Car Insurance in Appleton, WI - 9 Discounts You Might be Forgetting

No one in their right mind cherishes buying car insurance, especially when their premiums are through the roof. Numerous battle for your insurance dollar, and it can be difficult to compare rates to get the lowest price

Don't pay full price with these nine discounts

Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, buy you may qualify for discounts that many people don't even know exist. A few discounts will automatically apply when you purchase, but lesser-known reductions have to be requested specifically before being credited. If they aren't giving you every credit you qualify for, you're paying more than you need to.

Defensive Driver - Taking part in a driver safety course can save you 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
Early Signing - Some companies give discounts for switching to them before your current expiration date. This can save 10% or more.
Theft Prevention System - Vehicles with anti-theft systems can help prevent theft and earn discounts up to 10%.
Multi-car Discount - Having more than one vehicle on the same car insurance policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
55 and Retired - Mature drivers may qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
Accident Forgiveness - A few companies allow you one accident before raising your premiums so long as you haven't had any claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
Anti-lock Brakes - Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles are safer to drive and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
Auto/Home Discount - When you combine your home and auto insurance with the same insurance company you may earn approximately 10% to 15%.
Passive Restraints - Vehicles equipped with air bags or motorized seat belts can get savings of 20% or more.

As a disclaimer on discounts, some credits don't apply to the entire policy premium. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. So when it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, car insurance companies aren't that generous. Any amount of discount will cut your premiums.

To see a list of insurers offering car insurance discounts in Appleton, click here.

Vehicle Insurance Comparison

Comparing car insurance rates can be a lot of work if you aren't aware of the fastest way to get free quotes. You can waste a lot of time talking to local insurance agents in Appleton, or you could use the internet to accomplish the same thing much quicker.

Many insurance companies are enrolled in a marketplace that enables customers to submit their information once, and at least one company provides a quote for coverage. This prevents consumers from doing form submissions to each individual car insurance company. To submit your quote information now, click to open in new window.

The only drawback to getting quotes like this is that consumers can't choose which carriers to get pricing from. So if you prefer to choose specific insurance companies to request quotes from, we put together a list of companies who write car insurance in Wisconsin. Click here for list of insurance companies in Wisconsin.

Whichever method you choose, be sure to compare the exact same coverage limits and deductibles for each comparison quote. If you use different liability limits you can't possibly determine the lowest rate in Appleton.

Your personal situation dictates your coverage

When choosing adequate coverage for your vehicles, there is no "perfect" insurance plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else's and your policy should reflect that. Here are some questions about coverages that may help highlight whether or not you might need professional guidance.

Should I have combined single limit or split liability limits?
Does my car insurance cover rental cars?
Do I need special endorsements for business use of my vehicle?
Am I covered when driving on a suspended license?
Does my personal auto insurance policy cover using my vehicle for business use?
Should I rate my vehicle as pleasure use or commute?

If you can't answer these questions but a few of them apply, you might consider talking to an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It only takes a few minutes and you can get the answers you need.

The car insurance bait and switch

Consumers can't get away from ads for cheaper car insurance from the likes of 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. All the companies have a common claim about savings if you switch your coverage to them.

How do they all make the same claim? It's all in the numbers.

All the different companies have a certain "appetite" for the type of customer that is profitable for them. For example, a profitable customer could be between 30 and 50, a clean driving record, and has a high credit rating. Any new insured that hits that "sweet spot" is entitled to the best price and therefore will cut their rates substantially.

Consumers who don't measure up to the "perfect" profile must pay higher prices and this can result in business going elsewhere. The ads state "customers who switch" not "everyone that quotes" save that much money. That is how companies can truthfully state the savings.

This illustrates why drivers must get a wide range of price quotes. It's just too difficult to predict which company will have the lowest rates.

A tidy conclusion

Cheap car insurance can be found from both online companies as well as from independent agents in Appleton, so compare prices from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance companies don't offer the ability to get a quote online and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

You just learned a lot of ways to compare car insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more companies you get rates for, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the best prices are with a small mutual company. These smaller insurers may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments as compared to the big name companies such as .

As you restructure your insurance plan, never reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are a lot of situations where someone dropped uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that they should have had better coverage. The proper strategy is to buy a smart amount of coverage at the best price while not skimping on critical coverages.

Additional Wisconsin consumer information

Additional information can be found on the website for the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance found here. Consumers can discover disciplinary actions, file complaints about a company, read consumer alerts, and report car insurance fraud.