Saving money on Sarasota auto insurance could be slightly frustrating for people who are beginners to online price comparisons. People have so many options that it can turn into a real difficult job to locate the lowest price in Florida.
It’s important to do price comparisons quite often due to the fact that insurance prices tend to go up over time. If you had the best deal last year you may be paying too much now. Forget all the misinformation about auto insurance because you’re about to learn the tricks you need to know to buy cheaper auto insurance.
If you currently have car insurance, you should be able to save some money using these tips. This article will tell you how car insurance quotes work and some tricks to saving. But Florida consumers do need to understand how big insurance companies price online insurance and apply this information to your search.
Double check you’re getting these discounts
Not many people think insurance is cheap, but you might find some hidden discounts that may help make it more affordable. A few discounts will be applied at quote time, but some must be specifically requested before you get the savings.
- Save with a New Car – Buying a new car instead of a used car may earn a small discount since newer vehicles have better safety ratings.
- Braking Control Discount – Vehicles that have anti-lock braking systems have fewer accidents so companies give up to a 10% discount.
- Passenger Safety Discount – Cars that have air bags or automatic seat belts can qualify for discounts of more than 20%.
- Government Employees – Having worked for a branch of the government could qualify for a slight premium decrease with a few auto insurance companies.
- College Student Discount – who live away from home to go to college and won’t have access to an insured vehicle could qualify for this discount.
- Pay Early and Save – By making one initial payment rather than paying in monthly installments you can avoid the installment charge.
- Fewer Miles Equal More Savings – Fewer annual miles could earn slightly better prices than normal.
- Drivers Ed for Students – Require your teen driver to participate in a local driver’s education class in school.
You can save money using discounts, but some of the credits will not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. Despite the appearance that all those discounts means the company will pay you, it doesn’t quite work that way.
Large auto insurance companies and some of their more popular discounts are shown below.
- State Farm has savings for good driver, multiple autos, multiple policy, passive restraint, driver’s education, and student away at school.
- Liberty Mutual policyholders can earn discounts including newly retired, multi-car, good student, new vehicle discount, and newly married.
- American Family offers premium reductions for good student, bundled insurance, defensive driver, accident-free, Steer into Savings, early bird, and TimeAway discount.
- Progressive discounts include online quote discount, good student, homeowner, multi-vehicle, online signing, multi-policy, and continuous coverage.
- Farmers Insurance offers discounts for switch companies, multi-car, mature driver, homeowner, distant student, electronic funds transfer, and good student.
- Auto-Owners Insurance may offer discounts for anti-lock brakes, mature driver, student away at school, multi-policy, and good student.
- SAFECO may include discounts for bundle discounts, teen safe driver, homeowner, accident prevention training, and safe driver.
When getting , it’s a good idea to every prospective company which discounts they offer. Some discounts listed above may not be offered in your state. If you would like to view insurers that provide some of the discounts listed above in Sarasota, click here.
Why smart consumers pay less for insurance in Sarasota
Many different elements are taken into consideration when you get your auto insurance bill. A few of the factors are predictable such as traffic violations, although some other factors are less apparent like your vehicle usage or your vehicle rating. Part of the auto insurance buying process is learning some of the elements that are used to determine the price you pay for auto insurance. If you know what influences your rates, this enables you to make decisions that may reward you with lower premium levels.
The list below includes some of the major factors companies use to determine your prices.
- Multiple policies with one company can save – Lots of insurance companies afford lower prices to clients who buy several policies from them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even though this discount sounds good, you may still want to check prices from other companies to help ensure you have the lowest rates. You may still be able to save even more than the discount even if you have your coverage with different companies
- Don’t buy extra policy coverages you don’t need – There are a ton of additional extra coverages that may not really be needed when buying auto insurance. Things like coverage for rental cars, accident forgiveness, and membership fees could be just wasting money. They may seem good when talking to your agent, but your money might be better spent on other coverage so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
- Why do you need liability coverage? – Liability insurance will afford coverage in the event that you are found to be at fault for personal injury or accident damage. It will provide legal defense coverage which can cost thousands of dollars. Liability insurance is pretty cheap when compared to the cost of physical damage coverage, so do not skimp.
- Cheaper rates after marriage – Having a significant other may earn you lower rates on your auto insurance policy. It may mean you are more mature and it’s proven that drivers who are married file infrequent claims.
Local Sarasota auto insurance agents and auto insurance
A lot of people prefer to go talk to an agent and that is not a bad decision One of the great benefits of comparing rates online is the fact that you can find cheap rate quotes but still work with a licensed agent.
For easy comparison, once you complete this simple form, the quote information is sent to agents in your area who will give competitive quotes for your insurance coverage. You don’t have to leave your computer because prices are sent to your email. You can get cheaper auto insurance rates AND a local agent. If you want to quote rates for a specific company, you just need to search and find their rate quote page and give them your coverage information.
Finding the right company should depend on more than just the bottom line cost. The following questions are important to ask.
- How much can you save by raising your physical damage deductibles?
- Is the agency involved in supporting local community causes?
- Do they see any coverage gaps in your plan?
- Can they give you a list of client referrals?
- Can you choose the body shop in case repairs are needed?
- How are they compensated?
- What companies can they write with?
What type of Sarasota auto insurance agent is right for you?
If you want to buy auto insurance from a good insurance agency, it’s important to understand the different agency structures and how they function. Auto insurance agents in Sarasota are considered either captive or independent agents depending on their company appointments.
Captive Auto Insurance Agents
These agents write business for a single company like Farmers Insurance and State Farm. They generally cannot provide other company’s prices so they have no alternatives for high prices. Captives receive a lot of sales training on the products they sell which can be an advantage. Some insured continue to choose to use a captive agent partially due to loyalty to the company rather than having low rates.
The following are Sarasota captive insurance agencies that can give you price quote information.
- Allstate Insurance – 7638 Lockwood Ridge Rd – Sarasota, FL 34243 – (941) 358-8805
- Farm Bureau Insurance – 7289 Palmer Blvd – Sarasota, FL 34240 – (941) 371-2043
- State Farm Insurance – 2345 Bee Ridge Rd # 7a – Sarasota, FL 34239 – (941) 926-1980
Independent Auto Insurance Agencies
These agents do not work for one specific company and that enables them to quote your coverage with many different companies and find the cheapest auto insurance rates. To transfer your coverage to a different company, the business is moved internally and you stay with the same agent. When comparing auto insurance rates, you will want to contact at a minimum one independent agency to maximize your price options. Most also have access to small mutual carriers who may have lower rates.
Listed below are independent agents in Sarasota that can give you comparison quotes.
- Rick Zandy Insurance – 7365 Merchant Ct # H – Sarasota, FL 34240 – (941) 365-7551
- Mary Widner Agency – 2300 Bee Ridge Rd # 203 – Sarasota, FL 34239 – (941) 927-0077
- Parrish Group Agency LLC – 47 S Palm Ave – Sarasota, FL 34236 – (941) 366-2772
- Chepote Insurance Inc – 1300 Main St – Sarasota, FL 34236 – (941) 366-0100
- Martinez Agency – 2114 Bispham Rd # 5 – Sarasota, FL 34231 – (941) 926-2666
For more Sarasota insurance agents, please visit this directory of Sarasota insurance agencies.
Don’t listen to company ads
Big name companies like Geico, State Farm and Progressive regularly use ads in print and on television. They all seem to seem to make the promise that you can save just by switching your policy. How does every company offer you a better deal? This is how they do it.
All the different companies quote their cheapest rates for the type of customer that earns them a profit. One example of a profitable risk profile may be a married female, has a low-risk occupation, and has great credit. Someone who matches that profile receive the lowest rate quotes and will save when switching.
Consumers who don’t qualify for the requirements may be required to pay a higher premium and ends up with the customer not buying. The wording the ads use say “customers that switch” not “everyone who quotes” save money. This is how companies can truthfully state the savings. This really drives home the point why you should do a quote comparison often. Because without a comparison, you cannot know which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings.
More detailed Florida auto insurance information can be found at the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website. Consumers can view agent and company licensing information, file complaints about a company, and read state legal mandates and laws.
One last thing about your coverage
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, it’s a bad idea to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are many occasions where an insured cut uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret at claim time that they should have had better coverage. The goal is to buy enough coverage at the best price while not skimping on critical coverages.
Consumers switch companies for many reasons like delays in responding to claim requests, lack of trust in their agent, not issuing a premium refund and even policy cancellation. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch choosing a new insurance company can be pretty painless.
Throughout this article, we presented a lot of ways to get a better price on auto insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even discover the lowest priced auto insurance comes from a small mutual company.