Scraping up a payment for overpriced car insurance can drain your savings account and force you to make sacrifices. Comparison shopping is free and is an excellent way to lower your monthly bill.
Drivers have so many car insurance companies to insure vehicles with, and even though it’s nice to have a choice, it can be more challenging to find the lowest rates.
It’s a good habit to price shop coverage periodically because insurance rates change frequently. Just because you found the best deal a few years ago a different company probably has better rates today. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about car insurance because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to how to use the internet to reduce your cost while improving coverage.
Components of your insurance rates
It’s important that you understand the different types of things that go into determining car insurance rates. Knowing what influences your rates helps enable you to make changes that could result in big savings.
Listed below are some of the items that factor into premiums.
- Where you live – Living in less populated areas has it’s advantages when insuring your vehicles. Urban drivers have congested traffic and longer commutes to work. Lower population translates into fewer accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft.
- Credit scores impact car insurance rates – Credit score is a huge factor in calculating your car insurance rates. If your credit score is lower than you’d like, you could save money insuring your by spending a little time repairing your credit. Drivers who have high credit ratings tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers who have poor credit.
- No coverage gaps is important – Driving without insurance is illegal and car insurance companies will penalize you for letting your coverage lapse. Not only will you pay more, failure to provide proof of insurance may earn you a hefty fine and possibly a revoked license.Then you may be required to prove you have insurance by filing a SR-22 with the Tennessee motor vehicle department to get your license reinstated.
- Are you male or female? – The statistics show that women are safer drivers than men. However, this does not mean men are worse drivers. Both sexes cause accidents at a similar rate, but the men have costlier accidents. Men also statistically receive more costly citations like DUI and reckless driving. Young males are several times more likely to be in an accident and thus pay the highest rates.
- Do you know your deductibles? – Insurance for physical damage to your car, termed comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, is used to repair damage to your car. A few examples of covered claims would be colliding with a building, vandalism, and burglary. The deductibles are how much you are required to spend out-of-pocket before your car insurance pays a claim. The more money you have to pay, the less your company will charge you for insurance.
- More than one policy can earn a discount – Most car insurance companies will award you with lower prices to insureds who have multiple policies with them such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. Discounts can amount to ten or even up to twenty percent in some cases. Even if you’re getting this discount it’s in your best interest to comparison shop to verify if the discount is saving money. You may still be able to find better rates by insuring with multiple companies.
These discounts can slash car insurance rates
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but companies offer discounts to help bring down the price. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at quote time, but a few must be inquired about in order for you to get them.
- Driver’s Ed – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to take driver’s ed class if it’s offered in school.
- Defensive Driving Course – Taking part in a driver safety course can save you 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
- Club Memberships – Affiliation with a civic or occupational organization could qualify you for a break on car insurance.
- Anti-theft System – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems are stolen less frequently and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
- Accident Waiver – A few companies will forgive one accident without raising rates if you are claim-free for a set time period.
- 55 and Retired – Mature drivers can possibly qualify for reduced rates.
- Homeowners Savings – Being a homeowner may trigger a car insurance policy discount because owning a home requires personal responsibility.
- New Vehicle Savings – Putting insurance coverage on a new car is cheaper compared to insuring an older model.
- Multiple Policy Discount – When you have multiple policies with one company you may earn 10% to 20% off each policy.
It’s important to note that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the overall cost of the policy. The majority will only reduce individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So despite the fact that it appears you could get a free car insurance policy, you’re out of luck. Any qualifying discounts will reduce your overall premium however.
To see a list of companies offering car insurance discounts in Morristown, click this link.
More information is available on the website for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance located here. Consumers can file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, learn about insurance regulations, and discover disciplinary actions.
Best coverage at the best price
When you buy insurance online, never skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. In too many instances, consumers will sacrifice comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to find out they didn’t have enough coverage. Your focus should be to buy enough coverage at a price you can afford.
Low-cost car insurance can be purchased both online and also from your neighborhood Morristown agents, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. There are still a few companies who may not provide online quoting and most of the time these smaller companies sell through independent agents.