Tightwads Guide to Saving on Cambridge Auto Insurance

Have you had enough of scraping the payment together each month for car insurance? You're in the same situation as many other Wisconsin drivers.

With consumers having so many options when it comes to auto insurance, it is very difficult to locate the lowest price insurer.

It's important to compare prices before your policy renews since insurance rates are constantly changing. If you had the best rates two years ago a different company probably has better rates today. There is a lot of wrong information about auto insurance on the internet, so I'm going to show you some great ways to find cheap auto insurance.

Locating the lowest cost auto insurance coverage in Cambridge can be fairly easy. Just about every vehicle owner who has to buy auto insurance should be able to lower their premiums. Nevertheless, Wisconsin vehicle owners do need to know how the larger insurance companies determine prices.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but discounts can save money and there are some available to help offset the cost. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically when you get a quote, but some may not be applied and must be specially asked for before you will receive the discount.

Homeowners Pay Less - Owning a house in Cambridge may trigger a auto insurance policy discount because of the fact that having a home demonstrates responsibility.
Claim Free - Claim-free drivers pay less as compared to drivers who are more careless.
Lower Rates for Military - Having a deployed family member can result in better rates.
Passive Restraint Discount - Factory air bags can receive discounts of up to 25% or more.
Pay Upfront and Save - If you pay your bill all at once instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save up to 5%.
Clubs and Organizations - Affiliation with a professional or civic organization could qualify you for a break on auto insurance.
Employee of Federal Government - Active or retired federal employment can save as much as 8% with select insurance companies.
Defensive Driving Course - Completing a course teaching defensive driving skills could save 5% or more if you qualify.

Consumers should know that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire cost. Most only apply to individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like it's possible to get free car insurance, companies don't profit that way. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce the cost of coverage.

How to Lower your Auto Insurance Rates

Smart consumers have a good feel for some of the elements that come into play when calculating auto insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with lower auto insurance prices.

Bump up deductibles to save - Physical damage coverage, termed comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, is used to repair damage to your car. A few examples of covered claims are a windshield shattered by a rock, damage caused by hail, and rolling your vehicle. Your deductibles are how much you are required to spend out-of-pocket in the event of a claim. The more expense you have to pay, the less your company will charge you for insurance.
Rates may be lower depending on your job - Jobs such as real estate brokers, architects and stock brokers have the highest rates because of job stress and lengthy work days. On the other hand, occupations such as farmers, students and the unemployed get better rates.
Higher safety ratings means cheaper insurance - Cars with high safety ratings are cheaper to insure. These vehicles protect occupants better and better occupant protection translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims passed on to you as lower rates.
Do you know you're credit rating? - Credit rating is a important factor in your rate calculation. People with high credit scores tend to be more responsible than drivers who have lower credit ratings. If your credit can use some improvement, you could potentially save money when insuring your by improving your rating.
Theft deterrents lower rates - Driving a car with an alarm system can help lower your rates. Anti-theft devices like LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM's OnStar system all hinder your car from being stolen.
Protect your assets with liability insurance - The liability section of your policy will protect you if ever a jury decides you are liable for personal injury or accident damage. Liability provides you with a defense in court starting from day one. This coverage is very inexpensive compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so buy as much as you can afford.
An active claims history can cost you - Car insurance companies in Wisconsin provide discounts to policyholders who do not file claims often. If you are a frequent claim filer, you can definitely plan on higher rates. Auto insurance is intended to be relied upon for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
Don't buy coverages you don't need - There are a lot of extra bells and whistles that you can buy if you aren't careful. Things like rental car reimbursement, towing coverage and additional equipment coverage are examples of these. They may seem good when you first buy your policy, but now you might not need them so remove them from your policy.

How can State Farm, GEICO and Progressive save drivers who switch?

Auto insurance companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Progressive regularly use ads on television and other media. They all seem to say the same thing of big savings if you move your coverage to them. But how can every company say the same thing?

All companies can use profiling for the type of customer that earns them a profit. A good example of a desirable insured might be profiled as between the ages of 40 and 55, is a homeowner, and chooses high deductibles. A propective insured who fits that profile is entitled to the best price and as a result will probably save a lot of money.

Drivers who are not a match for this ideal profile will have to pay higher premiums which usually ends up with business not being written. The ads state "customers that switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that much money. That's why insurance companies can confidently state the savings.

Because of the profiling, drivers should get a wide range of price quotes. It's not possible to predict the company that will give you the biggest savings.

Additional auto insurance information can be read on the website for the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance located here. Wisconsin drivers can report car insurance fraud, read industry bulletins, find disaster information, and find out industry alerts.

Also read more on this page for Wisconsin auto insurance and this page for help finding agents in Cambridge, WI.

The best insurance company isn't always the cheapest

Cost effective auto insurance is possible on the web as well as from independent agents in Cambridge, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance companies don't offer you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.

In this article, we covered many ways to reduce auto insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better chance you'll have of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the lowest priced auto insurance comes from some of the lesser-known companies. Regional companies may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates than the large multi-state companies such as .