Best 5 Ways to Save on Car Insurance in Kodiak, AK

If online car insurance comparisons are new to you, you may be overwhelmed by the hoards of online car insurance companies and websites vying for business in Kodiak.

It’s a good habit to shop coverage around on a regular basis because prices are constantly changing. Just because you had the lowest price a year ago a different company probably has better rates today. You’ll find quite a bit of inaccurate information about car insurance online but we’re going to give you a bunch of ideas how to put money back in your pocket.

If you have a policy now or are shopping for new coverage, you can use these tips to find the best rates while maintaining coverages. The purpose of this article is to let you in on how to effectively get price quotes and some tricks to saving. Alaska consumers just need to learn the best way to shop their coverage around online.

Cut your premium with these 5 discounts

Car insurance companies don’t always list all their discounts in a way that’s easy to find, so we researched some of the more common and also the lesser-known savings tricks you should be using. If you aren’t receiving every discount you qualify for, you are throwing money away.

• Government Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job may qualify you for a discount depending on your company.
• Defensive Driving Course – Taking a course teaching defensive driving skills could cut 5% off your bill and easily recoup the cost of the course.
• Paperless Signup – Certain companies give back up to $50 simply for signing online.
• Passive Restraint Discount – Vehicles with factory air bags or automatic seat belts can receive discounts up to 30%.
• Discount for Good Grades – Performing well in school can save 20 to 25%. This discount can apply until age 25.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. Most only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. Just because it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, you’re out of luck.

To choose companies who offer car insurance discounts in Kodiak, follow this link.

What is the best insurance coverage?

When it comes to buying adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a one size fits all plan. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs.

For example, these questions can help discover if your insurance needs could use an agent’s help.

• How high should my uninsured/underinsured coverage be in Alaska?
• Am I covered if I wreck a rental car?
• Do I have any recourse if my insurance company denies a claim?
• Is business property covered if stolen from my car?
• Do I have coverage for damage caused while driving under the influence?
• Why am I required to buy high-risk coverage?
• Am I covered when driving on a suspended license?
• Do I need medical payments coverage since I have good health insurance?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you might consider talking to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, complete this form. It is quick, free and may give you better protection.

The fine print in car insurance ads

Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements for the lowest price auto insurance by State Farm and Allstate. All the ads have a common claim of big savings if you move to their company.

How can each company make the same claim?

Insurance companies have a preferred profile for the type of driver that is profitable for them. A good example of a desirable insured might be over the age of 50, owns a home, and has a high credit rating. Any driver who matches those parameters is entitled to the best price and most likely will save when they switch companies.

Consumers who don’t qualify for the requirements must pay higher rates which usually ends up with business not being written. The ad wording is “customers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save money. That is how companies can advertise the way they do. This illustrates why you should get as many comparisons as possible. It’s not possible to predict which company will have the lowest rates.

Car insurance coverage considerations

Learning about specific coverages of car insurance can help you determine the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Car insurance terms can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.

Coverage for medical payments

Med pay and PIP coverage provide coverage for short-term medical expenses for things like dental work, chiropractic care and ambulance fees. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is not available in all states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Comprehensive coverages

This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive can pay for things like hitting a deer, damage from getting keyed, damage from flooding and rock chips in glass. The maximum payout your car insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Collision protection

Collision insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. A deductible applies then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision coverage protects against things like hitting a mailbox, colliding with a tree, crashing into a building and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage

This provides protection from other drivers when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include hospital bills for your injuries and damage to your vehicle.

Due to the fact that many Alaska drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (50/100/25 in Alaska), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked.

Auto liability insurance

Liability insurance provides protection from injuries or damage you cause to other people or property that is your fault. This insurance protects YOU against other people’s claims. Liability doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You commonly see limits of 25/50/25 that translate to a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000.

Liability coverage protects against claims such as pain and suffering, structural damage, repair costs for stationary objects and loss of income. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but consider buying as large an amount as possible. Alaska state minimum liability requirements are 50,000/100,000/25,000 but drivers should carry higher limits.

Additional detailed information is available at the Alaska Division of Insurance website. Visitors are able to download brochures, read state legal mandates and laws, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, and get help finding coverage.

Summing up your car insurance search

Consumers change insurance companies for a number of reasons such as high prices, policy cancellation, lack of trust in their agent and an unsatisfactory settlement offer. Whatever your reason, choosing a new company can be less work than you think.

The cheapest car insurance is available from both online companies in addition to many Kodiak insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance companies do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and many times these smaller companies only sell through independent insurance agents.

In this article, we presented many ideas to lower your car insurance rates. The key thing to remember is the more rate quotes you have, the higher the chance of saving money. You may be surprised to find that the lowest premiums are with an unexpected company.