Sick and tired of not being able to afford to buy car insurance? You’re in the same situation as millions of other consumers. Numerous insurance companies battle for your hard-earned dollar, so it’s not easy to compare every insurer to find the lowest rate
If you have a policy now or are looking for a new policy, you can use these techniques to get lower rates while maximizing coverage. Finding the best rates in Oak Lawn is quite easy. Illinois vehicle owners only need an understanding of the tricks to compare prices on the web.
Many Things Influence your Rates
Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that play a part in calculating your car insurance rates. Understanding what controls the rates you pay helps enable you to make changes that will entitle you to much lower annual insurance costs.
Shown below are some of the factors that factor into prices.
- Safer occupants lowers premiums – Cars with high safety ratings tend to have better insurance rates. These vehicles reduce injuries and lower injury rates means less money paid by your insurance company passed on to you as lower rates.
- Do you need the policy add-ons? – There are a lot of extra coverages that you can buy when buying car insurance. Coverages for vanishing deductibles, towing coverage and membership fees are some examples. They may seem like a good idea when you first buy your policy, but your needs may have changed so eliminate them to save money.
- Younger drivers pay higher rates – Mature drivers are more responsible, file fewer claims and get fewer tickets. Youthful drivers are known to be careless and easily distracted in a vehicle and because of this, their car insurance rates are much higher.
- Poor driving leads to higher costs – A bad driving record has a lot to do with how much you pay for insurance. Good drivers receive lower rates compared to drivers with tickets. Even a single ticket can increase rates by twenty percent. If you have flagrant violations such as DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions may find they need to submit a SR-22 form to the state department of motor vehicles in order to keep their license.
- Where you live is a factor – Residing in a small town can save you money when it comes to car insurance. Urban drivers tend to have traffic congestion and much longer commute distances. Fewer people translates into fewer accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft.
- Performance influences rates – The type of car you drive makes a huge difference in determining your rates. The cheapest insurance rates are for economy passenger cars, but the cost you end up paying is determined by many additional factors.
Take discounts and save
Car insurance is not cheap, but you can get discounts to reduce the price significantly. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at quote time, but a few need to be inquired about prior to getting the savings. If you don’t get every credit available, you are paying more than you should be.
- Life Insurance – Some companies give better rates if you take out life insurance.
- Drive Less and Save – Keeping the miles down can qualify you for better rates on cars that stay parked.
- Payment Method – If paying your policy premium upfront rather than paying monthly you could save 5% or more.
- Claim Free – Claim-free drivers pay much less compared to accident-prone drivers.
- Accident Waiver – Some insurance companies allow you one accident before your rates go up if your claims history is clear for a particular time prior to the accident.
- Clubs and Organizations – Affiliation with a qualifying organization could trigger savings when buying car insurance.
- Bundle and Save – If you insure your home and vehicles with the same insurance company you may save approximately 10% to 15%.
- Senior Discount – Older drivers may receive reduced rates.
- New Car Discount – Buying coverage on a new vehicle can cost up to 25% less compared to insuring an older model.
- Military Rewards – Having a deployed family member could mean lower rates.
Keep in mind that most credits do not apply to the entire policy premium. The majority will only reduce individual premiums such as collision or personal injury protection. Even though it may seem like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it just doesn’t work that way. But all discounts will help reduce your overall premium however.
To see a list of insurers who offer car insurance discounts in Illinois, click this link.
More resources for learning
Additional car insurance information can be found on the website for the Illinois Department of Insurance located here. Visitors are able to view agent and company licensing information, find out industry alerts, and find out which companies have the most complaints.
One last thing
In this article, we covered many ways to lower your car insurance rates. The key concept to understand is the more providers you compare, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Drivers may discover the lowest premiums are with the smaller companies. These companies may only write in your state and offer lower rates than their larger competitors like Progressive or Geico.
As you restructure your insurance plan, it’s not a good idea to skimp on coverage in order to save money. In many cases, an insured cut uninsured motorist or liability limits to discover at claim time they didn’t have enough coverage. Your goal should be to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate while still protecting your assets.