Finding Low-Cost Carmel Car Insurance

No one in their right mind likes having to buy car insurance, particularly when their premiums are too high.

Because there are so many choices, it can be challenging to find the cheapest company.

Good Decisions Result in Lower Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that help determine the rates you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels enables informed choices that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.

The following are a partial list of the pieces car insurance companies consider when setting premiums.

Policy add-ons can waste money - There are a ton of additional coverages that you can get tricked into buying when buying car insurance. Things like roadside assistance, accidental death and term life insurance are some examples. These may sound like a good investment when you first buy your policy, but if they're wasting money remove them from your policy.
Bad driving skills means higher rates - Careful drivers have lower premiums compared to drivers with tickets. Even a single moving violation can boost insurance rates twenty percent or more. Drivers with flagrant tickets like reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence are required to file a SR-22 to the state department of motor vehicles in order to keep their license.
Women pay lower rates - Statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, this does not mean men are worse drivers. Both sexes tend to get into accidents in similar numbers, but the male of the species have costlier accidents. Men also tend to get more serious tickets like DUI and reckless driving. Youthful male drivers are most likely to cause an accident and are penalized with high car insurance rates.
Consolidate policies to earn discounts - Many insurance companies will award you with lower prices to insureds who carry more than one policy, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even if you're getting this discount you still need to comparison shop to ensure the best deal.

Save big with these discounts

Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but you can get discounts that you may not know about. Most are applied at the time you complete a quote, but less common discounts must be manually applied prior to getting the savings.

Driver Safety - Successfully completing a defensive driving course can save you 5% or more if your company offers it.
Good Student - This discount can earn a discount of 20% or more. Earning this discount can benefit you well after school through age 25.
Accident Forgiveness - Some insurance companies will forgive one accident before hitting you with a surcharge so long as you haven't had any claims for a set time period.
Anti-lock Brakes - Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control can reduce accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
Student in College - Youth drivers who are attending college and do not have access to a covered vehicle may qualify for this discount.
Paperless Signup - A few companies may give you up to $50 for buying your policy online.

A little note about advertised discounts, some credits don't apply to the entire policy premium. Some only apply to individual premiums such as liability and collision coverage. So when it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, you won't be that lucky. Any amount of discount will help reduce your overall premium however.

To choose insurers who offer car insurance discounts in New York, click here.

Car insurance ads bend the truth

21st Century, Allstate and State Farm continually stream ads on TV and radio. All the companies have a common claim about savings after switching to their company. But how can every company claim to save you money?

Insurance companies have a certain "appetite" for the driver that makes them money. For instance, a profitable customer might be over the age of 40, a clean driving record, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. Any driver that hits that "sweet spot" will qualify for the lowest rates and most likely will save a lot of money.

Potential customers who fall outside this ideal profile must pay a more expensive rate and this can result in the customer not buying. The ad wording is "customers that switch" not "people who quote" save that much. That is how companies can truthfully advertise the way they do.

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

But I don't know anything about car insurance

When buying the best car insurance coverage for your vehicles, there really is no perfect coverage plan. Everyone's situation is a little different and your policy should reflect that. These are some specific questions may help highlight if your situation could use an agent's help.

Should I have combined single limit or split liability limits?
Do I need to file an SR-22 for a DUI in New York?
Does my policy cover me when driving someone else's vehicle?
Do I need PIP (personal injury protection) coverage in New York?
Why does it cost so much to insure a teen driver in Carmel?
Does my liability insurance cover pulling a trailer or camper?

If you can't answer these questions but you know they apply to you then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or go to this page to view a list of companies.

Additional New York consumer information

Additional information is located on the website for the New York Department of Financial Services located here. Visitors are able to discover disciplinary actions, file complaints about a company, learn about insurance regulations, and read consumer alerts.

Other informative sites include this resource for New York car insurance prices and this link which helps you find a Carmel agent.

The best insurance company isn't always the cheapest

Cheaper car insurance can be sourced both online and also from your neighborhood Carmel agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best rate selection. Some car insurance companies may not provide online price quotes and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

We just presented a lot of ways to save on car insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. You may even find the lowest premiums are with some of the lesser-known companies. Some small companies may cover specific market segments cheaper than their larger competitors like .

When shopping online for car insurance, do not buy poor coverage just to save money. There are a lot of situations where someone dropped liability coverage limits only to discover later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. The proper strategy is to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.