If you’re new to shopping for auto insurance online, you may be confused because of the huge number of auto insurance companies offering coverage in Keizer.
Buying car insurance in Keizer is quite easy. If you are paying for car insurance now, you will be able to cut costs considerably using this information. Oregon drivers only need to know how to shop their coverage around on the web.
Save money by taking advantage of these ten discounts
Companies that sell car insurance don’t list every available discount very well, so we researched some of the more common and the more hidden savings tricks you should be using. If you don’t get every credit you deserve, you are throwing money away.
- Accident Free – Good drivers with no accidents pay less as compared to bad drivers.
- Accident Forgiveness – Certain companies permit an accident before raising your premiums if your claims history is clear for a set time period.
- Auto/Home Discount – When you have multiple policies with the same company you will save up to 20% off your total premium.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – If paying your policy premium upfront instead of paying each month you can actually save on your bill.
- Good Student Discount – A discount for being a good student can get you a discount of up to 25%. This discount can apply until age 25.
- Federal Government Employee – Active or retired federal employment can save as much as 8% with a few auto insurance companies.
- Passive Restraint Discount – Cars that have air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can get savings of more than 20%.
- Organization Discounts – Being a member of a civic or occupational organization could qualify you for a break on auto insurance.
- Paperless Signup – Certain companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying your policy online.
- Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to use a seat belt can save 10% or more off the personal injury premium cost.
Keep in mind that most discounts do not apply to all coverage premiums. Some only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. So even though it sounds like all the discounts add up to a free policy, auto insurance companies aren’t that generous.
For a list of companies with discount auto insurance rates in Keizer, follow this link.
Auto insurance 101
Learning about specific coverages of auto insurance helps when choosing the right coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. Auto insurance terms can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Comprehensive auto coverage – This covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for claims like a broken windshield, damage from flooding, damage from getting keyed and falling objects. The maximum payout a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Collision coverages – This covers damage to your vehicle from colliding with an object or car. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision coverage pays for things such as sideswiping another vehicle, damaging your car on a curb and hitting a parking meter. This coverage can be expensive, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are older. Another option is to choose a higher deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Auto liability insurance – Liability insurance provides protection from damage that occurs to other’s property or people. This insurance protects YOU from claims by other people, and does not provide coverage for your injuries or vehicle damage.
Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You commonly see limits of 50/100/50 which means a $50,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $50,000.
Liability coverage protects against things like funeral expenses, court costs, emergency aid and medical expenses. How much coverage you buy is your choice, but consider buying higher limits if possible. Oregon requires drivers to carry at least 25,000/50,000/20,000 but you should think about purchasing better liability coverage.
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage – This provides protection when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include hospital bills for your injuries as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since many Oregon drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (25/50/20 in Oregon), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is a good idea.
Medical payments and PIP coverage – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP provide coverage for expenses for things like dental work, hospital visits, EMT expenses, surgery and prosthetic devices. The coverages can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover you and your occupants as well as getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not an option in every state but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Additional detailed information is located at the Oregon Insurance Division website. Consumers can report car insurance fraud, read state legal mandates and laws, and read consumer alerts.
Additional helpful sites include this link for Oregon coverage information and this link where you can get more info about Keizer coverage.
Quote more, save more
Low-cost auto insurance is definitely available from both online companies in addition to many Keizer insurance agents, so you should compare both so you have a total pricing picture. Some companies do not provide online quoting and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.
Insureds who switch companies do it for any number of reasons including high prices, poor customer service, lack of trust in their agent and an unsatisfactory settlement offer. Regardless of your reason, choosing a new insurance company is not as hard as you think.
We’ve covered a lot of techniques to get a better price on auto insurance. The key thing to remember is the more price quotes you have, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the best prices are with a small mutual company.