Paying cheap rates for New Gloucester car insurance is always kind of frustrating for drivers who have little experience comparison shopping online. Consumers have so many options available that it can easily turn into a real difficult job to locate the lowest price in Maine.
Finding the best rates in New Gloucester is quite easy. If you currently have car insurance, you will most likely be able to lower your premiums substantially using these methods. Maine drivers only need an understanding of the tricks to shop for car insurance over the internet.
The majority of larger companies provide coverage price quotes on the web. The process is possible for anyone as you simply type in your coverage information on the page. Once entered, their system sends out for your driving and credit reports and quotes a price based on the information you submitted.
Online price estimates simplifies rate comparisons, but having to visit each company’s website and repetitively type in the same data is repetitive and time-consuming. But it’s very important to have as many quotes as possible if you want to get the best price on car insurance.
A more efficient way to lower your rates utilizes a single form that analyzes rates from several companies at one time. It saves time, reduces the work, and makes comparison shopping a little more enjoyable. Once the form is submitted, it is rated and you can choose any of the price quotes you receive. If a lower price is quoted, it’s easy to complete the application and buy the policy. The whole process can be completed in a matter of minutes and could lower your rates considerably.
If you want to compare pricing, click here to open in new window and enter your vehicle and coverage information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend that you enter the coverages just like they are on your policy. This makes sure you will have rate quotes for similar insurance coverage.
Lower-cost Maine car insurance quotes with discounts
Auto insurance companies do not advertise every discount very clearly, so the next list breaks down a few of the more common as well as the least known discounts that you may qualify for.
- Safety Course Discount – Completing a class that teaches defensive driver techniques could earn you a small percentage discount if your company offers it.
- Paperwork-free – A few larger companies provide a small discount simply for signing on their website.
- Telematics Discount – Drivers who elect to allow driving data submission to spy on vehicle usage by installing a telematics device such as State Farm’s In-Drive could see a rate decrease if they exhibit good driving behavior.
- Passive Restraint Discount – Factory air bags or automatic seat belts can qualify for discounts of 25 to 30%.
- Claim-Free Discount – Drivers who don’t have accidents pay less as opposed to accident-prone drivers.
- Active Service Discounts – Being deployed in the military could be rewarded with lower rates.
- Accident Forgiveness Coverage – This isn’t a discount exactly, but a handful of insurance companies permit an accident before they charge you more for coverage if your claims history is clear for a certain period of time.
One last thing about discounts, many deductions do not apply the the whole policy. Most only cut specific coverage prices like liability, collision or medical payments. If you do the math and it seems like you can get free auto insurance, it doesn’t quite work that way.
For a list of car insurance companies that offer the discounts shown above in New Gloucester, click here to view.
Cost influencing factors
Many things are used when you quote your car insurance policy. Most are fairly basic such as your driving history, but other criteria are more obscure such as your marital status or your vehicle rating.
Shown below are just a few of the factors used by companies to determine your premiums.
- Physical damage deductibles – Protection for physical damage, also called ‘full coverage’, insures against damage to your car. Some coverage claims are running into the backend of another car, flood damage, or theft. Physical damage deductibles define the amount you are willing to pay if the claim is covered. The larger the amount the insured has to pay upfront, the better rate you will receive.
- If you don’t need it don’t buy it – Policies have add-on coverages that can add up on your car insurance policy. Insurance for things like rental car reimbursement, death and dismemberment, and extra life insurance coverage may be wasting your money. They may seem like a good idea at first, but if you don’t need them remove them and pocket the money.
- Better credit means lower rates – A driver’s credit score factor in determining what you pay. Insureds with high credit ratings tend to be better risks to insure than drivers who have bad credit. If your credit rating is low, you may save money insuring your vehicle by taking the time to improve your credit score.
- Car insurance rates and your job – Jobs such as doctorsair traffic controllers and dentists generally pay higher rates than the rest of us due to intense work-related stress and lots of time spent at work. Other professions such as actors, athletes and homemakers get better rates.
- Bad driving leads to higher premiums – Having a clean driving record has a lot to do with how much you pay for insurance. Getting just one speeding ticket or other violation can increase the cost of insurance by as much as thirty percent. Drivers who don’t get tickets receive lower rates compared to drivers with tickets. People who have severe tickets like DUI or reckless driving may be required to file a SR-22 with their state motor vehicle department in order to legally drive.
- Do thieves like your car? – Choosing to buy a car that has a built-in theft deterrent system can save you some money. Theft deterrent systems like LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM’s OnStar system all help prevent vehicle theft.
- Safer vehicles are cheaper to insure – Vehicles that have high safety ratings can get you lower premiums. Safe vehicles reduce the chance of injuries and lower injury rates translates directly to fewer claims which can mean better rates for you. If your vehicle scored at minimum four stars on Safercar.gov or an “acceptable” rating on iihs.org it is probably cheaper to insure.
- Liability insurance limits should be high – Liability coverage kicks in when you are determined to be liable for an accident. This coverage provides you with a defense in court starting from day one. Liability insurance is quite affordable as compared to coverage for physical damage, so do not cut corners here.
A little work can save a LOT of money
As you shop your coverage around, never reduce needed coverages to save money. There have been many situations where someone dropped collision coverage to discover at claim time that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. The goal is to find the BEST coverage at the best possible price, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.
Some car insurance companies do not offer online price quotes and most of the time these small insurance companies only sell coverage through local independent agencies. Cost effective car insurance can be purchased online as well as from independent agents in New Gloucester, and you should compare rates from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from.
You just learned many ideas to get a better price on car insurance. The key concept to understand is the more quotes you get, the higher your chance of finding . You may even discover the best price on car insurance is with the smaller companies.
More detailed Maine car insurance information is located at the Maine Bureau of Insurance website. Maine drivers can discover disciplinary actions, file complaints about a company, find out which companies have the most complaints, and learn about specific coverages.
Other informative sites include Wikipedia and this page where you can research New Gloucester insurance agents.