Are you tired of not being able to scrape enough together to pay auto insurance each month? Your situation is no different than many other Florida drivers. Numerous car insurance companies battle for your business, and it can be difficult to compare rates to find the absolute lowest price
You need to check auto insurance prices quite often because auto insurance prices tend to go up over time. Even if you think you had the best price a couple years back you can probably find a better rate now. You can find a lot of wrong information about auto insurance online, but in just a couple of minutes you can learn some great ideas on how to buy auto insurance cheaper.
If you are insured now or are shopping for new coverage, you can follow these tips to get lower rates and possibly find even better coverage. Choosing the best insurance company for you in Panama City is not that difficult. Florida drivers just need to know the tricks to shop over the internet.
Find more affordable auto insurance with these tips
Lots of factors are part of the calculation when you get your auto insurance bill. Most are fairly basic such as traffic violations, but some are more obscure like your vehicle usage or how financially stable you are.
- Vehicles with better crash test results means cheaper insurance – Cars with five star safety ratings tend to have lower insurance rates. Vehicles engineered for safety help reduce the chance of injuries in an accident and lower rates of occupant injuries means lower claim amounts and cheaper rates on your policy. If your car is rated at least an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website it is probably cheaper to insure.
- The more you drive the more you pay – The higher the mileage driven in a year’s time the higher your rate. Almost all companies charge to insure your cars determined by how the vehicle is used. Vehicles that are left in the garage can get a lower rate than those that get driven frequently. Ask your agent if your auto insurance policy is showing the proper vehicle usage, because it can save money.
- Is your car built for speed? – The type of vehicle you drive makes a huge difference in your rates. The most favorable rates are for economy passenger models, but the final cost of insurance is determined by many other factors.
- Theft deterrents save – Driving a car that has an advanced theft prevention system can save you some money. Advanced theft deterrents such as tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all aid in stopping vehicle theft.
- Credit score impacts premium premiums – Having a good credit history can be an important factor in determining your rates. Insureds with high credit ratings tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than those with poor credit. So if your credit can use some improvement, you could potentially save money when insuring your vehicle by taking the time to improve your credit score.
How much is auto insurance in Panama City, FL?
Getting a low cost price on insurance doesn’t have to be difficult. Just invest a few minutes to compare to see which company has . Price comparisons can be done by using one of the methods below.
- One of the fastest ways to compare a lot of rates at once is a comparison rater form like this one (opens in new window). This easy form keeps you from doing separate quote forms to each individual auto insurance company. Filling out one form will get you rate comparisons from several companies.
- Another way to obtain and compare quotes online consists of going to the website for every company you want to comare to request a price quote. For instance, we’ll pretend you want to compare prices for Geico, Safeco and Farmers. You would need to spend time going to each site individually and enter your information, and that explains why we recommend the first method. To view a list of companies in Panama City, click here.
- The old school way to compare price estimates is to spend your day driving to different Panama City agent offices. The ability to buy insurance online makes this unnecessary unless your situation requires the extra assistance that only an agent can give. You can, however, obtain prices from the web and have a local agent actually service the policy.
The approach you take is up to you, just make sure you are using nearly identical coverage information on every quote. If you are comparing mixed coverages it will be nearly impossible to determine the best price in Panama City.
Get cheap Panama City auto insurance with discounts
Auto insurance companies do not list every available discount in an easy-to-find place, so the list below contains some of the best known and the harder-to-find discounts that may be available. If you do not double check each discount available, you are throwing money away.
- Memberships – Participating in a professional or civic organization is a simple method to lower premiums on auto insurance.
- Early Payment Discounts – By paying your policy upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you can avoid the installment charge.
- Safety Restraint Discount – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts could cut 10% or more on medical payment and PIP coverage.
- 55 and Retired – Drivers that qualify as senior citizens may qualify for reduced rates.
- Student Driver Training – Reduce the cost of insurance for teen drivers by having them successfully complete driver’s ed class as it will make them better drivers and lower rates.
- Discount for Good Grades – Being a good student can save 20 to 25%. The discount lasts up until you turn 25.
- Early Renewal Discounts – Select insurance companies give a discount for renewing your policy before your current policy expires. The savings is around 10%.
- New Vehicle Savings – Putting insurance coverage on a new car may earn a small discount since newer vehicles have better safety ratings.
- Accident Free – Panama City drivers who stay claim-free are rewarded with significantly better rates on as opposed to accident-prone drivers.
Just know that most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. The majority will only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as collision or personal injury protection. Just because you may think you could get a free auto insurance policy, it just doesn’t work that way. Any qualifying discounts should help reduce your policy cost.
To view companies with discount rates in Florida, click this link.
What if I want to buy from local Panama City auto insurance agents?
Many people still prefer to have an agent’s advice and that is just fine! Insurance agents are trained to spot inefficiencies and will help you if you have claims. A nice benefit of comparing auto insurance online is that you can obtain lower prices and still buy from a local agent. Buying insurance from local insurance agents is especially important in Panama City.
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this short form, the coverage information is emailed to agents in your area who will return price quotes for your auto insurance coverage. There is no need to contact an agency since price quotes are sent to the email address you provide. In the event you want to get a rate quote from a specific company, you can always visit that company’s website and fill out the quote form the provide.
Two different types of auto insurance agents
When narrowing the list to find a reliable insurance agent, it can be helpful to understand the types of insurance agents and how they differ in how they quote coverages. Agents are categorized either independent agents or captive agents depending on their employer. Both types can write auto insurance policies, but it is important to understand the difference in the companies they write for because it may have an impact on which agent you choose.
Independent Auto Insurance Agencies
Agents that elect to be independent do not work for one specific company so as a result can place your coverage through lots of different companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. If you want to switch companies, they can switch companies in-house and you won’t have to switch agencies.
When comparing rate quotes, you should always contact a few independent agents so that you can do a thorough price comparison.
The following is a partial list of independent agencies in Panama City who can help you get free auto insurance quotes.
St Andrew Insurence Agency – 1742 W 15th St – Panama City, FL 32401 – (850) 769-0660
Jim Wilson Agency – 1537 Jenks Ave – Panama City, FL 32405 – (850) 769-8986
Glen Frye Insurance LLC – 1041 Jenks Ave – Panama City, FL 32401 – (850) 872-0822
Hutt Insurance Inc – 3106 W 23rd St – Panama City, FL 32405 – (850) 769-4888
Broward Hall Agency – 455 Harrison Ave – Panama City, FL 32401 – (850) 769-4828
Captive Auto Insurance Agencies
Agents of this type work for only one company and examples are State Farm, Allstate, and Farm Bureau. Captive agencies are unable to compare other company’s rates so they really need to provide good service. Captive agencies are highly trained on their company’s products which helps offset the inability to provide other markets.
Shown below is a short list of captive insurance agents in Panama City willing to provide rate quotes.
Allstate Insurance – 621 N Tyndall Pkwy – Panama City, FL 32404 – (850) 747-1187
State Farm Insurance – 217 E 23rd St # G – Panama City, FL 32405 – (850) 763-4606
To select from insurance agencies near you, you can visit this full listing of auto insurance agents in Panama City.
Deciding on an insurance agency requires more thought than just a cheap price. These are valid questions to ask:
- Will high miles depreciate repair valuations?
- If you have an accident, will your rates go up?
- How much will you save each year by using a higher deductible?
- Is working in the agency their full-time job?
- Is coverage determined by price?
- Does the agency have a positive business rating?
- Will the agent help in case of a claim?
- How are they compensated?
How do I know if I need professional advice?
When buying coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a cookie cutter policy. Everyone’s situation is a little different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For example, these questions may help highlight if your insurance needs would benefit from professional advice.
- What are Florida no-fault laws?
- Am I covered when using my vehicle for business?
- Do I have coverage if my license is suspended?
- Does my medical payments coverage pay my health insurance deductible?
- Am I covered if I drive in a foreign country?
- Should I sign the liability waiver when renting a car?
- Do I have coverage when making deliveries for my home business?
- Should I drop comprehensive coverage on older vehicles?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but a few of them apply, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, simply complete this short form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It only takes a few minutes and you can get the answers you need.
Additional information can be found on the website for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation through this link. Consumers can read state legal mandates and laws, find a variety of consumer forms, and discover disciplinary actions.
Don’t give up on affordable coverage
When searching for , do not buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. In many instances, an accident victim reduced liability coverage limits and learned later that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your strategy should be to buy enough coverage for the lowest price but still have enough coverage for asset protection.
Affordable auto insurance can be purchased on the web and with local Panama City insurance agents, and you should compare rates from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. There are still a few companies who do not offer rates over the internet and usually these smaller providers only sell through independent insurance agencies.