If you’ve never shopped for car insurance online, it’s easy to get confused because of the huge number of car insurance companies offering insurance in Hartford.
It’s a good habit to take a look at other company’s rates yearly since rates are usually higher with each renewal. Just because you had the lowest price last year you may be paying too much now. You can find a lot of wrong information about car insurance on the internet, so with this article, you’re going to get some proven techniques to stop overpaying for insurance.
Free Hartford Car Insurance Quotes
All major car insurance companies such as 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm give prices on their websites. Getting online quotes is pretty painless as you just type in your coverage preferences into the quote form. When the form is submitted, their rating system obtains reports for credit and driving violations and returns a price quote based on these factors.
Online price quotes streamlines rate comparisons, but the process of having to visit multiple sites and enter the same data into a form is repetitive and time-consuming. But it’s absolutely necessary to do this if you want to find better car insurance pricing.
A quicker way to compare rates requires only one form that gets price quotes from several companies at one time. It saves time, eliminates repetitive work, and makes rate comparisons a lot less work. As soon as you send your information, it is rated and you can choose any or none of the pricing results. If you find a better price you simply finish the application and purchase the new policy. This process can be completed in less than 10 minutes and you will know how your current rates stack up.
To find out how much you can save on car insurance, simply click here to open in new window and submit the form. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you copy your coverages exactly as they are listed on your policy. Doing this assures you will have a price comparison for the exact same coverage.
Don’t overlook these discounts
Auto insurance companies don’t always publicize all their discounts in a way that’s easy to find, so we took the time to find some of the more common and the more hidden savings tricks you should be using.
- Memberships – Belonging to a professional or civic organization could trigger savings when shopping for car insurance.
- Drive Less and Save – Low mileage vehicles could be rewarded with better rates on cars that stay parked.
- Multi-car Discount – Having more than one vehicle on one policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
- Bundle and Save – When you have multiple policies with one insurance company you could get a discount of at least 10% off all policies.
- Anti-theft Discount – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems prevent vehicle theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Safe Drivers – Drivers who don’t get into accidents can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates than less cautious drivers.
- Discount for Good Grades – Getting good grades can save 20 to 25%. This discount can apply well after school through age 25.
- Accident Waiver – A handful of insurance companies allow you one accident before your rates go up so long as you haven’t had any claims for a certain period of time.
- Drivers Education – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to enroll in driver’s education in school.
- Lower Rates for Military – Having a deployed family member could be rewarded with lower premiums.
A little note about advertised discounts, many deductions do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. So even though they make it sound like you could get a free car insurance policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
For a list of insurance companies who offer car insurance discounts in Hartford, click here to view.
How insurance companies determine rates
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that play a part in calculating your car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels allows you to make educated decisions that could result in lower car insurance prices.
Shown below are a few of the “ingredients” companies use to determine premiums.
- Poor credit can mean higher rates – A driver’s credit score is a important factor in calculating your car insurance rates. Consumers who have high credit scores tend to be less risk to insure as compared to drivers with lower ratings. If your credit history is low, you could save money insuring your by improving your credit score.
- Your stress level may be raising your rates – Occupations like judges, social workers and dentists are shown to have the highest average rates attributed to high stress and lots of time spent at work. Other professions such as scientists, historians and retirees pay the least.
- Save money with special equipment – Driving a car with an alarm system can get you a discount on your car insurance. Theft prevention devices such as vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems all hinder auto theft.
- Policy add-ons can waste money – There are many additional coverages you can purchase on your car insurance policy. Things like roadside assistance, better glass coverage and membership fees may be costing you every month. They may seem like a good idea when talking to your agent, but your needs may have changed so remove them from your policy.
- Better crash test results mean better rates – Vehicles with high crash test scores get lower rates. These vehicles have better occupant injury protection and any reduction in injury severity translates into savings for insurance companies and lower rates for you.
- No coverage gaps is important – Driving your car without having proper coverage is a misdemeanor and as a result your rates will increase for letting your insurance expire. And not only will your rates increase, failure to provide proof of insurance will get you a revoked license or a big fine.
More detailed Vermont car insurance information can be read at the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation website. Consumers can find disaster information, view agent and company licensing information, and view a list of available companies.
More quotes mean more savings
When trying to cut insurance costs, do not buy less coverage just to save a little money. There are too many instances where an insured cut liability limits or collision coverage and discovered at claim time they didn’t have enough coverage. Your strategy should be to purchase plenty of coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.
Discount car insurance can be found from both online companies in addition to many Hartford insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best rate selection. Some companies do not provide online price quotes and many times these small insurance companies only sell through independent insurance agents.
You just read a lot of tips how to save on car insurance. The key thing to remember is the more providers you compare, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the lowest rates come from an unexpected company.