Scraping up a payment for overpriced car insurance can empty your savings account and make it hard to pay other bills. Shopping your coverage around is a smart way to lower your monthly bill.
Drivers have so many insurers to choose from, and although it’s nice to have a selection, so many choices can make it hard to find the lowest rates.
It is always a good idea to take a look at other company’s rates periodically since insurance rates are usually higher with each renewal. Just because you found the lowest rates six months ago other companies may now be cheaper. Forget all the misinformation about car insurance because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to the best way to get good coverage at a lower rate.
Choosing the best insurance company for you in Deerfield Beach is not that difficult. If you are paying for car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to save some money using these methods. Nevertheless, Florida vehicle owners do need to know how companies determine prices and take advantage of how the system works.
Don’t pay full price with these discounts
Companies offering auto insurance don’t always list all their discounts very well, so the following is a list of both well-publicized and also the lesser-known discounts you could be receiving.
- Multiple Cars – Having all your vehicles on the same car insurance policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
- Senior Citizens – Older drivers may receive reduced rates.
- Defensive Driver – Successfully completing a course teaching defensive driving skills could cut 5% off your bill if your company offers it.
- Paperless Signup – A handful of insurance companies give back up to $50 simply for signing on their website.
- Use Seat Belts – Requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts can save up to 15% off your PIP or medical payments premium.
- Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of making monthly payments you can actually save on your bill.
- Anti-theft Discount – Anti-theft and alarm systems help deter theft and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
Drivers should understand that most credits do not apply to your bottom line cost. Most only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as comp or med pay. So even though they make it sound like adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies don’t profit that way.
For a list of insurance companies with discount car insurance rates in Deerfield Beach, click here to view.
Cheap Deerfield Beach Car Insurance Comparisons
There are several ways of comparing rate quotes and find the best price. The best method to find the cheapest insurance rates involves getting comparison quotes online. It is quite easy and can be accomplished using a couple different methods.
- The single most time-saving way to find the lowest comparison rates is to use a rate comparison form like this one (opens in new window). This form prevents you from having to do repetitive form submissions for every car insurance company. One simple form will get you rate comparisons instantly.
- A different way to shop for car insurance online is spending the time to visit each company website to complete their respective quote request forms. For sake of this example, let’s assume you want rates from Allstate, Esurance and Travelers. To find out each rate you need to take the time to go to each site to enter your coverage information, and that’s why the first method is more popular.
For a handy list of car insurance company links in Deerfield Beach, click here.
- The least recommended method of getting rate comparisons is to spend your day driving to insurance agents’ offices. Buying insurance online has reduced the need for local agents unless you require the trained guidance that only a license agent can provide. It is possible to price shop online but still have the advice of a local agent and we’ll touch on that later.
It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but double check that you are using apples-to-apples coverages for every company. If you are comparing different limits and deductibles on each one it will be very difficult to decipher which rate is best in Deerfield Beach. Just a small difference in coverage limits can mean a large discrepancy in price. And when comparison shopping, obtaining a wide range of quotes helps locate lower pricing.
Many Things Influence your Rates
An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that come into play when calculating your car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates helps enable you to make changes that could result in big savings.
The list below includes a few of the “ingredients” that factor into premiums.
- Males pay more for insurance – Statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. Now that doesn’t mean women are better drivers. Women and men are in accidents at a similar rate, but the men tend to have more serious accidents. Men also statistically get cited for more serious violations like DUI and reckless driving.
- Traffic citations inflate rates – Whether or not you get tickets has a huge affect on how much you pay. Drivers with clean records have lower premiums compared to drivers with tickets. Only having one ticket may increase your cost forty percent or more. Drivers with flagrant tickets like hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions are required to submit a SR-22 or proof of financial responsibility with their state motor vehicle department in order to keep their license.
- Protect your assets with liability insurance – The liability section of your policy provides coverage if ever a jury decides you are liable for damages from an accident. It will provide for a legal defense up to the limits shown on your policy. This coverage is very inexpensive compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so do not cut corners here.
- Small claims can cost you – Companies in Florida generally give better rates to insureds who do not file claims often. If you are a frequent claim filer, you can definitely plan on either higher rates or even cancellation. Your insurance policy is designed for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
- Save money with special equipment – Driving a car that has an advanced theft prevention system can get you a discount on your car insurance. Anti-theft features such as vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems all hinder your vehicle from being stolen.
- Better credit means lower rates – A driver’s credit history is a big factor in your rate calculation. So if your credit rating is not that good, you could potentially save money when insuring your by spending a little time repairing your credit. People with good credit tend to be more responsible than drivers who have lower credit scores.
- Your spouse saves you money – Being married helps lower the price on car insurance. Having a significant other usually means you are more responsible and it’s statistically proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.
What about my local Deerfield Beach agents?
A small number of people just want to visit with an insurance agent and that is just fine! One of the best bonuses of getting online price quotes is the fact that you can find better rates but also keep your business local.
To help locate an agent, after submitting this simple form, the quote information is submitted to participating agents in Deerfield Beach who will compete for your business. You never need to drive around because quoted prices will be sent directly to your email. It doesn’t get any easier! You’ll get the best rates AND an agent nearby.
Choosing a company requires more thought than just the bottom line cost. Ask your prospective agent these questions:
- Are claims handled at the agent’s location?
- Are there any discounts that you might be missing?
- Do they receive special compensation for putting your coverage with one company over another?
- If you have an accident, will your rates go up?
- Who is covered by the car insurance policy?
- Do they have advanced training designations such as CPCU, AAI, AIC, or CIC?
Below is a short list of auto insurance companies in Deerfield Beach that are able to give rate quotes.
Ancora Insurance – 600 S Federal Hwy, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441 – (954) 420-5985
Econo Insurance – 145 E Hillsboro Blvd, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441 – (954) 428-8800
Once you have answers to your satisfaction in addition to an acceptable price estimate, you may have just found a company that is a good match to insure your vehicles.
Shop smart and save
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, make sure you don’t buy less coverage just to save a little money. In many cases, an insured dropped collision coverage and learned later that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your focus should be to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
Cheaper car insurance is attainable from both online companies as well as from independent agents in Deerfield Beach, so compare prices from both to have the best selection. Some insurance providers don’t offer online quoting and these regional insurance providers work with independent agents.
We just covered a lot of ways to compare car insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more quotes you get, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even find the best prices are with some of the smallest insurance companies. Regional companies may cover specific market segments cheaper as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm or Progressive.
More detailed Florida car insurance information is located at the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website. Visitors are able to read state legal mandates and laws, learn about insurance regulations, find a variety of consumer forms, and read industry bulletins.
Also read more on this link for Florida coverage information and this page on QuoteClickInsure.com.