How to Know You're Throwing Money Away for Auto Insurance in Katonah

Are you sick and tired of paying out the nose each month for car insurance? Your situation is no different than many other New York consumers.

You have so many to buy insurance from, and though it is a good thing to be able to choose, lots of choices makes it harder to compare rates.

It's important to shop coverage around once or twice a year because insurance rates are constantly changing. If you had the lowest rates two years ago there is a good chance you can find better rates now. So forget all the misinformation about auto insurance because you're about to learn the tricks you need to know to find better rates and still maintain coverage.

Buying car insurance in Katonah is easy if you know what you're doing. If you have car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to lower your premiums substantially using these methods. But New York drivers do need to know the methods companies use to market on the web and use this information to your advantage.

Tips to Get Lower Katonah Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that come into play when calculating the price you pay for auto insurance. Knowing what controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that can help you get lower auto insurance prices.

The list below includes a few of the "ingredients" used by your company to calculate your rates.

High credit ratings translate to low rates - Your credit rating is a important factor in your rate calculation. People with high credit scores tend to be more responsible than drivers who have lower credit scores. So if your credit history can use some improvement, you could save money insuring your by spending a little time repairing your credit.
An active claims history can cost you - Insurance companies in New York provide lower rates to people who do not file claims often. If you tend to file frequent claims, you can expect higher rates. Auto insurance is designed for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
Rates may be higher depending on your occupation - Occupations like lawyers, architects and financial analysts have higher average rates because of stressful work requirements and lengthy work days. Conversely, professions such as farmers, engineers and the unemployed get better rates.
Marriage brings a discount - Having a spouse actually saves money when buying auto insurance. Marriage translates into being more mature than a single person and it's proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.
Safe vehicles cost less to insure - Cars with high safety ratings are cheaper to insure. Safer cars protect occupants better and lower injury rates translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and thus lower rates.
Don't sacrifice liability coverage - The liability section of your policy will protect you in the event that a court rules you are at fault for personal injury or accident damage. It will provide for a legal defense starting from day one. Liability is cheap compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so buy as much as you can afford.
Low deductibles can be expensive - Coverage for physical damage, termed comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, protects your car from damage. A few examples of covered claims could be a windshield shattered by a rock, damage caused by hail, and windstorm damage. Your deductibles are the amount of money you are required to spend out-of-pocket if you file a covered claim. The higher the amount you have to pay, the less your company will charge you for insurance.

How to Compare Auto Insurance Costs in Katonah

There are several ways of comparing rate quotes and find the best price. One of the best ways to compare insurance prices is simply to get online rate quotes. This is very easy and can be done using a couple different methods.

The fastest way to find low rates is to use a rate comparison form click to view form in new window. This method keeps you from doing multiple quote forms for every auto insurance company. Taking the time to complete one form gets you coverage quotes from multiple low-cost companies.
A less efficient way to compare rate quotes consists of going to each company website and complete a new quote form. For sake of this example, let's say you want rates from , and . To get rate quotes you would need to spend time on each company's site to enter your coverage information, which is why the first method is more popular.

To view a list of companies in Katonah, click here.
The least efficient way of comparing rate quotes to local Katonah insurance agencies. Shopping for auto insurance online eliminates the need for an insurance agent unless you require the personal advice of a local Katonah agent. You can, however, find lower rates online and still use a local agent.

Which method you use is up to you, but double check that you are using identical coverages on every quote. If you enter different limits and deductibles on each one it will be impossible to make a fair comparison in Katonah. Just a small difference in insurance coverages may result in large price differences. It's important to know that comparing more company's prices helps locate lower pricing.

Take advantage of discounts

Car insurance companies do not list every available discount very clearly, so we break down both well-publicized as well as the least known auto insurance savings.

Passive Restraint Discount - Vehicles with factory air bags may earn rate discounts of more than 20%.
Drivers Education - Cut your cost by having your teen driver take driver's ed class in high school.
Claim Free - Claim-free drivers can save substantially compared to accident-prone drivers.
E-sign - Certain companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying a policy and signing up over the internet.
Low Mileage - Keeping the miles down can earn lower rates on the low mileage vehicles.
Organization Discounts - Participating in a qualifying organization could qualify you for a break on your policy.
More Vehicles More Savings - Insuring multiple cars or trucks with the same company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
Homeowners Pay Less - Being a homeowner may trigger a auto insurance policy discount because of the fact that having a home is proof that your finances are in order.
Employee of Federal Government - Employees or retirees of the government can save as much as 8% with certain companies.
Resident Student - Children who attend school more than 100 miles from home without a vehicle on campus may qualify for this discount.

Drivers should understand that most credits do not apply to the entire cost. Most only cut individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. Just because you may think it's possible to get free car insurance, companies wouldn't make money that way.

To choose providers with the best auto insurance discounts in New York, follow this link.

Are auto insurance companies telling the truth?

Companies like State Farm and Allstate regularly use ads on TV and radio. All the ads say the same thing that you'll save big if you move your coverage to them. How does each company make almost identical claims?

All companies can use profiling for the type of customer that makes them money. For example, a preferred risk could possibly be over the age of 40, has no tickets, and chooses high deductibles. A driver who fits that profile will qualify for the lowest rates and most likely will save when switching.

Consumers who don't qualify for these standards will be charged higher rates which usually ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ad wording is "customers that switch" not "people who quote" save that much money. That's why companies can state the savings. That is why you need to compare as many rates as you can. It is impossible to predict the company that will give you the biggest savings.

More detailed New York auto insurance information can be found at the New York Department of Financial Services website. New York consumers can find out industry alerts, download brochures, read industry bulletins, and get help finding coverage.

The best insurance company isn't always the cheapest

In this article, we presented a lot of information how to compare auto insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more you quote, the higher the chance of saving money. Drivers may discover the lowest premiums are with a small local company. These smaller insurers may only write in your state and offer lower rates than their larger competitors like .

Budget-conscious auto insurance is definitely available online as well as from independent agents in Katonah, and you need to comparison shop both to get a complete price analysis. Some insurance companies don't offer online price quotes and many times these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.