Top 10 Ways You Can Buy Car Insurance for Less in Waltham

Paying for high-priced car insurance can drain your personal savings and make it impossible to make ends meet. Shopping your coverage around is free and is an excellent way to lower your monthly bill.

Big companies like Progressive, State Farm and GEICO continually hit you with fancy advertisements and consumers find it hard to see past the geckos and flying pigs and take the time to shop coverage around.

Smart consumers take time to compare prices quite often because rates are variable and change quite frequently. Even if you think you had the best price a few years ago you will most likely find a better rate today. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about car insurance because you’re about to find out the quickest way to save money, get proper deductibles and limits, all at the lowest rate.

If you currently have a car insurance policy, you should be able to lower your premiums substantially using these methods. Choosing the best insurance company for you in Waltham is not rocket science. Nevertheless, Massachusetts vehicle owners must comprehend the methods companies use to sell insurance online and use this information to your advantage.

Comparison of Car Insurance in Waltham

Most major insurance companies give prices directly from their websites. Getting online rates is quite simple as you just type in your required coverages as detailed in the form. Once entered, the system pulls your credit score and driving record and generates a price based on many factors. Quoting online makes comparing rates easy, but the time it takes to visit a lot of sites and enter the same data into a form gets old quite quickly. Unfortunately, it is important to get many rate quotes if you want to find a lower rate.

Isn’t there an easier way to compare rates?

A quicker way to locate the lowest prices uses one simple form that gets price quotes from a bunch of companies at once. It’s a real time-saver, requires less work, and makes price shopping online much simpler. Immediately after submitting the form, it gets priced and you are able to buy any one of the pricing results.

If a lower price is quoted, you simply finish the application and buy the policy. This process can be completed in a matter of minutes and you will find out if you’re overpaying now.

In order to find out how much you’re overpaying now, click here and input your coverage information. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you type in the insurance coverages identical to your current policy. Using the same limits helps guarantee you will get a price comparison for the exact same coverage.

How much can you save with these ten discounts?

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but you can get discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Most are applied at the time you complete a quote, but lesser-known reductions have to be asked about before you will receive the discount.

• Low Mileage Discounts – Fewer annual miles can qualify you for a substantially lower rate.
• Service Members Pay Less – Having a family member in the military could mean lower rates.
• Braking Control Discount – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes can reduce accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
• Driver’s Ed – Cut your cost by having your teen driver enroll in driver’s education if offered at their school.
• Seat Belts Save – Requiring all passengers to wear their seat belts could save 15% off the personal injury premium cost.
• Safety Course Discount – Successfully completing a defensive driving course could cut 5% off your bill depending on where you live.
• Club Memberships – Belonging to a qualifying organization may earn a discount when shopping for car insurance.
• Multiple Vehicles – Buying insurance for multiple vehicles on the same car insurance policy could earn a price break for each car.
• Federal Government Employee – Active or retired federal employment can save as much as 8% depending on your company.
• Discounts for Safe Drivers – Insureds without accidents can pay as much as 50% less than drivers with accident claims.

A little note about advertised discounts, many deductions do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Some only reduce individual premiums such as comp or med pay. So when it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, you’re out of luck. But all discounts will reduce your premiums.

For a list of providers who offer car insurance discounts in Waltham, click this link.

How much car insurance do I need?

When it comes to buying the right insurance coverage, there really is not a “perfect” insurance plan. Every insured’s situation is different so your insurance should reflect that Here are some questions about coverages that might help in determining whether your personal situation may require specific advice.

• Do I qualify for additional discounts?
• When do I need to add a new car to my policy?
• Can I pay claims out-of-pocket if I buy high deductibles?
• Do no-fault laws apply in Massachusetts?
• Am I covered when pulling a rental trailer?
• Does my insurance cover a custom paint job?
• What if I don’t agree with a claim settlement offer?
• Do I need rental car coverage?
• Can I rate high risk drivers on liability-only vehicles?

If you’re not sure about those questions, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, take a second and complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies.

More information is available on the website for the Massachusetts Division of Insurance through this link. Consumers can find a variety of consumer forms, find out which companies have the most complaints, report car insurance fraud, and find disaster information.

Car insurance specifics

Understanding the coverages of a car insurance policy can help you determine appropriate coverage at the best deductibles and correct limits. The terms used in a policy can be difficult to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Listed below are the normal coverages found on the average car insurance policy.

Comprehensive car insurance

Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things like damage from getting keyed, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and theft. The maximum payout you’ll receive from a claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Liability insurance

Liability insurance can cover damage that occurs to other people or property. Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You might see limits of 25/50/25 which stand for a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $50,000, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Alternatively, you may have a combined limit which provides one coverage limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability coverage pays for things like court costs, funeral expenses, legal defense fees, medical expenses and medical services. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a decision to put some thought into, but buy higher limits if possible. Massachusetts state law requires minimum liability limits of 20,000/40,000/5,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy higher limits.

Coverage for uninsured or underinsured drivers

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered losses include medical payments for you and your occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law (which is 20/40/5), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Usually your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.

Coverage for collisions

This covers damage to your vehicle caused by collision with an object or car. You first must pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision insurance covers claims like crashing into a ditch, hitting a mailbox, driving through your garage door, backing into a parked car and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. You can also choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Coverage for medical expenses

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage kick in for short-term medical expenses such as nursing services, surgery, funeral costs and dental work. They can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. It covers all vehicle occupants in addition to being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP coverage is not available in all states and may carry a deductible

Keep this in mind

Budget-conscious car insurance can be found online as well as from independent agents in Waltham, and you need to comparison shop both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance providers don’t offer online quoting and many times these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.

When trying to cut insurance costs, don’t be tempted to buy poor coverage just to save money. There are a lot of situations where an insured dropped liability coverage limits and discovered at claim time that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your strategy should be to purchase plenty of coverage for the lowest price, not the least amount of coverage.