8 Guaranteed Methods to Reduce Auto Insurance Costs in Spokane Washington

Overwhelmed by the wide range of auto insurance companies in Spokane? Many other consumers are too. People have so many companies to choose from that it can turn into more work than you anticipated to find the best price.

Discounts are basically free money

Auto insurance companies don’t list all their discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we break down some of the best known and also the lesser-known auto insurance savings. If they aren’t giving you every credit you deserve, you are throwing money away.

• Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Cars that have air bags or motorized seat belts can receive discounts of up to 25% or more.
• Low Mileage Discounts – Fewer annual miles can earn a substantially lower rate.
• 55 and Retired – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may qualify for a discount up to 10%.
• Safety Course Discount – Taking a defensive driving course could cut 5% off your bill depending on where you live.
• Pay Upfront and Save – By paying your policy upfront instead of paying each month you can actually save on your bill.
• Life Insurance Discount – Companies who offer life insurance give better rates if you take out life insurance.
• Service Members Pay Less – Being deployed with a military unit can result in better rates.
• New Car Discount – Putting insurance coverage on a new car can save up to 30% because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.

It’s important to understand that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the overall cost of the policy. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like collision or personal injury protection. Even though it may seem like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, you’re out of luck.

For a list of providers who offer auto insurance discounts in Spokane, follow this link.

How to Compare Auto Insurance in Spokane, WA

Performing a rate comparison can be a lot of work if you don’t know the most efficient way. You can spend countless hours driving to insurance companies in Spokane, or you could use online quoting to get rate comparisons in just a few minutes.

Most major companies participate in an industry program where prospective buyers only type in their quote data once, and each company can provide price quotes based on that data. This system prevents you from having to do quote forms for each company.

To compare rates using this form now click here (opens in new window).

The one downside to doing it this way is you don’t know exactly the insurers you want to price. So if you want to choose from a list of companies to compare, we have a listing of the cheapest auto insurance companies in Washington. Click to view list.

It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but ensure you’re using apples-to-apples coverage limits and deductibles on every quote. If your comparisons have higher or lower deductibles then you won’t be able to make an equal comparison in Spokane.

How can State Farm and Allstate save drivers who switch?

Consumers can’t get away from ads for cheaper car insurance by State Farm and Allstate. They all seem to have a common claim about savings if you change to their company.

How does each company make the same claim? This is how they do it.

Insurance companies have a certain “appetite” for the type of customer that is profitable for them. A good example of a desirable insured could be over the age of 50, insures multiple vehicles, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. Any new insured who matches those parameters will get very good rates and therefore will pay quite a bit less when switching companies.

Potential insureds who are not a match for the requirements will be quoted higher premiums and ends up with business going elsewhere. The ads say “customers that switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save money. That’s why insurance companies can confidently make the claims of big savings. This emphasizes why drivers must quote coverage with many companies. Because you never know which company will give you the cheapest auto insurance quotes in Spokane, WA.

Coverage specifics

Knowing the specifics of auto insurance helps when choosing the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be confusing and coverage can change by endorsement.

Collision coverages – Collision insurance will pay to fix damage to your vehicle resulting from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. A deductible applies then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision insurance covers claims like crashing into a ditch, sustaining damage from a pot hole, hitting a mailbox and driving through your garage door. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. You can also increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Comprehensive protection – This pays to fix your vehicle from damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive insurance covers claims like hitting a bird, hitting a deer, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and rock chips in glass. The highest amount you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider dropping full coverage.

Medical expense coverage – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance reimburse you for immediate expenses such as hospital visits, ambulance fees, funeral costs, rehabilitation expenses and surgery. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. It covers both the driver and occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Uninsured or underinsured coverage – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage gives you protection when the “other guys” either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and also any damage incurred to your vehicle.

Due to the fact that many Washington drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (which is 25/50/10), their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked.

Liability car insurance – Liability insurance will cover damage or injury you incur to other’s property or people by causing an accident. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. As an example, you may have limits of 25/50/25 which stand for $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000.

Liability coverage pays for claims like pain and suffering, court costs, structural damage and medical expenses. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford. Washington state law requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/10,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy better liability coverage.

Smart shoppers get results

When buying insurance coverage, it’s not a good idea to skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There are a lot of situations where someone dropped collision coverage and discovered at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The ultimate goal is to get the best coverage possible at the best price while still protecting your assets.

Lower-priced auto insurance can be bought both online as well as from independent agents in Spokane, so compare prices from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance companies don’t offer the ability to get a quote online and many times these smaller companies only sell through independent insurance agents.

In this article, we covered some good ideas how to get a better price on auto insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the higher the chance of saving money. Drivers may discover the best price on auto insurance is with the smaller companies.

More tips and info about auto insurance can be read at the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner website. Washington drivers can find out industry alerts, read consumer alerts, learn about insurance regulations, and learn about specific coverages.