Online rate comparisons for can be complicated if you are like the majority of consumers and have never used online quotes. But don’t just give up because using the internet to shop for auto insurance is actually quite easy.
You need to compare prices before your policy renews because auto insurance prices change quite often. If you had the best price two years ago there may be better deals available now. There is lot of inaccurate information about auto insurance out there, but in just a couple of minutes you can learn some great ideas on how to lower your auto insurance rates.
Do you qualify for discounts?
Companies offering auto insurance do not advertise all possible discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we researched both well-publicized as well as the least known ways to save on auto insurance.
- Student in College – Children who attend college more than 100 miles from home and won’t have access to an insured vehicle may qualify for this discount.
- Military Deployment Discount – Having an actively deployed family member can result in better rates.
- Multi-car Discount – Having multiple cars with one company can reduce the rates for all insured vehicles.
- Low Miles Discount – Keeping the miles down can earn lower prices due to less chance of an accident.
- Drivers Education – Teen drivers should take driver’s ed class as it will make them better drivers and lower rates.
As a footnote on discounts, many deductions do not apply the the whole policy. A few only apply to individual premiums such as liability and collision coverage. Even though it may seem like you could get a free auto insurance policy, it’s just not the way it works. Any qualifying discounts will reduce the premium cost.
A few popular companies and some of the discounts are detailed below.
- The Hartford may offer discounts for good student, bundle, vehicle fuel type, defensive driver, and air bag.
- American Family offers discounts including good driver, defensive driver, mySafetyValet, TimeAway discount, multi-vehicle, and accident-free.
- Progressive policyholders can earn discounts including continuous coverage, multi-policy, online signing, good student, multi-vehicle, and online quote discount.
- Travelers offers discounts for driver training, continuous insurance, new car, student away at school, multi-car, IntelliDrive, and payment discounts.
- Farmers Insurance has discounts for youthful driver, pay in full, mature driver, teen driver, alternative fuel, and business and professional.
- USAA may have discounts that include family discount, loyalty savings, multi-vehicle, defensive driver, and safe driver.
- Liberty Mutual discounts include newly retired, multi-car, newly married, new vehicle discount, preferred payment discount, and safety features.
It’s a good idea to ask every insurance company what discounts are available to you. Savings may not be available everywhere. To see a list of providers with discount auto insurance rates in Velva, click this link.
Don’t assume everyone needs the same auto insurance coverage
When it comes to buying the best auto insurance coverage, there isn’t really a cookie cutter policy. Each situation is unique.
For instance, these questions can help discover whether you might need an agent’s assistance.
- Am I covered when pulling a rental trailer?
- Is my business laptop covered if it gets stolen from my vehicle?
- Do I benefit by insuring my home with the same company?
- Will my rates increase for filing one claim?
- Do all my vehicles need collision coverage?
- Can I still get insurance after a DUI?
- Do I need PIP (personal injury protection) coverage in North Dakota?
If you’re not sure about those questions, you may need to chat with an agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form. It is quick, free and can help protect your family.
Save $460 a year. For real?
Consumers in North Dakota can’t ignore all the ads for cheaper auto insurance by Allstate, Geico and Progressive. All the companies make the point about how much you will save if you switch your policy.
Is it even possible that every company can give you a better price? It’s all in how they say it.
All the different companies quote their best rates for a prospective insured they prefer to insure. For instance, a desirable risk could possibly be between the ages of 40 and 55, has other policies, and chooses high deductibles. Anyone who matches that profile is entitled to the best price and have a good chance to save when they switch companies.
Insureds who cannot meet the “perfect” profile will see higher rates which leads to the prospect going elsewhere. If you listen closely, the ads state “people who switch” but not “all drivers who get quotes” save the amount stated. This is how insurance companies can confidently make claims that they all have the best prices. Different companies use different criteria so you absolutely need to do a rate comparison at every renewal. It’s just too difficult to predict the company that will give you the biggest savings.
Read more about North Dakota auto insurance
Even more information can be read at the North Dakota Insurance Department website. North Dakota consumers can view agent and company licensing information, view a list of available companies, and get help finding coverage.
More comparisons equals lower rates
A few companies do not provide the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these regional carriers only sell through independent insurance agencies. Budget-conscious auto insurance is available from both online companies as well as from independent agents in Velva, so compare prices from both to have the best rate selection.
When trying to cut insurance costs, it’s a bad idea to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are too many instances where consumers will sacrifice physical damage coverage only to find out that it was a big error on their part. The ultimate goal is to get the best coverage possible at the best cost, but do not skimp to save money.
In this article, we presented a lot of ways to get a better price on auto insurance. The key concept to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers could even find that the lowest premium rates come from a small local company.