Purchasing the cheapest Sioux Falls car insurance on the web can be challenging for beginners to price shopping online. With dozens of insurers to choose from, how can you effectively compare them all to find the lowest price available?
Discounts are basically free money
The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, but there are discounts available that you may not even be aware of. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of purchase, but a few must be asked for before being credited.
- E-sign – Some insurance companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks simply for signing on their website.
- Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems may earn rate discounts up to 30%.
- Federal Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job can earn a discount up to 10% with select insurance companies.
- Theft Prevention System – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems are stolen less frequently and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
- Multiple Cars – Buying insurance for all your vehicles on one policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
- Safe Driver Discount – Drivers who don’t get into accidents may receive a discount up to 45% less than less cautious drivers.
- Distant Student – Any of your kids living away from home attending college and do not have access to a covered vehicle may be able to be covered for less.
- Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to use their safety belts could cut 10% or more on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
As a disclaimer on discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire cost. Most only reduce individual premiums such as comp or med pay. Just because it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, you won’t be that lucky. But any discount will reduce the cost of coverage.
To choose insurers offering car insurance discounts in Sioux Falls, click this link.
Free Sioux Falls Car Insurance Quotes
There are several ways to compare car insurance prices but one way is more efficient than others. You can spend countless hours discussing policy coverages with insurance agencies in Sioux Falls, or you could use online quoting to get rates in a matter of minutes.
Many popular insurance companies take part in a program where prospective buyers send in one quote, and each company provides a quote based on that information. This saves time by eliminating quote forms to each company. To access this free quoting program, click here (opens in new window).
The one downside to using this type of form is buyers cannot specifically choose the insurers you want to price. So if you prefer to choose specific insurance companies to request quotes from, we have assembled a list of the cheapest car insurance companies in South Dakota. Click here for list of insurance companies in South Dakota.
It’s up to you how you get prices quotes, just make sure you use apples-to-apples coverages with each company. If you use mixed coverages it will be next to impossible to make a fair comparison in Sioux Falls. Slightly different limits can mean a large discrepancy in price. It’s important to know that getting more free quotes helps locate better pricing.
Save Money with These Tips
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that play a part in calculating the rates you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively influences your rates allows you to make educated decisions that can help you get better car insurance rates.
Shown below are a few of the “ingredients” companies use to determine your rates.
- Where you live is a factor – Being located in small towns and rural areas can be a good thing when buying car insurance. Drivers in populated areas regularly have much more traffic and longer commute times. Fewer people translates into fewer accidents and also fewer theft and vandalism claims.
- How’s your driving record? – Whether or not you get tickets has a lot to do with how much you pay for insurance. Only having one moving violation may increase your cost by twenty percent. Drivers with clean records have lower premiums than people who have multiple driving citations. Drivers with severe tickets like hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions are required to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) with their state DMV in order to drive a vehicle legally.
- Never allow your policy to lapse – Driving your car without having proper coverage is against the law and your next policy will cost more because you let your coverage have a gap. And not only will insurance be more expensive, but not being able to provide proof of insurance will get you a license revocation or jail time.
- Don’t skimp on liability – Your policy’s liability coverage will protect you if you are found liable for damages from an accident. Liability provides legal defense coverage up to the limits shown on your policy. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap as compared to coverage for physical damage, so do not cut corners here.
- Better credit scores mean better rates – Having a bad credit score is a big factor in calculating your car insurance rates. So if your credit is lower than you’d like, you could be paying less to insure your by improving your rating. Consumers who have good credit tend to be less risk to insure than drivers who have poor credit.
- Optional equipment can affect rates – Driving a car with an alarm system can help lower your rates. Anti-theft features like LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM’s OnStar system all hinder auto theft.
- Marriage brings a discount – Getting married helps lower the price when buying car insurance. Having a spouse is viewed as being more mature than a single person it has been statistically shown that married couples file fewer claims.
- Don’t get talked into coverage you don’t need – There are quite a few add-on coverages that can waste your money if you aren’t careful. Coverages for roadside assistance, accident forgiveness and additional equipment coverage may be costing you every month. They may seem good at first, but now you might not need them so eliminate them to save money.
But don’t I need an insurance agent?
Some consumers would prefer to talk to a local agent and that is just fine! One of the great benefits of comparing insurance prices online is that you can obtain better rates but also keep your business local. Supporting local businesses is definitely important in Sioux Falls.
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this short form, your coverage information is sent to agents in your area who will give you bids for your insurance coverage. There is no reason to leave your computer because quoted prices will be sent straight to your inbox. How cool is that?! It’s the lowest rates without the usual hassles of price shopping.
The difference between Sioux Falls auto insurance agents
When looking for a reputable insurance agent or broker, there are a couple of types of agencies from which to choose. Agencies in Sioux Falls are classified as either captive or independent (non-captive).
Independent Agents (or Brokers)
Independent agencies are not employed by any specific company but instead can place your coverage amongst many companies and potentially find a lower price. To transfer your coverage to a different company, an independent agent can move your coverage and that require little work on your part. When shopping rates, it’s recommended you include several independent insurance agents for maximum quote selection. Many write coverage with smaller companies which can save you money.
Shown below are Sioux Falls independent insurance agencies that are able to give rate quotes.
- Combined Insurance Co – 2200 W 49th St # 103 – Sioux Falls, SD 57105 – (605) 338-5762
- Ron Dahl Agency – 3700 S Westport Ave – Sioux Falls, SD 57106 – (605) 333-9312
- Ray Parker Insurance – 227 S Prairie Ave – Sioux Falls, SD 57104 – (605) 336-2844
- Concorde General Agency – 315 S Phillips Ave – Sioux Falls, SD 57104 – (605) 332-5404
- Don Lee Agency – 3710 S Westport Ave # A – Sioux Falls, SD 57106 – (605) 361-1963
Captive Insurance Agents
This type of agents work for only one company like Liberty Mutual, State Farm, Allstate and AAA. They generally cannot place coverage with different providers so they have no alternatives for high prices. Captive agencies are well schooled in insurance sales which helps them compete with independent agents. Consumers sometimes purchase coverage from captives mostly because of the prominence of the brand and strong financial ratings.
Shown below is a list of captive agents in Sioux Falls who can help you get price quotes.
- American Family Insurance – 2302 E 10th St – Sioux Falls, SD 57103 – (605) 335-3050
- Farm Bureau Insurance – 4320 S Louise Ave # 105 – Sioux Falls, SD 57106 – (605) 361-7621
- Allstate Insurance – 3600 S Westport Ave # 200 – Sioux Falls, SD 57106 – (605) 361-5450
- Farmers Insurance Group – 100 S Spring Ave # 280 – Sioux Falls, SD 57104 – (605) 275-3935
- State Farm Insurance – 3015 E 10th St – Sioux Falls, SD 57103 – (605) 332-7857
To view a complete directory of Sioux Falls captive agencies, view this link.
Selecting an insurance agent should depend on more than just a low price. Any agent should be forthright in answering these questions:
- Do they specialize in personal lines coverage?
- Do they assist clients in filing claims?
- How many years of experience in personal lines insurance coverages do they have?
- Are they full-time agents?
- What will you get paid if your car is a total loss? How is that amount determined?
Upon getting answers to your satisfaction for all questions you ask in addition to an acceptable price estimate, most likely you have located a car insurance agent that will properly insure your vehicles.
Final considerations
Throughout this article, we presented quite a bit of information on how to lower your car insurance rates. It’s most important to understand that the more rate quotes you have, the better your comparison will be. You may even find the lowest priced car insurance comes from the smaller companies.
Cost effective car insurance can be found on the web as well as from independent agents in Sioux Falls, and you need to price shop both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance providers don’t offer online price quotes and usually these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.
As you shop your coverage around, it’s very important that you do not sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are a lot of situations where an insured dropped uninsured motorist or liability limits and found out when filing a claim that it was a big error on their part. Your goal should be to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.
More information can be found on the South Dakota Division of Insurance website found here. South Dakota drivers can get help finding coverage, discover disciplinary actions, find disaster information, and find out which companies have the most complaints.