Finding lower rates for Ottawa car insurance can be challenging for beginners to comparison shopping online. Consumers have so many choices that it can easily become a lot of work to locate the lowest price in Ottawa.
You need to compare prices every six months because rates trend upward over time. Just because you found the best rates two years ago you can probably find a lower rate today. So just forget anything you know (or think you know) about car insurance because it’s time to teach you how to quote online to reduce your cost while increasing coverage.
Pay less by taking advantage of discounts
Companies don’t necessarily list every available discount very well, so we researched both the well known and the more hidden discounts you could be receiving.
- More Vehicles More Savings – Insuring multiple cars or trucks with the same company could earn a price break for each car.
- Sign Early and Save – A few companies offer discounts for buying a policy before your current expiration date. It can save you around 10%.
- Paperless Signup – Certain companies may give you up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up digitally online.
- Life Insurance Discount – Larger companies have lower rates if you buy life insurance from them.
- Braking Control Discount – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles prevent accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Driver’s Ed – Cut your cost by having your teen driver complete a driver education course if it’s offered in school.
- Multiple Policy Discount – If you have multiple policies with the same company you will save at least 10% off all policies.
- College Student – Any of your kids who attend school more than 100 miles from home without a vehicle on campus can receive lower rates.
- Lower Rates for Military – Being on active duty in the military may qualify for rate reductions.
A little note about advertised discounts, some credits don’t apply to the entire policy premium. Some only apply to specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when the math indicates all the discounts add up to a free policy, you’re out of luck.
Do drivers who switch really save?
Car insurance providers like 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm constantly bombard you with ads on television and other media. They all say the same thing about savings if you switch to them. How does each company say the same thing?
All companies have a preferred profile for the type of customer that earns them a profit. A good example of a preferred risk might be profiled as over the age of 40, has no tickets, and has excellent credit. Any new insured that hits that “sweet spot” is entitled to the best price and therefore will save a lot of money.
Potential insureds who do not match this ideal profile will be quoted a higher premium and ends up with business not being written. The ad wording is “customers that switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much money. That’s why insurance companies can advertise the way they do. This emphasizes why drivers should compare many company’s rates. You cannot predict which car insurance company will give you the biggest savings.
More detailed Kansas car insurance information can be found at the Kansas Insurance Department website. Kansas consumers can discover disciplinary actions, find disaster information, download brochures, and read consumer alerts.
More effort can pay off
In this article, we presented many ideas to compare car insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. You may be surprised to find that the lowest rates come from some of the smallest insurance companies.
Consumers switch companies for any number of reasons including not issuing a premium refund, denial of a claim, delays in paying claims and policy cancellation. It doesn’t matter what your reason, switching companies is not as difficult as it may seem.
While you’re price shopping online, do not sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. In many instances, consumers will sacrifice full coverage only to discover later that it was a big mistake. Your goal should be to buy enough coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.