Tightwads Guide to Saving on Earlysville Auto Insurance

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy high-priced auto insurance? Trust us, many Earlysville consumers feel financially strained by their auto insurance policy.

Having so many different company options, it's nearly impossible to pick the best provider.

Policy discounts you shouldn't miss

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, buy you may qualify for discounts that many people don't even know exist. Some trigger automatically when you quote, but a few must be requested specifically before you get the savings.

Memberships - Participating in a professional or civic organization may earn a discount when buying auto insurance.
Defensive Driver - Successfully completing a course in driver safety could possibly earn you a 5% discount and easily recoup the cost of the course.
Anti-lock Brakes - Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles are safer to drive and will save you 10% or more.
Passive Restraints and Air Bags - Vehicles equipped with air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can receive discounts of 20% or more.
Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Driving fewer miles could be rewarded with a substantially lower rate.
Driver's Ed - Have your child enroll in driver's education in school.

A little note about advertised discounts, some credits don't apply the the whole policy. The majority will only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, you won't be that lucky. Any amount of discount will help reduce the amount you have to pay.

To see a list of insurers offering auto insurance discounts in Virginia, click here.

Comprehensive Earlysville Auto Insurance Comparison Quotes

The are a couple different ways of comparing rate quotes from auto insurance companies in your area. The best method to find the lowest rates is to perform an online rate comparison. This can be done in a couple of different ways.

The best way consumers can make multiple comparisons is a comparison rater form click here to open form in new window. This type of form prevents you from having to do boring form submissions for each company you want a rate for. Completing one form compares rates from all major companies.
A less efficient way to shop for auto insurance online is going to each individual company website to complete their respective quote request forms. For instance, we'll pretend you want to compare rates from , and . To get each rate you have to go to every website and enter your information, and that's why the first method is more popular. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in Earlysville, click here.

Whichever method you choose, compare apples-to-apples coverage limits and deductibles on every quote you get. If you are comparing different liability limits it will be very difficult to determine which rate is truly the best in Earlysville. Slightly different coverages may result in large price differences. Just keep in mind that comparing more company's prices gives you a better chance of getting the best rates.

Learn How to Buy Auto Insurance Cheaper

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that go into determining the price you pay for auto insurance. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.

Listed below are a partial list of the pieces that factor into premiums.

Liability coverage is cheap - Liability insurance provides coverage if a court rules you are at fault for damages caused by your negligence. It provides legal defense which can be incredibly expensive. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap compared to physical damage coverage, so do not skimp.
Policy add-ons can waste money - There are many extra coverages that you can get tricked into buying on your auto insurance policy. Things like vanishing deductibles, accidental death and membership fees are some examples. These may sound like a good investment when talking to your agent, but your needs may have changed so remove them from your policy.
Better credit scores mean better rates - A driver's credit score is a huge factor in calculating your auto insurance rates. If your credit history is lower than you'd like, you could pay less to insure your by improving your rating. Consumers who have high credit ratings tend to be less risk to insure than drivers who have poor credit.
Traffic violations increase rates - Whether or not you get tickets has a big impact on rates. Only having one citation may increase your cost twenty percent or more. Drivers with clean records tend to pay less for car insurance than bad drivers. Drivers with serious tickets like hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions are required to submit a SR-22 or proof of financial responsibility with their state DMV in order to continue driving.
Better crash test results mean better rates - Vehicles with high crash test scores get lower rates. Safe vehicles have better occupant injury protection and lower injury rates means lower claim amounts passed on to you as lower rates.
Keep rates low by being claim-free - Auto insurance companies in Virginia generally give discounts to insureds who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. If you file claims often, you can pretty much guarantee either higher rates or even cancellation. Your insurance policy is designed for the large, substantial claims.
Your job and insurance rates - Did you know that where you work can have an impact on rates? Occupations such as judges, social workers and stock brokers are shown to have the highest rates in part from high stress levels and long work days. On the other hand, occupations like actors, students and homemakers pay the least.

Save $429 a year? Really?

Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly bombard you with television and radio advertisements. All the companies have a common claim about savings if you switch your policy. But how can every company make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.

Insurance companies are able to cherry pick for the right customer that is profitable for them. For instance, a profitable customer could possibly be between 25 and 40, has no tickets, and has a high credit rating. A driver that hits that "sweet spot" gets the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to save a lot of money.

Drivers who don't qualify for this ideal profile must pay a higher premium and this can result in the driver buying from a lower-cost company. Company advertisements say "drivers who switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that kind of money. That's the way companies can truthfully state the savings.

This illustrates why drivers must get as many quotes as possible. It is impossible to predict which auto insurance company will have the lowest rates.

Shop smart and save

Cheaper auto insurance can be found online in addition to many Earlysville insurance agents, so you should compare both to have the best selection. Some insurance companies do not provide the ability to get a quote online and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

As you restructure your insurance plan, don't be tempted to reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, an insured dropped collision coverage and learned later that they should have had better coverage. Your focus should be to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.

Find out more about auto insurance

Additional information is located on the website for the Virginia Bureau of Insurance. Click here for link. Virginia consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, discover disciplinary actions, find out industry alerts, and file complaints about a company.

Additional helpful sites include this link for Virginia auto insurance quotes and this link which helps you find a Earlysville agent.