims that would be covered would be colliding with a building, damage from fire, and windstorm damage. The deductibles are how much you are willing to pay out-of-pocket if you file a covered claim. The more money the insured has to pay upfront, the lower your rates will be.
- Don’t skimp on liability – Liability insurance will protect you if ever a court rules you are at fault for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. Liability provides you with a defense in court which can cost thousands of dollars. This coverage is very inexpensive compared to physical damage coverage, so buy as much as you can afford.
- Safe vehicles cost less to insure – Safer cars are cheaper to insure. Safer cars protect occupants better and better occupant protection means less money paid by your insurance company passed on to you as lower rates.
- Rates may be higher depending on your occupation – Did you know your occupation can influence how much you pay for car insurance? Careers like lawyers, architects and accountants have higher rates than average because of job stress and long work days. On the flip side, jobs such as farmers, athletes and performers get better rates.
- Frequent car insurance claims increase rates – Auto insurance companies in Georgia give cheaper rates to policyholders who file claims infrequently. If you tend to file frequent claims, you can look forward to either higher rates or even cancellation. Car insurance is intended to be relied upon for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
- Your location is important – Choosing to live in less populated areas can be a good thing when it comes to car insurance. City drivers tend to have much more traffic and longer commute times. Less people living in that area translates into fewer accidents and a lower car theft rate.
Shop online but buy locally
Some consumers just want to buy from a local agent and that is OK! Good agents can help determine the best coverages and give you peace of mind. The biggest benefit of comparing rates online is you may find lower rates and still choose a local agent. Supporting small agencies is definitely important in Rome.<img class="alignright" style="padding-top:15px;" src="https://www.carinsurancediy.com/wp-content/uploads/ci175-20.jpg" alt="Georgia auto insurance“/>
After filling out this short form, your information is transmitted to local insurance agents who will battle to get your business. There is no reason to leave your computer as quotes are delivered to the email address you provide. Now that’s easy!
Choose the right insurance agent
When researching a reputable insurance agent or broker, you need to know there are two types of insurance agents that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Insurance agencies in Rome are categorized either independent (non-captive) or captive. Either one can properly insure your vehicles, but it’s worth learning how they differ since it can impact your agent selection.
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Independent agencies are not locked into one company but rather can write business amongst many companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. To transfer your coverage to a different company, the agent simply finds a different carrier without you having to go to a different agency. When shopping rates, it’s a good idea to get quotes from several independent insurance agents to ensure the widest selection of prices.
Shown below are Rome independent insurance agents that may be able to provide rate quotes.
Starr-Mathews Agency Inc – 301 E 2nd Ave – Rome, GA 30161 – (706) 291-0494
Trussell and Assoc Insurance – 708 Glen Milner Blvd – Rome, GA 30161 – (706) 235-3164
Piedmont Agency – 603 Turner Mccall Blvd NE – Rome, GA 30165 – (706) 291-0628
Young Insurance – 242 N 5th Ave SW – Rome, GA 30165 – (706) 234-8880
Direct General Ins Agency – 2448 Shorter Ave NW # 8 – Rome, GA 30165 – (706) 235-9244
Captive Insurance Agents
Captive insurance agents are contracted to one company and some examples include State Farm, Allstate and AAA. Captives cannot provide prices from multiple companies so keep that in mind. Captive agencies are trained well on the products they sell which helps them compete with independent agents.
Listed below are captive insurance agencies in Rome that are able to give comparison quotes.
State Farm Insurance – 1515 Dean Ave SE – Rome, GA 30161 – (706) 290-9044
Allstate Insurance – 2206 Shorter Ave NW # B – Rome, GA 30165 – (706) 232-0300
Farm Bureau Insurance – 17 Oneill St SW – Rome, GA 30161 – (706) 291-0577
For a full directory of captive insurance agencies in Rome, please click here.
Choosing an insurance agency shouldn’t rely on just the price. These are valid questions to ask:
- Do they assist clients in filing claims?
- How are they compensated?
- Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?
- If they are an independent agency, which companies do they recommend?
- Is the agent and/or agency licensed to do business in Georgia?
Once you have good answers for all questions you ask in addition to an acceptable price estimate, chances are good that you have found an insurance agency that meets your needs to properly insure your vehicles.
Additional car insurance information is located on the website for the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner. Click here for link. Georgia drivers can read consumer alerts, find out industry alerts, and find out which companies have the most complaints.
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The fine print in car insurance ads
Georgia drivers can’t ignore all the ads that promise big savings by 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. All the companies have a common claim of big savings if you move to their company.
How can each company say the same thing? It’s all in the numbers.
Different companies can use profiling for the right customer they prefer to insure. A good example of a preferred risk might be between the ages of 30 and 50, has no tickets, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A customer who matches those parameters receives the best rates and is almost guaranteed to save when they switch companies.
Consumers who don’t measure up to this ideal profile will have to pay a more expensive rate which leads to business going elsewhere. The ads say “customers who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much money. That is how insurance companies can confidently make those claims.
Because of the profiling, drivers must compare many company’s rates. You cannot predict which car insurance company will have the lowest rates.
Affordable insurance is out there
In this article, we presented a lot of techniques to reduce car insurance prices online. It’s most important to understand that the more price quotes you have, the better your comparison will be. Drivers may discover the lowest premiums are with a small mutual company. Regional companies may cover specific market segments cheaper than the large multi-state companies such as Progressive or Geico.
Budget-conscious car insurance is available both online in addition to many Rome insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best rate selection. A few companies do not provide online quoting and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.
While you’re price shopping online, it’s a bad idea to buy poor coverage just to save money. Too many times, an accident victim reduced collision coverage only to discover later that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The aim is to buy a smart amount of coverage at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.