Price shopping your Cayce auto insurance can seem to be challenging for people who are new to shopping for insurance online. You have so many options available that it can turn into a real challenge to find lower rates in Cayce.
Learn How to Lower your Rates
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that help determine your auto insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what influences your rates enables informed choices that could result in lower auto insurance prices.
The following are a few of the “ingredients” auto insurance companies consider when setting premiums.
- High crash test scores lower rates – Cars with high safety ratings are cheaper to insure. Safe vehicles have better occupant injury protection and any reduction in injury severity translates into savings for insurance companies and lower rates for you.
- Tickets mean higher rates – A bad driving record has a big impact on rates. Drivers with clean records get better rates compared to drivers with tickets. Even one speeding ticket may increase your cost by twenty percent. If you have flagrant violations such as hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions may find they need to file a SR-22 with their state motor vehicle department in order to keep their license.
- Liability insurance protects assets – Liability insurance is the coverage that protects you if ever a jury decides you are liable for personal injury or accident damage. It provides legal defense coverage up to the limits shown on your policy. This coverage is very inexpensive compared to physical damage coverage, so do not skimp.
- Women pay lower rates – Statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. Now that doesn’t mean women are better drivers. Both sexes cause accidents in similar numbers, but the males tend to have more serious accidents. They also get cited for more serious violations such as DWI and reckless driving.
- Occupation reflects on rates – Jobs such as real estate brokers, executives and dentists tend to pay the highest average rates in part from high stress levels and long work hours. Other occupations like farmers, historians and retirees have the lowest average rates.
- Rate your vehicle for proper use – The more miles you rack up on your car in a year the higher your rate. The majority of insurers rate vehicles based on their usage. Cars and trucks that are left in the garage receive lower rates compared to those used for work or business. Verify your auto insurance policy shows how each vehicle is driven, because improper ratings can cost you money.
- Save money with special equipment – Driving a car with anti-theft technology or alarm system can save you a little every year. Theft prevention devices like LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM’s OnStar system all hinder auto theft.
Do you qualify for a discount?
Car insurance can cost a lot, buy you may qualify for discounts that many people don’t even know exist. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at quote time, but a few need to be manually applied in order for you to get them.
- Own a Home – Owning a house in Cayce can help you save on auto insurance because of the fact that having a home shows financial diligence.
- Use Seat Belts – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use a seat belt can save 10% or more on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
- Braking Control Discount – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems are safer to drive and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Senior Discount – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you can possibly qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
- Payment Method – By paying your policy upfront instead of making monthly payments you could save up to 5%.
- Multiple Cars – Insuring all your vehicles on the same auto insurance policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
- Defensive Driver – Successfully completing a driver safety course could save 5% or more if you qualify.
- Drive Less and Save – Low mileage vehicles can qualify you for discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
- Student Driver Training – Have your child take driver’s ed class in high school.
- Auto/Home Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles with one company you could get a discount of up to 20% off your total premium.
A little note about advertised discounts, most discounts do not apply to the entire cost. Most cut individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So when it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, you’re out of luck. Any amount of discount will bring down your premiums.
Do drivers who switch really save $479 a year?
Geico, State Farm and Progressive continually stream ads on TV and radio. All the companies say the same thing that you can save after switching your policy. How can each company make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.
All the different companies are able to cherry pick for the right customer they prefer to insure. For instance, a profitable customer could possibly be a mature driver, insures multiple vehicles, and has a high credit rating. A propective insured that hits that “sweet spot” will get the preferred rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.
Potential insureds who are not a match for the requirements must pay a higher premium which leads to business going elsewhere. Company advertisements say “drivers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much. That’s why insurance companies can advertise the way they do.
This illustrates why you absolutely need to get as many quotes as possible. You cannot predict which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.
What coverages do I need?
When it comes to choosing the best auto insurance coverage, there is no perfect coverage plan. Each situation is unique.
Here are some questions about coverages that can help discover whether or not you might need professional guidance.
- Does coverage extend to a rental car in a foreign country?
- Can I get a multi-policy discount for packaging my home and auto coverage?
- What if I total my vehicle and owe more than it’s worth?
- What is covered by UM/UIM coverage?
- Exactly who is provided coverage by my policy?
- Should I sign the liability waiver when renting a car?
If you can’t answer these questions then you might want to talk to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, fill out this quick form.
South Carolina insurance information
More information is located on the South Carolina Department of Insurance website located here. South Carolina consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, get help finding coverage, and learn about specific coverages.
Best coverage at the best price
When shopping online for auto insurance, make sure you don’t buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. Too many times, drivers have reduced physical damage coverage and discovered at claim time that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your focus should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage for the lowest price, not the least amount of coverage.
Lower-priced auto insurance is possible both online as well as from independent agents in Cayce, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. A few companies don’t offer online quoting and these smaller companies work with independent agents.
You just read many ideas to reduce auto insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more times you quote, the higher the chance of saving money. Consumers could even find that the lowest premiums are with an unexpected company.