Buy Cut Bank Montana Auto Insurance for the Lowest Rate With These Tricks

Feel like you’re a prisoner to overpriced auto insurance? Believe me when I say there are a lot of people in Cut Bank just like you who feel imprisoned by their auto insurance policy.

Many insurance companies compete for your insurance dollar, so it can be very hard to choose a insurance company and get the best coverage at the best price available.

Consumers should take time to compare rates quite often since insurance rates are usually higher with each renewal. Just because you found the lowest rates last year you can probably find a better price now. You’ll find quite a bit of inaccurate information about auto insurance online, so I’m going to show you a lot of great tips on how to save money.

Save big with these discounts

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but companies offer discounts to cut the cost considerably. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at the time of quoting, but some may not be applied and must be specifically requested in order for you to get them.

Multiple Cars – Buying coverage for all your vehicles on one policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
Defensive Driver – Taking a course in driver safety could cut 5% off your bill and easily recoup the cost of the course.
Life Insurance Discount – Companies who offer life insurance give a break if you buy life insurance.
Drivers Ed for Students – Require your teen driver to take driver’s ed class in high school.
Payment Discounts – If you pay your bill all at once instead of paying each month you may reduce your total bill.

Keep in mind that most credits do not apply the the whole policy. Most only reduce individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. Just because it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you won’t be that lucky. Any amount of discount will reduce your overall premium however.

To see a list of companies offering auto insurance discounts in Cut Bank, click here.

Make smart decisions and save

It’s important that you understand the different types of things that come into play when calculating auto insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what controls the rates you pay enables informed choices that can help you get big savings.

Do you have enough liability coverage? – Your policy’s liability coverage provides coverage when a court rules you are at fault for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. It will provide you with a defense in court starting from day one. Liability insurance is quite affordable as compared to coverage for physical damage, so buy as much as you can afford.
Occupation reflects on rates – Did you know your occupation can influence how much you pay for auto insurance? Jobs such as judges, social workers and dentists are shown to have the highest average rates attributed to job stress and lengthy work days. Other occupations such as farmers, historians and homemakers pay the least.
High numbers of claims are not good – If you tend to file frequent claims, you can pretty much guarantee either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Companies in Montana award discounts to insureds who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. Auto insurance is intended for the large, substantial claims.
Pleasure use saves money – The more miles you rack up on your car every year the higher your rate. The majority of insurers rate vehicles based on how the vehicle is used. Cars not used for work or commuting receive lower rates compared to those used for work or business. Ask your agent if your auto insurance policy shows how each vehicle is driven, because improper ratings can cost you money.
Always keep insurance in force – Driving your car without having proper coverage is illegal and as a result your rates will increase for letting your coverage lapse. And not only will insurance be more expensive, but not being able to provide proof of insurance can result in a license revocation or jail time.
Do you know your deductibles? – Physical damage insurance, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, is used to repair damage to your car. Some instances where coverage would apply could be collision with another vehicle, damage caused by hail, and rolling your vehicle. Deductibles for physical damage are how much you are required to spend before a claim is paid by your company. The more you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the less your auto insurance will be.
Safer occupants lowers premiums – Vehicles with high crash test scores get lower rates. The safest vehicles protect occupants better and any reduction in injury severity translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims passed on to you as lower rates.

Don’t I need to talk to an agent?

A small number of people just want to buy from a licensed agent and that is a personal choice. The best thing about comparing insurance prices online is you can get lower rates but also keep your business local. And supporting small agencies is especially important in Cut Bank.

To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this simple form, your insurance data is emailed to companies in Cut Bank who will give you bids for your business. You won’t need to leave your computer since price quotes are sent straight to your inbox. How cool is that?! Get lower rates and an insurance agent to talk to.

Independent or Captive: It’s your choice

When researching a reputable insurance agent or broker, there are two different agency structures from which to choose. Agents are either independent (non-captive) or captive. Auto insurance in Cut Bank MT

Independent Insurance Agents

Independent agents are not locked into one company but instead can place your coverage amongst many companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. To transfer your coverage to a different company, the agent simply finds a different carrier and you don’t have to find a new agent. When searching for an agent, it’s a good idea to contact several independent insurance agents for maximum quote selection.

Shown below is a list of independent agents in Cut Bank that may be able to provide competitive price quotes.

Mark Olson Insurance – 30 S Central Ave – Cut Bank, MT 59427 – (406) 873-5021
Laurie Elhard Insurance – 122 3rd St SE – Cut Bank, MT 59427 – (406) 873-4922

Agency Captives

Captive agencies have only one company to place business with and examples are State Farm, Allstate and AAA. They usually cannot shop your coverage around so they are skilled at selling on more than just price. These agents are usually quite knowledgeable on their company’s products which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums.

Choosing an insurance agent requires more thought than just a low price. These questions are important to ask:

Will their companies depreciate repairs to your car based on the mileage?
Do they review policy coverages at every renewal?
Do they make recommendations based only on price?
If you have an accident, will your rates go up?
Do the companies they represent have a solid financial rating?
Are they full-time agents?
How long have they worked with personal auto insurance coverage?

Once you have answers to your satisfaction for all questions you ask and a good coverage price, most likely you have located an insurance agent that can properly service your auto insurance policy.

Auto insurance ads bend the truth

Companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive regularly use ads on television and other media. All the ads say the same thing of big savings if you move to them. How does each company claim to save you money? It’s all in the numbers.

Different companies have a certain “appetite” for the right customer that earns them a profit. An example of a preferred risk could be between 30 and 50, is a homeowner, and drives newer vehicles. A propective insured who meets those qualifications gets the lowest rates and most likely will save when switching.

Potential insureds who don’t qualify for the requirements will be charged a higher premium and ends up with business not being written. The ad wording is “people who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much. That’s why companies can state the savings.

That is why drivers must quote coverage with many companies. It’s impossible to know which insurance companies will fit your personal profile best.

To learn more about auto insurance in Montana

Additional information can be found on the website for the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance located here. Montana consumers can learn about specific coverages, find out industry alerts, download brochures, and learn about insurance regulations.

Other useful links include III.org’s auto insurance page and this link which helps you find a Cut Bank agent.

And the best car insurance company is…

In this article, we covered many tips how you can shop for auto insurance online. The key concept to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the better your comparison will be. You may even discover the best price on auto insurance is with a smaller regional carrier. They may only write in your state and offer lower rates as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive or GEICO.

Cheap auto insurance can be bought online and also from your neighborhood Cut Bank agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some insurance providers may not provide online price quotes and many times these smaller companies only sell through independent insurance agents.

As you prepare to switch companies, you should never buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. In many cases, someone sacrificed liability coverage limits and discovered at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your goal should be to purchase plenty of coverage at the best price while not skimping on critical coverages.