Are you overwhelmed by the dozens of car insurance companies in Pittsburgh? You’re not the only one! There are so many choices that it can be a real challenge to locate the lowest price.
It’s smart to compare prices periodically due to the fact that insurance rates trend upward over time. Just because you found the lowest price last year you will most likely find a better rate today. There is a lot of bad information regarding car insurance on the web, but by reading this article, you’re going to learn the easiest ways to stop overpaying for insurance.
These discounts can slash car insurance rates
Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not know about. Some trigger automatically when you complete an application, but less common discounts must be asked for prior to getting the savings. If you aren’t receiving every discount you deserve, you are throwing money away.
- Defensive Driving Course – Completing a course teaching defensive driving skills could possibly earn you a 5% discount and easily recoup the cost of the course.
- Federal Employees – Simply working for the federal government can save as much as 8% with select insurance companies.
- Accident Waiver – Certain companies allow you one accident before raising your premiums so long as you haven’t had any claims for a certain period of time.
- More Vehicles More Savings – Buying coverage for multiple cars or trucks on one policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
- Homeowners Pay Less – Simply owning a home may trigger a car insurance policy discount due to the fact that maintaining a home requires personal responsibility.
- Bundle and Save – When you combine your home and auto insurance with one company you could get a discount of at least 10% off all policies.
A little note about advertised discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire policy premium. Most cut the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. Just because you may think you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you’re out of luck. Any amount of discount will help reduce the amount you have to pay.
Good Decisions Result in Lower Rates
Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. Understanding what influences your rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that will entitle you to much lower annual insurance costs.
- Car features impact rates – Owning a car that has an advanced theft prevention system can help lower your rates. Theft prevention devices like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar can help prevent car theft.
- Lower miles equals lower premium – Driving more miles in a year the more you’ll pay to insure your vehicle. Almost all companies charge to insure your cars based on how the vehicle is used. Cars not used for work or commuting can get a lower rate as compared to vehicles used primarily for driving to work. Ask your agent if your car insurance coverage is showing the proper vehicle usage, because it can save money.
- How’s your driving record? – Whether or not you get tickets has a huge affect on how much you pay. Only having one moving violation may increase your cost by twenty percent. Drivers with clean records get better rates compared to drivers with tickets. Drivers with flagrant tickets like hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions are required to submit a SR-22 form with their state DMV in order to keep their license.
- Discounts for multiple policies – Many insurers will award you with lower prices to policyholders who have multiple policies with them. It’s known as a multi-policy discount. Discounts can be five, ten or even twenty percent. Even if you’re getting this discount you still need to shop around to verify if the discount is saving money.
- Do men or women drive better? – Statistics have proven women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, don’t assume that women are better drivers. Men and women have accidents at about the same rate, but the men cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Men also statistically get more serious tickets like DUI and reckless driving.
- Poor credit can mean higher rates – Your credit score is a big factor in determining what you pay for car insurance. If your credit score is lower than you’d like, you could be paying less to insure your by repairing your credit. Consumers who have good credit tend to be less risk to insure than drivers who have poor credit.
Advertising myths
Consumers can’t get away from ads for the lowest price auto insurance from companies such as Allstate, Geico and Progressive. They all say the same thing that you’ll save big if you change your policy.
How does each company make the same claim?
All companies have a certain “appetite” for the type of driver they prefer to insure. An example of a desirable insured might be between the ages of 30 and 50, insures multiple vehicles, and has great credit. A propective insured who meets those qualifications gets the lowest rates and most likely will save when switching.
Potential insureds who fall outside the “perfect” profile will be quoted a higher premium and this can result in the customer not buying. The ads say “drivers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. That’s why insurance companies can claim big savings.
This emphasizes why drivers must compare as many rates as you can. It is impossible to predict which car insurance company will provide you with the cheapest rates.
To learn more about car insurance in Pennsylvania
Much more information about car insurance in Pennsylvania is available on the Pennsylvania Insurance Department website located here. Pennsylvania drivers can read enforcement actions against agents and companies, learn about insurance regulations, learn about specific coverages, and view agent and company licensing information.
Additional helpful sites include III.org’s auto insurance page and this page for help finding agents in Pittsburgh, PA.
Summing up your car insurance search
People change insurance companies for many reasons like being labeled a high risk driver, policy cancellation, denial of a claim and even unfair underwriting practices. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, switching companies is easier than you think.
The cheapest car insurance is attainable both online in addition to many Pittsburgh insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance providers do not provide the ability to get a quote online and these small, regional companies work with independent agents.
In this article, we presented many ways to compare car insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more you quote, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may be surprised to find that the best prices are with some of the smallest insurance companies.