Getting the cheapest Villa Rica auto insurance is rather challenging for consumers that are not comfortable with quoting and comparing and buying auto insurance on the web. With such a big selection of agents and insurers to choose from, how are consumers expected to even start to compare each option to find better auto insurance prices?
It’s a good idea to check auto insurance prices on a regular basis due to the fact that insurance rates are usually higher with each renewal. If you had the best deal six months ago there may be better deals available now. Don’t believe everything you read about auto insurance online, but I’m going to show you some of the best ways to lower your auto insurance premiums.
Finding the best rates in Villa Rica is not that difficult. If you are paying for car insurance now, you will be able to lower your premiums substantially using these tips. Although Georgia consumers can benefit by having an understanding of the way companies compete online and take advantage of how the system works.
There are multiple methods to compare auto insurance quotes, but there is one way that is more efficient than others. You can spend your afternoon discussing policy coverages with agents in Villa Rica, or you could save time and use online quotes to accomplish the same thing much quicker.
All the larger companies belong to a marketplace where insurance shoppers enter their policy data once, and each participating company provides a quote for coverage. This eliminates the need for quotation requests for each company. To get comparison pricing now click here to start a free quote.
The only drawback to doing it this way is you don’t know exactly which providers you will receive quotes from. If you prefer to choose specific insurance companies to compare rates, we have assembled a list of low cost auto insurance companies in Georgia. Click here to view list.
Take whichever approach you prefer, but try to keep the same deductibles and coverage limits with every price quote. If you are comparing unequal deductibles or liability limits it will be nearly impossible to get a fair rate comparison in Villa Rica. Quoting even small variations in limits could throw off the whole comparison. Just keep in mind that getting more free quotes will improve the odds of getting a lower rate than you’re paying now. Some smaller insurers to not give prices over the internet, so you need to compare price quotes from the smaller companies as well.
More affordable rates with these nine discounts
Some insurance providers don’t always list every discount in an easy-to-find place, so the below list has a few of the more well known and also the lesser-known discounts that you may qualify for.
- Military Rewards – Having a deployed family member could mean lower auto insurance rates.
- Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Drivers who always wear seat belts and also require passengers to buckle their seat belts may be able to save a few bucks on the premium charged for medical payments and/or PIP.
- Waiver for an Accident – Not really a discount, but companies like Geico and Liberty Mutual will forgive one accident before they charge you more for coverage so long as you are claim-free prior to the accident.
- Accident-Free Discounts – Villa Rica drivers who stay claim-free can save substantially when compared with accident-prone drivers.
- Senior Citizen Discount – Drivers that qualify as senior citizens can possibly qualify for better auto insurance rates.
- Distant College Student Discount – Children who are enrolled in higher education away from home and do not have access to a covered vehicle could qualify for this discount.
- Early Signing – A few auto insurance companies give discounts for switching to them prior to your current policy expiration. It’s a savings of about 10%.
- Onboard Data Collection – Drivers that enable companies to scrutinize where and when they drive by installing a telematics device like In-Drive from State Farm and Progressive’s Snapshot could save a few bucks if they exhibit good driving behavior.
- Professional Memberships – Joining qualifying employment or professional organizations may earn a discount on auto insurance.
Discounts save money, but please remember that most discounts do not apply the the whole policy. Most only apply to individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. So even though you would think adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
Popular auto insurance companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts can be read below.
- Geico offers discounts including emergency military deployment, seat belt use, driver training, membership and employees, and federal employee.
- Travelers offers premium reductions for continuous insurance, multi-car, student away at school, payment discounts, hybrid/electric vehicle, home ownership, and IntelliDrive.
- Nationwide has savings for Farm Bureau membership, family plan, business or organization, easy pay, good student, and defensive driving.
- Farmers Insurance has discounts for mature driver, bundle discounts, switch companies, early shopping, distant student, good student, and homeowner.
- Esurance discounts include online quote, defensive driver, renters, safety device, and paid-in-full.
- State Farm offers discounts for good driver, Drive Safe & Save, good student, multiple autos, anti-theft, defensive driving training, and Steer Clear safe driver discount.
- Progressive includes discounts for continuous coverage, online quote discount, multi-vehicle, online signing, good student, multi-policy, and homeowner.
- Mercury Insurance may offer discounts for professional/association, good driver, multi-policy, type of vehicle, and low natural disaster claims.
It’s a good idea to ask all companies you are considering how many discounts you can get. Depending on the company, some discounts might not be offered on policies in Villa Rica.
Truth in auto insurance advertising
Auto insurance providers like State Farm, Geico and Progressive consistently run television and radio advertisements. All the ads seem to make the promise about savings after switching your auto insurance coverage to their company. How can each company charge lower premium rates? It’s all in the numbers.
Insurance providers are able to cherry pick for the type of driver that earns them the most money. One example of this type of insured may be over age 30, has had continuous coverage, and drives newer vehicles. A customer who fits those characteristics gets the lowest car insurance rates as well as save a lot of money.
Potential customers who fall outside these standards will see higher rates and this can result in business going elsewhere. If you pay attention, the ads say “drivers that switch” but not “everyone who gets a quote” save that much when switching. That is how insurance companies can confidently claim big savings. Because of these techniques, you should compare price quotes frequently. You cannot predict which insurance companies will have the lowest rates.
Auto insurance 101
Knowing the specifics of your policy can be of help when determining the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. The terms used in a policy can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy.
Liability auto insurance
Liability insurance will cover damage or injury you incur to people or other property. It protects you against other people’s claims. Liability doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You might see policy limits of 25/50/25 that translate to a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a per accident bodily injury limit of $50,000, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability insurance covers things like legal defense fees, loss of income, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, medical expenses and funeral expenses. How much coverage you buy is your choice, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible. Georgia requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/25,000 but you should think about purchasing more coverage.
Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance
Your UM/UIM coverage provides protection from other motorists when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits (Georgia limits are 25/50/25), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea.
Insurance for medical payments
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for immediate expenses such as funeral costs, ambulance fees, surgery and chiropractic care. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if you are not covered by health insurance. They cover all vehicle occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP coverage is not an option in every state but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Collision coverage
Collision insurance will pay to fix damage to your vehicle resulting from colliding with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision coverage protects against things like hitting a parking meter, rolling your car and crashing into a ditch. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. Another option is to choose a higher deductible to bring the cost down.
Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)
This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for claims like falling objects, theft and rock chips in glass. The maximum payout a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Persistence pays off
Drivers who switch companies do it for a number of reasons such as being labeled a high risk driver, high rates after DUI convictions, denial of a claim and policy non-renewal. No matter why you want to switch, choosing a new insurance company can be easy and end up saving you some money.
We just presented some good ideas how to shop for auto insurance online. The key thing to remember is the more times you quote, the better likelihood of getting . You may be surprised to find that the best price on auto insurance is with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising.
The cheapest auto insurance is available on the web and also from your neighborhood Villa Rica agents, and you should compare rates from both to get a complete price analysis. Some companies may not provide price quotes online and usually these regional carriers work with independent agencies.
Additional auto insurance links
More detailed Georgia auto insurance information can be read at the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner website. Visitors are able to read state legal mandates and laws, read consumer alerts, and learn about insurance regulations.
Other useful links include Wikipedia and this list of insurance agents in Villa Rica.