Never Buy Deerfield Beach Auto Insurance Without Knowing These Money Saving Tricks

Nobody enjoys paying for auto insurance, especially knowing the cost is way too high.

Numerous auto insurance companies battle to insure your vehicles, and it can be difficult to compare rates to find the absolute cheapest price

Decisions you make can impact your rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that play a part in calculating the rates you pay for auto insurance. Understanding what impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with better auto insurance rates.

Shown below are a few of the “ingredients” that factor into rates.

  • Drive less and save money – The more you drive in a year’s time the more you’ll pay to insure your vehicle. Almost all companies apply a rate based upon how you use the vehicle. Vehicles left parked in the garage get more affordable rates compared to those used for work or business. Make sure your auto insurance policy shows the correct driver usage.
  • Type of vehicle determines base rates – The type of vehicle you own makes a significant difference in your rates. Economy passenger cars generally receive the lowest base rates, but there are many factors that impact the final cost.
  • Extra add-on coverages are wasting money – There are many extra coverages you can purchase on your policy. Coverages like rental car reimbursement, better glass coverage and motor club memberships are examples of these. They may seem like a good idea initially, but if you don’t need them get rid of them and save.
  • Rates may be lower depending on your job – Did you know your job can affect your rates? Occupations like lawyers, social workers and dentists tend to pay the highest average rates in part from high stress and lots of time spent at work. Other occupations like scientists, historians and performers have the lowest average rates.

Comprehensive Auto Insurance Comparison in Deerfield Beach, FL

The are a couple different ways of comparing rate quotes from local in Deerfield Beach, FLauto insurance companies. The best method to find the lowest rates involves getting comparison quotes online. This can be accomplished in several different ways.

  1. Probably the best way consumers can analyze rates is an all-inclusive rate comparison click here to open form in new window. This type of form keeps you from doing repetitive form submissions for each company. One quote request compares rates from several companies.
  2. A less efficient way to get comparison quotes requires visiting each individual company website and complete a new quote form. For sake of this example, let’s say you want to compare Liberty Mutual, State Farm and American Family. To get each rate you have to visit each site to enter your coverage information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. For a handy list of car insurance company links in Deerfield Beach, click here.
  3. The hardest way to compare rates is driving to different Deerfield Beach agent offices. Shopping for auto insurance online eliminates the need for an insurance agent unless you want the personal advice of a local Deerfield Beach agent. You can, however, comparison shop your insurance online and get advice from an agent in your area and we’ll cover that in a bit.

It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but be sure to compare the exact same coverages and limits on every quote you get. If you use different deductibles then you won’t be able to truly determine the lowest rate in Deerfield Beach. Quoting even small variations in coverages can make a big difference in price. And when quoting auto insurance, remember that comparing more company’s prices will improve the odds of getting lower pricing.

The auto insurance bait and switch

Allstate and Progressive continually stream ads in print and on television. All the companies have a common claim about savings after switching your policy. How do they all make almost identical claims?

All companies have a preferred profile for the type of driver that earns them a profit. For instance, a desirable insured could possibly be a mature driver, is a homeowner, and has excellent credit. A propective insured who meets those qualifications will get the preferred rates and is almost guaranteed to save a lot of money.

Potential customers who fall outside the “perfect” profile will have to pay higher rates which usually ends up with the customer not buying. The ads state “customers that switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that kind of money. This is how companies can truthfully make the claims of big savings.

Because of the profiling, you absolutely need to get a wide range of price quotes. It’s not possible to predict the company that will give you the biggest savings.save money concept

Discounts are basically free money

Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not even be aware of. Most are applied at the time of purchase, but less common discounts must be inquired about prior to receiving the credit.

  • Military Rewards – Having a deployed family member may qualify for rate reductions.
  • Claim Free – Good drivers with no accidents pay less as compared to drivers who are more careless.
  • Sign Online – Some insurance companies will give a small break just for signing your application online.
  • Resident Student – Youth drivers who are attending college and do not have a car may be able to be covered for less.
  • Student Driver Training – Require your teen driver to take driver’s ed class in school.
  • Discount for Swiching Early – A few companies offer discounts for signing up before your current policy expires. The savings is around 10%.
  • Life Insurance Discount – Some companies give lower rates if you buy life insurance.

Drivers should understand that some credits don’t apply to all coverage premiums. Most only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. So despite the fact that it appears you could get a free auto insurance policy, it doesn’t quite work that way. But all discounts will reduce your premiums.

To see a list of insurance companies offering auto insurance discounts in Deerfield Beach, follow this link.

Shop online but buy locally

Certain consumers prefer to buy from a local agent. The best thing about price shopping on the web is the fact that you can find the lowest rates and still have an agent to talk to. And supporting local agencies is especially important in Deerfield Beach.

After filling out this form (opens in new window), your coverage information gets sent to local insurance agents in Deerfield Beach who will give you bids for your business. You won’t need to even leave your home due to the fact that quote results will go immediately to your email address. How cool is that?! You can find better rates and an insurance agent to talk to.

Insurance agencies in Deerfield Beach come in two varieties

When looking for a reliable agent, there are two types of agencies that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Insurance agencies in Deerfield Beach are categorized either independent or captive.

Independent Agencies or Brokers

These agents do not work for one specific company but rather can write business with multiple insurance companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. If your agent finds better pricing, the business is moved internally and that require little work on your part. When comparison shopping, it’s a good idea to include price quotes from multiple independent agents for the best price selection.

Shown below is a short list of independent insurance agencies in Deerfield Beach who can help you get rate quotes.

Affordable Insurance – 10 Fairway Dr – Deerfield Beach, FL 33441 – (954) 570-6900
Ancora Insurance – 600 S Federal Hwy – Deerfield Beach, FL 33441 – (954) 420-5985

Captive Agents

This type of agents work for only one company and some examples include Allstate, Farmers Insurance, State Farm and AAA. They usually cannot shop your coverage around so keep that in mind. Captive agents are trained well on their products and sales techniques which helps them compete with independent agents.

insurance quote Florida

Deciding on an insurance agent should depend on more than just a low price. Any agent should be forthright in answering these questions:

  • What insurance companies do they work with?
  • Can they give you a list of client referrals?
  • Do you have coverage for a rental car if your vehicle is in the repair shop?
  • Are glass claims handled on-site or do you have to take your vehicle to a repair shop?
  • Do the coverages you’re quoting properly cover your vehicle?
  • If your car is totalled, how to they determine the replacement cost?
  • Is the agency involved in supporting local community causes?

Once you have received reasonable responses to your questions and locked in a price quote, most likely you have located an auto insurance agent that meets your needs to properly insure your vehicles.

Much more information about auto insurance in Florida is available on the website for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation located here. Florida consumers can learn about specific coverages, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, find out industry alerts, and view a list of available companies.

Other informative sites include this resource for Florida auto insurance prices and this list of insurance agents in Deerfield Beach.

One last thing about your coverage

Throughout this article, we presented a lot of tips how to shop for auto insurance online. It’s most important to understand that the more companies you get rates for, the better your comparison will be. Consumers may even find the biggest savings come from a small local company. They can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate and Progressive.

When buying insurance coverage, never skimp on coverage in order to save money. There are many occasions where someone dropped comprehensive coverage or liability limits to discover at claim time that the savings was not a smart move. Your aim should be to buy the best coverage you can find at an affordable rate, not the least amount of coverage.