Are you sick and tired of not being able to afford each month for auto insurance? You’re in the same situation as many other people in North Carolina. You have so many auto insurance companies to buy insurance from, and although it’s a good thing to have a choice, too many choices makes it more difficult to find the lowest cost provider.
Cut Your Costs with these tips
A large part of saving on auto insurance is knowing the rating factors that come into play when calculating auto insurance rates. If you have some idea of what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this empowers consumers to make smart changes that can help you get lower auto insurance prices. Many things are used in the calculation when pricing auto insurance. Most are fairly basic such as your driving history, although some other factors are more obscure such as your marital status or your financial responsibility.
The itemized list below are a few of the things companies use to determine your rate level.
- Safer vehicles can affect prices – Choosing to buy a car with anti-theft technology or alarm system can save you a little every year. Anti-theft devices such as GM’s OnStar, tamper alarm systems and vehicle immobilizers all hinder auto theft.
- Vehicles with better crash test results cost less to insure – Cars with high safety ratings tend to be cheaper to insure. Vehicles engineered for safety result in less severe injuries and reduced instances of injuries means lower claim amounts and lower rates for you. If your car, truck, or SUV earned at least an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website or four stars on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website you may pay a lower rate.
- How’s your driving record? – How you drive has a lot to do with how much you pay for insurance. Just one speeding ticket or other violation could increase your next policy renewal to the point where it’s not affordable. Careful drivers receive lower rates than people who have multiple driving citations. Drivers with license-revoking citations like reckless driving or DUI may need to complete a SR-22 with their state DMV in order to prevent a license revocation.
- Prices for males may be higher – Statistics have proven women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, don’t assume that men are WORSE drivers than women. Males and females are responsible for auto accidents in similar numbers, but the male of the species cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. They also get cited for more serious violations like driving under the influence (DUI).
- Rates are impacted by vehicle performance – The make and model of the car you are trying to find cheaper insurance for makes a substantial difference in your car insurance bill. The lowest rates will normally be found when insuring low performance passenger cars, but other factors influence the final cost greatly.
The easiest way to compare rate quotes takes advantage of the fact almost all companies participate in online systems to provide you with a free rate quote. To get started, all you need to do is provide a little information such as if it has an alarm system, how much coverage you want, marital status, and driver details. Your information is sent automatically to multiple different insurance companies and they return rate quotes with very little delay.
If you would like to start a quote now, click here and find out if you can get cheaper insurance.
Auto insurance policy discounts
The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but you might already qualify for some discounts to reduce the price significantly. Certain reductions will be credited at the time of purchase, but a few must be asked for before they will apply. If you do not double check each discount possible, you could be getting lower rates.
- Clubs and Organizations – Being a member of certain professional organizations could qualify you for a break when getting a .
- Anti-lock Brake Discount – Cars and trucks equipped with ABS or steering control can stop better under adverse conditions and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
- Own a Home – Owning a home in Carrboro may earn you a small savings because it demonstrates responsibility.
- Seat Belt Usage – Requiring all passengers to wear their seat belts can save 10% or more on the premium charged for medical payments and/or PIP.
- Discount for Low Mileage – Fewer annual miles may enable drivers to earn cheaper rates.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – By making one initial payment instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save 5% or more.
- Paperwork-free – Certain auto insurance companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying a policy and signing up over the internet.
- Discounts for Multiple Vehicles – Buying insurance for all your vehicles with the same company could earn a price break for each car.
- Air Bag Discount – Cars that have air bags may get savings of 20 to 30 percent.
A little disclaimer on discounts, some of the credits will not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as collision or personal injury protection. So even though they make it sound like you could get a free auto insurance policy, that’s just not realistic.
The best auto insurance companies and their possible discounts are detailed below.
- AAA discounts include multi-policy, multi-car, good driver, AAA membership discount, anti-theft, pay-in-full, and good student.
- Progressive has discounts for online signing, multi-policy, online quote discount, homeowner, and continuous coverage.
- State Farm has savings for multiple policy, defensive driving training, anti-theft, Drive Safe & Save, good student, accident-free, and student away at school.
- Esurance may offer discounts for anti-theft, anti-lock brakes, paid-in-full, Switch & Save, defensive driver, online shopper, and claim free.
- Nationwide offers discounts including business or organization, accident-free, anti-theft, multi-policy, defensive driving, Farm Bureau membership, and family plan.
If you want , ask each company the best way to save money. A few discounts might not be offered in every state. To locate providers who offer free auto insurance quotes in North Carolina, click this link.
Buying auto insurance from Carrboro car insurance agents
Some consumers just prefer to go talk to an agent. A nice benefit of comparing rate quotes online is that drivers can save money and get lower rates and still choose a local agent.
To help locate an agent, after submitting this form (opens in new window), the quote information is submitted to local insurance agents in Carrboro who will gladly provide quotes and help you find cheaper coverage. It simplifies rate comparisons since you won’t have to contact an agency because prices are sent to the email address you provide. You can find lower rates AND a local agent. If you want to get a price quote from a particular provider, you can always find their quoting web page and fill out their quote form.
Picking the best company should depend on more than just a low price. These are some questions your agent should answer.
- Can they provide you with a list of referrals?
- Are they properly licensed to sell insurance in North Carolina?
- Which companies do they recommend if they are an independent agency?
- Does the agency provide any after hours assistance?
- Are they actively involved in the community?
- Who is covered by the car insurance policy?
If you want to use a local Carrboro insurance agency, it can be helpful to understand the different types of agents that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Agents in Carrboro can either be captive agents or independent agents.
Captive Agents
Agents of this type write business for a single company and some examples include State Farm, Allstate, or Farmers Insurance. They are unable to shop your coverage around so you need to shop around if the rates are high. Captives are usually quite knowledgeable on the products they sell which helps offset the inability to provide other markets.
Shown below are captive agencies in Carrboro who may provide you with price quotes.
Allstate Insurance – 104 NC Highway 54 # E – Carrboro, NC 27510 – (919) 929-6900
Independent Auto Insurance Agencies
Independent agents are not restriced to one company so they can write business through many different auto insurance companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. To move your coverage to a new company, your agent can just switch to a different company and you don’t have to do anything. If you are trying to find cheaper rates, you need to get some free quotes from multiple independent agents to have the best price comparison.
Listed below are Carrboro independent insurance agencies that can give you comparison quotes.
Charles L Riggsbee Insurance – 103 Quail Roost Dr – Carrboro, NC 27510 – (919) 942-2621
Nationwide Insurance – 201 E Main St – Carrboro, NC 27510 – (919) 968-4321
To view more auto insurance agents in Carrboro, feel free to see this directory of Carrboro auto insurance agents.
Auto insurance can get complicated
When buying proper insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is not a perfect coverage plan. Each situation is unique so this has to be addressed. For example, these questions can aid in determining if you could use an agent’s help.
- Where can I get insurance after a DUI in North Carolina?
- Does medical payments coverage apply to all occupants?
- Should I sign the liability waiver when renting a car?
- Do I need special endorsements for business use of my vehicle?
- Is my custom paint covered by insurance?
- Do I have coverage for damage caused while driving under the influence?
- Does my policy pay for OEM or aftermarket parts?
- Who is covered by my policy?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to an insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
Even more information is available at the North Carolina Department of Insurance website. Visitors are able to find out which companies have the most complaints, discover disciplinary actions, read state legal mandates and laws, and view a list of available companies.
Do the work, save more money
While you’re price shopping online, don’t be tempted to reduce needed coverages to save money. There have been many cases where someone sacrificed liability limits or collision coverage only to find out that the savings was not a smart move. The aim is to buy a smart amount of coverage at the lowest possible cost, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.
You just read many ideas to reduce auto insurance rates online. The key thing to remember is the more times you quote, the higher your chance of finding . Consumers could even find that the lowest rates come from a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. They can often provide lower car insurance rates in certain areas as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm, Geico and Nationwide.
The cheapest auto insurance can be purchased from both online companies and from local insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both so you have a total pricing picture. There are still a few companies who do not provide internet price quotes and most of the time these smaller providers only sell coverage through independent agents.