Sick and tired of paying out the nose to buy car insurance? You are no different than millions of other consumers. Big-name insurance companies like Progressive, State Farm and Geico all promote huge savings with ad campaigns and it can be hard to ignore the flashy ads and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.
If you are insured now or are shopping for new coverage, you can use these tips to find the best rates while maintaining coverages. Buying car insurance in Woodstock is easy if you know what you’re doing. Georgia drivers just need to know the most effective way to shop for car insurance on the web.
Lower the Price of Insurance with These Tips
Consumers need to have an understanding of the different types of things that play a part in calculating the price you pay for car insurance. Knowing what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that will entitle you to better car insurance rates.
- You might want pay the small claims yourself – Companies in Georgia give better rates to drivers who do not file claims often. If you file claims often, you can expect higher rates. Your insurance policy is intended to be relied upon for the large, substantial claims.
- Having a spouse can save you money – Having a spouse helps lower the price when buying car insurance. Marriage is viewed as being more mature than a single person and it’s statistically proven that being married results in fewer claims.
- High credit ratings translate to low rates – Credit history is a big factor in your rate calculation. So if your credit history is not that good, you could pay less to insure your by improving your credit score. Consumers who have good credit tend to be less risk to insure as compared to drivers with lower credit scores.
- Men are more aggressive – The statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. Now that doesn’t mean men are WORSE drivers than women. Both sexes tend to get into accidents at a similar rate, but the men tend to have more serious accidents. Men also statistically have more aggressive citations such as reckless driving.
- Car features impact rates – Driving a car that has an advanced theft prevention system can help lower your rates. Anti-theft devices like vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems all hinder your vehicle from being stolen.
- Adjust deductibles and save – Insurance for physical damage to your car, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, protects your car from damage. A few examples of covered claims could be collision with another vehicle, collision with an animal, and burglary. Your deductibles are the amount of money you are willing to pay before your car insurance pays a claim. The more expense you have to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.
Compare Car Insurance Today
Getting a lower price on insurance can be surprisingly simple. All that’s required is to invest a little time comparing price quotes online with multiple companies. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in just a few minutes using one of these methods.
- The fastest way to get quotes would be an industry-wide quote request form click here to open form in new window. This method saves time by eliminating multiple quote forms for each company you want a rate for. Taking the time to complete one form will return price quotes from multiple low-cost companies.
- Another way to compare prices is to take the time to go to each company’s website to complete their respective quote request forms. For example, let’s say you want rates from Liberty Mutual, Geico and State Farm. To get each rate you have to spend time on each company’s site to enter your coverage information, which is why the first method is quicker. For a handy list of car insurance company links in Woodstock, click here.
- The hardest way of comparing rate quotes is driving around to local Woodstock insurance agencies. Buying insurance online can eliminate the need for a local agent unless you want the personal advice of a local Woodstock agent. It is possible to obtain prices from the web and get advice from an agent in your area and we’ll cover that in a bit.
Which method you use is up to you, but make sure you use identical coverage information with each company. If each company quotes differing limits you will not be able to truly determine the lowest rate in Woodstock.
Is there deception in advertising?
Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements that promise big savings from the likes of State Farm, Allstate and Geico. All the ads make the same claim that you can save if you change your coverage to them.
But how can every company make the same claim?
All the different companies can use profiling for the driver that makes them money. For example, a preferred risk could possibly be between 30 and 50, has no prior claims, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A driver who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and most likely will save when they switch companies.
Consumers who are not a match for these standards will be quoted higher rates and ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads state “drivers who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much. That is how companies can truthfully make the claims of big savings.
This emphasizes why you absolutely need to compare as many rates as you can. Because you never know which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.
Take discounts and save
The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, but you can get discounts to help bring down the price. Most are applied at the time you complete a quote, but less common discounts must be specially asked for before being credited. If you’re not getting every credit available, you’re paying more than you need to.
- Senior Citizens – If you’re over the age of 55, you may qualify for reduced rates.
- Braking Control Discount – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles can reduce accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Lower Rates for Military – Being on active duty in the military could be rewarded with lower premiums.
- Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Vehicles equipped with air bags can receive discounts of more than 20%.
- Good Students Pay Less – A discount for being a good student can get you a discount of up to 25%. The discount lasts well after school through age 25.
- Theft Prevention Discount – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems prevent vehicle theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Drive Safe and Save – Safe drivers can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates than less cautious drivers.
As a disclaimer on discounts, some of the credits will not apply the the whole policy. The majority will only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as collision or personal injury protection. So even though it sounds like all those discounts means the company will pay you, companies don’t profit that way. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce the cost of coverage.
To see a list of providers with the best car insurance discounts in Georgia, click here.
Aren’t my neighborhood agents an option?
A small number of people would prefer to visit with an insurance agent and that is OK! Insurance agents can help determine the best coverages and help you file claims. One of the great benefits of getting online price quotes is you may find the best rates but still work with a licensed agent. Supporting local agencies is important especially in Woodstock.
After completing this short form, your information gets sent to local insurance agents who will compete to get your business. There is no need to leave your house as quotes are delivered immediately to your email address. Now that’s easy!
Captive and independent Woodstock insurance agencies
When searching for local Woodstock agents, you need to know there are two types of insurance agents that you can select. Agencies in Woodstock can either be independent or captive. Either one can properly insure your vehicles, but it’s good to learn the difference between them because it can influence buying decisions.
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Independent agents are not required to write business for one company so they can insure your vehicles with any number of different companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. To move your coverage to a new company, an independent agent can move your coverage without you having to go to a different agency.
When comparing rates, you should always contact at a minimum one independent agency to get the best comparison.
The following are independent agencies in Woodstock that can give you comparison quotes.
Underwood Agency Inc – 4390 Earney Rd – Woodstock, GA 30188 – (770) 751-7115
Southern Assurance Agency – 2016 Bascomb Carmel Rd – Woodstock, GA 30189 – (770) 926-1495
Insurance Consultants-Georgia – 807 Mount Glen Ln – Woodstock, GA 30188 – (770) 516-7179
Daniel F Rooney Agency – 1097 Towne Lake Hls E – Woodstock, GA 30189 – (770) 592-9398
DCG Insurance and Financial – 6478 Putnam Ford Dr – Woodstock, GA 30189 – (678) 494-4211
Captive Insurance Agents
Captive agents work for only one company such as American Family, Liberty Mutual and AAA. Captives cannot shop your coverage around so they have to upsell other benefits. Captive agents are usually quite knowledgeable in insurance sales which can be an advantage.
Listed below are captive agents in Woodstock willing to provide rate quotes.
Liberty Mutual Insurance – 295 Molly Ln # 150 – Woodstock, GA 30189 – (770) 924-6464
State Farm Insurance – 1007 Weatherstone Pkwy # 140 – Woodstock, GA 30188 – (770) 427-5738
Allstate Insurance – 9910 Highway 92 # 210 – Woodstock, GA 30188 – (770) 924-3663
For a full directory of captive agencies in Woodstock, view this link.
Selecting an auto insurance agent needs to be determined by more than just the price. Any agent should have no problem answering these questions:
- Is working in the agency their full-time job?
- Does the agency provide any after hours assistance?
- Do they receive special compensation for putting your coverage with one company over another?
- What insurance companies do they recommend if they are an independent agent?
- Will vehicle repairs be made with aftermarket parts or OEM replacement parts?
Upon receiving satisfactory answers and an acceptable price quote, you have narrowed it down to a car insurance agent that is a good match to properly insure your vehicles.
Additional information is available on the website for the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner through this link. Georgia consumers can report car insurance fraud, read consumer alerts, discover disciplinary actions, and find out industry alerts.
One last thing
The cheapest car insurance is possible online in addition to many Woodstock insurance agents, and you need to price shop both so you have a total pricing picture. There are still a few companies who do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.
We just presented many tips how you can get a better price on car insurance. The key concept to understand is the more quotes you get, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may even discover the most savings is with a smaller regional carrier. Some small companies can often provide lower rates in certain areas compared to the large companies like Progressive or Geico.