Have you fallen victim to overpriced auto insurance? Believe me, you’re not the only one. Because you have many auto insurance companies to choose from, it can be diffult for consumers to locate the cheapest insurer.
Learn How to Lower your Rates
Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that go into determining the rates you pay for auto insurance. Understanding what determines base rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that will entitle you to big savings.
Listed below are a few of the “ingredients” used by your company to calculate prices.
- Rates may be lower depending on your job – Did you know your occupation can influence how much you pay for auto insurance? Jobs such as lawyers, business owners and dentists have the highest average rates due to job stress and lengthy work days. Other jobs such as actors, historians and performers get better rates.
- Poor credit can mean higher rates – Your credit score is a big factor in calculating your auto insurance rates. Drivers with good credit tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records as compared to drivers with poor credit. If your credit is low, you could be paying less to insure your by improving your rating.
- Car features impact rates – Driving a car with an alarm system can help lower your rates. Anti-theft devices like vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems all hinder car theft.
- One company can mean more discounts – Most insurers provide better rates to insureds who consolidate policies with them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even though this discount sounds good, it’s in your best interest to compare rates to make sure you are getting the best deal. You may still be able to find better rates by buying insurance from more than one company.
How to Compare Springville Auto Insurance Costs
Lowering your auto insurance rates is actually quite simple. Consumers just need to take a few minutes comparing price quotes online with multiple companies. This can be accomplished in a couple of different ways.
- The fastest way to get quotes for comparison is a comparison rater form (click to open form in new window). This easy form prevents you from having to do separate forms for each company. A single form gets you price quotes .
- A less efficient way to obtain and compare quotes online is going to the website for every company you want to comare and fill out their own quote form. For instance, we’ll pretend you want comparison quotes from Liberty Mutual, Progressive and GMAC. You would have to spend time on each company’s site to enter your coverage information, which is why the first method is more popular.
For a list of links to insurance companies in Springville, click here.
- The most time-consuming method of comparing rate quotes to local Springville insurance agencies. Shopping for auto insurance online eliminates the need for an insurance agent unless you have a need for the trained guidance that only a license agent can provide. However, consumers can get prices online and still use a local agent and we’ll talk about that later.
Which method you use is up to you, but double check that you are using apples-to-apples coverage information for every company. If you compare mixed coverages it will be next to impossible to find the best deal in Springville.
Advertising myths
Consumers constantly see and hear ads for the lowest price auto insurance by 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. They all say the same thing that you can save if you move to their company.
How do they all make the same claim? This is how they do it.
Insurance companies can use profiling for the driver that is profitable for them. For instance, a desirable insured might be profiled as between 30 and 50, has no driving citations, and has a short commute. A propective insured who matches those parameters is entitled to the best price and is almost guaranteed to save a lot of money.
Drivers who do not match the “perfect” profile will be quoted a more expensive rate which leads to the customer not buying. The ads say “customers who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much money. That’s the way insurance companies can confidently advertise the savings. This emphasizes why drivers should get a wide range of price quotes. It’s just too difficult to predict which auto insurance company will have the lowest rates.
Don’t miss these discounts
Auto insurance companies don’t always publicize every available discount very clearly, so we break down both the well known and the more hidden ways to save on auto insurance. If you’re not getting every credit possible, you’re just leaving money on the table.
- More Vehicles More Savings – Buying coverage for multiple cars or trucks on one policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
- Drivers Ed for Students – Require your teen driver to take driver’s ed class in school.
- Employee of Federal Government – Employees or retirees of the government may qualify you for a discount with certain companies.
- Safe Driver Discount – Drivers who don’t get into accidents can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates than drivers with accident claims.
- Multi-policy Discount – When you have multiple policies with the same insurance company you could get a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – If paying your policy premium upfront instead of paying each month you may reduce your total bill.
- Auto/Life Discount – Larger companies have a break if you buy life insurance from them.
Drivers should understand that most discounts do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Some only apply to specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. So when it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies don’t profit that way.
To choose insurers with the best auto insurance discounts in Utah, click here.
Buying auto insurance from a local agent
Some consumers prefer to sit down with an agent and there is nothing wrong with that. Educated insurance agents can point out coverage gaps and give you peace of mind. The best thing about price shopping on the web is you may find better rates and still have an agent to talk to.
By using this short form, your information is transmitted to insurance agents in Springville who will give you bids for your insurance coverage. There is no need to leave your computer due to the fact that quote results will go immediately to your email address. It doesn’t get any easier!
Choosing an provider shouldn’t rely on just a cheap price. Any agent should be forthright in answering these questions:
- Will vehicle repairs be made with aftermarket parts or OEM replacement parts?
- Do they carry Errors and Omissions coverage?
- If your car is in the repair shop, do you have coverage for a rental car?
- What insurance companies do they recommend if they are an independent agent?
- Is assistance available after office hours?
- Do clients work directly with the agent or are most inquiries handled by a CSR?
- Do the companies they represent have a solid financial rating?
- Which members of your family are coverage by the policy?
Compare rates from both independent and captive auto insurance agents
If you’re trying to find a good Springville insurance agent, you need to know there are two different types of agents to choose from. Agents can either be independent (non-captive) or captive. Both types can insure your vehicles, but it’s worth learning how they are different since it can impact the selection process.
Captive Agents
These agents are contracted to one company like AAA, Allstate and State Farm. They are unable to shop your coverage around so they have no alternatives for high prices. Captives are trained well on their company’s products which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums.
Shown below are Springville captive insurance agents that can give you comparison quotes.
Farmers Insurance Group – 25 E 200 S – Springville, UT 84663 – (801) 489-8000
Allstate Insurance – 274 S Main St – Springville, UT 84663 – (801) 489-6640
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Independent agents do not work for one specific company so they can insure your vehicles with lots of companies depending on which coverage is best. To transfer your coverage to a different company, your agent can switch companies and you won’t have to switch agencies.
When searching for an agent, you should always include at least one independent agent to ensure the widest selection of prices.
Below are Springville independent insurance agents that can give you price quotes.
Ryan Lennberg Agency – 1220 N Main St # 7b – Springville, UT 84663 – (801) 491-4212
Deana Hill Insurance Inc – 1220 N Main St # 11 – Springville, UT 84663 – (801) 489-5499
American National Insurance Co – 1190 N Main St – Springville, UT 84663 – (801) 489-9468
To view a complete directory of Springville insurance agents, please go to this site.
Once you have positive responses for all questions you ask in addition to an acceptable price estimate, chances are good that you have found an insurance agent that is a good match to insure your vehicles.
But I don’t know anything about car insurance
When choosing the best auto insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there is no “best” method to buy coverage. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs so this has to be addressed. For example, these questions may help highlight if you might need professional guidance.
- At what point should I drop full coverage?
- Does my liability insurance cover pulling a trailer or camper?
- Should I buy more coverage than the required Utah minimum liability coverage?
- Should I buy additional glass protection?
- What is the difference between comprehensive and collision coverage?
- Are my tools covered if they get stolen from my vehicle?
- What can I do if my company denied a claim?
- Am I covered by my spouse’s policy after a separation?
If you can’t answer these questions, you may need to chat with a licensed agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier It’s fast, free and you can get the answers you need.
More tips and info about auto insurance can be found at the Utah Insurance Department website. Utah consumers can read consumer alerts, view a list of available companies, and find out industry alerts.
Other useful links include Wikipedia and this resource to find Springville, UT insurance agents.
Smart shoppers get results
As you shop your coverage around, it’s very important that you do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. Too many times, drivers have reduced physical damage coverage and learned later that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. The proper strategy is to buy the best coverage you can find at a price you can afford.
We covered many ideas to shop for auto insurance online. The key concept to understand is the more you quote, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may be surprised to find that the lowest rates come from the smaller companies. They may only write in your state and offer lower rates than their larger competitors like Progressive or Geico.