Free Guide to Paying Less for Belmont Car Insurance Online

Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can overdraw your savings account, especially in this economy. Comparing price quotes is a great way to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket. Drivers have so many to pick from, and although it's a good thing to have a selection, too many choices makes it more difficult to compare rates.

It's important to compare prices yearly due to the fact that insurance rates are constantly changing. Just because you had the best rates last year 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.

Finding affordable coverage in Belmont is quite easy. If you currently have car insurance, you will be able to reduce your rates substantially using this information. New York drivers only need an understanding of the proper way to compare rates online.

Policy discounts you shouldn't miss

Auto insurance companies don't always advertise all their discounts very clearly, so the following is a list of both the well known and the harder-to-find discounts you could be receiving. If you're not getting every credit you deserve, you're paying more than you need to.

  • College Student - Youth drivers living away from home attending college and do not have a car can receive lower rates.
  • Bundle and Save - When you combine your home and auto insurance with one company you could get a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
  • Good Student Discount - A discount for being a good student can save 20 to 25%. The good student discount can last until age 25.
  • Life Insurance Discount - Larger companies have a discount if you purchase life insurance from them.
  • Senior Citizens - Mature drivers may qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
  • Multi-car Discount - Buying insurance for more than one vehicle on the same car insurance policy qualifies for this discount.
  • Claim Free - Drivers who don't have accidents pay less as compared to bad drivers.
  • Drivers Education - Have your child complete a driver education course in school.

Consumers should know that some of the credits will not apply to your bottom line cost. Most only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies don't profit that way.

To see a list of companies offering car insurance discounts in New York, click here.

Belmont car insurance comparison

How to Get Cheap Car Insurance in Belmont, NY

Finding cheaper car insurance prices isn't really that difficult. Consumers just need to take a couple of minutes to get quotes provided by online insurance companies. This can be done in a couple of different ways.

  • The best way to compare a lot of rates at once is a comparison rater form (click to open form in new window). This type of form prevents you from having to do separate quotation requests for each company. A single, simple form will return quotes from car insurance companies with the best prices.
  • A slightly less efficient method to shop for car insurance online is to take the time to go to each company's website to complete their respective quote request forms. For examples sake, let's assume you want comparison quotes from , and . You would have to take the time to go to each site and enter your information, and that's why the first method is more popular.

    For a list of links to companies insuring cars in Belmont, click here.

However you get your quotes, make sure you use identical coverages and limits on every quote you get. If you use different deductibles it will be very difficult to determine which rate is truly the best in Belmont.

How to Lower your Car Insurance Rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. Knowing what determines base rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with better car insurance rates.

Listed below are some of the items used by your company to calculate rates.

  • Mature drivers pay less - Youthful drivers in New York are statistically proven to be more careless when driving so they pay higher car insurance rates. Parents adding a teenage driver onto a policy can really hurt. More mature drivers are viewed as being more responsible, tend to cause fewer accidents and are safer drivers.
  • Where you live is a factor - Residing in a small town can be a good thing when talking about car insurance. Urban drivers have much more traffic and longer commute times. Lower population means a lower chance of having an accident and a lower car theft rate.
  • Bad driving skills means higher rates - Drivers who don't get tickets tend to pay less for car insurance than bad drivers. Even a single citation can bump up the cost by as much as thirty percent. Drivers who have serious citations such as DUI or reckless driving may need to submit a SR-22 or proof of financial responsibility to the state department of motor vehicles in order to continue driving.
  • Higher deductibles cost less - Coverage for physical damage, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your car. A few examples of covered claims would be running into the backend of another car, collision with an animal, or theft. The deductibles are how much you are willing to pay if you file a covered claim. The more expense you have to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.
  • Your occupation can affect rates - Did you know your occupation can influence how much you pay for car insurance? Jobs such as real estate brokers, social workers and financial analysts have higher average rates in part from job stress and long work hours. Conversely, occupations like pilots, engineers and homemakers get better rates.

Insurance agents can help

When choosing coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn't really a perfect coverage plan. Everyone's situation is unique and your policy should reflect that. For example, these questions can help discover whether your personal situation would benefit from an agent's advice.

  • Do I pay less if my vehicle is kept in my garage?
  • What are the best liability limits?
  • Should I buy only the required New York minimum liability coverage?
  • When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
  • Am I covered by my employer's commercial auto policy when driving my personal car for business?
  • Am I covered when driving on a suspended license?
  • Am I covered when driving in Canada or Mexico?

If you can't answer these questions but you know they apply to you, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, simply complete this short form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It only takes a few minutes and may give you better protection.

Save $429 a year? Really?

Consumers in New York can't get away from ads for car insurance savings from the likes of Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm. They all seem to have a common claim of big savings if you switch your coverage to them.

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

Different companies have a preferred profile for the type of customer that is profitable for them. A good example of a desirable insured might be between 25 and 40, has no prior claims, and drives newer vehicles. Any driver that hits that "sweet spot" is entitled to the best price and is almost guaranteed to save when switching.

Drivers who don't qualify for these standards will have to pay a higher premium and this can result in the customer not buying. The ads state "drivers who switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that much money. This is how insurance companies can confidently claim big savings. Because of the profiling, drivers must quote coverage with many companies. You cannot predict which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings.

Best coverage at the best price

When trying to cut insurance costs, make sure you don't reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where consumers will sacrifice collision coverage and discovered at claim time that it was a big mistake. Your aim should be to buy a smart amount of coverage for the lowest price.

We just presented a lot of techniques to compare car insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more times you quote, the better chance you'll have of finding lower rates. Drivers may discover the most savings is with a smaller regional carrier. These smaller insurers may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates compared to the large companies like .

Cost effective car insurance is available both online as well as from independent agents in Belmont, so you should compare both to have the best selection. A few companies don't offer the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.

New York car insurance quotes

More tips and info about car insurance can be read at the New York Department of Financial Services website. Visitors are able to read enforcement actions against agents and companies, view agent and company licensing information, file complaints about a company, and report car insurance fraud.

Additional helpful sites include this Car Insurance FAQ and this page of insurance agents in Belmont.