No sane person gets a kick out of paying for car insurance, especially knowing they are paying too much. Since you have so many choices, it can be diffult for drivers to pick the most cost effective insurance company.
It’s a good idea to compare prices occasionally since prices fluctuate regularly. Even if you got the lowest quotes two years ago you will most likely find a better rate today. Ignore everything you know about car insurance because we’re going to demonstrate one of the quickest ways to lower your rates without sacrificing coverage.
Buy Kingwood car insurance online
Many insurance companies give coverage prices from their websites. This process is quite simple as all you need to do is type in your personal and coverage information into a form. When complete, their rating system makes automated requests for credit information and your driving record and gives you a price quote. Being able to quote online helps simplify price comparisons, but the work required to visit multiple sites and type in the same information gets old quite quickly. But it’s necessary to have as many quotes as possible in order to get the lowest car insurance rates.
There is an easier way to compare rates
A less time-consuming method to compare rates uses just one form to obtain quotes from more than one company. It saves time, requires less work, and makes comparison shopping much simpler. As soon as the form is sent, it is quoted and you can choose any or none of the pricing results. If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, it’s easy to complete the application and buy the new coverage. The whole process takes just a few minutes to complete and could lower your rates considerably.
To quickly fill out one form to compare multiple rates now, click here to open in new window and enter your vehicle and coverage information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you copy identical to your current policy. This way, you will receive rate comparison quotes for exact coverage.
Car insurance discounts are available to cut your rates
Companies offering auto insurance don’t necessarily list all their discounts very well, so below is a list some of the best known in addition to some of the lesser obvious discounts that you can inquire about if you .
- ABS and Traction Control Discounts – Cars, trucks, and SUVs with ABS and/or traction control have fewer accidents and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
- Anti-theft System – Vehicles that have factory alarm systems and tracking devices are stolen with less frequency and that can save you a little bit as well.
- Early Payment Discounts – If you can afford to pay the entire bill rather than paying in monthly installments you can avoid the installment charge.
- Save over 55 – Mature drivers may qualify for a small discount on rates.
- Active Military Service – Having an actively deployed family member may qualify for rate reductions.
- Online Discount – Certain insurance companies will give a small break for buying your policy on the internet.
- College Student Discount – Older children who live away from home at college and do not have a car could get you a discount.
- Passenger Safety Discount – Vehicles equipped with air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems could see savings up to 30%.
- More Vehicles More Savings – Buying a policy with multiple cars or trucks on one policy qualifies for this discount.
Discounts lower rates, but most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. A few only apply to individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. So when it seems like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, companies don’t profit that way.
The best car insurance companies and a partial list of their discounts are detailed below.
- State Farm offers premium reductions for anti-theft, Steer Clear safe driver discount, driver’s education, good driver, multiple policy, multiple autos, and accident-free.
- Geico may include discounts for driver training, membership and employees, multi-policy, five-year accident-free, air bags, and federal employee.
- Liberty Mutual may offer discounts for multi-car, good student, new move discount, newly retired, newly married, safety features, and multi-policy.
- The Hartford discounts include vehicle fuel type, defensive driver, bundle, anti-theft, good student, and driver training.
- MetLife policyholders can earn discounts including good student, multi-policy, good driver, defensive driver, and claim-free.
- Progressive offers discounts for online signing, multi-vehicle, homeowner, multi-policy, good student, and online quote discount.
If you want , ask all the companies which discounts you may be entitled to. Depending on the company, some discounts may not apply to policyholders everywhere. To find companies that offer many of these discounts in Kingwood, click here to view.
Seven things that influence your premiums
Part of the car insurance buying process is learning the different types of things that go into determining the level of your policy premiums. If you understand what determines premiums, this allows you to make educated decisions that can earn you lower premium levels. Many different elements are used when you get a price on insurance. A few of the factors are predictable like your driving record, but some are less obvious like your continuous coverage or your financial responsibility.
- Getting married can save on car insurance – Having a wife or husband may save some money on your car insurance policy. Having a significant other generally demonstrates drivers are more stable financially and statistics show being married results in fewer claims.
- How’s your driving record? – Being a careful driver has a big impact on rates. Drivers with clean records pay lower auto insurance prices compared to bad drivers. Having a single speeding ticket can increase the cost of insurance by twenty percent. Drivers who have gotten multiple citations like reckless driving or DUI might be required by their state to maintain a SR-22 with their state’s licensing department in order to prevent a license revocation.
- Do you know you’re credit history? – An insured’s credit history factor in determining what you pay. If your credit score could use some work, you could save money insuring your vehicle if you clean up your credit. People that have very high credit ratings tend to file fewer claims than those with bad credit.
- Insure car and home with the same company – Most insurance companies will award a discount to insureds who have multiple policies with them. It’s known as a multi-policy discount. Discounts can be five, ten or even twenty percent. Even with this discount, you may still want to compare other company rates to ensure the best deal.
- Avoid unnecessary extra policy coverages – There are quite a few optional add-on coverages that can waste your money on your car insurance policy. Insurance for vanishing deductibles, accidental death, and Farm Bureau memberships are some examples. The coverages may be enticing when buying your policy, but if you’ve never needed them in the past eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
- You might want pay the small claims yourself – Auto insurance companies in West Virginia generally give cheaper rates to drivers who file claims infrequently. If you file claims often, you can expect much higher rates or policy non-renewal. Auto insurance is intended to be relied upon for larger claims.
- Deter car thieves – Owning a car that has a built-in theft deterrent system can help lower your rates. Advanced theft deterrents such as vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems help track and prevent your vehicle from being stolen.
Car insurance is available from local insurance agents
Certain consumers still prefer to have an agent’s advice and we recommend doing that Agents can make sure you are properly covered and help in the event of a claim. The biggest benefit of getting free rate quotes online is you may find better rates and still have an agent to talk to.
To find an agent, once you fill out this form (opens in new window), your insurance coverage information gets sent to companies in Kingwood that provide and help you find cheaper coverage. It’s much easier because you don’t need to leave your house since rate quotes are delivered directly to your email. If you have a need to compare rates for a specific company, feel free to navigate to their website to submit a rate quote request.
Selecting an provider is decision based upon more than just a low price. Any good agent should know the answers to these questions.
- Do you have coverage for a rental car if your vehicle is in the repair shop?
- In the event of vehicle damage, can you pick the collision repair facility?
- Is there a Errors and Omissions policy in force?
- What insurance company do they write the most business with?
- Can they help ensure a fair claim settlement?
To help you view insurance agents in your area, link to this list of Kingwood, WV insurance agents.
Even more information can be found at the West Virginia Insurance Commission website. Visitors are able to view a list of available companies, report car insurance fraud, read industry bulletins, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.
And the best car insurance company is…
We just presented some good ideas how you can get a better price on car insurance. The key thing to remember is the more quotes you get, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers may even find the best rates are with the least-expected company. These smaller insurers may only write in your state and offer lower auto insurance rates compared to the large companies like Allstate, Geico and Progressive.
Cost effective car insurance can be bought from both online companies and with local Kingwood insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers do not offer the ability to get quotes online and these small insurance companies provide coverage only through independent agents.
When shopping online for car insurance, don’t be tempted to buy poor coverage just to save money. There have been many situations where an insured dropped uninsured motorist or liability limits to discover at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your strategy should be to buy a smart amount of coverage for the lowest cost, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.