Car Insurance in Taneytown, MD – 9 Discounts You Might be Forgetting
I can’t think of anyone who enjoys paying for car insurance, in particular when they are paying too much.
Big-name insurance companies like Progressive, GEICO and Farmers Insurance constantly blast consumers with ad campaigns and it can be hard to see past the corporate glitz and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.
If you currently have a car insurance policy, you stand a good chance to be able to save some money using this information. Choosing the best insurance company for you in Taneytown is not rocket science. But Maryland consumers can benefit by having an understanding of how insurance companies determine prices and use this information to your advantage.
Don’t miss these nine discounts
Car insurance can cost a lot, buy you may qualify for discounts to help offset the cost. Some trigger automatically at the time of purchase, but lesser-known reductions have to be specifically requested before they will apply.
- Anti-lock Brakes – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems can avoid accidents and will save you 10% or more.
- Senior Discount – Older drivers can possibly qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
- No Charge for an Accident – Certain companies will allow you to have one accident before raising your premiums so long as you haven’t had any claims for a certain period of time.
- E-sign – A handful of insurance companies may give you up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up online.
- More Vehicles More Savings – Buying coverage for multiple cars or trucks on one policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
- Employee of Federal Government – Employees or retirees of the government can earn a discount up to 10% depending on your company.
- Club Memberships – Affiliation with a qualifying organization could trigger savings when shopping for car insurance.
- Multi-policy Discount – When you have multiple policies with the same company you may save approximately 10% to 15%.
- Air Bag Discount – Cars that have air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems may earn rate discounts up to 30%.
It’s important to note that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire cost. Some only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as collision or personal injury protection. Just because you may think all the discounts add up to a free policy, you’re out of luck. Any qualifying discounts will reduce your premiums.
Taneytown Car Insurance Comparisons
Most major insurance companies allow you to get coverage price quotes on their websites. This process doesn’t take a lot of time as you just enter your coverage preferences into a form. After you submit the form the system pulls your driving record and credit report and returns a price based on many factors. Quoting online streamlines rate comparisons, but the work required to visit different websites and complete many quote forms can be a bit repetitive. But it is imperative to do this in order to get the best price on car insurance.
A more efficient way to compare rates utilizes a single form that analyzes rates from many companies. The form is fast, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes rate comparisons a little more enjoyable. After your information is entered, it is quoted with multiple companies and you can pick any of the returned quotes.
If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, you can simply submit the application and buy the new coverage. This process only takes a few minutes and may result in a nice savings.
In order to compare rates now, click here to open in a new tab and begin entering your coverage information. If you have coverage now, it’s recommended you enter as close as possible to your current policy. This helps ensure you are getting an apples-to-apples comparison for similar coverage.<img class="alignright" style="padding-top:15px" src="https://www.findnewcarinsurance.com/wp-content/uploads/ci175-97.jpg" alt="Car insurance in Maryland” />
Car insurance coverage information
Having a good grasp of your policy can be of help when determining the right coverages for your vehicles. Car insurance terms can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Listed below are typical coverage types offered by car insurance companies.
Coverage for collisions
This pays for damage to your vehicle resulting from a collision with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision can pay for claims such as hitting a parking meter, sustaining damage from a pot hole and scraping a guard rail. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible to bring the cost down.
Medical payments and PIP coverage
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage provide coverage for immediate expenses like EMT expenses, nursing services, funeral costs and ambulance fees. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover both the driver and occupants in addition to being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is not universally available and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Liability coverages
This coverage will cover damage that occurs to other people or property by causing an accident. It protects you from legal claims by others. It does not cover damage to your own property or vehicle.
Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You commonly see values of 25/50/25 which means $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Alternatively, you may have one number which is a combined single limit which provides one coverage limit without having the split limit caps.
Liability coverage pays for things like medical expenses, repair costs for stationary objects, court costs and attorney fees. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a decision to put some thought into, but consider buying as much as you can afford. Maryland requires drivers to carry at least 30,000/60,000/15,000 but you should think about purchasing higher limits.
Comprehensive auto coverage
This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims like rock chips in glass, fire damage and hail damage. The maximum payout a car insurance company will pay at claim time is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage
This provides protection from other motorists when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered claims include hospital bills for your injuries and damage to your vehicle.
Since many Maryland drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (30/60/15 in Maryland), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family. Frequently these limits are similar to your liability insurance amounts.
A little work can save a LOT of money
The cheapest car insurance is possible both online as well as from independent agents in Taneytown, and you should be comparing both to get a complete price analysis. There are still a few companies who don’t offer you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.
We just covered a lot of tips how to lower your car insurance rates. The key thing to remember is the more times you quote, the higher the chance of saving money. You may be surprised to find that the best price on car insurance is with a smaller regional carrier. These companies may cover specific market segments cheaper than their larger competitors like Allstate and Progressive.