Are you tired of trying to scrape together enough money to pay your car insurance bill each month? You are in the same boat as many other consumers in Oklahoma. You have multiple insurers to pick from, and although it’s a good thing to have multiple companies, it can be more difficult to compare company pricing.
It’s a great practice to check car insurance prices on a regular basis because insurance rates tend to go up over time. Just because you found the best rate a few years ago you may be paying too much now. You can search a lot of car insurance on the web, but we’re going to give you some great ideas on how to buy car insurance cheaper.
Shopping for lower car insurance rates can be exhausting if you aren’t aware of the most efficient way. You can spend countless hours talking to agents in Piedmont, or you can utilize online quoting to quickly compare rates.
Most car insurance companies enroll in a system where prospective buyers submit their information once, and at least one company can give them a price. This saves time by eliminating quote requests to every company.
To compare pricing click here (opens in new window).
The one downside to getting quotes like this is you are unable to specify which companies to receive prices from. If you would rather choose from a list of companies for rate comparison, we put together a list of the cheapest car insurance companies in Oklahoma. Click here for list of insurance companies in Oklahoma.
Whichever way you use, make darn sure you compare the exact same coverage data with each company. If you enter different deductibles you can’t possibly make an equal comparison in Piedmont. Even a minor difference in coverages could throw off the whole comparison. And when comparison shopping, comparing a large number of companies will improve the odds of getting a lower rate. Some regional insurers cannot provide prices over the internet, so it’s necessary to compare rates from those companies as well.
Can you really save if you switch?
Well-known car insurance companies like Geico, State Farm and Progressive consistently run ads on TV and radio. They all seem to advertise claims of big savings if you get a free and switch your policy. That’s great but how can every company charge you less for auto insurance? It’s all in the numbers.
Different companies quote the lowest rates for the right customer that earns them a profit. For instance, a desirable risk might have to be a married female, has few claims, and chooses high deductibles. Any new insured who matches that profile will get very good Piedmont premium rates and will most likely cut their rates substantially.
People who are not a match for these stringent criteria may be forced to pay a more expensive rate which usually ends up with the customer buying from a different company. If you listen closely, the ads state “people that switch” not “everyone who quotes” save that much when switching. This is how insurance companies can make claims like that.
Because every company is different, you really should do a price quote comparison at every renewal. It’s just not possible to know which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings.
Discounts for cheaper car insurance rates
Car insurance is neither fun to buy or cheap, but discounts can save money and there are some available that you may not know about. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at quote time, but a few need to be specially asked for before you get the savings.
- Discounts for Multiple Vehicles – Buying coverage for multiple cars or trucks on a single policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
- Discounts for Safe Drivers – Drivers without accidents can save up to 40% or more on their than less cautious drivers.
- College Student – Kids who are attending college and don’t have a car can be insured at a reduced rate.
- Payment Discounts – By paying your policy upfront rather than paying monthly you may have a lower total premium amount.
- Discount for Passive Restraints – Vehicles with factory air bags or automatic seat belts can qualify for discounts of 20 to 30 percent.
- Accident Waiver – Not a discount per se, but a handful of insurance companies may permit one accident before they charge you more for coverage as long as you don’t have any claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
Discounts save money, but please remember that most discounts do not apply the the whole policy. Most only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though the math looks like you can get free auto insurance, car insurance companies aren’t that generous.
A few of the larger companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts are included below.
- Farm Bureau offers discounts for multi-vehicle, safe driver, driver training, 55 and retired, and good student.
- MetLife policyholders can earn discounts including accident-free, good driver, claim-free, good student, and defensive driver.
- Progressive has savings for online quote discount, continuous coverage, good student, multi-policy, and homeowner.
- AAA offers premium reductions for anti-theft, multi-car, multi-policy, AAA membership discount, and good student.
- American Family has discounts for air bags, Steer into Savings, TimeAway discount, bundled insurance, defensive driver, multi-vehicle, and early bird.
- Geico may have discounts that include military active duty, federal employee, seat belt use, emergency military deployment, multi-vehicle, and good student.
- State Farm discounts include Drive Safe & Save, safe vehicle, defensive driving training, student away at school, multiple policy, and Steer Clear safe driver discount.
When getting a coverage quote, ask every prospective company which discounts you qualify for. Savings may not apply in your area. If you would like to choose from a list of car insurance companies who offer car insurance discounts in Oklahoma, follow this link.
You may need specialized car insurance coverage
When choosing proper insurance coverage for your vehicles, there isn’t really a single plan that fits everyone. Everyone’s needs are different so this has to be addressed. These are some specific questions may help highlight whether your personal situation would benefit from professional advice.
- Is my vehicle covered for smoke damage?
- How high should my uninsured/underinsured coverage be in Oklahoma?
- Should I file a claim if it’s only slightly more than my deductible?
- Can I afford to buy a different vehicle if my vehicle is totaled?
- What are Oklahoma no-fault laws?
- Am I covered when using my vehicle for business?
- Does my policy cover me when driving someone else’s vehicle?
- Can I rate high risk drivers on liability-only vehicles?
- Can I afford to pay high deductible claims out of pocket?
- Will my rates increase for filing one claim?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but you know they apply to you then you might want to talk to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, take a second and complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
Additional information can be found on the Oklahoma Insurance Department website found here. Oklahoma consumers can report car insurance fraud, find out industry alerts, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.
Additional helpful sites include BankRate.com’s Car Insurance: When not to Skimp and this link which helps you find a Piedmont agent.
In Summary
When you , it’s very important that you do not skimp on coverage in order to save money. In too many instances, drivers have reduced collision coverage only to discover later they didn’t purchase enough coverage. Your goal is to buy a smart amount of coverage at the best price, but do not sacrifice coverage to save money.
We covered some good ideas how to reduce car insurance rates online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. Consumers could even find that the lowest rates are with a smaller regional carrier. These smaller insurers may cover specific market segments cheaper than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm or Progressive.
Lower-priced car insurance is available from both online companies and also from your neighborhood Piedmont agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. Some insurance providers don’t offer price quotes online and most of the time these smaller companies only sell coverage through independent insurance agents.