Overwhelmed by the sheer number of car insurance company choices in Plantation? Many other consumers are too. Drivers have so many options that it can turn into a lot of work to find the best price.
Verify you’re getting all your discounts
Car insurance can cost a lot, but you can get discounts to help bring down the price. A few discounts will automatically apply at the time of purchase, but some may not be applied and must be specifically requested before you will receive the discount.
- Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your bill all at once instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save 5% or more.
- Anti-lock Brake Discount – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles are safer to drive and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Paperless Signup – A handful of insurance companies will give a small break simply for signing digitally online.
- Good Student – Getting good grades can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. Earning this discount can benefit you up until you turn 25.
- Discount for New Cars – Adding a new car to your policy is cheaper because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
- Federal Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job could cut as much as 10% off depending on your company.
A little note about advertised discounts, most credits do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. Just because you may think having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, companies don’t profit that way. Any amount of discount will help reduce your overall premium however.
To choose insurers with the best car insurance discounts in Florida, follow this link.
Informed Drivers can Cut Their Rates
Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that play a part in calculating car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with lower car insurance prices.<img class="alignright" style="padding-top:15px" src="https://www.carinsurancediy.com/wp-content/uploads/ci175-17.jpg" alt="Plantation car insurance prices” />
- Higher safety ratings means cheaper insurance – Vehicles with good safety scores tend to have better insurance rates. The safest vehicles protect occupants better and better occupant protection means lower claim amounts and thus lower rates.
- Do you work long hours in a high stress job? – Did you know your job can affect your rates? Careers like judges, executives and financial analysts tend to pay higher average rates attributed to stressful work requirements and long work days. Conversely, jobs such as pilots, engineers and homemakers have the lowest average rates.
- Your credit rating is important – A driver’s credit rating is a big factor in determining your rates. Drivers who have high credit scores tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than those with lower credit scores. If your credit history can use some improvement, you could save money insuring your by improving your credit score.
- How many coverages with the same company – Some insurers will award you with lower prices to people who have multiple policies with them in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even though this discount sounds good, it’s still a good idea to comparison shop to make sure you are getting the best deal. Drivers may still find better rates by buying insurance from more than one company.
- Traffic violations increase rates – Even one ticket can boost insurance rates by twenty percent. Careful drivers have lower premiums compared to drivers with tickets. If you have flagrant violations such as reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence may find they need to submit a SR-22 form with their state DMV in order to keep their license.
- Allowing your policy to lapse raises rates – Having an insurance coverage lapse will be a sure-fire way to increase your car insurance rates. And not only will your rates increase, getting caught without coverage may earn you a steep fine or even jail time.Then you may be required to submit proof of financial responsibility or a SR-22 with the Florida department of motor vehicles.
Don’t believe everything you hear
Car insurance companies such as Progressive, Allstate and Geico constantly bombard you with ads on TV and radio. They all seem to make the same claim of big savings if you switch your coverage to them. How do they all make the same claim?
All companies can use profiling for the type of driver they prefer to insure. An example of a desirable insured could be between the ages of 40 and 55, owns a home, and has great credit. Any driver who meets those qualifications gets the lowest rates and most likely will save when they switch companies.
Drivers who don’t measure up to this ideal profile will have to pay higher rates which usually ends up with business not being written. The ads state “people who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that kind of money. That’s the way companies can truthfully make the claims of big savings.
Because of the profiling, it’s extremely important to get as many comparisons as possible. You cannot predict the company that will fit your personal profile best.
Additional Florida car insurance resources
Much more information about car insurance in Florida can be found on the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website located here. Florida drivers can file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, read state legal mandates and laws, view agent and company licensing information, and report car insurance fraud.
What is YOUR best insurance company?
Consumers who switch companies do it for a variety of reasons including an unsatisfactory settlement offer, high prices, extreme rates for teen drivers or even unfair underwriting practices. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, switching companies can be pretty painless.
As you prepare to switch companies, don’t be tempted to reduce needed coverages to save money. There have been many situations where consumers will sacrifice uninsured motorist or liability limits only to discover later that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. The aim is to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
Throughout this article, we presented a lot of information how to compare car insurance prices online. It’s most important to understand that the more times you quote, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. You may even find the best prices are with a smaller regional carrier.