7 Ways to Save Money on Auto Insurance in Winner

Overpriced auto insurance can dwindle your personal savings, especially in this economy. Doing a price comparison is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to lower your monthly bill. Companies like Progressive, GEICO and Farmers Insurance increase brand awareness with ad campaigns and it can be hard to ignore the flying pigs and cute green geckos and take the time to shop coverage around.

If you have a current auto insurance policy or need a new policy, you can use this information to get lower rates while maximizing coverage. Choosing the best insurance company for you in Winner is quite easy. South Dakota vehicle owners just need to learn the best way to find the lowest price on the web.

Discounts are great for lower rates

Auto insurance companies don’t necessarily list every discount very clearly, so here is a list both the well known as well as the least known ways to save on auto insurance. If you’re not getting every credit possible, you are throwing money away.

• Bundle and Save – When you have multiple policies with the same insurance company you may save up to 20% off your total premium.
• Anti-lock Brake System – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles are safer to drive and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
• Seat Belt Usage – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use a seat belt could save 15% off your medical payments premium.
• Homeowners Discount – Owning a home in Winner may earn you a small savings because of the fact that having a home requires personal responsibility.
• College Student – Children living away from home attending college without a vehicle on campus can receive lower rates.
• Paperless Signup – A few companies may give you up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up online.
• Save over 55 – Older drivers may receive a discount up to 10%.

Drivers should understand that most discount credits are not given to the entire cost. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. So despite the fact that it appears it’s possible to get free car insurance, it just doesn’t work that way.

To choose insurers with discount auto insurance rates in South Dakota, click here to view.

Auto Insurance Prices in Winner

Reducing your insurance rates is not a difficult process. All you need to do is take a couple of minutes comparing rate quotes online from several insurance companies. This is very easy and can be done using a couple different methods.

• The fastest way to compare a lot of rates at once is an all-inclusive rate comparison like this one (opens in new window). This form prevents you from having to do separate forms for every auto insurance company. A single form gets you coverage quotes from several companies.
• A slightly less efficient method to analyze rates is to manually visit the website of each company and complete a new quote form. For instance, we’ll pretend you want to compare USAA, Liberty Mutual and American Family. To get rate quotes you would need to go to every website and enter your information, which is why the first method is more popular.

  For a list of links to companies insuring cars in Winner, click here.

It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just make darn sure you compare the exact same coverages and limits for every quote you compare. If you use different limits and deductibles on each one it’s impossible to make a fair comparison in Winner.

Educate yourself about auto insurance coverages

Understanding the coverages of a auto insurance policy aids in choosing which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. Auto insurance terms can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Shown next are the normal coverages offered by auto insurance companies.

Medical expense coverage

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage pay for bills like prosthetic devices, hospital visits and pain medications. The coverages can be used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. They cover you and your occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal Injury Protection is only offered in select states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Uninsured or underinsured coverage

This coverage gives you protection from other motorists when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Due to the fact that many South Dakota drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (South Dakota limits are 25/50/25), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea.

Coverage for collisions

This will pay to fix damage to your vehicle caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision coverage protects against things like colliding with another moving vehicle, sustaining damage from a pot hole and crashing into a ditch. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Comprehensive protection

Comprehensive insurance will pay to fix damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive insurance covers things like a tree branch falling on your vehicle, falling objects, damage from a tornado or hurricane, vandalism and hitting a bird. The maximum amount a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Liability auto insurance

This coverage will cover damage or injury you incur to people or other property that is your fault. This coverage protects you from claims by other people. It does not cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

Coverage consists of three different limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. Your policy might show values of 25/50/25 which stand for $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery.

Liability insurance covers claims like bail bonds, loss of income and pain and suffering. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but you should buy as much as you can afford. South Dakota state law requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/25,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy more coverage.

More comparisons equals lower rates

We just covered a lot of information how to shop for auto insurance online. The key thing to remember is the more quotes you get, the better your comparison will be. You may even discover the lowest priced auto insurance comes from an unexpected company. They often have lower prices on specific markets compared to the large companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive.

Lower-priced auto insurance can be found on the web in addition to many Winner insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both in order to have the best chance of saving money. There are still a few companies who do not provide the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these smaller companies sell through independent agents.

As you shop your coverage around, it’s not a good idea to buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. Too many times, an accident victim reduced full coverage only to regret that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your strategy should be to buy enough coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.

Find out more about auto insurance

More detailed South Dakota auto insurance information is located at the South Dakota Division of Insurance website. South Dakota consumers can find disaster information, learn about insurance regulations, learn about specific coverages, and file complaints about an insurance agent or broker.