Easy Methods to Save Money on Fairview Auto Insurance

Cutting costs on Fairview auto insurance is nearly impossible for consumers new to comparing rates online. People have so many options available that it can easily become a challenge to locate the lowest price in Fairview.

It's important to get comparison quotes once or twice a year because insurance rates are constantly changing. Just because you found the best rates six months ago a different company probably has better rates today. There is a lot of wrong information about auto insurance on the internet, so I'm going to show you some great ways to find cheap auto insurance.

How much can you save with discounts?

Companies that sell car insurance don't always advertise all their discounts very well, so the following is a list of both well-publicized as well as the least known ways to save on auto insurance. If you don't get every credit available, you are throwing money away.

  • Homeowners Pay Less - Owning a house in Fairview may earn you a small savings due to the fact that maintaining a home demonstrates responsibility.
  • Payment Method - If paying your policy premium upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save 5% or more.
  • One Accident Forgiven - Some insurance companies will forgive one accident before your rates go up as long as you don't have any claims for a certain period of time.
  • Passive Restraint Discount - Factory air bags can receive discounts of 20% or more.
  • Military Discounts - Having a family member in the military may qualify for rate reductions.
  • Employee of Federal Government - Active or retired federal employment can earn a discount up to 10% with select insurance companies.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discount credits are not given to the entire cost. Some only reduce individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. So when the math indicates you could get a free auto insurance policy, you won't be that lucky.

Understand what determines the rate you pay

Smart consumers have a good feel for the rating factors that help determine the price you pay for auto insurance. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with better auto insurance rates.

  • Discounts for married couples - Getting married can get you a discount on your auto insurance policy. It usually means you are more responsible and it's proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.
  • Save money with special equipment - Driving a car with an alarm system can help lower your rates. Theft prevention features like vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems all hinder your vehicle from being stolen.
  • Women pay lower rates - The statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, this does not mean men are WORSE drivers than women. Men and women have accidents at a similar rate, but the males have costlier accidents. They also have more aggressive citations such as DWI and reckless driving. Youthful male drivers are most likely to cause an accident and therefore are the most expensive to insure.
  • Traffic violations increase rates - Your driving citation history has a big impact on rates. Just one ticket may increase your cost forty percent or more. Drivers with clean records have lower premiums compared to drivers with tickets. Drivers who have flagrant citations such as hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions may need to submit a SR-22 or proof of financial responsibility with their state DMV in order to keep their license.
  • Safer cars are cheaper to insure - Safer cars tend to have better insurance rates. These vehicles have better occupant injury protection and lower injury rates translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims passed on to you as lower rates.
  • Small claims can cost you - Car insurance companies in North Carolina give discounts to insureds who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. If you file claims often, you can definitely plan on either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Car insurance is designed for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
  • Clean credit earns discounts - Credit history is a important factor in your rate calculation. If your credit history is not that good, you could potentially save money when insuring your by improving your rating. Consumers who have high credit scores tend to be less risk to insure than drivers who have lower credit scores.

Save 15 percent in 15 minutes? Is it for real?

North Carolina consumers get pounded daily by advertisements for the lowest price auto insurance from companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Progressive. They all seem to make the same claim about savings after switching your policy.

But how can every company make almost identical claims?

Different companies can use profiling for the right customer that earns them a profit. A good example of a desirable insured could possibly be between 30 and 50, has no tickets, and has a high credit rating. A driver who matches those parameters will get very good rates and is almost guaranteed to save a lot of money.

Potential insureds who don't meet this ideal profile will have to pay more money which leads to the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads say "customers that switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that kind of money. That's why companies can truthfully state the savings. Because of the profiling, drivers should get quotes from several different companies. It is impossible to predict the company that will have the lowest rates.

Even more information can be read at the North Carolina Department of Insurance website. North Carolina consumers can get help finding coverage, view a list of available companies, and learn about insurance regulations.

Also read more on this page for North Carolina auto insurance and this page for help finding agents in Fairview, NC.

compare Fairview auto insurance rates

Best coverage at the best price

Cheaper auto insurance can be sourced online in addition to many Fairview insurance agents, so compare prices from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance companies do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.

Insureds change insurance companies for a number of reasons such as an unsatisfactory settlement offer, unfair underwriting practices, denial of a claim and even poor customer service. It doesn't matter what your reason, choosing a new insurance company is less work than it seems.

In this article, we presented some good ideas how to reduce auto insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers could even find that the best prices are with the least-expected company.