5 Ways to Know You’re Getting the Best Auto Insurance Rates

When you drive a car, auto insurance is one of those things that you just have to pay every month. You may not necessarily like having a payout of insurance premiums, but if you plan on driving legally, it is a requirement of the auto insurance laws.

While you are required to pay for auto insurance premiums, you are not required to overpay for the premiums. If you think that you might be paying too much for auto insurance, there are five things that you can do to make sure that you are getting the best auto insurance rates. Try our FREE quote comparison tool by entering your ZIP on our homepage.

Check With Local Agents

The first thing that you should do when you want to make sure that you’re getting the best deal on auto insurance is call your local insurance agents. Ask them for quotes on your vehicles. You’ll have to give them information about your vehicle or multiple vehicles such as the make and model. Then the insurance agent should be able to tell you exactly how much your premiums would be with that particular company.

If you call all of the insurance agents in your area, you should be able to tell quickly which company has the best rates. When it comes to saving money on your auto insurance, this may take a little bit of work, but it is usually well worth the time that it takes.

Some insurance companies have much higher premiums than others and its up to you to see who is the cheapest for your vehicle.

Compare Online

Besides checking with agents in your local market, you should also do a little bit of research and investigate online. There are several websites that make it possible for you to compare quotes from multiple insurance companies in the same place.

All you have to do is enter information such as your zip code and the make and model of your vehicle.

Then the website will go out and get quotes from auto insurance companies for you. This is one of the fastest ways to compare auto insurance quotes and it is also one of the most effective.

In some cases, you can find an online-only insurance company that does not have local offices to get quotes from. These types of companies are sometimes very attractive because they have lower prices.

They don’t have the overhead that comes with paying for multiple offices across the country. They can usually do business from a central location and this allows them to cut down on costs. These savings can then be passed on to customers in the form of lower premiums.

When you get a quote from an online insurance company, make sure that you understand you probably will not receive the same level of personal service that you would receive from a regular insurance company. Since there are no local agents, you won’t have anyone to talk to in person if you have a question. As long as you are willing to handle your customer service inquiries over the phone or online, this shouldn’t be much of an issue for you.

Ask for Discounts

When it comes to shopping around for insurance, you should also ask to make sure that you’re getting all of the discounts that you are entitled to. Most insurance companies have multiple discounts that you may be entitled to depending on your situation. For example, if you have a good driving record, you may be entitled to a good drivers discount.

If you have taken a driver education class, you could receive a discount for that. Some insurance companies even give discounts for having good grades as a student. Most companies also provide some kind of discount if you bundle your insurance policies together. For example, if you are willing to get homeowners insurance, life insurance and auto insurance all from the same place, you may be able to get a discount on the rates you pay.

Some insurance companies will not freely offer these auto insurance discounts when you apply for coverage. They may not think of offering them or they could intentionally try to avoid them so that they can make more money. It’s up to you to ask for these discounts to make sure that you get them.

If you’re not sure what kind of discounts you may be entitled to, simply ask the insurance agent if there are any discounts you may be eligible for. The insurance agent can do a little bit of research to find out what discounts may apply to your situation.

Check Your Insurance Score

When you make financial decisions throughout life, they can have an impact on your credit score. Many people realize that this score can affect things like interest rates on your loans and getting approved for financing.

However, many people are also unaware that these factors can also play a role in how much you pay for auto insurance.

Insurance companies use a number that is referred to as your “insurance score” when determining how much you’ll pay for auto insurance premiums. There is a direct correlation between people who have low credit scores and those who file multiple auto insurance claims. Because of this, a good credit score means that you will pay less in auto insurance premiums.

Before you start shopping around for auto insurance, you may want to get a copy of your credit report to make sure that there are no red flags that could cost you. Some websites make it possible for you to buy your insurance score, but it may not be the exact same score that every insurance company uses.

Change Your Deductible

If you’re interested in saving money on auto insurance, one step that you can take is to raise your deductible. The deductible is the money that you have to pay when you file a claim before the insurance company pays for anything. Enter your ZIP into our FREE quote generator to start saving today.

If you raise this amount, your premiums will go down. While you don’t want the deductible to be so high that you couldn’t possibly afford it, you may want it to be higher than it currently is. This way, you can save money on a monthly basis as you pay your auto insurance premiums.