Are you sick and tired of sacrificing other expenses to pay high auto insurance rates every month? You have the same problem as the majority of other vehicle owners in California. Insurance companies such as Geico, Progressive and Allstate all claim big savings, bombarding you with catchy ads and it can be hard to see through the deception and find the best price available.
Consumers should take time to get comparison quotes quite often because insurance prices are constantly changing. Just because you found the lowest rates at your last renewal you can probably find a lower rate today. Forget all the misinformation about auto insurance because we’re going to demonstrate the proper way to properly buy coverages while reducing your premium.
If you have a current auto insurance policy or are just looking to switch companies, you can use these techniques to reduce the price you pay while maintaining coverages. Finding the best rates in Santa Clara is easy if you know what you’re doing. California drivers just need to understand the tricks to compare company rates on the web.
Get cheaper rates by taking advantage of discounts
Some insurance providers don’t always advertise all disounts very well, so the list below gives a summary of some of the more common and the more hidden credits available to lower your premiums when you .
- Defensive Driving Course – Successfully completing a course in safe driver may get you a small discount and easily pay for the cost of the class.
- Claim Free – Insureds who avoid accidents and claims get the best auto insurance rates in comparison to frequent claim filers.
- Anti-lock Brake Discount – Cars and trucks with anti-lock braking systems prevent accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Multiple Policy Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles and place coverage with the same company you could get a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
- Multi-Vehicle Discounts – Insuring multiple cars or trucks on one policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
- Student Discounts – Being a good student can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. You can use this discount normally up until you turn 25.
- Discounts for New Vehicles – Insuring a vehicle that is new can get you a discount since newer models are generally safer.
- Telematics Devices – People who choose to allow driving data collection to monitor driving habits by using a telematics device in their vehicle like Drivewise from Allstate or In-Drive from State Farm might see lower rates if they exhibit good driving behavior.
- Passive Restraints – Vehicles equipped with air bags or motorized seat belts may get savings up to 30%.
- 55 and Retired – Seniors may qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
As a disclaimer on discounts, some credits don’t apply to all coverage premiums. Some only reduce individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So despite the fact that it appears you could get a free auto insurance policy, it’s just not the way it works.
Some of the larger companies that may offer policyholders most of these discounts include:
When quoting, ask each insurance company to apply every possible discount. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts might not apply in Santa Clara. To view providers with significant discounts in Santa Clara, click here.
Big names are not always cheapest
California consumers can’t get away from ads for the lowest price auto insurance from companies such as Geico, State Farm and Progressive. All the companies advertise claims that you’ll save big if you change your auto insurance policy to them.
It sounds good, but how can they all give you a better price?
All the different companies give the best rates for the type of customer that will generate a profit. An example of a desirable risk might have to be between the ages of 30 and 50, has few claims, and drives a lower-performance vehicle. Anyone that meets those criteria will most likely get cheap car insurance rates and have a good chance to save when switching.
Insureds who do not match these stringent criteria may receive a higher premium and the customer buying from someone else. The trick is to say “drivers that switch” not “everyone that quotes” save the amount stated. That is how insurance companies can advertise the way they do.
This really illustrates why you need to compare rate quotes every year. It is impossible to guess which insurance companies will have the best premium rates at this point in time.
Additional auto insurance information is available on the through this link. Consumers can view a list of available companies, file complaints about a company, learn about insurance regulations, and learn about specific coverages.
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In Summary
Lower-priced auto insurance is available from both online companies and with local Santa Clara insurance agents, and you should be comparing both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance companies may not provide internet price quotes and many times these smaller providers prefer to sell through local independent agencies.
When trying to cut insurance costs, it’s not a good idea to buy less coverage just to save a little money. In too many instances, an insured cut liability coverage limits only to regret they didn’t purchase enough coverage. The ultimate goal is to purchase a proper amount of coverage at a price you can afford but still have enough coverage for asset protection.
We just presented a lot of techniques to save on auto insurance. The key thing to remember is the more quotes you get, the better your comparison will be. Consumers may even find the most savings is with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. These smaller insurers may cover specific market segments cheaper than their larger competitors like Progressive or Geico.