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

Are you tired of not being able to afford each month for car insurance? You're in the same situation as many other drivers in Michigan. With so many online and local companies to choose from, it can be impossible to find the lowest price insurer.

You have some control over your rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of the different types of things that come into play when calculating auto insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively influences your rates enables informed choices that will entitle you to much lower annual insurance costs.

Rates may be lower depending on your job - Careers like doctors, business owners and stock brokers tend to have the highest rates because of high stress and long work days. On the other hand, jobs such as farmers, students and the unemployed receive lower rates.
Keep rates low by being claim-free - Companies in Michigan award discounts to drivers who are claim-free. If you frequently file small claims, you can look forward to higher rates. Your insurance policy is intended to be relied upon for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
Higher safety ratings means cheaper insurance - Vehicles with high crash test scores can get you lower premiums. The safest vehicles reduce injuries and better occupant protection translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims passed on to you as lower rates.
How credit affects auto insurance rates - Having a bad credit rating is a important factor in your rate calculation. Drivers who have high credit ratings tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers with poor credit. Therefore, if your credit can use some improvement, you could save money insuring your by improving your rating.
Rural vs Urban Areas - Being located in small towns and rural areas can save you money when buying auto insurance. Drivers who live in large cities regularly have traffic congestion and much longer commute distances. Less people living in that area translates into fewer accidents and also fewer theft and vandalism claims.
Your car's features help determine rates - Driving a car with an alarm system can help lower your rates. Anti-theft devices such as tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all hinder car theft.
Do you need the policy add-ons? - There are a lot of extra bells and whistles that can waste your money if you aren't careful. Things like personal injury protection, accident forgiveness and term life insurance may be costing you every month. These coverages may sound good when you first buy your policy, but if they're wasting money remove them from your policy.

Don't pay full price with these discounts

Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but there could be available discounts to help offset the cost. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at the time of purchase, but lesser-known reductions have to be specially asked for prior to receiving the credit. If you don't get every credit available, you are paying more than you should be.

No Accidents - Claim-free drivers can earn big discounts when compared to accident-prone drivers.
Driver's Ed - Cut your cost by having your teen driver successfully complete driver's ed class in high school.
Service Members Pay Less - Being on active duty in the military can result in better rates.
Passive Restraint Discount - Cars that have air bags can receive discounts up to 30%.
Employee of Federal Government - Employees or retirees of the government could cut as much as 10% off with a few auto insurance companies.

It's important to note that most discounts do not apply to the entire cost. Most only apply to individual premiums such as comp or med pay. So despite the fact that it appears all the discounts add up to a free policy, you're out of luck. But any discount will help reduce your premiums.

To choose insurance companies with the best auto insurance discounts in Michigan, click here to view.

The auto insurance bait and switch

Michigan drivers can't ignore all the ads for the lowest price auto insurance by Progressive, Allstate and GEICO. They all make an identical promise that you can save if you move to their company.

But how can every company say the same thing?

Insurance companies can use profiling for the driver that makes them money. An example of a driver they prefer might be profiled as between the ages of 40 and 55, has no tickets, and chooses high deductibles. A propective insured who meets those qualifications is entitled to the best price and therefore will save a lot of money.

Potential customers who don't measure up to this ideal profile will be quoted higher prices and ends up with business not being written. The ads state "customers that switch" not "everyone that quotes" save that much. That's why insurance companies can state the savings.

This emphasizes why you should get as many quotes as possible. It's not possible to predict the company that will give you the biggest savings.

More Michigan auto insurance information

More information is available on the website for the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation located here. Michigan drivers can read industry bulletins, download brochures, find disaster information, and find out industry alerts.

Other informative sites include this online resource for auto insurance quotes in Michigan and this list of insurance agents in Mohawk.

A tidy conclusion

Throughout this article, we presented many tips how you can save on auto insurance. The key concept to understand is the more price quotes you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may be surprised to find that the lowest priced auto insurance comes from some of the lesser-known companies. Some small companies often have lower prices on specific markets as compared to the big name companies such as .

When buying insurance coverage, don't be tempted to buy poor coverage just to save money. There are too many instances where an insured dropped comprehensive coverage or liability limits to discover at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your strategy should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at a price you can afford while still protecting your assets.