Are you overwhelmed by the dozens of auto insurance company choices in Bluffton? You’re not alone. People have so many choices that it can quickly become more work than you anticipated to find lower rates.
You should take the time to price shop coverage periodically since insurance rates go up and down regularly. If you had the best price on your last policy you can probably find a lower rate today. Forget all the misinformation about auto insurance because we’re going to demonstrate the tricks you need to know to reduce your cost while improving coverage.
Cut your auto insurance rates with discounts
The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but there are discounts available to help bring down the price. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at the time of purchase, but less common discounts must be specifically requested before you get the savings. If you aren’t receiving every discount you qualify for, you’re just leaving money on the table.
- Anti-theft Discount – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems prevent vehicle theft and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Safe Driver Discount – Drivers who don’t get into accidents can pay as much as 50% less than drivers with accident claims.
- Save over 55 – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may qualify for better auto insurance rates.
- No Charge for an Accident – A few companies will forgive one accident without raising rates so long as you haven’t had any claims for a set time period.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – By paying your policy upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you can actually save on your bill.
- Homeowners Discount – Owning a home in Bluffton may earn you a small savings due to the fact that maintaining a home requires personal responsibility.
- Driver Safety – Taking a driver safety course could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
- Low Mileage – Fewer annual miles can qualify you for discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
- Sign Early and Save – Some companies give discounts for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiration. It can save you around 10%.
- Service Members Pay Less – Being deployed with a military unit may qualify for rate reductions.
It’s important to note that most discount credits are not given to the entire cost. Most only cut the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. So even though it sounds like you could get a free auto insurance policy, companies don’t profit that way. But any discount will reduce the cost of coverage.
For a list of insurance companies who offer auto insurance discounts in Bluffton, click here.
Which Auto Insurance is Cheapest in Bluffton, South Carolina?
Getting a cheaper price on insurance isn’t really that difficult. The only requirement is to invest a few minutes getting comparison quotes provided by online insurance companies. This can be done in a couple of different ways.
- One of the simplest ways to compare a lot of rates at once is an all-inclusive rate comparison (click to open form in new window). This type of form saves time by eliminating multiple quote forms to each individual auto insurance company. One form will get you price quotes . It’s the fastest way to compare.
- Another way to obtain and compare quotes online is to manually visit the website of each company to complete their respective quote request forms. For sake of this example, let’s say you want to compare rates from USAA, Progressive and Liberty Mutual. To find out each rate you need to go to every website to enter your coverage information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. For a handy list of car insurance company links in Bluffton, click here.
Whichever way you use, make absolute certain that you use apples-to-apples coverages and limits for every quote you compare. If you have mixed coverages it’s not possible to make a fair comparison in Bluffton.
Informed Drivers can Cut Their Rates
It’s important that you understand the factors that come into play when calculating your auto insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that can help you get much lower annual insurance costs.
The list below includes some of the factors used by your company to calculate your rates.
- Traffic citations inflate rates – Good drivers have lower premiums than bad drivers. Only having one moving violation can increase rates twenty percent or more. Drivers who get serious violations like DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions may be required to submit a SR-22 form with their state motor vehicle department in order to continue driving.
- Having a spouse can save you money – Being married can get you a discount when buying auto insurance. Having a significant other translates into being more responsible and statistics show married couples file fewer claims.
- How your age affects price – More mature drivers tend to be more responsible, statistically cause fewer accidents and receive fewer citations. Young drivers have a tendency to be more careless when driving therefore auto insurance rates are much higher.
- Equipment add-ons that lower auto insurance rates – Driving a car with a theft deterrent system can save you a little every year. Anti-theft devices such as tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all hinder auto theft.
You are unique and your auto insurance should be too
When buying adequate coverage for your vehicles, there isn’t really a cookie cutter policy. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs.
These are some specific questions may help highlight if your insurance needs would benefit from professional advice.
- Is there coverage for injuries to my pets?
- Am I covered by my employer’s commercial auto policy when driving my personal car for business?
- What discounts do I qualify for?
- Can I afford low physical damage deductibles?
- What are South Carolina no-fault laws?
- How high should my medical payments coverage be?
- What can I do if my company won’t pay a claim?
- Do I need PIP coverage since I have good health insurance?
If you can’t answer these questions but one or more may apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, simply complete this short form. It only takes a few minutes and can help protect your family.
The best insurance company isn’t always the cheapest
You just learned quite a bit of information on how to reduce auto insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better your chances of lowering your rates. Consumers may even find the best price on auto insurance is with a small local company.
Drivers who switch companies do it for a variety of reasons including questionable increases in premium, policy non-renewal, extreme rates for teen drivers or unfair underwriting practices. It doesn’t matter what your reason, finding the right auto insurance provider is less work than it seems.
Cheap auto insurance is possible from both online companies in addition to many Bluffton insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both to get a complete price analysis. A few companies do not provide online price quotes and most of the time these small, regional companies sell through independent agents.
Find out more about auto insurance
Additional information is available on the South Carolina Department of Insurance website. Click here for link. Visitors are able to file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, learn about specific coverages, and find disaster information.