Think you have an expensive auto insurance policy? It’s quite common and you’re not alone. Many insurers vie for your hard-earned dollar, and because of this it can be hard to compare auto insurance companies to get the lowest rate possible.
If you have a policy now or are looking for a new policy, you can follow these tips to reduce the price you pay and still get good coverage. Finding the best rates in Strasburg is not that difficult. Virginia drivers just need to learn the proper way to get comparison rates online.
Many insurance companies such as Progressive, Allstate and Geico make it easy to get prices direct online. Comparing rates online is quite easy because you just enter the amount of coverage you want as detailed in the form. Upon sending the form, their system requests your driving and credit reports and returns a price quote determined by many factors. This makes it easy to compare insurance prices but having to visit a lot of sites and enter the same data into a form gets old quite quickly. Unfortunately, it is important to have as many quotes as possible if you want to get better prices.
A better way to compare auto insurance pricing uses one simple form that gets price quotes from a bunch of companies at once. It saves time, requires much less work on your part, and makes online price comparison a little more enjoyable. Immediately after submitting the form, it gets priced and you are able to buy any one of the quotes that you receive. If a lower price is quoted, you can click and sign and buy the new coverage. It can be completed in less than 10 minutes and may result in a nice savings.
In order to find out what other companies charge, click here to open in new window and enter your information. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you complete the form with deductibles and limits identical to your current policy. This helps ensure you’re receiving a fair comparison for similar insurance coverage.
Verify you’re receiving every discount
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but you can get discounts that many consumers don’t even know exist. Many discounts should be triggered when you get a quote, but some may not be applied and must be specifically requested before being credited.
- Accident Forgiveness Coverage – This one isn’t a discount, but companies like Geico and Allstate will let one accident slide without raising rates so long as you are claim-free for a particular time prior to the accident.
- Active Service Discounts – Being deployed in the military may qualify for rate reductions.
- Good Student – Getting good grades can get you a discount of up to 25%. The good student discount can last up to age 25.
- Strasburg Homeowners Discount – Just being a homeowner can save a few bucks because maintaining a house demonstrates responsibility.
- Bundle and Save – If you insure your home and vehicles and insure them both with the same insurance company you may earn as much as 10 to 15 percent.
We need to note that most credits do not apply to the entire cost. Some only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. Despite the appearance that you could get a free auto insurance policy, nobody gets a free ride.
To view insurers that offer some of these discounts in Virginia, follow this link.
What impacts Strasburg insurance rates?
Many different elements are part of the calculation when premium rates are determined. Some factors are common sense such as your driving record, although others are not as apparent such as your marital status or how financially stable you are. 
- Job stress can affect rates – Did you know that where you work can have an impact on rates? Occupations such as lawyers, social workers and emergency personnel are shown to have higher rates than the rest of us because of stressful work requirements and lengthy work days. On the other hand, jobs like farmers, athletes and homemakers generally pay rates lower than average.
- Bad drivers pay high costs – Drivers with clean records pay lower auto insurance prices than bad drivers. Just one driving citation may cause rates to rise to the point where it’s not affordable. Drivers unfortunate enough to have careless violations like reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence may find that they have to to maintain a SR-22 with the DMV in their state in order to prevent a license revocation.
- Cheaper rates by bundling – Lots of insurance companies allow better rates to people who have multiple policies with them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. The amount of the discounts can be as much as ten percent or more Even if you already get this discount, drivers will still want to compare other insurance prices to ensure the best deal. You may still find lower rates by buying auto insurance from a different company.
- Alarms and GPS tracking lower prices – Buying a car that has an advanced theft prevention system can get you a discount on your auto insurance. Theft prevention features like OnStar, LoJack tracking, and tamper alarms can thwart car theft.
You may need help from an insurance agency
Some consumers just want to go talk to an agent and there is nothing wrong with that. Good insurance agents can help you build your policy and help you file claims. One of the great benefits of comparing rate quotes online is the fact that you can find the lowest rates but still work with a licensed agent.
To find an agent, once you fill out this quick form, your insurance data gets sent to local insurance agents in Strasburg that give free quotes to get your business. It makes it easy because there is no need to contact any agents due to the fact that quote results will go instantly to you. If you want to get a comparison quote from a particular provider, don’t hesitate to go to their quote page to submit a rate quote request.
Choosing the best insurer requires more thought than just a cheap quote. Below are some questions you should ask.
- If you have an accident, are you able to get your vehicle repaired at the shop of your choice?
- What will you get paid if your car is a total loss? How is that amount determined?
- What is the financial rating for the quoted company?
- How long have they been in business?
- Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?
- Will the agent or a CSR service your policy?
- Do they offer accident forgiveness?
- Which insurance company do they prefer to write with?
If you want to use a local Strasburg insurance agent, it’s important to understand the different agency structures and how they differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Insurance agencies in Strasburg can either be independent agents or captive agents depending on their employer. Both write policy coverage, but it’s a good idea to understand how they are different since it can impact which type of agent you select.
Captive Auto Insurance Agencies
Agents in the captive channel work for only one company and some examples include Allstate, State Farm and Farmers Insurance. Captive agencies are unable to provide other company’s prices so if the price isn’t competitive there isn’t much they can do. Captive agencies are very knowledgeable on their company’s products and that can be a competitive advantage.
Independent Agents
Agents that elect to be independent are not locked into one company and that gives them the ability to insure with many different companies and find the cheapest rate. If prices rise, your agent can just switch to a different company and you stay with the same agent. When comparing auto insurance prices, you will definitely want to get some free quotes from a few independent agents to get the most accurate price comparison.
Listed below are independent agents in Strasburg willing to provide rate quotes.
Crawford Insurance – 257 E King St # 1 – Strasburg, VA 22657 – (540) 465-3772
Stover Insurance Inc – 157 N Holliday St – Strasburg, VA 22657 – (540) 465-5103
To view additional auto insurance agents in Strasburg, visit this full listing of auto insurance agents in Strasburg, VA.
Once you have good feedback to any questions you have as well as a affordable price, you have narrowed it down to an insurance agent that is reliable enough to properly insure your vehicles.
Additional detailed information is located at the Virginia Bureau of Insurance website. Visitors are able to download brochures, view agent and company licensing information, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, and read consumer alerts.
Also read more on BankRate.com’s Car Insurance: When not to Skimp and CarInsuranceDIY.com.
Keep this in mind
As you shop your coverage around, don’t be tempted to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are a lot of situations where someone sacrificed full coverage and learned later that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your goal should be to purchase plenty of coverage at a price you can afford, but do not sacrifice coverage to save money.
Discount auto insurance is attainable from both online companies and from local insurance agents, and you should be comparing both to have the best rate selection. Some auto insurance companies don’t offer online quoting and many times these small, regional companies sell through independent agencies.