Compare Maryland Heights Auto Insurance Prices With These Tricks

Are you overwhelmed by the number of auto insurance options in Maryland Heights? You have a lot of company. You have so many choices that it can turn into a ton of work to find lower rates.

How much can you save with discounts?

Companies that sell car insurance don't always advertise all available discounts in a way that's easy to find, so here is a list both well-publicized as well as the least known ways to save on auto insurance.

Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Low mileage vehicles can qualify you for better rates on cars that stay parked.
Drivers Ed for Students - Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to enroll in driver's education if offered at their school.
Clubs and Organizations - Participating in a civic or occupational organization could trigger savings when buying auto insurance.
Pay Now and Pay Less - If paying your policy premium upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save up to 5%.
Save over 55 - If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may receive a small decrease in premiums.
Claim Free - Drivers with accident-free driving histories can earn big discounts when compared with drivers who are more careless.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discount credits are not given the the whole policy. Some only apply to individual premiums such as liability and collision coverage. So even though it sounds like you could get a free auto insurance policy, you won't be that lucky.

How to Lower your Auto Insurance Rates

Smart consumers have a good feel for the rating factors that play a part in calculating the price you pay for auto insurance. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in better auto insurance rates.

Choose a safe vehicle and save - Safer cars tend to have better insurance rates. Safe vehicles protect occupants better and lower injury rates means lower claim amounts and more competitive rates for policyholders.
Equipment add-ons that lower auto insurance rates - Choosing a vehicle with an alarm system can help bring down rates. Theft prevention devices like LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM's OnStar system can thwart your vehicle from being stolen.
Liability coverage is cheap - Your policy's liability coverage provides coverage if a court rules you are at fault for personal injury or accident damage. It provides legal defense coverage up to the limits shown on your policy. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap as compared to coverage for physical damage, so drivers should carry high limits.
Men are more aggressive - Statistics demonstrate women are more cautious behind the wheel. Now that doesn't mean women are BETTER drivers than men. Men and women have accidents at about the same rate, but the male of the species tend to have more serious accidents. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations such as DWI and reckless driving.
Discounts for married couples - Being married helps lower the price on your auto insurance policy. Having a spouse translates into being more responsible and it's proven that being married results in fewer claims.
Do you need those extra coverages? - There are quite a few extra coverages that you can get tricked into buying on your auto insurance policy. Insurance for vanishing deductibles, accidental death and additional equipment coverage may be wasting your money. These may sound like a good investment when you first buy your policy, but now you might not need them so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
Traffic violations increase rates - Whether or not you get tickets has a huge affect on how much you pay. Only having one speeding ticket can bump up the cost forty percent or more. Drivers who don't get tickets have lower premiums than their less careful counterparts. Drivers with dangerous tickets such as DUI or reckless driving are required to submit a SR-22 or proof of financial responsibility with their state DMV in order to prevent a license revocation.

Save 15 percent in 15 minutes? Is it for real?

21st Century, Allstate and State Farm consistently run television and radio advertisements. All the companies make the same claim about savings if you change your coverage to them. How can each company make almost identical claims?

Different companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer that earns them a profit. An example of a profitable customer could possibly be over the age of 50, has no tickets, and drives newer vehicles. A driver who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to save when they switch companies.

Potential customers who don't meet the requirements must pay a more expensive rate which leads to the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ad wording is "customers that switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that much money. That's the way companies can truthfully claim big savings. This illustrates why drivers should get quotes from several different companies. It is impossible to predict which auto insurance company will give you the biggest savings.

Even more information is available at the Missouri Department of Insurance website. Missouri consumers can find disaster information, view a list of available companies, and find out which companies have the most complaints.

Affordable insurance is out there

Cheaper auto insurance is attainable online as well as from independent agents in Maryland Heights, and you should be comparing both to have the best rate selection. A few companies don't offer you the ability to get quotes online and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

Insureds leave their current company for a number of reasons such as delays in responding to claim requests, extreme rates for teen drivers, questionable increases in premium and even unfair underwriting practices. It doesn't matter what your reason, choosing a new insurance company is less work than it seems.

When trying to cut insurance costs, it's not a good idea to skimp on coverage in order to save money. There are a lot of situations where an insured dropped liability limits or collision coverage only to find out that it was a big mistake. The proper strategy is to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.