How to Get the Best Auto Insurance Rates

Finding the company who offers the best auto insurance rates may seem a daunting task. There are lots of insurers out there, all of them look trustworthy and they all claim to offer the best value for the dollar spent. How should you go about picking the right one for your needs? This website will give you some insightful tips that should make your life easier.

Shop around

Not comparing various quotes is the worst mistake you could do when looking to buy an auto insurance policy. Don’t just sign a contract with the first insurance company you lay your eyes on, no matter how good or cheap you think or heard they are. Quotes differ from one individual to another, from one area to another and from one vehicle to another -- just because your neighbor, friend or family member has got a great deal with them, it doesn’t mean that the rate you are going to get will be the best.

As a rule, use an auto insurance comparison website, rather than building a list of insurers and looking up quotes on each website individually. With such a comparison tool you only have to fill in one application, and you will get a lot of quotes in a matter of minutes, all on the same page for you to compare.

Ask for multi-car discounts

If you have more than one car, it would pay up to have all of them insured with the same company -- even on the same policy. Consult with your insurance agent and see how much you would be saving -- you can sometimes get two cars insured for close to the price of one!

Some states will even allow you to be self-insured if you own more than 26 cars. If you have a large auto fleet, it might pay up to look for alternatives to traditional insurance if your state gives you the opportunity.

Always go with yearly policies

Most insurance carriers will allow you to pay by year or by six months. Two half-year policies are always (much) more expensive than paying for a whole year upfront. So even though this may initially put a strain on your budget, you will recover your “investment” in less than a year. Given the significant difference between the two options, you can even bill the second six months on your credit card -- the interest you are going to pay will be less than the difference in premiums.

Moreover, if you sign a yearly policy, the insurer won’t be able to increase the premium until the end of the contract. Should you file claims, commit traffic infractions or anything that would result in a surcharge, it you won’t be billed anything more until you renew the policy.

Whatever you do, don’t sign monthly policies. They are very expensive and should be only used if you buy a car and want to resell it very soon, yet you will drive it for a couple of days or weeks.

Ask around at local car body part shops

This tip is often overlooked. People forget that sales assistants in your local car body part shops are always in touch with insurance carriers, know how fast claims are settled and can hint you on which company to go with.

Consult with an offline independent dealer

Independent insurance dealers, also known as brokers, cooperate with several insurance companies and can recommend you the best one for your needs. Those people make a living from selling insurance policies, so you can trust that they know what they are doing, can tell what kind of policy suits you best and can recommend a good insurance carrier.

You need to keep in mind, however, that they only work with a handful of companies, so they won’t sell you a policy from an insurer they don’t collaborate with. You could be missing out some great offers just because you contacted a dealer that doesn’t work with that certain insurance carrier. Moreover, independent brokers may get different commissions from different companies, so they may be biased towards a certain insurance carrier that pays better than the rest.

Take a defensive driving course

Defensive driving courses will not only teach you how to be a better driver, but will also help you get better insurance rates. Insurance carriers reward safe drivers with discounts that can go to as much as 15% of the value of a policy, which may pile up into a small fortune over the lifetime of a policy.

Don’t buy more insurance than you need

Packages like Rental or Towing Insurance might already be included with your auto club membership or provided for free by certain credit card issuers. You should also watch out for unscrupulous insurance agents who may want to sell you coverage you don’t need just so they can cash in the corresponding commissions. Do your homework, analyze all insurance packages that you currently have and don’t buy duplicate ones.