Are you confused by the dozens of car insurance choices in York? You’re not alone. Consumers have so many choices that it can turn into a real hassle to find the best price.
Rate influencing factors
It’s important that you understand the different types of things that come into play when calculating the price you pay for car insurance. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.
- Poor credit can mean higher rates – Having a bad credit score is a huge factor in your rate calculation. Drivers who have high credit scores tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than those with poor credit. If your credit history is low, you could save money insuring your by repairing your credit.
- How many coverages with the same company – The majority of insurance companies provide better rates to insureds who have multiple policies with them. It’s known as a multi-policy discount. Discounts can amount to 10 percent or more. Even if you’re getting this discount it’s still a good idea to compare other company rates to make sure you are getting the best deal. Consumers may find a better deal by insuring with multiple companies.
- Never allow your policy to lapse – Letting your insurance expire is a guaranteed way to pay more for car insurance. And not only will your rates increase, failure to provide proof of insurance can result in a hefty fine and possibly a revoked license.
- Your job and insurance rates – Did you know your car insurance rates can be affected by your occupation? Jobs such as doctors, executives and dentists are shown to have the highest average rates because of high stress levels and long work days. Other occupations such as pilots, historians and homemakers pay the least.
- Theft deterrents lower rates – Driving a car that has an advanced theft prevention system can help bring down rates. Theft prevention features like GM’s OnStar, tamper alarm systems and vehicle immobilizers all hinder your car from being stolen.
- High crash test scores lower rates – Safer cars can get you lower premiums. Safer cars protect occupants better and better occupant protection translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and more competitive rates for policyholders.
How to Get York Car Insurance Comparison Quotes
Most companies allow you to get pricing on their websites. Obtaining pricing is fairly straightforward as you simply enter into a form. Upon sending the form, their system automatically retrieves your driving and credit reports and generates a price.
This makes comparing rates easy, but the process of having to visit multiple sites and fill out multiple forms gets old quite quickly. But it is imperative to perform this step if you want to find the lowest possible prices on car insurance.
Rate comparisons made easy
An easier way to find better car insurance pricing is to use a quote form to get prices from several companies at one time. The form is fast, eliminates form submissions, and makes price shopping online much more enjoyable and efficient. Immediately after submitting the form, your coverage is rated and you are able to buy any one of the quotes returned.
If a lower price is quoted, it’s easy to complete the application and buy the new coverage. It takes less than 15 minutes and you will know how your current rates stack up.
To compare rates using this form now, click here to open in new window and submit your coverage information. To compare your current rates, we recommend you input the coverages as close as possible to your current policy. Doing this assures you will have a price comparison for similar coverage.
Do car insurance companies bend the truth?
Pennsylvania drivers get pounded daily by advertisements that promise big savings from the likes of Progressive, Allstate and Geico. All the companies say the same thing about savings after switching your coverage to them.
How can each company say the same thing?
Different companies have a preferred profile for the type of driver that earns them a profit. For instance, a preferred risk could possibly be between the ages of 30 and 50, insures multiple vehicles, and has a short commute. Any driver that hits that “sweet spot” will qualify for the lowest rates and therefore will save a lot of money.
Potential customers who do not match the requirements will have to pay more money and ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ad wording is “customers who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that kind of money. This is how companies can truthfully state the savings.
Because of the profiling, drivers should get as many comparisons as possible. You cannot predict the company that will have the lowest rates.
Save big with these discounts
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but there are discounts available that you may not know about. Some trigger automatically at the time of purchase, but some must be requested specifically before being credited. If you aren’t receiving every discount possible, you are paying more than you should be.
- Payment Discounts – By paying your policy upfront instead of paying each month you could save up to 5%.
- Military Rewards – Having a deployed family member could be rewarded with lower premiums.
- 55 and Retired – Mature drivers can possibly qualify for a discount up to 10%.
- Early Switch Discount – Select companies give a discount for signing up prior to your current policy expiration. It’s a savings of about 10%.
- Life Insurance Discount – Companies who offer life insurance give a break if you buy auto and life insurance together.
- Safe Driver Discount – Drivers who avoid accidents can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates than less cautious drivers.
It’s important to understand that some of the credits will not apply to your bottom line cost. The majority will only reduce specific coverage prices like liability, collision or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like you can get free auto insurance, car insurance companies aren’t that generous. But any discount will cut your overall premium however.
For a list of insurers offering car insurance discounts in York, click here to view.
Car Insurance through a local agent
A small number of people prefer to buy from a licensed agent and there is nothing wrong with that. Professional agents can help determine the best coverages and help file insurance claims. The biggest benefit of price shopping on the web is that you can obtain lower rates but also keep your business local. Buying from local insurance agencies is especially important in York.
To help locate an agent, after submitting this quick form, your insurance coverage information gets sent to insurance agents in York who will return price quotes to get your business. There is no need to leave your computer due to the fact that quote results will go to the email address you provide. How cool is that?!
To view a list of agents in York to contact, please view this page.
Deciding on an insurance company requires more thought than just the premium amount. Some important questions to ask are:
- How long have they worked with personal auto insurance coverage?
- What will you get paid if your car is a total loss? How is that amount determined?
- Do they regularly work with personal auto policies?
- Which company do they place the most coverage with?
- Which insurance companies are they affiliated with?
- Is working in the agency their full-time job?
- Can glass repairs be made at your home?
Once you have acceptable answers to your questions in addition to an acceptable price estimate, you have narrowed it down to a company that meets your needs to properly insure your vehicles.
Additional information can be read on the Pennsylvania Insurance Department website through this link. Visitors are able to download brochures, read state legal mandates and laws, and find disaster information.
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A little work can save a LOT of money
While you’re price shopping online, it’s a bad idea to buy less coverage just to save a little money. There are many occasions where consumers will sacrifice uninsured motorist or liability limits to discover at claim time that it was a big mistake. The proper strategy is to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
Low-cost car insurance is definitely available both online and also from your neighborhood York agents, so you should compare both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some insurance providers may not provide you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.
Drivers change insurance companies for any number of reasons including high rates after DUI convictions, not issuing a premium refund, delays in responding to claim requests and even high prices. No matter why you want to switch, choosing a new company is not as difficult as it may seem.