Comparing the Cheapest Gastonia Auto Insurance

Tired of scraping the payment together each month for car insurance? You are in the same boat as many other drivers in North Carolina. Online insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly blast consumers with ad campaigns and consumers find it hard to sift through the bull and do the work needed to find the best deal.

Policy discounts you shouldn't miss

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but there could be available discounts to help bring down the price. Some trigger automatically when you quote, but lesser-known reductions have to be asked about before you get the savings. If you aren't receiving every discount available, you are throwing money away.

Clubs and Organizations - Being a member of a civic or occupational organization is a good way to get lower rates when buying auto insurance.
Drivers Ed for Students - Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to enroll in driver's education if offered at their school.
Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Low mileage vehicles can qualify you for discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
Pay Now and Pay Less - If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of monthly or quarterly installments you may reduce your total bill.
One Accident Forgiven - A handful of insurance companies will allow you to have one accident before your rates go up so long as you haven't had any claims for a set time period.
Life Insurance - Companies who offer life insurance give better rates if you take out life insurance.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discounts do not apply to the entire cost. Most only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like adding up those discounts means a free policy, auto insurance companies aren't that generous. Any amount of discount will reduce the amount you have to pay.

You have some control over your rates

Smart consumers have a good feel for the different types of things that play a part in calculating the rates you pay for auto insurance. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.

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

Liability coverage protects you - Your policy's liability coverage will protect you if you are found liable for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. It provides legal defense coverage which can be incredibly expensive. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap as compared to coverage for physical damage, so do not cut corners here.
Lower rates with optional equipment - Driving a car with anti-theft technology or alarm system can help bring down rates. Theft prevention devices like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all hinder car theft.
Higher safety ratings means cheaper insurance - Vehicles with high crash test scores can get you lower premiums. Safe vehicles reduce injuries and any reduction in injury severity translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and more competitive rates for policyholders.
Pay less after the wedding - Being married helps lower the price on your policy. Having a spouse means you're more responsible it has been statistically shown that drivers who are married are more cautious.
Older drivers pay less - Mature drivers are more responsible, statistically cause fewer accidents and are safer drivers. Youthful drivers have a tendency to be more careless in a vehicle and because of this, their auto insurance rates are much higher.
Never let your coverage lapse - Driving your car without having proper coverage is against the law and your next policy will cost more because you let your coverage have a gap. Not only will rates go up, getting caught without coverage may earn you a revoked license or a big fine.
Drive less and save money - The higher the mileage driven every year the more you'll pay to insure your vehicle. Most insurance companies charge to insure your cars based upon how you use the vehicle. Cars and trucks used primarily for pleasure use can get a lower rate compared to those used for work or business. Double check that your auto insurance declarations sheet is rated on the correct usage for each vehicle, because it can save money.

Save $429 a year? Really?

Consumers in North Carolina get pounded daily by advertisements for the lowest price auto insurance by Allstate, GEICO and Progressive. All the companies make an identical promise about savings if you change to their company.

How can each company claim to save you money? This is how they do it.

Insurance companies can use profiling for the driver that earns them a profit. An example of a profitable customer might be between 25 and 40, has no tickets, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A customer getting a price quote who meets those qualifications is entitled to the best price and is almost guaranteed to save when they switch companies.

Drivers who don't qualify for the requirements must pay a higher premium and ends up with the customer not buying. The ads state "drivers who switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that much. That's why companies can truthfully advertise the way they do.

This illustrates why drivers should compare many company's rates. It's impossible to know the company that will provide you with the cheapest rates.

More North Carolina auto insurance information

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

A tidy conclusion

Cheap auto insurance is attainable both online and also from your neighborhood Gastonia agents, so you should compare both to have the best selection. Some auto insurance companies may not provide you the ability to get quotes online and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, it's not a good idea to skimp on coverage in order to save money. In too many instances, an insured dropped comprehensive coverage or liability limits to discover at claim time that the savings was not a smart move. Your focus should be to buy a smart amount of coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.