Have you fallen victim to overpriced auto insurance? Trust us when we tell you you are not the only one feeling buyer’s remorse. Big-name insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, Geico and Progressive all claim big savings with ads and it can be hard to sift through the bull and do the work needed to find the best deal.
You should make it a habit to do rate comparisons periodically due to the fact that insurance rates are rarely the same from one policy term to another. If you had the best rates six months ago there may be better deals available now. Starting now, block out anything you think you know about auto insurance because I’m going to teach you the best methods to save money, get proper coverage and the best rates.
Where Can I Get Cheap Tucumcari Auto Insurance?
There are multiple methods to compare auto insurance prices but some are more efficient than others. You could waste time talking about coverages with insurance agencies in Tucumcari, or you can utilize the internet to accomplish the same thing much quicker.
Many popular insurance companies participate in a marketplace where insurance shoppers complete one form, and at least one company can provide price quotes. This saves time by eliminating repetitive form submissions to every company.
To submit your quote information now, click here to start a free quote.
The only downside to doing it this way is you cannot specify the providers you want pricing from. If you prefer to choose specific insurance companies to compare, we put together a list of companies who write auto insurance in New Mexico. View list of New Mexico insurance companies.
Whichever way you use, double check that you are using apples-to-apples quote information for each price quote. If the quotes have different limits and deductibles on each one you will not be able to truly determine the lowest rate in Tucumcari.
What impacts Tucumcari insurance rates?
Smart consumers have a good feel for some of the elements that go into determining your auto insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates allows you to make educated decisions that will entitle you to big savings.
Listed below are some of the factors companies use to determine prices.
- Bump up deductibles to save – Your deductibles represent how much money you are required to spend before a claim is paid by your company. Physical damage coverage, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your car. Some instances where coverage would apply would be colliding with a building, damage caused by hail, or theft. The more money you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the bigger discount you will receive.
- More claims means more premium – Car insurance companies in New Mexico award lower rates to policyholders who do not file claims often. If you file claims often, you can definitely plan on either policy cancellation or increased premiums. Insurance coverage is designed for larger claims.
- Your occupation can affect rates – Did you know your auto insurance rates can be affected by your occupation? Careers like doctors, architects and stock brokers tend to have the highest rates because of high stress and long work hours. On the other hand, occupations such as actors, students and performers receive lower rates.
- Performance influences rates – The make and model of the vehicle you drive makes a huge difference in determining your rates. Low performance passenger cars generally have the cheapest insurance rates, but other factors influence the final cost greatly.
- Your car’s features help determine rates – Choosing a vehicle with an alarm system can save you a little every year. Theft prevention features such as tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar can thwart car theft.
- Safe vehicles cost less to insure – Vehicles with good safety scores get lower rates. The safest vehicles protect occupants better and fewer injuries means lower claim amounts and more competitive rates for policyholders.
- Your spouse saves you money – Having a spouse actually saves money on your auto insurance policy. Having a spouse is viewed as being more mature and responsible and it’s proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.
Pay less by taking advantage of discounts
Car insurance companies don’t always advertise every available discount in an easy-to-find place, so we took the time to find both well-publicized and the harder-to-find savings tricks you should be using. If they aren’t giving you every credit available, you’re paying more than you need to.
- Safe Driver Discount – Safe drivers can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates than drivers with accidents.
- Clubs and Organizations – Belonging to a qualifying organization could qualify you for a break when buying auto insurance.
- Resident Student – Any of your kids who live away from home and do not have a car may be able to be covered for less.
- 55 and Retired – Older drivers may receive a small decrease in premiums.
- Federal Government Employee – Being employed by or retired from a federal job can save as much as 8% with a few auto insurance companies.
- Air Bag Discount – Vehicles with factory air bags or motorized seat belts may earn rate discounts of up to 25% or more.
- Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of paying each month you can actually save on your bill.
As a disclaimer on discounts, some credits don’t apply to the entire cost. Most only reduce individual premiums such as collision or personal injury protection. So even though they make it sound like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you’re out of luck.
Can’t I compare rates from local Tucumcari agents?
Some consumers would rather talk to a local agent and that is OK! Professional agents are trained to spot inefficiencies and help file insurance claims. The best thing about price shopping on the web is you can get the lowest rates and still choose a local agent.
To help locate an agent, after submitting this short form, your insurance coverage information is submitted to local insurance agents in Tucumcari who will battle to get your business. There is no reason to leave your house since price quotes are sent to your email. It doesn’t get any easier!
Selecting an insurance company requires more thought than just the price. These questions are important to ask:
- Are they properly licensed to sell insurance in New Mexico?
- Do the coverages you’re quoting properly cover your vehicle?
- How many years of experience in personal lines insurance coverages do they have?
- Do they regularly work with personal auto policies?
- Does the agency have a good rating with the Better Business Bureau?
- Do clients work directly with the agent or are most inquiries handled by a CSR?
The different types of insurance agents
When finding an insurance agent, there are a couple of types of agencies that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Tucumcari agents are categorized either captive or independent (non-captive). While both can insure your vehicles, but it’s important to know the differences since it may influence your agent selection.
Captive Insurance Agents
Captive agencies write business for a single company and some examples include AAA, Allstate, State Farm, Farmers Insurance or Liberty Mutual. Captives cannot compare other company’s rates so they have no alternatives for high prices. They are well schooled in insurance sales which helps them compete with independent agents.
Below is a list of captive agents in Tucumcari who may provide you with comparison quotes.
Farm Bureau Insurance – 706 S 1st St # 114 – Tucumcari, NM 88401 – (505) 461-8400
Independent Agents
Independent agents are not required to write business for one company so they can insure your vehicles amongst many companies and potentially find a lower price. If your agent finds better pricing, your agent can switch companies and you don’t have to find a new agent. When shopping rates, we recommend you include multiple independent agents to get the best comparison.
Listed below is a list of independent insurance agencies in Tucumcari that are able to give price quotes.
Smith Insurance – 211 S 2nd St – Tucumcari, NM 88401 – (505) 461-3456
Ronny B Sanders Insurance Inc – 502 S 1st St – Tucumcari, NM 88401 – (505) 461-2710
For a complete listing of auto insurance agents in Tucumcari, visit this site.
After receiving positive feedback to any questions you have and a good coverage price, you may have just found a car insurance agent that is a good match to adequately provide auto insurance.
Shop smart and save
When shopping online for auto insurance, it’s a bad idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where someone sacrificed collision coverage and learned later that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your focus should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at an affordable rate, not the least amount of coverage.
Throughout this article, we presented quite a bit of information on how to reduce auto insurance prices online. It’s most important to understand that the more rate comparisons you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Consumers could even find that the lowest priced auto insurance comes from the least-expected company. Some small companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm, Geico and Nationwide.
Even more information can be read at the New Mexico Insurance Division website. New Mexico consumers can view agent and company licensing information, learn about specific coverages, read industry bulletins, and view a list of available companies.
Additional helpful sites include this resource for New Mexico auto insurance prices and this list of agents in Tucumcari, NM.