Finding better rates for Bolingbrook car insurance can seem to be hard for consumers not familiar with comparing rates online. There are so many options that it can be more work than you anticipated to find the best price in Bolingbrook.
It is always a good idea to compare prices periodically due to the fact that insurance rates trend upward over time. Even if you think you had the best price a few years ago other companies may now be cheaper. Don’t believe everything you read about car insurance online, so by reading this article, you’re going to learn the best ways to reduce your car insurance bill.
If you currently have a car insurance policy, you stand a good chance to be able to lower your premiums substantially using these tips. This article will let you in on how to get online quotes. Nevertheless, Illinois drivers do need to understand the way insurance companies sell online and apply this information to your search.
Discounts are available to cut your rates
Companies offering auto insurance don’t always advertise all their discounts very well, so we break down both the well known and the more hidden savings tricks you should be using.
- Save with a New Car – Putting insurance coverage on a new car can be considerably cheaper because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
- Safety Course Discount – Completing a defensive driving course can save you 5% or more if your company offers it.
- Use Seat Belts – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to wear their seat belts can save up to 15% off the personal injury premium cost.
- Federal Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job may qualify you for a discount with a few car insurance companies.
- Early Switch Discount – A few companies offer discounts for signing up prior to your current policy expiration. It’s a savings of about 10%.
- Passive Restraints – Factory air bags or motorized seat belts can qualify for discounts of more than 20%.
- Senior Citizens – Older drivers can possibly qualify for a discount up to 10%.
- College Student – Any of your kids who are attending college and do not have access to a covered vehicle can receive lower rates.
- Bundle and Save – If you insure your home and vehicles with the same company you may earn approximately 10% to 15%.
- Sign Online – Certain companies may give you up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up online.
Consumers should know that most discount credits are not given to the entire policy premium. Some only reduce individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Just because you may think all the discounts add up to a free policy, you’re out of luck.
For a list of companies who offer car insurance discounts in Bolingbrook, follow this link.
Finding Car Insurance in Bolingbrook, IL
To find the best car insurance prices, there are several ways of comparing price quotes from car insurance companies in your area. The easiest way by far to find the cheapest insurance rates is simply to get online rate quotes. This is very easy and can be done in several different ways.
The recommended way consumers can make multiple comparisons would be an industry-wide quote request form (click to open form in new window). This form prevents you from having to do boring form submissions for each company you want a rate for. One simple form gets rate comparisons from several companies. This is by far the quickest method.
Another way to compare prices is to manually visit the website for every company you want to comare to complete a price quote. For example, we’ll pretend you want to compare Geico, 21st Century and Allstate. To get each rate you have to take the time to go to each site to input your insurance information, which is why the first method is quicker.
For a handy list of car insurance company links in Bolingbrook, click here.
The least efficient method of comparing rate quotes is to drive around to insurance agents’ offices. The internet makes this process obsolete unless you have a need for the trained guidance only provided by licensed Bolingbrook agents. However, consumers can price shop online but buy from a local insurance agent.
It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but make absolute certain that you use exactly the same coverages on every quote. If you have different liability limits you will not be able to truly determine the lowest rate in Bolingbrook. Quoting even small variations in coverages may result in a large different in cost. Just keep in mind that more quotes will increase your chances of finding lower pricing.
Get Cheaper Rates by Understanding Pricing
Smart consumers have a good feel for the rating factors that help determine the rates you pay for car insurance. Understanding what influences your rates allows you to make educated decisions that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.
The following are a partial list of the pieces companies use to determine rates.
- Do you have a high stress job? – Did you know your car insurance rates can be affected by your occupation? Jobs such as judges, architects and dentists tend to pay the highest average rates attributed to high stress levels and long work hours. Other professions such as farmers, historians and performers have the lowest average rates.
- Do you know your deductibles? – Physical damage deductibles define the amount you are required to spend if you file a covered claim. Physical damage insurance, also known as collision and other-than-collision, is used to repair damage to your car. Examples of covered claims are running into the backend of another car, damage caused by hail, and rolling your vehicle. The more you’re willing to pay, the lower your rates will be.
- Clean credit earns discounts – Having a bad credit history is a huge factor in your rate calculation. If your credit is not that good, you could save money insuring your by spending a little time repairing your credit. Drivers who have high credit ratings tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than those with lower credit scores.
- Where you reside plays a part – Residing in a rural area has it’s advantages when buying car insurance. Fewer drivers translates into fewer accidents. City drivers tend to have congested traffic and longer commutes to work. Longer commute distances can result in more accidents.
Don’t I need to talk to an agent?
Some consumers would prefer to get advice from a local agent and there is nothing wrong with that. One of the great benefits of price shopping on the web is that you can obtain better rates and still have an agent to talk to.
Once you complete this simple form, the coverage information is transmitted to companies in Bolingbrook who will compete for your insurance coverage. You never need to even leave your home as quotes are delivered to the email address you provide. Now that’s easy! You can find the lowest rates and work with a local agent.
Choosing an insurer shouldn’t rely on just the bottom line cost. Ask your prospective agent these questions:
- Will vehicle repairs be made with aftermarket parts or OEM replacement parts?
- If your car is totalled, how to they determine the replacement cost?
- Do they make recommendations based only on price?
- Does the company allow you to choose your own collision repair facility?
- If you are a high risk driver, do they have special markets for your coverage?
Listed below is a short list of insurers in Bolingbrook that can give you price quote information.
- Allstate Insurance – 281 S Schmidt Rd, Bolingbrook, IL 60440 – (630) 759-0111
- Farmers Insurance Group – 208 S Schmidt Rd, Bolingbrook, IL 60440 – (630) 759-3344
- Insurance Solutions – 421 Primrose Ln, Bolingbrook, IL 60490 – (630) 378-9390
- State Farm Insurance – 1 Wood Ct, Bolingbrook, IL 60440 – (630) 759-1331
- American Family Insurance – 595 N Pinecrest Rd # D2, Bolingbrook, IL 60440 – (630) 972-1548
To view a full list of insurance agents in Bolingbrook, please view this page.
Once you have acceptable answers for all questions you ask and locked in a price quote, most likely you have located an insurance company that will adequately provide car insurance.
Is there truth in advertising?
Companies like Allstate and Progressive constantly bombard you with ads in print and on television. All the ads have a common claim of big savings if you switch to them. How does each company say the same thing? This is how they do it.
All companies can use profiling for the right customer they prefer to insure. For instance, a profitable customer might be profiled as over the age of 50, a clean driving record, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A customer who matches those parameters is entitled to the best price and as a result will probably save quite a bit of money when switching.
Drivers who don’t qualify for the “perfect” profile will have to pay a higher premium which leads to the customer not buying. Company advertisements say “people who switch” not “people who quote” save money. That’s the way insurance companies can advertise the savings. Because of the profiling, drivers must get quotes from several different companies. It’s just too difficult to predict which company will fit your personal profile best.
Smart consumers save more
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, it’s very important that you do not buy less coverage just to save a little money. There are many occasions where an accident victim reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits and discovered at claim time that they should have had better coverage. Your aim should be to buy enough coverage at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.
We just covered some good ideas how to compare car insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the biggest savings come from a smaller regional carrier.
Budget-conscious car insurance can be purchased on the web and with local Bolingbrook insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both to get a complete price analysis. A few companies do not offer online quoting and many times these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.
More tips and info about car insurance is located at the Illinois Department of Insurance website. Illinois drivers can get help finding coverage, read state legal mandates and laws, and file complaints about a company.