How to Know You're Throwing Money Away for Car Insurance in Garner

Are you tired of scraping the payment together each month for car insurance? You are in the same boat as many other North Carolina drivers.

Insurance companies such as State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly bombard you with advertising and consumers find it hard to sift through the bull and take the time to shop coverage around.

Good Decisions Result in Lower Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that play a part in calculating your car insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what influences your rates enables informed choices that could result in big savings.

Shown below are some of the factors car insurance companies consider when setting premiums.

Liability insurance protects assets - Your policy's liability coverage will protect you if you are found to be at fault for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. It will provide legal defense coverage which can cost thousands of dollars. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap as compared to coverage for physical damage, so do not skimp.
Lower rates with optional equipment - Driving a car with anti-theft technology or alarm system can help bring down rates. Theft prevention devices such as tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all hinder auto theft.
High crash test scores lower rates - Vehicles with good safety scores get lower rates. Safe vehicles reduce injuries and fewer injuries translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and more competitive rates for policyholders.
Being married is a good thing - Being married helps lower the price on car insurance. Having a spouse means you're more mature it has been statistically shown that drivers who are married are more cautious.
High numbers of claims are not good - If you frequently file small claims, you can definitely plan on higher rates. Auto insurance companies in North Carolina generally give cheaper rates to drivers who are claim-free. Insurance coverage is meant to be used in the event of major claims that would cause financial hardship.
One company can mean more discounts - Some insurance companies will award you with lower prices to policyholders who carry more than one policy such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. Discounts can be 10 percent or more. Even with this discount, it's in your best interest to comparison shop to ensure the best deal. Drivers may still find better rates by splitting coverages up.
Poor credit can mean higher rates - A driver's credit score is a huge factor in your rate calculation. Drivers who have good credit tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims as compared to drivers with poor credit. So if your credit rating is low, you could save money insuring your by improving your credit score.

Compare the Market for Car Insurance in Garner

There are several ways to compare quotes and find the best price. One of the best ways to find the lowest rates involves getting comparison quotes online. This is very easy and can be done in just a few minutes using one of these methods.

The fastest way to compare a lot of rates at once is to use a rate comparison form click to view form in new window. This type of form saves time by eliminating a different quote to each individual car insurance company. Taking the time to complete one form gets you price quotes .
Another way to compare rate quotes requires a trip to each individual company website to complete a price quote. For example, we'll assume you want rates from , and . To find out each rate you need to visit each site to input your insurance information, and that's why the first method is more popular. To view a list of companies in Garner, click here.
The most time-consuming way of getting rate comparisons to different Garner agent offices. Buying insurance online eliminates the need for an insurance agent unless you have a need for the professional advice only provided by licensed Garner agents. It is possible to find lower rates online and still use a local agent and we'll talk about that later.

However you get your quotes, double check that you are using exactly the same quote information for every company. If you compare mixed coverages you will not be able to decipher which rate is best in Garner. Slightly different limits may cause a big price difference. It's important to know that obtaining a wide range of quotes will increase your chances of finding a better price.

Take advantage of discounts

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you can get discounts that you may not know about. Most are applied at quote time, but lesser-known reductions have to be asked about in order for you to get them.

Organization Discounts - Belonging to a civic or occupational organization may earn a discount when buying car insurance.
Pay Now and Pay Less - By paying your policy upfront instead of making monthly payments you may reduce your total bill.
Service Members Pay Less - Being deployed with a military unit could be rewarded with lower premiums.
Paperless Signup - A handful of insurance companies will give a small break just for signing your application digitally online.
Homeowners Pay Less - Owning a home in Garner can save you money because maintaining a house requires personal responsibility.

It's important to note that some of the credits will not apply to the entire cost. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So despite the fact that it appears all those discounts means the company will pay you, you're out of luck. But any discount will reduce your overall premium however.

To choose insurers with discount car insurance rates in Garner, click here.

Are car insurance companies telling the truth?

Allstate, GEICO and Progressive consistently run ads on TV and radio. All the companies have a common claim that you can save if you change to their company. How can each company make the same claim? This is how they do it.

All the different companies can use profiling for the driver that makes them money. An example of a profitable customer could be over the age of 40, has no tickets, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A customer that hits that "sweet spot" gets the lowest rates and most likely will save when they switch companies.

Potential insureds who don't qualify for the requirements must pay more money and this can result in business going elsewhere. The ads say "drivers who switch" not "people who quote" save that much. That's why insurance companies can advertise the way they do.

This illustrates why you need to get a wide range of price quotes. Because you never know the company that will provide you with the cheapest rates.

More information is available on the website for the North Carolina Department of Insurance. Click here for link. Consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, view a list of available companies, find disaster information, and get help finding coverage.

Final considerations

Lower-priced car insurance can be sourced from both online companies and also from your neighborhood Garner agents, and you need to comparison shop both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some car insurance companies may not provide online price quotes and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

We just showed you a lot of techniques to compare car insurance prices online. It's most important to understand that the more rate comparisons you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Consumers may even find the lowest premiums are with a lesser-known regional company. These smaller insurers often have lower prices on specific markets than their larger competitors like .