Finding cheaper Grand Haven auto insurance might seem problematic for vehicle owners who are new to comparison shopping over the internet. With dozens of online companies available, how can you have the ability to compare every one to find the lowest price available?
Price influencing factors
Many things are used when pricing auto insurance. Some of the criteria are obvious such as your driving history, but some are not quite as obvious such as whether you are married or your commute time.
- File a claims and pay more – Companies in Michigan generally give most affordable rates to drivers who do not file claims often. If you file claims often, you can expect either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Your car insurance is meant to be used in the event of the large, substantial claims.
- Your address can impact prices – Having an address in a rural area can be a good thing when shopping for auto insurance. People who live in big cities regularly have more auto accidents and higher rates of accident claims. Lower population corresponds to lower accident rates and lower theft and vandalism rates.
- Gender and insurance coverage – Statistics demonstrate females are less aggressive when driving. Now that doesn’t mean women are BETTER drivers than men. They both have auto accidents at about the same rate, but the male of the species cause more damage. They also receive more major tickets like driving under the influence (DUI).
- Getting married can lower rates – Having a spouse may cut your premiums when buying auto insurance. Marriage generally demonstrates drivers are more stable financially and it’s proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.
Where can I get affordable Grand Haven auto insurance?
When looking for , there are a couple ways to compare rate quotes from different Grand Haven insurance companies. The best way to find affordable insurance rates consists of shopping online. It’s really quite simple and can be done in a couple of different ways.
Probably the best way to find the lowest comparison rates is an all-inclusive rate comparison like this one (opens in new window). This quick form keeps you from doing a different quote for every auto insurance company. One simple form gets you coverage quotes instantly. This is perfect if you don’t have a lot of time.
A different way to shop for auto insurance online is spending the time to visit the website for each individual company to complete a price quote. For instance, let’s assume you need rates from Liberty Mutual, Allstate and Farmers. You would be required to spend time going to each site individually and repeatedly enter your information, which can be really labor intensive.
For a list of links to insurance companies in Grand Haven, click here.
The least efficient and most time consuming way to price shop rates is going to different Grand Haven agent offices. The fact that you can get quotes online eliminates this option unless you’re the type of person who wants the personal advice that only a licensed agent can provide. Although you can price shop your coverage online and get advice from an agent in your area.
Whichever way you use, make sure you use apples-to-apples coverage data on every price quote you get. If you use different data it will be impossible to make a fair comparison in Grand Haven. Just a small difference in insurance coverages or limits could mean much higher rates. And when price shopping your coverage, comparing a wide range of rates helps locate more affordable insurance. Some regional insurers cannot provide online quotes, so you need to compare quotes on coverage from those companies, too.
Can you really save that much by switching?
Companies like State Farm and Allstate seem to constantly run ads on television and other media. All the companies try to convey promises that drivers can save some big amount after switching your coverage. It sounds good, but how can they all charge you less for car insurance? This is how they do it.
All the different companies are able to cherry pick for the type of driver that earns them the highest profit. For instance, a desirable risk might have to be over the age of 35, has few claims, and has a short commute. Any new insured who matches that profile will get low rates and most likely will cut their rates if they switch.
Consumers who are not a match for those standards will probably have to pay a higher premium which translates to the prospect going elsewhere. The ads say “drivers who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much money. That’s why insurance companies can make it sound like they have such great premium rates. This really drives home the point why you really should compare price quotes frequently. Because without a comparison, you cannot know which company will fit your personal profile best.
Don’t overlook these auto insurance discounts
Auto insurance companies do not advertise all disounts in a way that’s easy to find, so the below list has a few of the more common and also the lesser-known discounts that you may qualify for.
- Military Discounts – Having an actively deployed family member may qualify for rate reductions.
- Safe Driver Discounts – Insureds without accidents could pay up to 40% less than drivers with accident claims.
- Pay Upfront and Save – By making one initial payment rather than paying monthly you can avoid the installment charge.
- More Vehicles More Savings – Buying coverage for more than one vehicle on one policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
- Home Ownership Discount – Owning your own home or condo may earn you a small savings due to the fact that maintaining a home is proof that your finances are in order.
It’s important to understand that most discounts do not apply the the whole policy. The majority will only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. If you do the math and it seems like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it’s just not the way it works.
Larger auto insurance companies and their offered discounts include:
- Farmers Insurance has discounts for homeowner, youthful driver, alternative fuel, teen driver, electronic funds transfer, and pay in full.
- Esurance includes discounts for DriveSense, anti-theft, homeowner, defensive driver, Switch & Save, and online quote.
- State Farm offers premium reductions for student away at school, Steer Clear safe driver discount, good driver, passive restraint, defensive driving training, multiple policy, and accident-free.
- Geico discounts include five-year accident-free, multi-policy, emergency military deployment, defensive driver, and driver training.
- Allstate has savings for 55 and retired, new car, eSmart discount, safe driver, and auto/life discount.
If you are trying to find , ask all companies you are considering how many discounts you can get. Discounts might not be offered on policies everywhere. To see insurance companies with significant discounts in Michigan, click here to view.
Get rate quotes but buy from a local neighborhood Grand Haven car insurance agent
Some consumers just prefer to sit down with an agent and that can be a smart move One of the great benefits of comparing insurance prices online is that you can find cheap auto insurance rates and still have a local agent.
Once you complete this simple form, your information is sent to companies in Grand Haven who will give competitive quotes for your insurance coverage. You won’t even need to contact any agents since rate quotes are delivered to you directly. You can find the lowest rates and a licensed agent to talk to. If for some reason you want to quote rates from a specific auto insurance provider, you just need to find their quoting web page and fill out the quote form the provide.
Selecting an company requires you to look at more than just the quoted price. The following questions are important to ask.
- Do they offer rental car reimbursement?
- How much can you save by raising your physical damage deductibles?
- How are claims handled?
- Do the agents have professional certifications like CPCU or CIC?
- How many years of experience in personal auto insurance do they have?
If you want to buy auto insurance from a reliable agent, there are a couple of types of insurance agents and how they are slightly different. Agencies in Grand Haven are categorized either captive agents or independent agents.
Captive Insurance Agents
Agents in the captive channel generally can only insure with one company and examples are Farmers Insurance and State Farm. These agents are not able to shop your coverage around so keep that in mind. Captives are well trained on their company’s products which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums. Some people will only use the same agent mostly because of the brand name and strong financial ratings.
The following is a list of captive insurance agents in Grand Haven that are able to give price quotes.
- Allstate Insurance – 601 S Beacon Blvd # 105 – Grand Haven, MI 49417 – (616) 846-4030
- Farm Bureau Insurance – 16844 Robbins Rd – Grand Haven, MI 49417 – (616) 846-9595
Independent Agents
Agents that choose to be independent are appointed with more than one company so they can insure your vehicles amongst many companies and get the cheapest rates. To transfer your coverage to a different company, they simply switch companies in-house and you don’t have to do anything. If you need lower rates, you will want to include a few independent agents to maximize your price options. Most independent agents also contract with small regional insurance companies that may have much lower rates than larger companies.
The following is a short list of independent agents in Grand Haven that can give you price quote information.
- Van Dort Insurance – 515 S Beacon Blvd # 2 – Grand Haven, MI 49417 – (616) 846-7230
- Van Wieren Agency – 616 S Beechtree St – Grand Haven, MI 49417 – (616) 847-9400
- Mac Leod Insurance – 324 Washington Ave # 101 – Grand Haven, MI 49417 – (616) 847-9100
- Sampson Agency – 700 Washington Ave # 240 – Grand Haven, MI 49417 – (616) 846-5333
- Oakes Agency INC – 234 Washington Ave – Grand Haven, MI 49417 – (616) 842-3440
To view additional Grand Haven insurance agents, feel free to view this full listing of Grand Haven insurance agents.
Auto insurance is unique, just like you
When choosing adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a “perfect” insurance plan. Everyone’s situation is unique.
For example, these questions may help highlight whether you could use an agent’s help.
- What can I do if my company won’t pay a claim?
- Am I covered if I wreck a rental car?
- What is the difference between comprehensive and collision coverage?
- Exactly who is provided coverage by my policy?
- Why am I required to buy high-risk coverage?
- Am I covered when using my vehicle for business?
- Do I have coverage when using my vehicle for my home business?
- How much liability do I need to cover my assets?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you know they apply to you, you may need to chat with a licensed insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, take a second and complete this form.
More detailed Michigan auto insurance information is located at the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation website. Visitors are able to read consumer alerts, read industry bulletins, view a list of available companies, and find out industry alerts.
And the best auto insurance company is…
Throughout this article, we presented quite a bit of information on how to compare auto insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more you , the better chance you’ll have of finding . You may even discover the lowest prices come from the smaller companies.
While you’re price shopping online, never reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where consumers will sacrifice collision coverage only to find out that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your goal is to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate and still be able to protect your assets.
Drivers switch companies for a variety of reasons including delays in responding to claim requests, extreme rates for teen drivers, an unsatisfactory settlement offer and even policy cancellation. It doesn’t matter what your reason, switching auto insurance companies is actually quite simple.