I can’t think of anyone who looks forward to buying car insurance, especially when they know they could lower their rates if they shopped around. Multiple auto insurance companies compete for your insurance dollar, so it can be very hard to choose a insurer to get the best price available.
Consumers need to compare prices at least once a year because car insurance rates are variable and change quite frequently. Despite the fact that you may have had the best rate a year ago a different company probably has better prices today. Block out anything you think you know about car insurance because you’re about to learn the best methods to save money, get proper coverage and the best rates.
If you have insurance now or are looking for a new policy, you can use these tips to reduce the price you pay and possibly find even better coverage. Finding affordable coverage in Arthur is not rocket science. North Dakota drivers only need to know the most efficient way to compare price quotes online.
Getting a more affordable price on insurance is a fairly straight forward process. All that’s required is to invest a few minutes comparing rates online from several insurance companies. Comparing prices online can be done by using one of the methods below.
- The single most time-saving way to get the best comparison quotes would be an industry-wide quote request form like this one (opens in new window). This form prevents you from having to do repetitive form submissions to each individual car insurance company. One simple form gets insurance cost estimates direct from many companies.
- A more time consuming way to compare prices is to manually visit each company’s website and complete a new quote form. For instance, we’ll assume you want to see prices from Auto-Owners, Progressive and American Family. To get each rate you have to go to each individual site and enter your policy data, which is why most consumers use the first method.
For a list of links to insurance companies in Arthur, click here.
- The least efficient way to get price estimates is actually driving to insurance agents’ offices. Comparing online rate quotes eliminates the middleman unless you have a complicated situation and need the trained advice of a licensed agent. It is possible to compare online quotes and still use a local agent.
Compare rates however you want, just ensure you’re using nearly identical coverage data for each comparison quote. If you are comparing different values for each quote it’s not possible to determine the best price in Arthur.
Drivers can save with these money-saving discounts
Car insurance is expensive, but there are discounts available that could help you make your next renewal payment. Most are applied when you purchase, but some need to be requested specifically before they will apply.
- Discount for Multiple Policies – If you insure your home and vehicles and insure them both with the same insurance company they may give you a discount of over 10 percent off each policy depending on the company.
- Discount for Passive Restraints – Vehicles equipped with air bags may qualify for discounts of 25 to 30%.
- Anti-lock Brakes – Cars and trucks with ABS and/or traction control are much safer to drive and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
- Resident Student – College-age children who live away from home to go to college and do not have a car can receive lower rates.
- Senior Citizen Discount – Drivers over the age of 55 may qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
- Telematics Devices – Insureds who allow data collection to spy on where and when they drive through the use of a telematics system like Drivewise from Allstate or In-Drive from State Farm could possibly reduce rates if they are good drivers.
As a sidenote, most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire cost. Most only cut specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. Even though it appears you could get a free car insurance policy, nobody gets a free ride.
A few of the larger companies and some of the premium reductions they offer can be read below.
- Travelers includes discounts for hybrid/electric vehicle, driver training, payment discounts, IntelliDrive, student away at school, continuous insurance, and save driver.
- 21st Century has savings for theft prevention, automatic seat belts, driver training, homeowners, student driver, good student, and teen driver.
- State Farm offers premium reductions for good driver, multiple policy, anti-theft, safe vehicle, student away at school, and defensive driving training.
- Geico may have discounts that include military active duty, air bags, anti-lock brakes, membership and employees, five-year accident-free, driver training, and multi-vehicle.
- SAFECO offers discounts including anti-theft, drive less, multi-car, bundle discounts, teen safety rewards, and teen safe driver.
- AAA has discounts for multi-policy, AAA membership discount, good driver, anti-theft, good student, and education and occupation.
Check with every insurance company how you can save money. Depending on the company, some discounts may not be available in Arthur.
Informed drivers can save money
When buying car insurance it’s important to understand some of the factors that are used to determine the rates you pay for car insurance. If you have some idea of what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this enables you to make decisions that will entitle you to lower premium levels.
- Driving citations can increase premiums – Whether or not you get tickets impacts premiums far more than you think. Drivers with clean records pay less for auto insurance than people who have multiple driving citations. Even a single speeding ticket can increase the cost of insurance twenty percent or more. Drivers who get license-revoking tickets such as reckless driving or DUI may be required to maintain a SR-22 with their state motor vehicle department in order to continue driving.
- Where you live factors in – Choosing to live in a rural area is a positive aspect when shopping for auto insurance. Fewer drivers on the road means less chance of accidents and a lower car theft rate. People in densly populated areas tend to have more aggressive driving styles and more severe claims. The longer drive time can result in more accidents.
- Men pay more for insurance – Statistics show that females take fewer risks when driving. That doesn’t necessarily mean that men are worse drivers. Both sexes are responsible for accidents at a similar rate, but men cause more damage. Men also statistically get cited for more serious violations such as DWI and reckless driving. Young men ages 16 to 20 have the highest risk to insure and therefore pay the highest rates.
- Do you know you’re credit history? – Credit history can be a huge factor in determining your rates. So if your credit score can use some improvement, you could save money insuring your vehicle by taking the time to improve your credit score. People that have high credit ratings tend to file fewer claims than drivers with lower credit ratings.
- Raise deductibles and save – Deductibles for physical damage define how much you are willing to pay out-of-pocket if the claim is covered. Physical damage coverage, termed comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, insures against damage to your car. Some examples of covered claims would be colliding with a stationary object, collision with a deer, and having a roll-over accident. The more of the claim you choose to pay out-of-pocket, the lower your rates will be.
Get rate quotes or from insurance agents
Some consumers just want to buy from a local agent and that is recommended in a lot of cases Professional insurance agents can help you build your policy and help file insurance claims. One of the great benefits of getting free rate quotes online is the fact that you can find cheap car insurance quotes and still have a local agent.
After filling out this form (opens in new window), your insurance coverage information is sent to local insurance agents in Arthur who want to provide quotes for your car insurance coverage. It makes it easy because there is no need to search for an agent since price quotes are sent to the email address you provide. If for some reason you want to compare prices from one company in particular, just navigate to their website and fill out the quote form the provide.
Finding the right insurance company requires you to look at more than just the premium amount. Here are some questions you should ask.
- Do the coverages you’re quoting properly cover your vehicle?
- Is the agent CPCU or CIC certified?
- Who are their largest clients?
- Are there any discounts for paying up front?
- How much training do they have in personal risk management?
- How does the company pay claims for a total loss?
If you want to buy car insurance from a reliable insurance agent, there are two types of insurance agents and how they work. Car insurance agents in Arthur can either be captive agents or independent agents. Both types can write car insurance policies, but it’s important to know the difference in the companies they write for because it may have an impact on the kind of agent you use.
Captive Car Insurance Agents
Agents that elect to be captive write business for a single company like State Farm or Allstate. Captive agents are unable to compare rates from other companies so they are skilled at selling on more than just price. Captive agencies are very knowledgeable in insurance sales which helps overcome the inability to quote other rates.
Independent Insurance Agents
Agents of this type are not employed by one company so they can write business with an assortment of companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. If they quote lower rates, the agent simply finds a different carrier and you won’t have to switch agencies. When comparison shopping, you absolutely need to check rates from at least one independent agent so that you can do a thorough price comparison.
If you feel you receive satisfactory answers to any questions you have as well as quotes, you have narrowed it down to an insurance agency that can insure your vehicles.
Even more information can be found at the North Dakota Insurance Department website. North Dakota consumers can read enforcement actions against agents and companies, read industry bulletins, and view agent and company licensing information.
Cheaper car insurance rates are out there
While you’re price shopping online, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many cases where an accident victim reduced physical damage coverage only to find out that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The proper strategy is to find the BEST coverage at a price you can afford, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.
Budget-conscious car insurance can be bought online as well as from insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best rate selection. There are still a few companies who may not have online price quotes and most of the time these small, regional companies prefer to sell through local independent agents.