Free Guide to Cutting Costs on New Buffalo Auto Insurance Online

No one likes paying for auto insurance, especially knowing they are paying too much. Numerous battle for your insurance dollar, and it can be difficult to compare rates to find the absolute lowest rate

It's important to check auto insurance prices periodically since insurance rates are constantly changing. Despite the fact that you may have had the best deal six months ago the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. Starting right now, forget anything you know (or think you know) about auto insurance because it's time to teach you the only way to save money, get proper coverage and the best rates.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but there are discounts available to cut the cost considerably. Some trigger automatically at quote time, but lesser-known reductions have to be requested specifically in order for you to get them. If they aren't giving you every credit you qualify for, you're paying more than you need to.

Accident Forgiveness - A few companies will forgive one accident before raising your premiums as long as you don't have any claims for a set time period.
Good Student - A discount for being a good student can earn a discount of 20% or more. The discount lasts well after school through age 25.
Senior Discount - Mature drivers may be able to get reduced rates.
Drive Less and Save - Fewer annual miles can qualify you for discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
Military Rewards - Being on active duty in the military may qualify for rate reductions.

Keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to the entire policy premium. Most cut individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. Even though it may seem like all the discounts add up to a free policy, it just doesn't work that way. But any discount will cut the cost of coverage.

To see a list of companies who offer auto insurance discounts in New Buffalo, click here to view.

New Buffalo Auto Insurance Comparisons

Most companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Progressive allow you to get prices for coverage on their websites. Getting online quotes is fairly straightforward as you just type in your personal and coverage information as detailed in the form. Once you submit the form, their system will obtain information on your driving record and credit history and quotes a price. Online price quotes makes comparing rates easy, but having to visit many different websites and fill out multiple forms is not the best way to spend an afternoon. But it's very important to compare as many rates as possible in order to find the best price on auto insurance.

The preferred way to compare rates requires only one form that gets price quotes from several companies at one time. The form is fast, requires much less work on your part, and makes online shopping a lot less work. Once the form is submitted, it is rated and you can select any of the price quotes you receive.

If a lower price is quoted, it's easy to complete the application and purchase coverage. The entire process takes just a few minutes to complete and may save quite a bit of money.

To quickly find out if lower rates are available, click here to open in new window and fill out the form. If you have a policy now, it's recommended you input the insurance coverages as shown on your current policy. This makes sure you will be getting a fair comparison based on the exact same insurance coverage.

What determines how much you pay?

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that help determine auto insurance rates. Understanding what influences your rates allows you to make educated decisions that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.

The following are some of the factors companies use to determine rates.

Men pay higher rates - Statistics show that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. However, this does not mean women are better drivers. Both sexes are in accidents at about the same rate, but the males have costlier accidents. They also receive more costly citations like reckless driving and DUI. Young males are most likely to cause an accident and therefore have the most expensive auto insurance rates.
Traffic citations inflate rates - Just one speeding ticket can increase rates by twenty percent. Good drivers have lower premiums compared to drivers with tickets. Drivers who have flagrant citations such as DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions may need to submit a SR-22 form with the DMV in their state in order to keep their license.
High crash test scores lower rates - Vehicles with high crash test scores can get you lower premiums. These vehicles result in less severe injuries and better occupant protection means less money paid by your insurance company and lower rates for you.
Do you qualify for a multi-policy discount? - Many insurers will give a discount to people who consolidate policies with them. It's known as a multi-policy discount. Discounts can be five, ten or even twenty percent. Even with this discount, you still need to compare rates to make sure you are getting the best deal.

Tailor your coverage to you

When choosing proper insurance coverage for your vehicles, there is no one size fits all plan. Everyone's needs are different so your insurance should reflect that For instance, these questions may help highlight whether you would benefit from an agent's advice.

Does my policy cover me when driving someone else's vehicle?
Do I need to file an SR-22 for a DUI in Michigan?
Should I buy additional glass protection?
Is my dog or cat covered if injured in an accident?
Do I have coverage when using my vehicle for my home business?
Does my car insurance cover rental cars?

If you're not sure about those questions, you might consider talking to an agent. If you don't have a local agent, complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It only takes a few minutes and can help protect your family.

How can State Farm, GEICO and Progressive save drivers who switch?

Michigan drivers can't get away from ads for cheaper car insurance by companies like State Farm, GEICO and Progressive. They all seem to make an identical promise that you can save after switching to them.

How do they all say the same thing?

Insurance companies have a certain "appetite" for the type of driver that is profitable for them. An example of a desirable insured might be profiled as between 25 and 40, a clean driving record, and has a high credit rating. A propective insured who meets those qualifications gets the lowest rates and as a result will probably cut their rates substantially.

Potential insureds who are not a match for the "perfect" profile will have to pay more money and ends up with business not being written. The ads say "customers that switch" not "everybody who quotes" save money. That is how insurance companies can state the savings.

Because of the profiling, drivers must get as many comparisons as possible. It's not possible to predict which company will have the lowest rates.

Best coverage at the best price

Affordable auto insurance can be bought on the web and with local New Buffalo insurance agents, so you should compare both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some insurance companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these smaller companies sell through independent agents.

In this article, we covered some good ideas how you can compare auto insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may even find the most savings is with a small local company. These smaller insurers can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than the large multi-state companies such as .

As you restructure your insurance plan, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. In many cases, someone dropped comprehensive coverage or liability limits to discover at claim time that they should have had better coverage. Your aim should be to purchase plenty of coverage at a price you can afford.

Additional Michigan consumer information

More information is available on the website for the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation located here. Michigan drivers can learn about insurance regulations, file complaints about a company, find disaster information, and read consumer alerts.