I can’t think of a single person who cherishes buying car insurance, especially knowing the cost is too high. Popular companies such as Allstate, Liberty Mutual and State Farm all promote huge savings with fancy advertisements and it can be hard to see through the cute green geckos and mayhem and take the time to shop coverage around.
Consumers need to shop coverage around on a regular basis because rates are adjusted regularly by insurance companies. Despite the fact that you may have had the best price two years ago a different company probably has better rates today. Starting right now, forget anything you know (or think you know) about car insurance because you’re going to get a crash course in how to use online quotes to reduce your cost while increasing coverage.
Finding Car Insurance Deals in Greeley, CO
Most companies such as State Farm, Allstate and Geico give pricing on the web. The process is fairly straightforward as you just enter the amount of coverage you want into the quote form. Once you submit the form, the system orders reports for credit and driving violations and returns a price determined by many factors. This makes comparing rates easy, but the work required to visit several different sites and enter the same data into a form can be a bit repetitive. Unfortunately, it is important to get many rate quotes if you want to find better car insurance pricing.
A less time-consuming method to locate the lowest prices uses one form to get prices from several companies at one time. It’s a real time-saver, eliminates form submissions, and makes online price comparison much easier to do. After sending your information, it gets priced with multiple companies and you can pick any of the quotes returned.
If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, you can click and sign and purchase the new policy. The whole process only takes a few minutes and may result in a nice savings.
In order to fill out one form to compare multiple rates now, click here to open in a new tab and submit the form. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you enter the limits and deductibles identical to your current policy. This ensures you are getting rate comparison quotes for similar coverage.
Lots of discounts mean lots of savings
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but there could be available discounts to help offset the cost. Some trigger automatically when you purchase, but a few need to be asked for before you get the savings. If you aren’t receiving every discount you deserve, you’re paying more than you need to.
- Sign Early and Save – Select companies give a discount for signing up prior to your current policy expiring. It can save you around 10%.
- Homeowners Savings – Owning a home in Greeley can help you save on car insurance due to the fact that maintaining a home shows financial diligence.
- 55 and Retired – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you can possibly qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
- Good Students Pay Less – Performing well in school can earn a discount of 20% or more. Earning this discount can benefit you up to age 25.
- Theft Prevention System – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems are stolen less frequently and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
- Discount for Life Insurance – Some companies give a discount if you purchase a life insurance policy as well.
- Auto/Home Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles with the same insurance company you may save up to 20% off your total premium.
- Use Seat Belts – Requiring all passengers to use their safety belts could cut 10% or more off your PIP or medical payments premium.
- Claim Free – Claim-free drivers pay less compared to frequent claim filers.
- Employee of Federal Government – Simply working for the federal government may qualify you for a discount with a few car insurance companies.
Keep in mind that most credits do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though it sounds like all the discounts add up to a free policy, it just doesn’t work that way. Any amount of discount will bring down the amount you have to pay.
You have some control over your rates
Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that go into determining the price you pay for car insurance. Understanding what influences your rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that will entitle you to better car insurance rates.
Listed below are some of the factors used by your company to calculate prices.
- One company can mean more discounts – Some insurance companies will award you with lower prices to insureds who have multiple policies with them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even if you’re getting this discount it’s still a good idea to comparison shop to confirm you are receiving the best rates possible.
- How’s your driving record? – Only having one moving violation can boost insurance rates by as much as thirty percent. Careful drivers have lower premiums than bad drivers. Drivers with serious tickets like reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence are required to file a SR-22 with their state DMV in order to continue driving.
- Where do you drive? – The more you drive each year the higher your rates will be. Almost all companies price each vehicle’s coverage based upon how you use the vehicle. Cars and trucks not used for work or commuting receive lower rates compared to those used for work or business. Ask your agent if your car insurance policy shows the correct driver usage, because improper ratings can cost you money.
- How your age affects price – Older insureds are more responsible, file fewer claims and get fewer tickets. Teenage drivers have a tendency to be careless and easily distracted when behind the wheel therefore car insurance rates are much higher.
- High crash test scores lower rates – Vehicles with high crash test scores tend to have better insurance rates. Safer cars have better occupant injury protection and lower injury rates means less money paid by your insurance company passed on to you as lower rates.
- More claims means more premium – Car insurance companies in Colorado generally give cheaper rates to people who file claims infrequently. If you tend to file frequent claims, you can look forward to higher rates. Insurance coverage is designed for the large, substantial claims.
- Extra coverages can waste money – There are a lot of extra bells and whistles that you can buy on your policy. Insurance for personal injury protection, towing coverage and membership fees are some examples. These coverages may sound good initially, but your needs may have changed so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
Do drivers who switch really save $468 a year?
Colorado consumers get pounded daily by advertisements that promise big savings by companies like State Farm, Allstate and Geico. They all seem to say the same thing of big savings if you change to them.
But how can every company make almost identical claims?
All the different companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer that makes them money. For example, a desirable insured could be between the ages of 30 and 50, a clean driving record, and has excellent credit. A propective insured that hits that “sweet spot” receives the best rates and as a result will probably pay quite a bit less when switching companies.
Consumers who are not a match for the “perfect” profile will be quoted a higher premium which leads to the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads say “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. That is how insurance companies can make those claims.
This emphasizes why drivers must get as many quotes as possible. It is impossible to predict which car insurance company will have the lowest rates.
In the end, you save
In this article, we covered a lot of information how to save on car insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more providers you compare, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Consumers may even find the most savings is with a small mutual company. These smaller insurers may only write in your state and offer lower rates than their larger competitors like Progressive or Geico.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, never skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. In too many instances, an insured dropped liability coverage limits and discovered at claim time that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your strategy should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.
More sites with car insurance information
Additional information is located on the website for the Colorado DORA Division of Insurance located here. Colorado consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, discover disciplinary actions, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.