Have you had enough of trying to scrape together enough money each month for car insurance? You are no different than most other car owners in Maine. Insurance companies such as Progressive, Geico and Farmers Insurance all promote huge savings with TV and radio ads and consumers find it hard to avoid their marketing magic and find the best price available.
If you have a current car insurance policy or are just looking to switch companies, you can use these tips to cut your premiums and still get good coverage. Buying car insurance in Ellsworth is not rocket science. Maine drivers only need to know the most effective way to compare price quotes over the internet.
Finding Car Insurance in Ellsworth, Maine
There are multiple methods you can shop for car insurance but there is one way that is easier and takes less work. You could spend your day talking to insurance agencies in Ellsworth, or you can stay home and use online quotes to quickly compare rates.
Most major companies belong to an insurance system where prospective buyers only type in their quote data once, and at least one company returns a competitive quote. This eliminates the need for quote requests to each individual car insurance company.
To find out how much you’re overpaying now click here (opens in new window).
The one disadvantage to using this type of form is you cannot specify the companies to get pricing from. So if you want to choose specific insurance companies to compare, we have a listing of the cheapest car insurance companies in Maine. Click to view list.
It’s up to you which method you use, but double check that you are using apples-to-apples information for each price quote. If you enter mixed coverages it’s not possible to truly determine the lowest rate in Ellsworth.
Verify you’re getting all your discounts
Auto insurance companies don’t always advertise every discount in a way that’s easy to find, so here is a list both well-publicized as well as the least known discounts you could be receiving. If you aren’t receiving every discount you deserve, you are throwing money away.
- Multi-car Discount – Having more than one vehicle on the same car insurance policy could earn a price break for each car.
- Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your bill all at once instead of making monthly payments you can actually save on your bill.
- Accident Forgiveness – A handful of insurance companies allow you one accident before raising your premiums as long as you don’t have any claims for a certain period of time.
- Early Switch Discount – Some companies give discounts for switching policies before your current policy expires. It’s a savings of about 10%.
- Seat Belt Usage – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use their safety belts can save up to 15% off the personal injury premium cost.
Drivers should understand that many deductions do not apply to your bottom line cost. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. So when the math indicates all the discounts add up to a free policy, you won’t be that lucky.
For a list of insurers with the best car insurance discounts in Maine, click here to view.
When should I talk to an agent?
When choosing the best car insurance coverage, there really is not a “perfect” insurance plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s so this has to be addressed. For instance, these questions might point out whether you may require specific advice.
- How much underlying liability do I need for an umbrella policy?
- Should I buy more coverage than the required Maine minimum liability coverage?
- Should I put collision coverage on all my vehicles?
- I don’t drive much so do I pay less?
- Do I need roadside assistance coverage?
- Does my car insurance cover rental cars?
- Does my policy pay for OEM or aftermarket parts?
- Is borrowed equipment or tools covered if stolen or damaged?
If you can’t answer these questions but one or more may apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and can provide invaluable advice.
Auto insurance coverages
Having a good grasp of a car insurance policy can help you determine appropriate coverage at the best deductibles and correct limits. Policy terminology can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Listed below are typical coverage types found on most car insurance policies.
Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance
Your UM/UIM coverage provides protection when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for hospital bills for your injuries and damage to your vehicle.
Since many Maine drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (50/100/25), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.
Insurance for medical payments
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for bills for things like pain medications, hospital visits and surgery. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance plan or if you lack health insurance entirely. Medical payments and PIP cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants in addition to being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is only offered in select states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Auto liability insurance
Liability coverage protects you from damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property in an accident. It protects you from legal claims by others. Liability doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have policy limits of 50/100/50 that means you have a limit of $50,000 per injured person, $100,000 for the entire accident, and a limit of $50,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability can pay for things such as medical expenses, repair costs for stationary objects, emergency aid, funeral expenses and repair bills for other people’s vehicles. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible. Maine requires minimum liability limits of 50,000/100,000/25,000 but you should consider buying more liability than the minimum.
Collision insurance
This pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision insurance covers things like crashing into a ditch, hitting a parking meter and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. You can also bump up the deductible to bring the cost down.
Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)
This coverage covers damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first have to pay a deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as falling objects, rock chips in glass and fire damage. The most your car insurance company will pay is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Final considerations
When shopping online for car insurance, never skimp on coverage in order to save money. There have been many cases where consumers will sacrifice liability coverage limits only to regret that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. The aim is to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate, not the least amount of coverage.
Cheap car insurance is definitely available both online as well as from independent agents in Ellsworth, so you should be comparing quotes from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance providers don’t offer online price quotes and many times these small insurance companies only sell through independent insurance agents.
Additional car insurance links
More detailed Maine car insurance information is located at the Maine Bureau of Insurance website. Visitors are able to discover disciplinary actions, learn about insurance regulations, and read industry bulletins.
Other informative sites include this page for car insurance prices in Maine and this list of agents in Ellsworth, ME.