Are you confused by the dozens of car insurance companies in Pelham? You have a lot of company. You have so many choices that it can easily become a ton of work to find the lowest price.
The purpose of this post is to let you in on how to effectively get price quotes and some tips to save money. If you currently have a car insurance policy, you will most likely be able to save some money using this information. New Hampshire drivers just need to know the most efficient way to shop online.
Compare the Market for Car Insurance in Pelham, New Hampshire
There are several ways you can shop for car insurance and some are less labor-intensive and much quicker. You can spend your afternoon talking about coverages with local insurance agents in Pelham, or you can utilize the web to get the quickest rates.
Most of the best insurance companies participate in an industry program that allows shoppers to send in one quote, and each participating company returns a competitive quote. This system prevents you from having to do repetitive form submissions to each individual car insurance company.
To get comparison pricing now click to open in new window.
One minor caviat to using this type of form is you can’t choose which companies to receive prices from. If you would rather choose specific providers to receive pricing from, we put together a list of the cheapest car insurance companies in New Hampshire. View list of New Hampshire insurance companies.
It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just make absolute certain that you use exactly the same deductibles and coverage limits on every quote you get. If you are comparing different deductibles it will be very difficult to determine the best price in Pelham.
Save Money with These Tips
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that go into determining car insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what controls the rates you pay helps enable you to make changes that can help you get lower car insurance prices.
Listed below are a few of the “ingredients” that factor into your rates.
- Protect yourself with liability coverage – Liability insurance is the coverage that protects you in the event that a jury decides you are liable for damages caused by your negligence. Liability provides legal defense up to the limits shown on your policy. Liability is cheap compared to physical damage coverage, so do not skimp.
- Tickets mean higher rates – Careful drivers tend to pay less for car insurance than bad drivers. Even a single citation can boost insurance rates by as much as thirty percent. If you have serious violations such as reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence may find they need to file a SR-22 to the state department of motor vehicles in order to continue driving.
- Being married is a good thing – Being married can actually save you money when buying car insurance. It is viewed as being more mature than a single person and it’s proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.
- Do you need the policy add-ons? – There are many extra bells and whistles that you can get tricked into buying on your car insurance policy. Things like vanishing deductibles, accidental death and term life insurance may be costing you every month. They may seem like a good idea initially, but if they’re wasting money remove them from your policy.
Discounts are basically free money
The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at the time of purchase, but lesser-known reductions have to be inquired about prior to receiving the credit. If you’re not getting every credit possible, you are throwing money away.
- Federal Government Employee – Employees or retirees of the government can save as much as 8% with select insurance companies.
- Club Memberships – Participating in a qualifying organization could qualify you for a break on car insurance.
- Good Student – This discount can earn a discount of 20% or more. The good student discount can last well after school through age 25.
- Homeowners Pay Less – Owning a home in Pelham can help you save on car insurance due to the fact that maintaining a home shows financial diligence.
- Sign Online – Certain companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying a policy and signing up digitally online.
- Save with a New Car – Adding a new car to your policy can save up to 30% because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
Keep in mind that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire cost. Most only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. So even though it sounds like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it just doesn’t work that way. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce the cost of coverage.
To choose companies offering car insurance discounts in New Hampshire, click this link.
When should I talk to an agent?
When buying the best car insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there is no single plan that fits everyone. Everyone’s needs are different.
For example, these questions may help highlight whether or not you would benefit from professional advice.
- When would I need rental car insurance?
- At what point should I drop full coverage?
- How do I file an SR-22 for a DUI in New Hampshire?
- I have good health insurance, so how much medical payments coverage do I need?
- Am I covered if I wreck a rental car?
- How can I get high-risk coverage after a DUI?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, simply complete this short form. It is quick, free and you can get the answers you need.
Can’t I compare rates from local Pelham agents?
A small number of people would prefer to talk to a local agent and that is a personal choice. Educated insurance agents can point out coverage gaps and help in the event of a claim. The biggest benefit of price shopping on the web is you may find the best rates and still have an agent to talk to. Supporting local businesses is important particularly in Pelham.
To help locate an agent, after submitting this quick form, the coverage information is transmitted to insurance agents in Pelham who will return price quotes to get your business. There is no need to even leave your home because quoted prices will be sent straight to your inbox. It doesn’t get any easier!
The difference between Pelham insurance agents
When looking for an insurance agent, there are a couple of types of insurance agents that you can select. Agents are categorized either captive or independent (non-captive). Both types can properly insure your vehicles, but it’s good to learn how they differ since it may influence your agent selection.
Independent Insurance Agents
Independent agencies are not employed by any specific company but instead can place your coverage with multiple insurance companies depending on which coverage is best. To transfer your coverage to a different company, the business is moved internally and you won’t have to switch agencies. When searching for an agent, you should always contact multiple independent agents to ensure the widest selection of prices. Most have the option of insuring with smaller companies who may have lower rates.
The following are independent insurance agencies in Pelham who can help you get price quotes.
- Pelham Insurance Svc Inc – 122 Bridge St # 2 – Pelham, NH 03076 – (603) 635-2434
- Leo Rush Insurance Inc – 25 Old Lawrence Rd – Pelham, NH 03076 – (603) 635-2539
Captive Insurance Agents
These agents can only place business with one company and examples are Allstate, Farmers Insurance, State Farm and AAA. They usually cannot provide prices from multiple companies so they have no alternatives for high prices. Captive agents are trained well on their products and sales techniques which can be an advantage. Some people will only purchase coverage from captives mainly due to high brand loyalty and strong financial ratings.
Deciding on an insurance agent shouldn’t rely on just a cheap price. Ask your prospective agent these questions:
- Do they receive special compensation for putting your coverage with one company over another?
- What insurance companies do they recommend if they are an independent agent?
- Are claims handled at the agent’s location?
- Does the agency provide any after hours assistance?
- Will vehicle repairs be made with aftermarket parts or OEM replacement parts?
After receiving positive feedback to all your questions and an affordable coverage quote, it’s possible that you found a car insurance agent that will properly insure your vehicles.
In the end, you save
Affordable car insurance can be sourced on the web and also from your neighborhood Pelham agents, and you should be comparing both to have the best selection. A few companies may not provide online price quotes and many times these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.
You just learned many ways to get a better price on car insurance. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. You may even discover the lowest rates come from the smaller companies.
Insureds switch companies for a variety of reasons including high prices, poor customer service, questionable increases in premium or lack of trust in their agent. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch finding the right car insurance provider can be pretty painless.
To learn more about car insurance in New Hampshire
Additional car insurance information is available on the New Hampshire Insurance Department website found here. New Hampshire drivers can learn about specific coverages, find out industry alerts, view a list of available companies, and file complaints about a company.
Also read more on Wikipedia and this list of agents in Pelham, NH.