Scraping up a payment for overpriced car insurance can empty your checking account, especially in this economy. Comparing price quotes is a great way to help make ends meet. Many car insurance companies vie for your hard-earned dollar, and it can be difficult to compare rates to find the best price available.
Do you qualify for a discount?
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not even be aware of. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of quoting, but less common discounts must be specifically requested before you will receive the discount. If you don’t get every credit you deserve, you’re just leaving money on the table.
- Multiple Vehicles – Insuring multiple vehicles on the same car insurance policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
- Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of paying each month you could save up to 5%.
- Safety Course Discount – Taking part in a course teaching defensive driving skills could save 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
- Military Discounts – Having a family member in the military could be rewarded with lower premiums.
- No Accidents – Drivers who don’t have accidents can earn big discounts when compared to drivers who are more careless.
- Good Students Pay Less – Performing well in school can save 20 to 25%. This discount can apply up to age 25.
- Seat Belts Save – Requiring all passengers to use their safety belts can save 10% or more off your medical payments premium.
- Anti-theft System – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems can help prevent theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- New Car Discount – Adding a new car to your policy can save up to 30% because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
- Life Insurance Discount – Select insurance companies reward you with a break if you buy life insurance.
As a disclaimer on discounts, most discounts do not apply to the entire cost. Most only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as comprehensive or collision. So even though they make it sound like adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way. But all discounts will cut the amount you have to pay.
To choose insurance companies who offer car insurance discounts in Medford, click this link.
Low Cost Medford Car Insurance
Finding cheaper car insurance prices is not a difficult process. You just have to invest a few minutes to compare rate quotes online with multiple companies. This is very easy and can be done in just a few minutes using one of these methods.
- The best way to get quotes for comparison is a comparison rater form click to view form in new window. This method eliminates the need for separate quotes for every car insurance company. One form submission compares rates from car insurance companies with the best prices.
- A slightly less efficient method to get comparison quotes is to take the time to go to each individual company website to complete their respective quote request forms. For example, let’s say you want to compare rates from Farmers, 21st Century and Liberty Mutual. You would have to go to every website and enter your information, which is why the first method is quicker. For a handy list of car insurance company links in Medford, click here.
However you get your quotes, compare the exact same coverages and limits on every quote you get. If you have different limits and deductibles on each one it’s not possible to make an equal comparison in Medford.
Lower your Medford Car Insurance Rates
Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that play a part in calculating car insurance rates. Understanding what influences your rates allows you to make educated decisions that can help you get big savings.
- High numbers of claims are not good – Auto insurance companies in Massachusetts award cheaper rates to insureds who do not file claims often. If you file claims often, you can look forward to higher rates. Insurance coverage is designed for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
- Clean credit earns discounts – A driver’s credit score is a huge factor in your rate calculation. Consumers who have good credit tend to be less risk to insure as compared to drivers with poor credit. Therefore, if your credit history is low, you could potentially save money when insuring your by spending a little time repairing your credit.
- Extra add-on coverages are wasting money – There are a lot of extra coverages that can waste your money when buying car insurance. Insurance for personal injury protection, accident forgiveness and membership fees are some examples. They may seem good when you first buy your policy, but your needs may have changed so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
- Do you qualify for a multi-policy discount? – Some car insurance companies give discounts to insureds who buy several policies from them in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even with this discount, you still need to shop around to ensure the best deal.
- Being married is a good thing – Having a spouse can get you a discount on your policy. Having a significant other means you’re more mature and responsible and statistics show drivers who are married are more cautious.
- Always keep insurance in force – Driving without insurance is a misdemeanor and your next policy will cost more because you let your coverage have a gap. And not only will insurance be more expensive, but not being able to provide proof of insurance may earn you a license revocation or jail time.You may then be required to prove you have insurance by filing a SR-22 with the Massachusetts motor vehicle department.
- Adjust deductibles and save – Insurance for physical damage to your car, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, is used to repair damage to your car. Some instances where coverage would apply are running into the backend of another car, collision with an animal, or theft. Your deductibles are how much you are willing to pay before your car insurance pays a claim. The more you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the less your car insurance will be.
- How your age affects price – More mature drivers are more responsible, file fewer claims and get fewer tickets. Youthful drivers are known to be less responsible when driving and because of this, their car insurance rates are much higher.
What coverages do I need?
When it comes to buying adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no single plan that fits everyone. Each situation is unique and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For example, these questions might point out if your insurance needs would benefit from professional advice.
- Is my business laptop covered if it gets stolen from my vehicle?
- Does coverage extend to a rental car in a foreign country?
- What is high-risk coverage and where do I buy it?
- Why am I required to get a high-risk car insurance policy?
- If my vehicle is totaled, can I afford another vehicle?
- What if I don’t agree with a claim settlement offer?
- Are there companies who specialize in insuring high-risk drivers?
- Does my personal policy cover me when driving my company car?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It’s fast, free and you can get the answers you need.
Keep this in mind
When shopping online for car insurance, make sure you don’t buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There have been many cases where consumers will sacrifice comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to discover later that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The aim is to buy a smart amount of coverage for the lowest price while still protecting your assets.
In this article, we covered many ideas to get a better price on car insurance. The key concept to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Consumers could even find that the most savings is with a smaller regional carrier. Some small companies often have lower prices on specific markets as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm, Geico and Nationwide.
Much more information about car insurance in Massachusetts is located on the website for the Massachusetts Division of Insurance through this link. Consumers can download brochures, learn about specific coverages, and file complaints about a company.
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