Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can empty your bank account and put the squeeze on your family’s finances. Comparison shopping is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to lower your monthly bill.
With so many different company options, it’s nearly impossible to find the right company.
It’s smart to shop coverage around before your policy renews due to the fact that insurance rates change frequently. Just because you had the lowest rates on your last policy you may be paying too much now. Ignore everything you know about car insurance because you’re about to find out how to use online quotes to find better coverage at a better price.
The purpose of this post is to familiarize you with the most effective way to quote insurance and some tricks to saving. If you currently have car insurance, you should be able to save some money using this strategy. Although Indiana drivers need to learn the way companies market insurance on the web and use this information to your advantage.
These discounts can slash car insurance rates
Insuring your fleet can be pricey, but discounts can save money and there are some available that many people don’t even know exist. Most are applied at the time you complete a quote, but a few need to be asked about in order for you to get them.
- Club Memberships – Participating in a qualifying organization is a good way to get lower rates when shopping for car insurance.
- Anti-lock Brakes – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes can avoid accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Safe Drivers – Insureds without accidents may receive a discount up to 45% less than drivers with accident claims.
- Multiple Policy Discount – When you have multiple policies with one insurance company you may save up to 20% off your total premium.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – If paying your policy premium upfront instead of paying each month you may reduce your total bill.
- Defensive Driving Course – Taking a defensive driving course could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
- Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use a seat belt can save 10% or more off your medical payments premium.
It’s important to note that most credits do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most cut specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So despite the fact that it appears it’s possible to get free car insurance, you won’t be that lucky. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce your premiums.
To see a list of companies with discount car insurance rates in Indiana, click here.
Compare Columbus Car Insurance Costs
The are a couple different ways of comparing price quotes and find the best price. The easiest way to find the cheapest insurance rates consists of obtaining rate quotes online. This can be done in a couple of different ways.
The single most time-saving way to get quotes for comparison would be an industry-wide quote request form like this one (opens in new window). This type of form prevents you from having to do separate forms for each company you want a rate for. Completing one form will return quotes from all major companies.
A more time consuming way to get comparison quotes is spending the time to visit each individual company website and request a quote. For examples sake, let’s say you want rates from Farmers, Esurance and State Farm. To find out each rate you need to visit each site to input your insurance information, which is why most consumers use the first method. For a handy list of car insurance company links in Columbus, click here.
The least efficient way of comparing rate quotes is to spend time driving to insurance agents’ offices. The ability to buy insurance online can eliminate the need for a local agent unless you want the professional guidance of a local Columbus agent. Drivers can comparison shop online but buy from a local insurance agent.
However you get your quotes, compare exactly the same information on every quote. If you compare higher or lower deductibles it will be impossible to make an equal comparison in Columbus. Just a small difference in insurance coverages may result in large price differences. And when price shopping your coverage, comparing a large number of companies helps locate the best offered rates.
Shop smart and save
Cost effective car insurance is definitely available from both online companies in addition to many Columbus insurance agents, so compare prices from both to have the best rate selection. Some insurance providers do not provide online price quotes and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.
When buying insurance coverage, it’s a bad idea to buy poor coverage just to save money. Too many times, an insured dropped liability coverage limits and discovered at claim time that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your goal should be to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
We just covered many ideas to lower your car insurance rates. The most important thing to understand is the more you quote, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers may even find the biggest savings come from a small local company. They can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than the large multi-state companies such as Geico and State Farm.