Are you confused by the dozens of auto insurance companies in Marlborough? Many other drivers are as well. Consumers have so many options that it can quickly become more work than you anticipated to find lower rates.
Buying affordable protection in Marlborough is not that difficult. If you have insurance now or are just looking to switch companies, you can follow these tips to get lower rates and possibly find even better coverage. Massachusetts drivers just need to know the proper way to compare price quotes online.
Lower the Price of Insurance with These Tips
It’s important that you understand some of the elements that come into play when calculating the rates you pay for auto insurance. Knowing what controls the rates you pay enables informed choices that may reward you with better auto insurance rates.
- More than one policy can earn a discount – Many insurance companies will give a discount to insureds who buy several policies from them. It’s known as a multi-policy discount. This can amount to 10 percent or more. Even if you’re getting this discount it’s still a good idea to compare rates to confirm you are receiving the best rates possible. You may still find better rates by insuring with multiple companies.
- High credit ratings translate to low rates – Credit score is a large factor in your rate calculation. Drivers who have good credit tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers who have lower credit scores. Therefore, if your credit is low, you could pay less to insure your by improving your rating.
- Women pay lower rates – Statistics have proven that women are safer drivers than men. However, this does not mean women are BETTER drivers than men. They both have accidents at about the same rate, but the men have costlier accidents. Men also statistically get more serious tickets like reckless driving and DUI. Male drivers age 16 to 19 are the most expensive to insure and therefore have the most expensive auto insurance rates.
- Bad driving skills means higher rates – A bad driving record has a big impact on rates. Good drivers receive lower rates than people who have multiple driving citations. Even one moving violation can increase rates by twenty percent. If you have severe violations such as DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions may find they need to submit a SR-22 form to the state department of motor vehicles in order to drive a vehicle legally.
- Adjust deductibles and save – Physical damage coverage, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your car. A few examples of covered claims are colliding with a building, vandalism, and burglary. The deductibles are how much you are willing to pay out-of-pocket in the event of a claim. The more you have to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.
- Big city or small town – Living in less populated areas can save you money when buying auto insurance. Urban drivers have to deal with traffic congestion and much longer commute distances. Fewer drivers means reduced accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft.
Cut your auto insurance rates with discounts
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, buy you may qualify for discounts to reduce the price significantly. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of quoting, but less common discounts must be inquired about prior to receiving the credit. If they aren’t giving you every credit possible, you’re paying more than you need to.
- Drivers Ed for Students – Cut your cost by having your teen driver complete a driver education course if offered at their school.
- Good Student Discount – This discount can get you a discount of up to 25%. The discount lasts up to age 25.
- Senior Citizens – Mature drivers may qualify for a discount up to 10%.
- Theft Prevention Discount – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems help deter theft and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Payment Discounts – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save up to 5%.
- Clubs and Organizations – Participating in a professional or civic organization could qualify you for a break when buying auto insurance.
- Auto/Life Discount – Select insurance companies reward you with a discount if you purchase a life insurance policy as well.
- Defensive Driver – Completing a course teaching defensive driving skills could cut 5% off your bill depending on where you live.
- Discount for New Cars – Putting insurance coverage on a new car can save up to 30% because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
- College Student – Youth drivers living away from home attending college and do not have a car can be insured at a reduced rate.
As a disclaimer on discounts, most discounts do not apply to your bottom line cost. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. So even though it sounds like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any amount of discount will help reduce the amount you have to pay.
To see a list of providers offering auto insurance discounts in Massachusetts, click here.
But I prefer to buy car insurance from an agent
A small number of people prefer to get advice from a local agent and that is OK! Educated insurance agents can help determine the best coverages and help submit paperwork. The biggest benefit of price shopping on the web is the fact that you can find the lowest rates and still have an agent to talk to. Buying from local insurance agencies is definitely important in Marlborough.
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this form (opens in new window), the coverage information is emailed to local insurance agents who will return price quotes for your business. You don’t have to even leave your home due to the fact that quote results will go to your email. How cool is that?!
Captive and independent Marlborough insurance agencies
When researching a reliable agent, there are a couple of types of agencies that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Agents are classified as either captive or independent (non-captive). Both do a good job, but it’s important to know the difference between them because it can influence your selection of an agent.
Independent Agents (or Brokers)
Independent agents are not employed by any specific company but rather can write business with many different companies depending on which coverage is best. To transfer your coverage to a different company, your agent can switch companies without you having to go to a different agency. When comparison shopping, it’s recommended you get quotes from at least one independent agent to ensure the widest selection of prices.Most can insure with lesser-known insurance companies which can be an advantage.
Listed below are Marlborough independent insurance agencies that can give you rate quotes.
- Finnegan Insurance and Employee – 31 Springhill Ave – Marlborough, MA 01752 – (508) 624-8400
- C E Conary Insurance Inc – 207 Main St – Marlborough, MA 01752 – (508) 485-3150
Captive Insurance Agents
This type of agents work for only one company such as State Farm, Allstate and AAA. They generally cannot give you multiple price quotes so keep that in mind. Captive agents are trained well on their company’s products which helps them compete with independent agents. Consumers often buy insurance from these agents mainly due to the prominence of the brand and solid financial strength.
Deciding on an insurance agent requires more thought than just a cheap price. Here are some questions to ask:
- Do they carry Errors and Omissions coverage?
- If you have an accident, will your rates go up?
- If your car is totalled, how to they determine the replacement cost?
- How are claims handled?
- If you are a high risk driver, do they have special markets for your coverage?
Upon receiving acceptable answers to all your questions as well as a affordable price, chances are good that you have found an insurance agency that can insure your vehicles.
The auto insurance bait and switch
Consumers can’t get away from ads for the lowest price auto insurance by Geico, State Farm and Progressive. They all make an identical promise that you’ll save big if you change to their company.
How can each company make the same claim?
Insurance companies can use profiling for the driver that earns them a profit. For instance, a profitable customer could possibly be over the age of 40, has no driving citations, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. Any new insured who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and most likely will cut their rates substantially.
Consumers who do not match these standards will have to pay higher rates which usually ends up with the customer not buying. The ad wording is “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much. That is how companies can state the savings.
Because of the profiling, drivers should get quotes from several different companies. It is impossible to predict which insurance companies will have the lowest rates.
More information about auto insurance
Much more information about auto insurance in Massachusetts can be found on the Massachusetts Division of Insurance website located here. Visitors are able to read consumer alerts, find a variety of consumer forms, learn about specific coverages, and read state legal mandates and laws.
What is YOUR best insurance company?
Discount auto insurance can be purchased from both online companies and with local Marlborough insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both so you have a total pricing picture. A few companies do not offer online quoting and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.
We covered a lot of techniques to save on auto insurance. The key thing to remember is the more rate quotes you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Consumers may even find the biggest savings come from a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising.
People switch companies for many reasons like denial of a claim, being labeled a high risk driver, policy cancellation or even high rates after DUI convictions. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, finding a great new company is easier than you think.