Car Insurance in Livingston, MT - 10 Discounts You Might be Unaware of

Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can take a big chunk out of your personal savings and make it hard to pay other bills. Comparison shopping is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to cut your insurance bill.

Big companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive persitently shower you with catchy ads and consumers find it hard to sift through the bull and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.

If you have car insurance now, you will most likely be able to save some money using this strategy. Finding the best rates in Livingston is not that difficult. Although Montana car owners do need to know how big insurance companies price online insurance and take advantage of how the system works.

Which Car Insurance is Cheapest in Livingston, Montana?

All major car insurance companies provide prices online. Getting quotes is quite easy as you just enter the coverages you want as detailed in the form. After the form is submitted, their rating system will obtain your driving record and credit report and gives you a price quote based on these and other factors. Online quotes simplifies rate comparisons, but the process of having to visit different websites and type in the same information gets old quite quickly. But it's very important to have as many quotes as possible if you want to find better car insurance pricing.

Quote rates the easy way

The preferred way to find lower prices is to use a quote form to get prices from many companies. The form is fast, requires less work, and makes online price comparison much easier to do. Immediately after you send the form, it gets priced and you can choose your choice of the resulting price quotes. If you find a better price you can click and sign and buy the policy. The whole process takes just a few minutes to complete and you will find out if you're overpaying now.

To find out what other companies charge, click here to open in new window and submit your coverage information. If you have a policy now, it's recommended you enter as close as possible to your current policy. This makes sure you're receiving a price comparison for the exact same coverage.

These ten discounts can lower your rates

Companies don't necessarily list all available discounts in a way that's easy to find, so here is a list some of the more common and also the lesser-known savings tricks you should be using.

Multi-car Discount - Buying coverage for more than one vehicle with the same company can get a discount on all vehicles.
Accident Waiver - A handful of insurance companies allow you one accident before hitting you with a surcharge so long as you haven't had any claims prior to the accident.
Anti-theft Discount - Cars that have factory anti-theft systems help deter theft and earn discounts up to 10%.
Service Members Pay Less - Being on active duty in the military could mean lower rates.
Anti-lock Brake System - Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control are safer to drive and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
Life Insurance - Companies who offer life insurance give better rates if you take out a life insurance policy as well.
Own a Home - Owning a home in Livingston can help you save on car insurance because owning a home requires personal responsibility.
No Accidents - Drivers who don't have accidents can earn big discounts when compared with accident-prone drivers.
Government Employees - Employees or retirees of the government can save as much as 8% depending on your company.
Defensive Driver - Completing a driver safety course could cut 5% off your bill if your company offers it.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discounts do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So despite the fact that it appears it's possible to get free car insurance, you won't be that lucky.

To choose insurers offering car insurance discounts in Livingston, click here to view.

Are you falling for claims of savings?

Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly bombard you with ads on television and other media. All the companies make an identical promise about savings if you switch to their company. How can each company make the same claim? It's all in the numbers.

All companies have a preferred profile for the driver that makes them money. An example of a profitable customer could be between 30 and 50, insures multiple vehicles, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. Any new insured who meets those qualifications will get the preferred rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Consumers who are not a match for the requirements must pay higher rates and ends up with business going elsewhere. The ads state "customers who switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that much. This is how companies can truthfully advertise the way they do. This illustrates why you need to get a wide range of price quotes. It's just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Even more information is available at the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance website. Consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, learn about insurance regulations, read consumer alerts, and view a list of available companies.

Final considerations

The cheapest car insurance can be found from both online companies and also from your neighborhood Livingston agents, so compare prices from both to get a complete price analysis. Some car insurance companies may not provide online price quotes 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 reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, drivers have reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits to discover at claim time that the savings was not a smart move. Your focus should be to get the best coverage possible at the best price while not skimping on critical coverages.