How to Know You're Spending Too Much for Car Insurance in Bassfield

Overpriced car insurance can overdraw your bank account and make it impossible to make ends meet. Shopping your coverage around is a smart way to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket. You have so many to buy insurance from, and even though it's nice to have multiple companies, lots of choices makes it harder to compare rates.

Save big with these discounts

Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, buy you may qualify for discounts to reduce the price significantly. Most are applied when you quote, but less common discounts must be asked about before you get the savings. If you're not getting every credit you deserve, you are throwing money away.

  • Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Fewer annual miles could be rewarded with lower rates on the low mileage vehicles.
  • Accident Waiver - Certain companies will allow you to have one accident before your rates go up so long as you haven't had any claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
  • Discount for Life Insurance - Some companies give a discount if you purchase auto and life insurance together.
  • Paperless Signup - A handful of insurance companies may give you up to $50 just for signing your application over the internet.
  • Senior Citizens - If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may be able to get a discount up to 10%.

Keep in mind that most credits do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only cut the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. Even though it may seem like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it just doesn't work that way. But any discount will bring down your overall premium however.

car insurance in Bassfield

Learn How to Buy Car Insurance Cheaper

Smart consumers have a good feel for some of the elements that help determine the rates you pay for car insurance. Knowing what influences your rates helps enable you to make changes that could result in big savings.

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

  • Add-on coverages can add up - There are a ton of add-on coverages that you can get tricked into buying when buying car insurance. Coverages for roadside assistance, accidental death and membership fees are examples of these. These coverages may sound good when talking to your agent, but your needs may have changed so eliminate them to save money.
  • Marriage brings a discount - Having a wife or husband can get you a discount when buying car insurance. Having a spouse usually means you are more mature it has been statistically shown that married drivers get in fewer accidents.
  • Lower miles equals lower premium - Driving more miles in a year's time the more you'll pay to insure your vehicle. The majority of insurers charge to insure your cars based on their usage. Vehicles not used for work or commuting receive lower rates than those used for commuting. Ask your agent if your car insurance coverage shows the proper vehicle usage, because improper ratings can cost you money.
  • Do men or women drive better? - Statistics have proven that women are safer drivers than men. However, this does not mean men are WORSE drivers than women. They both tend to get into accidents in similar numbers, but the male of the species have costlier accidents. Men also tend to get cited for more serious violations like DUI and reckless driving. Young males tend to get in the most accidents and therefore are the most expensive to insure.
  • More claims means more premium - If you file claims often, you can expect higher rates. Auto insurance companies in Mississippi provide lower rates to drivers who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. Insurance coverage is intended for the bigger claims that can't be paid out-of-pocket.
  • Safe vehicles cost less to insure - Vehicles with good safety scores are cheaper to insure. Safe vehicles have better occupant injury protection and any reduction in injury severity translates into savings for insurance companies and thus lower rates.

Car insurance ads bend the truth

Consumers in Mississippi get pounded daily by advertisements for car insurance savings from companies such as 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. All the companies say the same thing that you can save after switching your policy.

How does each company claim to save you money? This is how they do it.

All the different companies have a preferred profile for the right customer that earns them a profit. For instance, a profitable customer might be over the age of 40, insures multiple vehicles, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. Any driver who fits that profile will qualify for the lowest rates and most likely will save when switching.

Drivers who fall outside these standards must pay a higher premium which usually ends up with the customer not buying. The ad wording is "drivers who switch" not "people who quote" save that kind of money. This is how insurance companies can advertise the way they do.

This illustrates why drivers should get as many comparisons as possible. You cannot predict which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.

For more Mississippi car insurance information

More information is located on the website for the Mississippi Insurance Department. Click here for link. Visitors are able to discover disciplinary actions, get help finding coverage, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, and learn about insurance regulations.

A tidy conclusion

Affordable car insurance can be purchased both online in addition to many Bassfield insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best selection. Some car insurance companies do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, never skimp on coverage in order to save money. There are a lot of situations where drivers have reduced liability coverage limits only to discover later that the savings was not a smart move. The proper strategy is to purchase a proper amount of coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.