5 Ways to Lower Car Insurance Premium in Forest Grove

Nobody likes paying for car insurance, especially knowing the cost is too high.

Popular companies such as State Farm and GEICO persitently shower you with fancy advertisements and consumers find it hard to sift through the bull and find the best price available.

Smart consumers take time to compare prices quite often because insurance rates are rarely the same from one policy term to another. Even if you got the lowest price a couple years back other companies may now be cheaper. Forget all the misinformation about car insurance because you’re about to learn the quickest way to find better coverage at a better price.

Save money by taking advantage of these discounts

Car insurance companies don’t always advertise every available discount in an easy-to-find place, so the following is a list of some of the more common and also the lesser-known car insurance savings.

  • Passive Restraint Discount – Cars that have air bags or automatic seat belts can qualify for discounts up to 30%.
  • Seat Belts Save – Drivers who require all occupants to buckle their seat belts could save 15% on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
  • Discount for Swiching Early – Select companies give a discount for switching policies before your current expiration date. The savings is around 10%.
  • Multi-policy Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles with the same insurance company you will save 10% to 20% off each policy.
  • Accident Waiver – Some insurance companies permit an accident before your rates go up as long as you don’t have any claims for a certain period of time.
  • 55 and Retired – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may qualify for a discount up to 10%.

Keep in mind that most discounts do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. So when it seems like you could get a free car insurance policy, it just doesn’t work that way.

To see a list of insurance companies with the best car insurance discounts in Oregon, click here to view.

But buying car insurance online seems impersonal

A small number of people would prefer to buy from a licensed agent and there is nothing wrong with that. One of the great benefits of price shopping on the web is the fact that you can find better rates and still choose a local agent.

Upon completion of this short form, your insurance coverage information is immediately sent to local insurance agents who will compete to get your business. There is no reason to leave your computer because quoted prices will be sent immediately to your email address. Now that’s easy! Get lower rates AND an agent nearby.Oregon insurance ad

Picking an provider requires more thought than just the bottom line cost. Agents should be asked these questions:

  • Did they already check your driving record and credit reports?
  • What insurance company do they write the most business with?
  • Can they provide you with a list of referrals?
  • Are there any hidden costs in their price quote and does it include driving and credit history?
  • How many years of experience in personal lines insurance coverages do they have?
  • How are they compensated?
  • If your car is totalled, how to they determine the replacement cost?
  • Do they regularly work with personal auto policies?

Is a captive or independent car insurance agent right for you?

When searching for a good Forest Grove insurance agent, there are a couple of types of agencies to choose from. Agents can either be independent (non-captive) or captive.

Agency Captives

Captive insurance agents can only place business with one company and some examples include Allstate, State Farm and Farmers Insurance. These agents are not able to place coverage with different providers so they are skilled at selling on more than just price. Captives receive extensive training in insurance sales which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums.

Shown below are Forest Grove captive agencies who may provide you with comparison quotes.

American Family Insurance – 2036 Main St – Forest Grove, OR 97116 – (503) 359-5459
Farmers Insurance Group – 2806 19th Ave – Forest Grove, OR 97116 – (503) 359-4421
State Farm Insurance – 2611 Pacific Ave – Forest Grove, OR 97116 – (503) 357-7676
Allstate Insurance – 3010 Pacific Ave # B – Forest Grove, OR 97116 – (503) 357-7179

Independent Agents (or Brokers)

Independent agencies are not employed by any specific company but instead can place your coverage with multiple insurance companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. If you are not satisfied with one company, they simply move the coverage in-house without you having to go to a different agency.

When searching for an agent, it’s a good idea to include price quotes from at a minimum one independent agency to have the most options to choose from.

Shown below is a list of independent insurance agents in Forest Grove who can help you get price quote information.

Shirley Evers Agency – 910 NW Martin Rd – Forest Grove, OR 97116 – (503) 357-9720
DNA Insurance – 1830 Tamarack Way – Forest Grove, OR 97116 – (503) 357-3736
Pacific Insurance Partners – 2328 Pacific Ave – Forest Grove, OR 97116 – (503) 357-7111

Oregon insurance ad

To view a complete directory of car insurance agents in Forest Grove, please go to this site.

After receiving positive responses and a good coverage price, you may have just found an auto insurance agent that is a good match to service your policy.

More resources for learning

Even more information is located at the Oregon Insurance Division website. Oregon drivers can find a variety of consumer forms, view a list of available companies, read consumer alerts, and discover disciplinary actions.

Also read more on this site for rates in Oregon and QuoteClickSave.com.

Best coverage at the best price

As you prepare to switch companies, make sure you don’t reduce needed coverages to save money. In many instances, an insured cut physical damage coverage and learned later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your aim should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at an affordable rate, not the least amount of coverage.

You just learned quite a bit of information on how to shop for car insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more you quote, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may be surprised to find that the most savings is with the least-expected company. Smaller companies often have lower prices on specific markets as compared to the big name companies such as GEICO and State Farm.