Free Guide to Cutting Costs on Davis Auto Insurance Online

Have you had enough of scraping the payment together each month for car insurance? You are in the same boat as many other South Dakota drivers.

Companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive promote their brand names with fancy advertisements and it is difficult to sift through the bull and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.

If you have car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to cut costs considerably using this strategy. Finding the best rates in Davis is easy if you know what you're doing. But South Dakota drivers do need to know the way companies determine prices because it can help you find the best coverage.

These discounts can lower your rates

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but discounts can save money and there are some available to help offset the cost. Certain discounts will be applied when you get a quote, but less common discounts must be asked for before you will receive the discount.

  • Clubs and Organizations - Participating in a civic or occupational organization could qualify you for a break when buying auto insurance.
  • Claim Free - Claim-free drivers pay much less when compared with drivers who are more careless.
  • Drivers Ed for Students - Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to enroll in driver's education in high school.
  • Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Keeping the miles down could be rewarded with lower rates on the low mileage vehicles.
  • Use Seat Belts - Buckling up and requiring all passengers to use their safety belts can save 10% or more off your PIP or medical payments premium.
  • Passive Restraints - Vehicles equipped with air bags can qualify for discounts of more than 20%.
  • Employee of Federal Government - Active or retired federal employment can save as much as 8% depending on your company.
  • Student in College - Children who are attending college without a vehicle on campus can be insured at a reduced rate.
  • Discount for Life Insurance - Select insurance companies reward you with better rates if you take out a life insurance policy as well.
  • Defensive Driving Course - Completing a course in driver safety could save 5% or more if you qualify.

Drivers should understand that most credits do not apply to the entire cost. Some only apply to specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like it's possible to get free car insurance, companies wouldn't make money that way. But all discounts will 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 the price you pay for auto insurance. Having a good understanding of what controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in lower auto insurance prices.

The list below includes a partial list of the pieces used by your company to calculate premiums.

  • Don't sacrifice liability coverage - The liability section of your policy will protect you if a court rules you are at fault for personal injury or accident damage. Liability provides legal defense starting from day one. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so buy as much as you can afford.
  • Rates may be lower depending on your job - Occupations such as judges, architects and dentists have the highest average rates due to stressful work requirements and lengthy work days. Other occupations such as farmers, historians and the unemployed get better rates.
  • An active claims history can cost you - Auto insurance companies in South Dakota provide cheaper rates to people who do not file claims often. If you are a frequent claim filer, you can pretty much guarantee higher rates. Auto insurance is designed for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
  • Theft deterrents lower rates - Driving a car with a theft deterrent system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft devices such as LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM's OnStar system all hinder your car from being stolen.
  • Choose a safe vehicle and save - Cars with high safety ratings are cheaper to insure. Safe vehicles protect occupants better and lower injury rates translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and more competitive rates for policyholders.
  • Never let your coverage lapse - Driving your car without having proper coverage is a misdemeanor and as a result your rates will increase for letting your coverage have a gap. And not only will your rates increase, but not being able to provide proof of insurance will get you a steep fine or even jail time.
  • Do you know you're credit rating? - A driver's credit rating is a big factor in your rate calculation. People with high credit scores tend to be more responsible than drivers who have lower ratings. If your credit history can use some improvement, you could potentially save money when insuring your by improving your credit score.
  • Older drivers pay less - Mature drivers are more responsible, tend to file fewer claims and get fewer tickets. Teen drivers tend to be careless and easily distracted in a vehicle and because of this, their auto insurance rates are much higher.

Are you falling for claims of savings?

Allstate, GEICO and Progressive regularly use ads on television and other media. All the companies say the same thing that you'll save big if you move your coverage to them. How can each company make almost identical claims? It's all in the numbers.

All companies can use profiling for the type of customer that earns them a profit. For instance, a profitable customer could possibly be between the ages of 30 and 50, is a homeowner, and drives newer vehicles. A driver who fits that profile will qualify for the lowest rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Drivers who are not a match for the requirements must pay higher premiums which usually ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ad wording is "customers who switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that much money. That's why companies can claim big savings.

This illustrates why drivers should quote coverage with many companies. It is impossible to predict the company that will give you the biggest savings.

Much more information about auto insurance in South Dakota is located on the website for the South Dakota Division of Insurance found here. South Dakota consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, read industry bulletins, download brochures, and view a list of available companies.

Affordable insurance is out there

Budget-conscious auto insurance is possible online as well as from independent agents in Davis, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. A few companies don't offer you the ability to get quotes online and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

In this article, we presented a lot of information how 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. Drivers may discover the lowest rates come from some of the smallest insurance companies. Regional companies may only write in your state and offer lower rates than the large multi-state companies such as .