Best 8 Tricks to Save on Auto Insurance in Clay, NY

Confused by the crazy number of auto insurance companies in Clay? Many other drivers are as well. People have so many options available that it can turn into more work than you anticipated to find the best price.

Consumers should take time to do rate comparisons at least once a year due to the fact that insurance rates tend to go up over time. Even if you think you had the lowest rates a few years ago there may be better deals available now. So just forget all the misinformation about auto insurance because you’re going to get a crash course in the fastest and easiest way to save on auto insurance.

If you are insured now or need new coverage, you can use these techniques to shop for the lowest rates while maintaining coverages. Pricing affordable protection in Clay is quite easy. New York consumers only need an understanding of the proper methods to compare rates online.

Comprehensive Auto Insurance Comparison in Clay

Getting better auto insurance pricing is not rocket science. The only thing you need to do is take a few minutes to compare rate quotes provided by online insurance companies. This can be accomplished using a couple different methods.

One of the simplest ways to find the lowest comparison rates would be an industry-wide quote request form (click to open form in new window). This type of form saves time by eliminating repetitive form entry to each individual auto insurance company. A single, simple form gets rate comparisons from many national carriers. This is perfect if you don’t have a lot of time.

A different way to analyze rates requires visiting each individual company website and fill out their own quote form. For instance, let’s say you want to compare rates from State Farm, 21st Century and Allstate. To get rate quotes you would need to spend time on each company’s site and enter your policy data, which is why the first method is more popular. For a handy list of car insurance company links in Clay, click here.

It’s up to you which method you use, but ensure you are comparing apples-to-apples deductibles and coverage limits on every quote you get. If each company quotes unequal deductibles or liability limits it’s impossible to truly determine the lowest rate in Clay.

Be sure to get all your discounts

Car insurance is not cheap, but there could be available discounts to help offset the cost. Most are applied when you get a quote, but lesser-known reductions have to be asked for in order for you to get them. If you don’t get every credit you deserve, you’re paying more than you need to.

Safe Drivers – Safe drivers can pay as much as 50% less than less cautious drivers.
Paperless Signup – A few companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks just for signing your application on their website.
Theft Prevention System – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems help deter theft and will save you 10% or more.
Drive Less and Save – Low mileage vehicles can qualify you for a substantially lower rate.
Resident Student – Any of your kids who attend school more than 100 miles from home without a vehicle on campus may be able to be covered for less.
Defensive Driving Course – Successfully completing a course teaching defensive driving skills can save you 5% or more if your company offers it.
Discount for Swiching Early – Select companies give a discount for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiring. The savings is around 10%.
Clubs and Organizations – Being a member of a professional or civic organization could trigger savings when shopping for auto insurance.

Drivers should understand that some of the credits will not apply to the entire cost. The majority will only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as medical payments or collision. So even though they make it sound like all those discounts means the company will pay you, you’re out of luck. Any qualifying discounts will bring down your overall premium however.

How do I know if I need professional advice?

When it comes to buying coverage, there really is no perfect coverage plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s.

Here are some questions about coverages that may help highlight whether or not you would benefit from professional advice.

What vehicles should carry emergency assistance coverage?
Why is insurance for a teen driver so high in Clay?
Is borrowed equipment or tools covered if stolen or damaged?
Can I afford to pay high deductible claims out of pocket?
Should I buy only the required New York minimum liability coverage?
Am I covered when renting a car or should I buy coverage from the car rental agency?
Does my medical payments coverage pay my health insurance deductible?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to an insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, complete this form. It only takes a few minutes and you can get the answers you need.

Additional auto insurance information can be read on the New York Department of Financial Services website. Click here for link. New York drivers can discover disciplinary actions, get help finding coverage, and report car insurance fraud. Clay New York insurance ad

More related Clay auto insurance information:

Ads can be misleading

New York consumers can’t ignore all the ads for cheaper car insurance by companies like Allstate and Progressive. All the companies have a common claim of big savings if you move to them.

How do they all make almost identical claims? It’s all in the numbers.

All companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer that is profitable for them. For example, a preferred risk could be a mature driver, has no driving citations, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A driver who meets those qualifications will get the preferred rates and as a result will probably save quite a bit of money when switching.

Consumers who don’t meet these standards will have to pay higher premiums which usually ends up with business going elsewhere. Company advertisements say “drivers who switch” not “people who quote” save that much money. That is how insurance companies can state the savings.

Because of the profiling, it is so important to get a wide range of price quotes. It’s impossible to know which auto insurance company will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Specific coverage details

Having a good grasp of your policy can be of help when determining which coverages you need for your vehicles. Policy terminology can be ambiguous and coverage can change by endorsement.

Auto liability insurance – This coverage provides protection from damages or injuries you inflict on other’s property or people by causing an accident. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have values of 25/50/25 which stand for $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Occasionally you may see a combined single limit or CSL which limits claims to one amount rather than limiting it on a per person basis.

Liability insurance covers things such as loss of income, medical expenses and court costs. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford. New York state law requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/10,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy better liability coverage.

Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance – This provides protection when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered losses include medical payments for you and your occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Due to the fact that many New York drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (25/50/10 in New York), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Frequently these limits are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.

Insurance for medical payments – Med pay and PIP coverage reimburse you for bills such as dental work, rehabilitation expenses, hospital visits and EMT expenses. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. It covers both the driver and occupants in addition to if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal injury protection coverage is only offered in select states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision) – Comprehensive insurance coverage covers damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. A deductible will apply and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive can pay for claims such as damage from flooding, vandalism, hitting a deer, falling objects and hail damage. The maximum payout you’ll receive from a claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Collision coverages – Collision coverage pays for damage to your vehicle from colliding with another car or object. A deductible applies then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision insurance covers claims like sustaining damage from a pot hole, colliding with a tree and scraping a guard rail. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from lower value vehicles. You can also increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

One last thing

The cheapest auto insurance can be found both online in addition to many Clay insurance agents, and you should be comparing both to have the best selection. Some companies do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

You just learned a lot of tips how to save on auto insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more price quotes you have, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the lowest priced auto insurance comes from the smaller companies.

People change insurance companies for many reasons like questionable increases in premium, being labeled a high risk driver, policy cancellation and not issuing a premium refund. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, switching auto insurance companies is easier than you think.