How to Know You're Wasting Money for Auto Insurance in Madison

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an underperforming, overpriced auto insurance policy? Trust us, there are many people just like you. Drivers have multiple to buy insurance from, and although it's nice to be able to choose, it can be more challenging to compare rates.

It's important to take a look at other company's rates every six months since insurance rates are constantly changing. Just because you found the best rates six months ago you can probably find a better price now. There is too much inaccurate information about auto insurance online, so I'm going to show you some great ways to quit paying high auto insurance rates.

Madison Rates are Influenced by These Factors

Consumers need to have an understanding of the different types of things that help determine auto insurance rates. Knowing what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that may reward you with lower auto insurance prices.

  • Pay less after the wedding - Getting married can get you a discount on your policy. It means you're more responsible and it's proven that being married results in fewer claims.
  • Liability coverage protects you - Liability coverage provides coverage if ever a jury decides you are liable for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. It provides you with a defense in court starting from day one. This coverage is very inexpensive when compared with rates for comp and collision, so do not cut corners here.
  • Women pay lower rates - Statistics demonstrate that women are safer drivers than men. However, this does not mean men are worse drivers. Women and men have accidents at a similar rate, but the males have costlier accidents. They also receive more costly citations like reckless driving and DUI. Youthful male drivers are most likely to cause an accident and are penalized with high auto insurance rates.
  • With age comes lower rates - Teenage drivers in North Carolina are known to be more careless when behind the wheel so they pay higher auto insurance rates. Older insureds are viewed as being more responsible, tend to file fewer claims and are safer drivers.
  • Credit scores impact auto insurance rates - Credit history is a important factor in calculating your auto insurance rates. If your credit is not that good, you could save money insuring your by spending a little time repairing your credit. Drivers who have high credit scores tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers who have lower credit scores.
  • Lower rates with optional equipment - Choosing a vehicle with an alarm system can get you a discount on your auto insurance. Theft prevention features like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar can thwart car theft.

Policy discounts you shouldn't miss

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but you can get discounts that you may not know about. A few discounts will automatically apply at quote time, but some may not be applied and must be requested specifically in order for you to get them. If you're not getting every credit possible, you are paying more than you should be.

  • Sign Online - Certain companies give back up to $50 for buying your policy over the internet.
  • Multiple Vehicles - Buying insurance for multiple vehicles with the same company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
  • Senior Discount - If you're over the age of 55, you may be able to get better auto insurance rates.
  • New Vehicle Savings - Buying coverage on a new vehicle can cost up to 25% less since new cars are generally safer.
  • Passive Restraint Discount - Factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems may earn rate discounts of 20% or more.
  • Drivers Education - Cut your cost by having your teen driver complete a driver education course if it's offered in school.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discounts do not apply to all coverage premiums. The majority will only reduce individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. So despite the fact that it appears all the discounts add up to a free policy, auto insurance companies aren't that generous. Any amount of discount will bring down the amount you have to pay.

To choose companies who offer auto insurance discounts in North Carolina, click here to view.

Save $429 a year? Really?

North Carolina drivers can't ignore all the ads that promise big savings by State Farm, GEICO and Progressive. They all seem to make an identical promise about savings after switching to their company.

How does each company say the same thing?

All companies are able to cherry pick for the driver that makes them money. A good example of a desirable insured might be profiled as between 30 and 50, has no driving citations, and has a high credit rating. A propective insured who meets those qualifications gets the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to save when switching.

Potential insureds who don't qualify for these standards will have to pay more money and ends up with business not being written. Company advertisements say "customers that switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that much. That's the way companies can truthfully state the savings.

Because of the profiling, you should quote coverage with many companies. It's not possible to predict which auto insurance company will have the lowest rates.

Learn more about North Carolina auto insurance

Additional information can be read on the website for the North Carolina Department of Insurance located here. North Carolina drivers can get help finding coverage, find out which companies have the most complaints, learn about insurance regulations, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.

In the end, you save

Cheap auto insurance can be sourced on the web and also from your neighborhood Madison agents, so compare prices from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some insurance companies may not provide online price quotes and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.

As you restructure your insurance plan, it's very important that you do not buy poor coverage just to save money. In many cases, someone sacrificed full coverage and found out when filing a claim that they should have had better coverage. Your aim should be to buy the best coverage you can find at a price you can afford.

In this article, we covered many tips how you can save on auto insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Drivers may discover the best prices are with the least-expected company. Some small companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments compared to the large companies like .