Top 6 Ways You Can Buy Auto Insurance for Less in Peachtree City, GA

Are you sick and tired of scraping the payment together to insure your vehicles every month? Your situation is no different than many other Georgia consumers.

There are many auto insurance companies to insure vehicles with, and although it’s nice to have a selection, having more insurance companies makes it harder to compare rates and find the lowest cost auto insurance.

Discounts are basically free money

The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but discounts can save money and there are some available that many people don’t even know exist. Certain discounts will be applied when you complete an application, but less common discounts must be specially asked for prior to getting the savings.

• Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Requiring all passengers to use a seat belt could cut 10% or more off the personal injury premium cost.
• Anti-lock Brakes – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes are safer to drive and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
• Distant Student – Any of your kids who are attending college without a vehicle on campus may be able to be covered for less.
• Discount for New Cars – Putting insurance coverage on a new car can save up to 30% since new cars are generally safer.
• Sign Online – Some insurance companies give back up to $50 simply for signing online.
• Safe Driver Discount – Drivers who don’t get into accidents may receive a discount up to 45% less than drivers with accident claims.

Consumers should know that most of the big mark downs will not be given the the whole policy. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. So when it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way. But all discounts will help reduce your premiums.

To see a list of companies offering auto insurance discounts in Georgia, click this link.

How can Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm save drivers who switch?

Auto insurance providers like Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm constantly bombard you with ads on television and other media. They all make the same claim of big savings if you switch to them. But how can every company make the same claim? This is how they do it.

Different companies can use profiling for the driver they prefer to insure. For example, a driver they prefer might be profiled as between 25 and 40, has no driving citations, and has a high credit rating. Any driver that hits that “sweet spot” receives the best rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Drivers who fall outside this ideal profile will have to pay higher premiums and ends up with business not being written. The ads state “customers that switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much. That’s the way insurance companies can confidently make those claims.

Because of the profiling, drivers must quote coverage with many companies. It’s impossible to know which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings.

Which insurance is the “right” coverage?

When it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage for your vehicles, there isn’t really a single plan that fits everyone. Everyone’s needs are different so this has to be addressed. These are some specific questions can help discover whether your personal situation might need professional guidance.

• Does my personal auto insurance policy cover using my vehicle for business use?
• Will I be non-renewed for getting a DUI or other conviction?
• Is rental equipment covered for theft or damage?
• What is high-risk coverage and where do I buy it?
• Why is insurance for a teen driver so high in Peachtree City?
• Is my vehicle covered for smoke damage?
• Can I afford to buy a different vehicle if my vehicle is totaled?
• Do I need medical payments coverage since I have good health insurance?
• Am I covered when renting a car or should I buy coverage from the car rental agency?
• Can my teen driver be rated on a liability-only vehicle?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you know they apply to you then you might want to talk to an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form or click here for a list of auto insurance companies in your area.

Auto insurance coverages 101

Having a good grasp of your auto insurance policy can help you determine which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Listed below are typical coverage types found on most auto insurance policies.

Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)

This pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive insurance covers claims like hitting a bird, hail damage, damage from flooding and fire damage. The most a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider dropping full coverage.

Insurance for medical payments

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage provide coverage for short-term medical expenses such as rehabilitation expenses, funeral costs, EMT expenses, surgery and chiropractic care. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if you are not covered by health insurance. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is not available in all states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage provides protection from other motorists when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Since many Georgia drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (which is 25/50/25), their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked. Usually these limits are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.

Liability insurance

Liability insurance provides protection from injuries or damage you cause to a person or their property by causing an accident. It protects YOU against claims from other people, and doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show limits of 25/50/25 which means $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Some companies may use a combined single limit or CSL which combines the three limits into one amount with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability coverage pays for claims such as repair costs for stationary objects, structural damage and medical expenses. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a personal decision, but you should buy as high a limit as you can afford. Georgia requires drivers to carry at least 25,000/50,000/25,000 but you should think about purchasing more liability than the minimum.

Collision insurance

This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision coverage pays for things like sustaining damage from a pot hole, damaging your car on a curb, rolling your car and crashing into a building. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are older. Another option is to bump up the deductible to bring the cost down.

Georgia auto insurance information

Additional auto insurance information is located on the website for the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner located here. Georgia consumers can read industry bulletins, download brochures, find out which companies have the most complaints, and file complaints about an insurance agent or broker.

In Summary

In this article, we covered a lot of tips how to get a better price on auto insurance. The key concept to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. You may be surprised to find that the lowest priced auto insurance comes from an unexpected company. These companies may cover specific market segments cheaper as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Nationwide.

As you shop your coverage around, it’s not a good idea to buy poor coverage just to save money. There are a lot of situations where an accident victim reduced liability limits or collision coverage and learned later that it was a big mistake. The ultimate goal is to buy enough coverage at the best price while still protecting your assets.