Free Guide to Paying Less for Columbia Car Insurance Online

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy high-priced car insurance? Trust us when we tell you you're not the only one.

Numerous battle for your business, so it can be very hard to choose a to find the absolute lowest rate

If you are paying for car insurance now, you will be able to lower your premiums substantially using this information. Finding affordable coverage in Columbia is quite easy. Nevertheless, Missouri consumers do need to know the way insurance companies compete online and apply this information to your search.

Policy discounts you shouldn't miss

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but there are discounts available to cut the cost considerably. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied when you quote, but less common discounts must be asked for prior to getting the savings.

  • Memberships - Being a member of certain professional organizations may earn a discount when buying car insurance.
  • Driver Safety - Taking part in a defensive driving course could possibly earn you a 5% discount and easily recoup the cost of the course.
  • Senior Citizens - Mature drivers may be able to get reduced rates.
  • Save with a New Car - Putting insurance coverage on a new car can be considerably cheaper due to better safety requirements for new cars.
  • Homeowners Discount - Owning a home in Columbia can save you money due to the fact that maintaining a home is proof that your finances are in order.
  • Accident Free - Drivers with accident-free driving histories can save substantially when compared with bad drivers.
  • No Charge for an Accident - 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.

It's important to understand that some of the credits will not apply the the whole policy. Most only cut specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So despite the fact that it appears having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it doesn't quite work that way. Any qualifying discounts will cut the amount you have to pay.

To see a list of insurers who offer car insurance discounts in Columbia, click here.

Quick Columbia Car Insurance Quotes

The are a couple different ways of comparing rates from car insurance companies in your area. The best method to find the lowest rates consists of obtaining rate quotes online. This can be done in just a few minutes using one of these methods.

  • The best way to get quotes is a comparison rater form click here to open form in new window. This type of form eliminates the need for separate quotation requests to each individual car insurance company. Completing one form will get you rate comparisons from car insurance companies with the best prices.
  • A slightly less efficient method to shop for car insurance online requires you to visit each individual company website to complete their respective quote request forms. For sake of this example, we'll pretend you want to compare rates from , and . To find out each rate you need to spend time on each company's site and enter your policy data, which is why the first method is quicker. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in Columbia, click here.

However you get your quotes, compare the exact same coverage information on every quote you get. If you enter unequal deductibles or liability limits then you won't be able to determine which rate is truly the best in Columbia. Slightly different coverage limits can make a big difference in price. Just keep in mind that quoting more will increase your chances of finding the best offered rates.

What determines how much you pay?

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that help determine the rates you pay for car insurance. Understanding what determines base rates allows you to make educated decisions that could result in big savings.

  • Protect yourself with liability coverage - Liability coverage provides coverage if you are found liable for damages from an accident. It provides for a legal defense which can cost thousands of dollars. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap when compared with rates for comp and collision, so do not skimp.
  • Do you need the policy add-ons? - There are a ton of extra coverages that you can get tricked into buying when buying car insurance. Coverages like vanishing deductibles, accidental death and motor club memberships are some examples. They may seem good initially, but if you don't need them get rid of them and save.
  • Men pay higher rates - Statistics demonstrate that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. However, this does not mean women are better drivers. They both have accidents in similar percentages, but the male of the species have costlier accidents. Men also tend to get more serious tickets like DUI and reckless driving. Male drivers age 16 to 19 are the most expensive to insure and therefore have the most expensive car insurance rates.
  • Mature drivers pay less - Older insureds are more responsible, file fewer claims and are safer drivers. Youthful drivers are known to get distracted easily when behind the wheel therefore car insurance rates are much higher.
  • Adjust deductibles and save - The deductibles represent how much money you are required to spend before a claim is paid by your company. Coverage for physical damage, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, covers damage that occurs to your car. Examples of covered claims would be colliding with a building, damage caused by hail, or theft. The higher the amount you're willing to pay, the less your car insurance will be.
  • Your car insurance rates can be influenced by your job - Did you know your occupation can influence how much you pay for car insurance? Occupations such as lawyers, social workers and accountants tend to pay higher rates than average due to job stress and lots of time spent at work. On the flip side, occupations like actors, athletes and performers have the lowest average rates.
  • Bad driving skills means higher rates - Whether or not you get tickets impacts your car insurance rates tremendously. Good drivers get better rates compared to drivers with tickets. Even a single citation can increase rates forty percent or more. Drivers with flagrant tickets like DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions are required to submit a SR-22 or proof of financial responsibility to the state department of motor vehicles in order to keep their license.

Save $429 a year? Really?

Allstate, GEICO and Progressive continually stream television and radio advertisements. All the companies have a common claim of big savings after switching to them. How do they all claim to save you money? It's all in the numbers.

All the different companies are able to cherry pick for the type of driver that is profitable for them. For example, a profitable customer might be a mature driver, has no tickets, and drives newer vehicles. Any driver that hits that "sweet spot" will qualify for the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to cut their rates substantially.

Potential customers who don't qualify for the "perfect" profile must pay a higher premium and this can result in the customer not buying. The ad wording is "customers who switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save money. That's the way insurance companies can confidently claim big savings.

This illustrates why drivers must get as many quotes as possible. You cannot predict which car insurance company will give you the biggest savings.

Final considerations

Low-cost car insurance can be bought both online and with local Columbia insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best rate selection. A few companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

When trying to cut insurance costs, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, an insured dropped physical damage coverage only to discover later that it was a big mistake. Your focus should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the best price while not skimping on critical coverages.

We just presented a lot of techniques to compare car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may be surprised to find that the best price on car insurance is with some of the smallest insurance companies. These smaller insurers can often provide lower rates in certain areas compared to the large companies like .

car insurance in Columbia

Find out more about car insurance

Additional car insurance information can be found on the website for the Missouri Department of Insurance found here. Visitors are able to find out which companies have the most complaints, discover disciplinary actions, learn about insurance regulations, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.