Learn How to Quote Ocean Springs Mississippi Car Insurance Like a Pro

Are you sick and tired of scraping the payment together to pay your car insurance bill each month? You are in the same boat as many other Mississippi drivers.

Numerous insurance companies battle for your hard-earned dollar, and it can be difficult to compare rates to discover the definitive lowest price

How to Lower your Car Insurance Rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. Understanding what influences your rates enables informed choices that will entitle you to big savings.

Don’t get talked into coverage you don’t need – There are a ton of extra bells and whistles that you can get tricked into buying on your policy. Insurance for vanishing deductibles, accidental death and membership fees are some examples. These may sound like a good investment when you first buy your policy, but your needs may have changed so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
Your location affects your rates – Residing in a small town can be a good thing when talking about car insurance. Drivers in populated areas have much more traffic and longer commute times. Less people living in that area means a lower chance of having an accident as well as less vandalism and auto theft.
Safer cars cost less to insure – Vehicles with high crash test scores can get you lower premiums. The safest vehicles protect occupants better and lower injury rates means lower claim amounts passed on to you as lower rates.
Rates may be lower depending on your job – Careers like lawyers, executives and accountants tend to have higher rates than average in part from stressful work requirements and lots of time spent at work. On the flip side, jobs such as pilots, athletes and the unemployed receive lower rates.
Liability coverage is cheap – Liability insurance will protect you if ever you are found to be at fault for personal injury or accident damage. It provides you with a defense in court starting from day one. This coverage is very inexpensive compared to physical damage coverage, so do not cut corners here.
Are you male or female? – The statistics show women are more cautious behind the wheel. That doesn’t necessarily mean that men are WORSE drivers than women. They both have accidents at a similar rate, but the male of the species cause more damage. Men also tend to get more serious tickets such as DWI and reckless driving. Young males are most likely to cause an accident and therefore have the most expensive car insurance rates.
Save money with special equipment – Driving a car with a theft deterrent system can save you a little every year. Anti-theft features like vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems all hinder your car from being stolen.

Comprehensive Ocean Springs Car Insurance Comparison Quotes

Effectively comparing car insurance prices can take hours if you don’t understand the most efficient way to do it. You could spend your day driving to insurance agencies in Ocean Springs, or you can stay home and use the internet to get rates in a matter of minutes.

All the larger companies belong to an insurance system where insurance shoppers send in one quote, and each company returns a rated price based on the submitted data. This system prevents you from having to do quote requests for each company you want a rate for.

To participate in this free quote system, click here to start a free quote.

One minor caviat to doing it this way is you are unable to specify which insurance companies to get pricing from. If you prefer to choose individual companies to compare prices, we have a listing of car insurance companies in Mississippi. Click here for list of insurance companies in Mississippi.

Whichever way you use, make sure you use the exact same coverage information for every company. If the quotes have unequal deductibles or liability limits it will be next to impossible to decipher which rate is best in Ocean Springs. Slightly different insurance coverages can make a big difference in price. And when price shopping your coverage, obtaining a wide range of quotes helps you find a lower rate.

Drivers who switch save $429 a year? Really?

21st Century, Allstate and State Farm consistently run television and radio advertisements. All the companies say the same thing of big savings if you change to them. How do they all say the same thing? It’s all in the numbers.

All the different companies can use profiling for the type of driver that is profitable for them. An example of a desirable insured could be over the age of 50, has no prior claims, and has a high credit rating. A customer getting a price quote that hits that “sweet spot” is entitled to the best price and is almost guaranteed to save when they switch companies.

Consumers who are not a match for the “perfect” profile will be quoted higher premiums which usually ends up with the customer not buying. The ads say “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much. That is how insurance companies can claim big savings.

This emphasizes why drivers should get quotes from several different companies. It is impossible to predict which insurance companies will have the lowest rates. Auto insurance in Mississippi

Cut your premium with discounts

The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but discounts can save money and there are some available to help bring down the price. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of purchase, but lesser-known reductions have to be inquired about before being credited.

Passive Restraints – Factory air bags can qualify for discounts of more than 20%.
Life Insurance Discount – Select insurance companies reward you with better rates if you take out life insurance.
Anti-theft System – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems help deter theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
Resident Student – Any of your kids who live away from home without a vehicle on campus can be insured at a reduced rate.
Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of making monthly payments you can actually save on your bill.

Keep in mind that some of the credits will not apply to the entire policy premium. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. So even though it sounds like you could get a free car insurance policy, companies don’t profit that way. But any discount will help reduce your premiums.

Local Ocean Springs agents and car insurance

Some people would rather talk to a local agent and that is OK! One of the great benefits of price shopping on the web is that you can obtain lower rates and still have an agent to talk to. Supporting local businesses is important particularly in Ocean Springs.

By using this simple form, your coverage information is sent to local insurance agents in Ocean Springs who will give you bids for your coverage. You never need to drive around because quoted prices will be sent to the email address you provide. How’s that for easy! You can find the lowest rates and a licensed agent to work with.

How to choose the best auto insurance agent in Ocean Springs

When searching for a local agent, you must know there are a couple different types of agents that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Agencies in Ocean Springs can either be captive or independent.

Independent Agencies or Brokers

Independent agents do not work for one specific company so they can insure your vehicles with many different companies and potentially find a lower price. To transfer your coverage to a different company, they simply move the coverage in-house and you don’t have to find a new agent. When comparison shopping, it’s a good idea to get quotes from at least one independent agent to get the best comparison.

Below are Ocean Springs independent insurance agencies that can give you price quote information.

Foley Agency Insurance and Invst – 2220 Government St – Ocean Springs, MS 39564 – (228) 875-8968
Foley Agency Insurance and Invst – 2220 Government St – Ocean Springs, MS 39564 – (228) 875-8968
Woodmen Of The World Insurance – 8500 Plymouth Rd – Ocean Springs, MS 39564 – (228) 872-5740

Captive Insurance Agents

Captive insurance agents can only place business with one company such as Allstate, State Farm and Farmers Insurance. These agents are not able to compare other company’s rates so they have to upsell other benefits. These agents are trained well on their products and sales techniques and that can be a competitive advantage.

Listed below are captive insurance agencies in Ocean Springs willing to provide price quotes.

State Farm Insurance – 6007 Washington Ave – Ocean Springs, MS 39564 – (228) 875-1212
Farm Bureau Insurance – 5801 Humphrey Rd – Ocean Springs, MS 39565 – (228) 826-4880

For a full directory of Ocean Springs captive agents, please click here.

Selecting an insurance agency requires more thought than just the bottom line cost. Agents should be asked these questions:

What insurance companies do they recommend if they are an independent agent?
Which company do they place the most coverage with?
Do they have adequate Errors and Ommissions coverage? This protects you if they make a mistake.
Which members of your family are coverage by the policy?
Do they make recommendations based only on price?

Upon receiving acceptable answers to these questions and an affordable coverage quote, you may have just found an insurance agency that will properly service your car insurance policy.

What coverages do I need?

When it comes to buying the right insurance coverage for your vehicles, there isn’t really a single plan that fits everyone. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs so this has to be addressed. These are some specific questions may help you determine whether or not you might need professional guidance.

Does coverage extend to a rental car in a foreign country?
Does my liability insurance cover pulling a trailer or camper?
When should I remove comp and collision on my vehicle?
Does my policy cover me when driving someone else’s vehicle?
Are my tools covered if they get stolen from my vehicle?
Does medical payments coverage apply to all occupants?

If you’re not sure about those questions but one or more may apply to you then you might want to talk to a licensed agent. If you don’t have a local agent, complete this form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier

Additional information can be read on the website for the Mississippi Insurance Department located here. Consumers can read enforcement actions against agents and companies, discover disciplinary actions, and read industry bulletins.

Other useful links include this page for car insurance in Mississippi and this list of insurance agents in Ocean Springs.

One last thing

Cheap car insurance is available from both online companies in addition to many Ocean Springs insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. A few companies do not provide online quoting and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

We covered many ideas to lower your car insurance rates. The key concept to understand is the more you quote, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Drivers may discover the most savings is with some of the smallest insurance companies. These smaller insurers may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive or GEICO.

As you prepare to switch companies, don’t be tempted to skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There are many occasions where someone dropped physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time that it was a big error on their part. Your strategy should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the best price while still protecting your assets.