Tightwads Tips for Saving on Anoka Car Insurance

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy high-priced car insurance? Trust us when we tell you you are not the only one feeling buyer's remorse. You have so many to pick from, and although it's a good thing to have a selection, lots of choices makes it harder to compare rates.

It's important to price shop coverage at least once a year because rates are constantly changing. Even if you got the lowest price a few years ago the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. Don't believe everything you read about car insurance on the internet, so I'm going to show you some great ways to save money.

These discounts can lower your rates

Companies offering auto insurance don't always advertise all their discounts very clearly, so we researched some of the more common as well as the least known savings tricks you should be using. If you're not getting every credit possible, you're paying more than you need to.

Sign Online - A few companies will give a small break just for signing your application over the internet.
Driver Safety - Successfully completing a driver safety course could possibly earn you a 5% discount and easily recoup the cost of the course.
Life Insurance - Some companies give a discount if you purchase life insurance.
Bundle and Save - When you combine your home and auto insurance with one insurance company you may save at least 10% off all policies.
Passive Restraint Discount - Factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems may earn rate discounts up to 30%.

Keep in mind that most discount credits are not given the the whole policy. Some only apply to individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. So when the math indicates adding up those discounts means a free policy, it just doesn't work that way.

To see a list of companies who offer car insurance discounts in Minnesota, click here to view.

Comprehensive Anoka Car Insurance Comparison Quotes

Most companies like State Farm, GEICO and Progressive allow you to get coverage price quotes on their websites. The process doesn't take a lot of time as you just type in the coverage amounts you desire as detailed in the form. Once you submit the form, their rating system will obtain information on your driving record and credit history and returns pricing information based on these factors. This makes it a lot easier to compare rates but the time it takes to visit different websites and enter the same data into a form is repetitive and time-consuming. But it's very important to perform this step in order to find better car insurance pricing.

The preferred way to find better car insurance pricing utilizes a single form that gets price quotes from a bunch of companies at once. The form is fast, requires much less work on your part, and makes quoting online much more efficient. After sending the form, it is rated and you can select any one of the price quotes you receive. If a lower price is quoted, you simply finish the application and buy the new coverage. The entire process can be completed in a matter of minutes and may save quite a bit of money.

If you want to find out what other companies charge, click here to open in new window and input your coverage information. If you have coverage now, it's recommended you type in the insurance coverages as shown on your current policy. This makes sure you will receive an apples-to-apples comparison based on the exact same insurance coverage.

Learn How to Buy Car Insurance Cheaper

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that help determine your car insurance rates. Knowing what influences your rates helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.

The following are a partial list of the pieces that factor into rates.

Pay less if you're married - Having a wife or husband can get you a discount on your policy. It usually means you are more mature and it's proven that being married results in fewer claims.
Extra add-on coverages are wasting money - There are a ton of extra coverages that you can buy on your policy. Coverages for rental car reimbursement, towing coverage and membership fees may be costing you every month. These coverages may sound good when you first buy your policy, but your needs may have changed so eliminate them to save money.
Where you live - Choosing to live in small towns and rural areas can be a good thing when it comes to car insurance. Drivers who live in large cities have much more traffic and longer commute times. Less people living in that area means reduced accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft.
Better credit scores mean better rates - Credit history is a important factor in calculating your car insurance rates. If your credit rating is not that good, you could pay less to insure your by spending a little time repairing your credit. Consumers who have high credit scores tend to be less risk to insure than those with lower credit scores.
Proper usage rating affects rates - Driving more miles in a year the more you will pay for car insurance. The majority of insurers rate vehicles based on their usage. Cars and trucks used primarily for pleasure use receive lower rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Double check that your car insurance coverage shows the proper vehicle usage, because improper ratings can cost you money.
Save money with special equipment - Choosing a vehicle with an alarm system can get you a discount on your car insurance. Theft prevention features such as vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems can thwart car theft.
Choose a safe vehicle and save - Vehicles with high crash test scores can get you lower premiums. These vehicles have better occupant injury protection and fewer injuries means lower claim amounts and thus lower rates.

Are you falling for claims of savings?

Consumers can't get away from ads that promise big savings from companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Progressive. They all seem to make an identical promise that you can save after switching your policy.

How does each company make the same claim?

Insurance companies are able to cherry pick for the right customer that is profitable for them. For instance, a desirable insured could be between the ages of 30 and 50, has no tickets, and has a short commute. A customer who meets those qualifications will qualify for the lowest rates and as a result will probably save when switching.

Potential insureds who are not a match for these standards will have to pay more money and ends up with business going elsewhere. The ad wording is "customers that switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that kind of money. That's the way insurance companies can make the claims of big savings. Because of the profiling, drivers must get a wide range of price quotes. Because you never know which car insurance company will fit your personal profile best.

And the best car insurance company is...

Affordable car insurance can be purchased from both online companies in addition to many Anoka insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers do not provide the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these small, regional companies sell through independent agents.

As you shop your coverage around, make sure you don't reduce coverage to reduce premium. In many cases, an insured dropped collision coverage and learned later that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your aim should be to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford.

We just showed you some good ideas how you can compare car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even discover the lowest rates come from some of the lesser-known companies. These smaller insurers can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than the large multi-state companies such as .

Find out more about car insurance

Additional detailed information is located at the Minnesota Department of Commerce website. Consumers can get help finding coverage, discover disciplinary actions, view agent and company licensing information, and find out industry alerts.

Additional helpful sites include this page for Minnesota car insurance and see this list of insurance agents in Anoka.