Do you get overwhelmed by the number of auto insurance companies that you can choose from? Many other drivers are as well. Vehicle owners have such a large number of options that it can be a real challenge to compare auto insurance rates. Fairburn is a great city to raise a family in, but expensive auto insurance can make it nearly impossible for many drivers to be able to buy decent coverage.
It’s smart to take a look at other company’s rates once or twice a year because insurance prices fluctuate regularly. Even if you think you had the best rate six months ago you can probably find a better premium rate now. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because it’s time to teach you one of the easiest ways to reduce your cost while increasing coverage.
If you are insured now or are shopping for new coverage, you can follow these tips to cut your premiums and possibly find even better coverage. The purpose of this post is to instruct you on the best way to quote coverages and some tips to save money. Georgia drivers only need to know how to shop their coverage around online.
Auto insurance companies offer lots of discounts
Some insurers do not advertise every available discount in an easy-to-find place, so here is a list some of the more common in addition to some of the lesser obvious auto insurance savings.
- Senior Discount – Seniors are able to get a small decrease in premiums.
- Own a Home – Simply owning a home can get you a discount due to the fact that maintaining a home requires personal responsibility.
- Switch and Save Discount – A few insurance companies give discounts for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiration. You can save around 10% with this discount.
- Discounts for Government Workers – Active or former government employment can earn a discount up to 10% with certain companies.
- Theft Deterent Discount – Cars, trucks, and SUVs with anti-theft systems are stolen with less frequency so companies will give you a small discount.
- Multiple Vehicles – Buying coverage for more than one vehicle on one policy can get a discount for every vehicle.
- Active Military Service – Having an actively deployed family member may qualify for rate reductions.
- Anti-lock Brake Discount – Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control can stop better under adverse conditions and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Student Discounts – Getting good grades can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. The good student discount can last up until you turn 25.
- Multiple Policy Discount – If you can bundle your homeowners and auto insurance and insure them with the same company you may earn at least 10 to 15 percent or more.
Discounts save money, but please remember that many deductions do not apply to the entire policy premium. Some only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as medical payments or collision. Even though it may seem like all the discounts add up to a free policy, insurance companies wouldn’t stay in business. But any discount will lower the amount you have to pay.
Popular auto insurance companies and some of their more popular discounts are included below.
- Progressive policyholders can earn discounts including homeowner, continuous coverage, online signing, multi-vehicle, good student, and multi-policy.
- Farmers Insurance has discounts for early shopping, business and professional, teen driver, switch companies, alternative fuel, and youthful driver.
- Farm Bureau has savings for multi-vehicle, multi-policy, 55 and retired, driver training, renewal discount, and good student.
- State Farm offers premium reductions for Steer Clear safe driver discount, defensive driving training, Drive Safe & Save, multiple policy, accident-free, good driver, and multiple autos.
- Geico may offer discounts for seat belt use, multi-vehicle, defensive driver, emergency military deployment, five-year accident-free, and federal employee.
- SAFECO includes discounts for teen safe driver, accident prevention training, bundle discounts, homeowner, anti-lock brakes, drive less, and multi-car.
- Liberty Mutual may include discounts for safety features, hybrid vehicle, good student, preferred payment discount, new graduate, exclusive group savings, and multi-policy.
It’s a good idea to ask every company to apply every possible discount. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts may not apply to policyholders in your state. For a list of companies with discount auto insurance rates in Fairburn, click this link.
There are a lot of ways to shop for auto insurance, but there is one way that is more efficient than others. You could spend your day talking about coverages with insurance companies in Fairburn, or you could save time and use online quotes to get pricing more quickly.
Most major companies participate in a marketplace that allows shoppers to enter their policy data once, and each participating company then returns a price quote. This saves time by eliminating quote requests for each company.
To find out what other companies charge click to open in new window.
The only downside to using this type of form is you don’t know exactly which insurance companies to get pricing from. So if you prefer to pick from a list of companies to receive pricing from, we put together a list of companies who write auto insurance in Georgia. View list of Georgia insurance companies.
It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but make sure you are using identical coverages and limits for every quote you compare. If you compare higher or lower deductibles it will be impossible to determine the best price in Fairburn.
Why smart buyers get cheaper prices in Fairburn
Part of the auto insurance buying process is learning a few of the rating criteria that aid in calculating the price you pay for auto insurance. When you know what positively or negatively determines premiums, this empowers consumers to make smart changes that will entitle you to cheaper rates.
Listed below are some of the major factors used by insurance companies to determine your premiums.
- Know your vehicle’s crash test rating – Vehicles with good safety scores tend to be cheaper to insure. The safest vehicles reduce occupant injuries and any reduction in injury severity translates into savings for insurance companies and more competitive rates for policyholders. If your vehicle is rated at least four stars on Safercar.gov or an “acceptable” rating on iihs.org you may be receiving a better rate.
- Drivers with excellent credit save – Having a bad credit rating can be a huge factor in calculating your premium rate. Consumers who have high credit ratings tend to file fewer claims than drivers who have poor credit scores. Therefore, if your credit history leaves room for improvement, you could pay less to insure your vehicle if you improve your credit rating.
- Save money with GPS tracking and theft deterrents – Choosing to buy a car with a theft deterrent system can save you some money. Theft prevention features such as OnStar found on GM vehicles, advanced tracking like LoJack, and vehicle immobilization systems help track and prevent car theft.
- Incidental coverages may be wasting money – Insurance companies have many add-on coverages you can purchase if you don’t pay attention. Insurance for things like vanishing deductibles, high-cost glass coverage, and additional equipment coverage may be wasting your money. They may seem good when discussing your needs, but your money might be better spent on other coverage so get rid of them and save.
- Teen drivers are expensive to insure – Older people are more responsible, tend to cause fewer accidents , and are generally more financially stable.Teen drivers tend to be inattentive and easily distracted with other occupants in the car so auto insurance rates are higher.
Do I just need basic coverages?
When buying coverage, there really is not a “best” method to buy coverage. Each situation is unique.
Here are some questions about coverages that can aid in determining whether you will benefit from professional help.
- What is high-risk coverage and where do I buy it?
- What can I do if my company won’t pay a claim?
- Exactly who is provided coverage by my policy?
- Can my teen driver be rated on a liability-only vehicle?
- Am I covered by my employer’s commercial auto policy when driving my personal car for business?
- Do I have coverage when using my vehicle for my home business?
- Should I buy additional glass protection?
- Is borrowed equipment or tools covered if stolen or damaged?
If you can’t answer these questions, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, complete this form. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and you can get the answers you need.
Truth in auto insurance advertising
Consumers can’t avoid all the ads for the lowest price auto insurance from companies such as State Farm, Geico and Progressive. They all tend to make the same promise that people will save if you change your policy.
How does every company give you a better price? Just pay attention to how they say it.
All companies have specific guidelines for the right customer that earns them a profit. One example of a preferred risk could be between 30 and 50, owns a home, and has great credit. Any person who matches that profile will most likely get cheap premium rates and as a result will probably save a lot of money.
Potential insureds who fall short of the ideal profile may be required to pay a higher rate which usually ends up with the prospect going elsewhere. The wording the ads use say “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that kind of money. That’s the way companies can lure you into getting a quote. Because every company is different, you need to do a quote comparison often. It’s just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will have the lowest rates.
Quote more, save more
Some companies do not provide internet price quotes and most of the time these regional carriers work with independent agencies. Affordable auto insurance is possible from both online companies and from local agencies, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best rate selection.
Throughout this article, we presented many ways to get a better price on auto insurance. The key concept to understand is the more companies you get prices for, the better your chances of lowering your prices. You may be surprised to find that the best price on auto insurance is with a small mutual company.
As you , never buy poor coverage just to save money. In too many instances, an accident victim reduced collision coverage to discover at claim time that it was a big error on their part. Your aim should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the lowest possible cost, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.
For more reading
Additional detailed information can be found at the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner website. Georgia consumers can download brochures, view agent and company licensing information, find out which companies have the most complaints, and file complaints about an insurance agent or broker.