How to Know You’re Spending Too Much for Auto Insurance in Newton, MS

Locating low-cost Newton auto insurance may seem to be impossible for consumers new to online price comparisons. With such a large choice of insurers available, how are consumers expected to have time to compare them all to find lower auto insurance premiums?

Buying car insurance in Newton is easy if you know what you’re doing. If you are paying for car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to save some money using this strategy. Mississippi drivers only need to know the best way to compare rates over the internet.

How to get Newton auto insurance price quotes

Getting cheaper auto insurance pricing is pretty simple and can save money. You just need to take a couple of minutes comparing price quotes online with multiple companies. This can be accomplished using a couple different methods.

If you’re in a hurry, the quickest way to compare a lot of rates at once would be an industry-wide quote request form like this one (opens in new window). This form prevents you from having to do boring form submissions to each individual auto insurance company. A single form will get you price quotes instantly. It’s the fastest way to compare.

A less efficient way to obtain and compare quotes online is spending the time to visit the website for every company you want to comare and go through the quote process again. For examples sake, we’ll assume you want to see prices from Farmers, Esurance and Progressive. To get each rate you have to spend time going to each site individually and repeatedly type in your coverage information, and that’s why the first method is more popular.

For a handy list of car insurance company links in Newton, click here.

The least efficient and most time consuming way to get comparison rates is going to insurance agents’ offices. The internet can eliminate the need for a local agent unless you want the trained guidance of a licensed agent. However, consumers can price shop your coverage online and get advice from an agent in your area.

Whichever way you choose to compare rates, compare the same coverage information on every price quote you get. If you use different data it’s impossible to get a fair rate comparison in Newton.

Discount Newton auto insurance rates

Some insurers don’t list every possible discount in an easy-to-find place, so the below list has a few of the more common and the harder-to-find credits available to bring down your rates.

  • Accident Free – Good drivers with no accidents are rewarded with significantly better rates on in comparison to frequent claim filers.
  • Driver Training Discounts – Participating in a course that instructs on driving safety can save you 5% or more if you qualify.
  • Auto/Life Discount – Select auto insurance companies reward you with better prices if you take out life insurance.
  • Data Collection Discounts – Drivers that enable driving data collection to spy on driving patterns by using a small device installed in their vehicle such as Snapshot from Progressive or Drivewise from Allstate may see discounts as long as the data is positive.
  • Distant Student Discount – who live away from home at college and do not have a car may be able to be covered for less.
  • Pay Now and Pay Less – By making one initial payment as opposed to paying monthly you may have a lower total premium amount.
  • Air Bag Discount – Cars that have air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems may qualify for discounts of 20% or more.

A little disclaimer on discounts, some credits don’t apply the the whole policy. Some only apply to individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. So despite the fact that it appears all the discounts add up to a free policy, you won’t be that lucky.

Companies and some of the discounts are shown below.Car insurance in Mississippi

  • 21st Century policyholders can earn discounts including good student, student driver, homeowners, driver training, air bags, automatic seat belts, and teen driver.
  • Progressive has discounts for homeowner, good student, continuous coverage, multi-vehicle, and online quote discount.
  • State Farm may have discounts that include anti-theft, defensive driving training, accident-free, Steer Clear safe driver discount, student away at school, multiple autos, and good student.
  • Nationwide includes discounts for business or organization, easy pay, family plan, Farm Bureau membership, defensive driving, anti-theft, and multi-policy.
  • Esurance discounts include DriveSense, multi-policy, paid-in-full, good driver, good student, and anti-lock brakes.
  • The Hartford offers discounts for air bag, good student, defensive driver, bundle, vehicle fuel type, driver training, and anti-theft.

When quoting, ask all companies you are considering to give you their best rates. Some discounts listed above might not be available to policyholders in Newton.

Compare rates but buy from a neighborhood Newton auto insurance agent

A small number of people just want to sit down with an agent and that is a smart decision Professional insurance agents can help you choose the best coverages and help in the event of a claim. One of the benefits of price shopping on the web is the fact that you can find cheap rate quotes and still have an agent to talk to.

For easy comparison, once you complete this simple form, the coverage information is immediately sent to local insurance agents that provide and help you find cheaper coverage. You won’t even need to find an agent on your own as quotes are delivered to your email. If you have a need to get a rate quote from one company in particular, you can always visit that company’s website and submit a quote form there.

Picking an insurance company requires you to look at more than just the price. A good agent will have answers to these questions.

  • Does the agent recommend any additional coverage?
  • How long has their agency been open in Newton?
  • Who are their largest clients?
  • In the event of vehicle damage, can you pick the collision repair facility?
  • Are they giving you every discount you deserve?
  • Do they get paid more for recommending certain coverages?
  • Can they provide you with a list of referrals?
  • Are they primarily personal or commercial lines agents?

To help you select from a list of insurance agencies near you, visit this complete selection of auto insurance agents in Newton, MS.

Rate influencing factors

Many different elements are considered when pricing auto insurance. Some are obvious such as your driving history, although some other factors are more transparent like your continuous coverage and annual miles driven.

  • Keep rates low by being claim-free – If you file claims often, you can look forward to much higher rates or policy non-renewal. Car insurance companies in Mississippi provide most affordable rates to policyholders that do not abuse their auto insurance. Your car insurance is intended for the bigger claims that can’t be paid out-of-pocket.
  • Certain jobs raise prices – Do you work in a high-stress field? Jobs such as fire fighters, architects and emergency personnel tend to pay the highest average rates attributed to intense work situations and lengthy work days. On the other hand, occupations such as scientists, historians and the unemployed have the lowest average rates.
  • Do you know your physical damage deductibles? – Insurance for physical damage to your car, also called ‘full coverage’, is used to repair damage to your car. Examples of some claims that would be covered could be colliding with a building, damage from fire, and windstorm damage. Comprehensive and collision coverage deductibles are how much the insured will be required to pay before a claim is paid by your company. The larger the amount you’re willing to pay, the less money you will pay for auto insurance.
  • Combine policies and save money – Most insurers give better rates for people who buy several policies from them. It’s known as a multi-policy discount. This can amount to ten percent or more. Even though this discount sounds good, it’s always a smart idea to compare rates to ensure the best deal.There is a chance you can save more without the discount by buying from different companies
  • Gender matters – Over the last 50 years, statistics have shown women are more cautious behind the wheel. However, don’t assume that females are better at driving than males. Women and men cause accidents in similar percentages, but men get into accidents with more damage. Men also statistically receive more costly citations like reckless driving and DUI. Male teenagers have the highest risk to insure and thus pay the highest rates.
  • Costs can change based on your address – Choosing to live in areas with lower population is a positive aspect when shopping for auto insurance. Residents of big cities have much more traffic and higher rates of accident claims. Lower population translates into fewer accident claims as well as less vandalism and auto theft.

The auto insurance bait and switch

Consumers can’t get away from all the ads that claim the lowest premium rates from the likes of State Farm, Geico and Progressive. All the ads make the point that drivers can save some big amount if you just switch to them.

That’s great but how can every company make almost identical claims? It’s all in the words they use.

Companies have a certain “appetite” for the type of driver that will most likely be profitable. A good example of this type of risk profile should be over the age of 35, has a clean driving record, and does not commute to work. A customer getting a price quote that matches those criteria will get the preferred prices and have a good chance to save some money.

People who do not fit these stringent criteria must pay higher premiums which usually ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. If you pay attention, the ads say “drivers that switch” but not “all drivers who get quotes” save money. That is how insurance companies can confidently make those claims. Because every company is different, it is so important to compare many company’s car insurance rates. Because you never know which company will have the lowest rate quotes.

free Newton MS insurance quote

Summing up your auto insurance search

While you’re price shopping online, you should never buy poor coverage just to save money. There are a lot of situations where an insured dropped physical damage coverage and discovered at claim time that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your objective should be to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.

Budget-friendly auto insurance can be sourced both online in addition to many Newton insurance agents, and you should be comparing both to have the best rate selection. There are still a few companies who may not provide online quoting and many times these smaller providers prefer to sell through independent insurance agencies.

Insureds switch companies for any number of reasons including high rates after DUI convictions, extreme rates for teen drivers, not issuing a premium refund and even delays in responding to claim requests. Whatever your reason, finding a new auto insurance company is pretty simple and you could end up saving a buck or two.

Even more information is located at the Mississippi Insurance Department website. Consumers can file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, discover disciplinary actions, and download brochures.

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