Little Known Advice on Lower Stevens Point Auto Insurance
Are you sick and tired of trying to scrape together enough money to buy car insurance? Your situation is no different than many other Wisconsin consumers.
Companies like GEICO, Progressive and Allstate all promote huge savings with ads and it can be hard to see past the geckos and flying pigs and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.
It’s smart to compare rates every six months because rates are constantly changing. If you had the best price two years ago you can probably find a lower rate today. You’ll find quite a bit of inaccurate information about auto insurance on the internet, so by reading this article, you’re going to learn some tested techniques to stop overpaying for insurance.
Decisions you make can impact your rates
Smart consumers have a good feel for the rating factors that help determine your auto insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what influences your rates helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with better auto insurance rates.
- Discounts for multiple policies – Most auto insurance companies will award you with lower prices to customers who consolidate policies with them such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. This can amount to ten or even up to twenty percent in some cases. Even with this discount, you may still want to compare rates to verify if the discount is saving money.
- Higher deductibles cost less – Physical damage insurance, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, protects your car from damage. Some instances where coverage would apply would be colliding with a building, damage caused by hail, and burglary. Deductibles for physical damage are the amount of money you are willing to pay 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.
- More miles equals more premium – The higher the mileage driven every year the more you will pay for auto insurance. Most companies rate vehicles determined by how the vehicle is used. Autos not used for work or commuting receive lower rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Ask your agent if your auto insurance declarations sheet is rated on the correct usage for each vehicle, because improper ratings can cost you money.
- High credit ratings translate to low rates – Having a bad credit score is a important factor in determining your rates. Therefore, if your credit history is lower than you’d like, you could potentially save money when insuring your by improving your rating. Drivers with high credit scores tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records as compared to drivers with poor credit.
- Men are more aggressive – Statistics show that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. However, this does not mean men are worse drivers. Men and women are in accidents in similar percentages, but the male of the species have costlier accidents. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations such as reckless driving. Male drivers age 16 to 19 are several times more likely to be in an accident and thus pay the highest rates.
- Teen drivers pay high rates – Young drivers in Wisconsin have a tendency to be more careless when behind the wheel so they pay higher auto insurance rates. Older insureds are viewed as being more responsible, tend to file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel.
- Having a spouse can save you money – Having a spouse actually saves money on your auto insurance policy. It usually means you are more mature and it’s proven that being married results in fewer claims.
Cut your premium with discounts
Car insurance companies don’t list all their discounts very clearly, so the following is a list of both well-publicized as well as the least known savings tricks you should be using.
- Anti-lock Brake Discount – Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control prevent accidents and will save you 10% or more.
- Safe Drivers – Drivers who avoid accidents can pay as much as 50% less than drivers with accidents.
- Homeowners Discount – Being a homeowner can save you money because owning a home requires personal responsibility.
- Multi-policy Discount – When you have multiple policies with the same company you may earn at least 10% off all policies.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – If paying your policy premium upfront instead of making monthly payments you can actually save on your bill.
- Senior Discount – Older drivers may qualify for a discount up to 10%.
It’s important to note that many deductions do not apply to the entire policy premium. Some only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. Even though it may seem like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, it doesn’t quite work that way.
Additional consumer information websites
More detailed Wisconsin auto insurance information can be found at the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance website. Wisconsin consumers can discover disciplinary actions, find a variety of consumer forms, and find disaster information.
In the end, you save
You just read many ways to lower your auto insurance rates. The most important thing to understand is the more you quote, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. You may even discover the biggest savings come from the smaller companies. Regional companies often have lower prices on specific markets than their larger competitors like State Farm or Progressive.
Cheap auto insurance can be purchased both online as well as from independent agents in Stevens Point, and you should compare price quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. Some companies don’t offer online quoting and many times these smaller companies only sell through independent insurance agents.