Paying for high-priced car insurance can overdraw your checking account, especially in this economy. Comparing price quotes is a smart way to cut your insurance bill.
Many insurance companies vie for your business, and because of this it can be hard to compare insurance companies to find the lowest rate
Don’t overlook these discounts
The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but companies offer discounts to reduce the price significantly. A few discounts will automatically apply when you complete an application, but lesser-known reductions have to be requested specifically prior to receiving the credit.
- Military Rewards – Having a family member in the military may qualify for rate reductions.
- Use Seat Belts – Drivers who require all occupants to use a seat belt could save 15% off your PIP or medical payments premium.
- Passive Restraint Discount – Cars that have air bags can receive discounts of more than 20%.
- Own a Home – Owning a home in Petersburg may trigger a car insurance policy discount because maintaining a house requires personal responsibility.
- Driver Safety – Taking part in a course teaching defensive driving skills can save you 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Low mileage vehicles can qualify you for better rates on cars that stay parked.
- Federal Government Employee – Active or retired federal employment could cut as much as 10% off with certain companies.
- Life Insurance Discount – Larger companies have lower rates if you buy life insurance.
It’s important to note that some credits don’t apply to your bottom line cost. Most only cut the price of certain insurance coverages like medical payments or collision. So when the math indicates all those discounts means the company will pay you, companies wouldn’t make money that way. But any discount will reduce your overall premium however.
To see a list of providers with discount car insurance rates in Petersburg, follow this link.
Finding Car Insurance Deals in Petersburg, Virginia
Most major insurance companies give price estimates directly from their websites. Obtaining pricing is pretty easy as you simply enter your required coverages into a form. When complete, the company’s rating system will obtain reports for credit and driving violations and gives you a price quote based on these and other factors. Quoting online helps simplify price comparisons, but having to visit each company’s website and repetitively fill out multiple forms gets old quite quickly. But it’s absolutely necessary to get many rate quotes if you are searching for a better rate.
The easy way to compare rates
The smarter way to lower your rates is to use a quote form to get prices from several companies at one time. It saves time, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes price shopping online much more enjoyable and efficient. After your information is entered, it gets priced and you are able to buy any one of the quote results.
If the quotes result in lower rates, you simply finish the application and purchase the new policy. The whole process just takes a couple of minutes and can result in significant savings.
If you want to get comparison pricing now, click here and begin entering your coverage information. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you duplicate the limits and deductibles exactly as they are listed on your policy. This way, you will be getting a fair comparison based on similar coverages.
Smart Consumers Save More
An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that come into play when calculating car insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what controls the rates you pay enables informed choices that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.
- More than one policy can earn a discount – Some companies provide better rates to people who consolidate policies with them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even with this discount, you may still want to compare other company rates to make sure you are getting the best deal. Drivers may still find better rates by splitting coverages up.
- Where you live can impact rates – Residing in less populated areas has it’s advantages when buying car insurance. Drivers who live in large cities have to deal with congested traffic and longer commutes to work. Lower population means a lower chance of having an accident.
- Increase deductibles and save – Physical damage insurance, also known as collision and other-than-collision, protects your car from damage. Some examples of claims that would be covered are colliding with a building, collision with an animal, or theft. Physical damage deductibles are the amount of money you are willing to pay out-of-pocket before a claim is paid by your company. The more money the insured has to pay upfront, the lower your rates will be.
- Do you need those extra coverages? – There are a ton of add-on coverages that you can get tricked into buying when buying car insurance. Things like rental car reimbursement, accidental death and additional equipment coverage are some examples. These coverages may sound good when talking to your agent, but now you might not need them so remove them from your policy.
- Credit scores impact car insurance rates – A driver’s credit score is a big factor in determining what you pay for car insurance. Drivers with good credit tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than those with lower credit ratings. Therefore, if your credit rating is low, you could pay less to insure your by improving your rating.
Is my situation unique?
When it comes to buying coverage, there really is no one size fits all plan. Everyone’s situation is a little different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. Here are some questions about coverages that may help you determine if you might need an agent’s assistance.
- Can my teen driver be rated on a liability-only vehicle?
- Do I benefit by insuring my home with the same company?
- Is my dog or cat covered if injured in an accident?
- Am I covered if I crash into my own garage door?
- Why am I required to buy high-risk coverage?
- Does coverage extend to a rental car in a foreign country?
- Is business property covered if stolen from my car?
- What happens if I owe more than my vehicle is worth?
- Do I have coverage for damage caused while driving under the influence?
- Is a new car covered when I drive it off the dealer lot?
If you’re not sure about those questions, you may need to chat with a licensed insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.
Buyer beware of car insurance advertising tricks
Companies like Allstate and Progressive consistently run ads on television and other media. All the ads make the same claim of big savings if you change your policy. How do they all say the same thing?
All companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer that is profitable for them. For example, a profitable customer could be between 30 and 50, is a homeowner, and drives newer vehicles. Any new insured that hits that “sweet spot” receives the best rates and therefore will save when switching.
Potential insureds who don’t qualify for the requirements will have to pay a more expensive rate which usually ends up with business not being written. The ad wording is “customers that switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much. That’s why companies can make the claims of big savings.
Because of the profiling, you absolutely need to get a wide range of price quotes. Because you never know which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings.
Quote often and quote early
Throughout this article, we presented many ideas to save on car insurance. It’s most important to understand that the more rate quotes you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may even discover the lowest priced car insurance comes from the least-expected company. Some small companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm or Progressive.
Cheaper car insurance can be sourced both online and also from your neighborhood Petersburg agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. There are still a few companies who may not provide online quoting and many times these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.
Additional information is available on the website for the Virginia Bureau of Insurance found here. Visitors are able to report car insurance fraud, download brochures, and find a variety of consumer forms.