Buy the Cheapest Columbia Car Insurance

Expensive car insurance can dwindle your personal savings and force you to make sacrifices. Comparison shopping is free and is an excellent way to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket.

Online insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive continually bombard you with ad campaigns and consumers find it hard to sift through the bull and do the work needed to find the best deal.

These discounts can lower your rates

Companies do not list all available discounts in a way that's easy to find, so the following is a list of both the well known and the harder-to-find ways to save on car insurance.

Defensive Driving Course - Successfully completing a defensive driving course could cut 5% off your bill and easily recoup the cost of the course.
Senior Citizens - Mature drivers can possibly qualify for better car insurance rates.
Drivers Ed for Students - Have your child enroll in driver's education in high school.
Pay Upfront and Save - If paying your policy premium upfront instead of paying each month you may reduce your total bill.
Student in College - Any of your kids living away from home attending college without a vehicle on campus can be insured at a reduced rate.
Own a Home - Owning a home in Columbia may earn you a small savings because of the fact that having a home demonstrates responsibility.

As a disclaimer on discounts, many deductions do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. So even though they make it sound like all the discounts add up to a free policy, car insurance companies aren't that generous.

To see a list of insurers with the best car insurance discounts in Columbia, click this link.

Low Cost Columbia Car Insurance

Most companies provide coverage prices on their websites. Obtaining pricing is quite simple as you just enter your coverage information as detailed in the form. Once you submit the form, the system will obtain information on your driving record and credit history and returns a price quote based on these and other factors. Online quotes helps simplify price comparisons, but the time required to go to several different sites and enter the same data into a form is repetitive and time-consuming. But it's very important to have as many quotes as possible if you want to find better car insurance pricing.

The preferred way to locate the lowest prices makes use of a single form that gets prices from a bunch of companies at once. The form is fast, requires much less work on your part, and makes quoting online much more enjoyable. After sending your information, it gets priced and you are able to buy your choice of the price quotes you receive. If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, you can simply submit the application and buy the policy. The whole process can be completed in a matter of minutes and you'll know if lower rates are available.

In order to find out what other companies charge, click here to open in new window and submit your coverage information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you input the limits and deductibles identical to your current policy. This makes sure you will receive comparison quotes based on the exact same insurance coverage.

Good Decisions Result in Lower Rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that come into play when calculating the rates you pay for car insurance. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.

The list below includes some of the items car insurance companies consider when setting premiums.

Don't buy coverages you don't need - There are a lot of add-on coverages that you can get tricked into buying when buying car insurance. Insurance for rental car reimbursement, accidental death and term life insurance may be wasting your money. These may sound like a good investment when talking to your agent, but if they're wasting money eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
Sex matters - Statistics have proven women are more cautious behind the wheel. However, don't assume that men are worse drivers. Both sexes are in accidents at a similar rate, but the male of the species cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations like DUI and reckless driving.
Keep rates low by being claim-free - If you are a frequent claim filer, you can expect either policy cancellation or increased premiums. Auto insurance companies in North Carolina give cheaper rates to insureds who are claim-free. Your insurance policy is intended for the bigger claims that can't be paid out-of-pocket.
Save money with special equipment - Purchasing a vehicle with anti-theft technology or alarm system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft devices like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all aid in stopping your vehicle from being stolen.
Mature drivers pay less - More mature drivers are more responsible, statistically cause fewer accidents and get fewer tickets. Youthful drivers tend to be more careless when driving and because of this, their car insurance rates are much higher.

Different people need different coverages

When choosing coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is not a perfect coverage plan. Everyone's situation is unique so this has to be addressed. For instance, these questions may help you determine whether you might need an agent's assistance.

Should I rate my vehicle as pleasure use or commute?
Should I buy additional glass protection?
Is my cargo covered for damage or theft?
What can I do if my company won't pay a claim?
Why does it cost so much to insure a teen driver in Columbia?
Does my policy cover my teen driver if they drive my company car?
Will I be non-renewed for getting a DUI or other conviction?
Am I covered if I wreck a rental car?

If it's difficult to answer those questions but you know they apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or go to this page to view a list of companies.

Are you falling for claims of savings?

21st Century, Allstate and State Farm regularly use ads on television and other media. All the companies make the same claim about savings if you move to their company. How can each company claim to save you money? This is how they do it.

Insurance companies have a preferred profile for the driver that is profitable for them. A good example of a profitable customer might be between the ages of 30 and 50, insures multiple vehicles, and has great credit. Any driver who matches those parameters is entitled to the best price and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Potential insureds who are not a match for the requirements must pay more money which leads to the customer not buying. Company advertisements say "drivers who switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that much. This is how companies can truthfully advertise the savings. This illustrates why drivers must compare many company's rates. You cannot predict which insurance companies will fit your personal profile best.

Shop smart and save

Cheap car insurance is possible both online and also from your neighborhood Columbia agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. There are still a few companies who may not provide the ability to get a quote online and usually these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

When you buy insurance online, it's not a good idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are a lot of situations where drivers have reduced collision coverage and discovered at claim time that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. The proper strategy is to buy enough coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.

More sites with car insurance information

Even more information can be read at the North Carolina Department of Insurance website. Visitors are able to discover disciplinary actions, learn about insurance regulations, download brochures, and view a list of available companies.