6 Ways to Save on Auto Insurance in Beloit, WI

Nobody I know cherishes buying auto insurance, in particular when their premiums are too high. Big-name insurance companies like State Farm, GEICO and Farmers Insurance promote their brand names with ads and consumers find it hard to ignore the flying pigs and cute green geckos and take the time to shop coverage around.

If you have insurance now or are looking for a new policy, you can follow these tips to shop for the lowest rates and possibly find even better coverage. Finding affordable coverage in Beloit is not rocket science. Wisconsin vehicle owners just need to know the tricks to get comparison rates on the web.

How to Get Auto Insurance in Beloit, WI

All the larger auto insurance companies like 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm allow you to get coverage price quotes online. Obtaining pricing is quite easy as you just enter into a form. When the form is submitted, the system makes automated requests for your driving record and credit report and returns pricing information determined by many factors. This makes it a lot easier to compare rates but the work required to visit a lot of sites and enter the same data into a form can get tiresome after awhile. But it’s absolutely necessary to do this in order to find a better rate.

A quicker way to lower your auto insurance bill utilizes a single form that gets prices from multiple companies. It saves time, eliminates repetitive work, and makes price shopping online much more enjoyable and efficient. After your information is entered, your coverage is rated and you can select any one of the resulting price quotes. If the quotes result in lower rates, you simply finish the application and buy the policy. The whole process takes 15 minutes at the most and you will find out if you’re overpaying now.

If you want to get comparison pricing now, click here to open in new window and begin entering your coverage information. If you currently have coverage, we recommend that you enter deductibles and limits exactly as they are listed on your policy. This guarantees you will receive comparison quotes using the exact same coverages.

Companies offer discounts so take them!

Companies don’t always publicize all available discounts very well, so the following is a list of both the well known and also the lesser-known auto insurance savings. If you don’t get every credit available, you are paying more than you should be.

• Organization Discounts – Being a member of a civic or occupational organization could trigger savings on your policy.
• Senior Citizens – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you can possibly qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
• Good Student Discount – Getting good grades can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. The good student discount can last up to age 25.
• Military Rewards – Being deployed with a military unit may qualify for rate reductions.
• Federal Government Employee – Employees or retirees of the government may qualify you for a discount with certain companies.
• Braking Control Discount – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes prevent accidents and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.

A little note about advertised discounts, some credits don’t apply the the whole policy. The majority will only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as comprehensive or collision. So when the math indicates all those discounts means the company will pay you, companies wouldn’t make money that way.

For a list of insurers with discount auto insurance rates in Beloit, click here to view.

Detailed coverages of your auto insurance policy

Having a good grasp of your policy can be of help when determining which coverages you need for your vehicles. Auto insurance terms can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring. Below you’ll find typical coverage types found on most auto insurance policies.

Collision insurance

This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision can pay for things like colliding with another moving vehicle, hitting a mailbox and colliding with a tree. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider removing coverage from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible to save money on collision insurance.

Auto liability insurance

This coverage can cover damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property in an accident. It protects you against other people’s claims. It does not cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

It consists of three limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have values of 100/300/100 which stand for $100,000 bodily injury coverage, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.

Liability coverage protects against things such as court costs, pain and suffering and medical services. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford. Wisconsin state law requires minimum liability limits of 50,000/100,000/55,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy more liability than the minimum.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)

This coverage provides protection from other motorists when they do not carry enough liability coverage. This coverage pays for hospital bills for your injuries as well as damage to your vehicle.

Since a lot of drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (Wisconsin limits are 50/100/55), their limits can quickly be used up. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.

Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance provide coverage for immediate expenses for things like EMT expenses, dental work, prosthetic devices and hospital visits. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance program or if you do not have health coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants in addition to any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Comprehensive insurance

This pays for damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first must pay your deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like fire damage, damage from flooding, damage from a tornado or hurricane, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and hitting a deer. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Final thoughts

In this article, we presented some good ideas how you can save on auto insurance. The key thing to remember is the more times you quote, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may even discover the most savings is with a lesser-known regional company. These companies often have lower prices on specific markets than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate and Progressive.

The cheapest auto insurance can be found both online as well as from independent agents in Beloit, and you should be comparing both to have the best selection. Some companies don’t offer online price quotes and these small insurance companies work with independent agents.

For more Wisconsin auto insurance information

More detailed Wisconsin auto insurance information is located at the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance website. Wisconsin consumers can read industry bulletins, report car insurance fraud, and view agent and company licensing information.

Other useful links include QuoteClickInsure.com and this list of insurance agents in Beloit.