How to Know You're Wasting Money for Car Insurance in Okauchee

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy high-priced car insurance? Trust us, many Okauchee consumers feel financially strained by their car insurance policy. Online insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive persitently shower you with ads and it can be hard to sift through the bull and take the time to shop coverage around.

It's important to compare prices every six months since rates are constantly changing. Just because you had the lowest rates six months ago the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. Starting now, block out anything you think you know about car insurance because we're going to show you the tricks you need to know to find lower rates on car insurance.

Take advantage of discounts

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but discounts can save money and there are some available that you may not even be aware of. Most are applied at the time of quoting, but lesser-known reductions have to be requested specifically before you will receive the discount. If you aren't receiving every discount possible, you're paying more than you need to.

Sign Online - A handful of insurance companies will give a small break for buying your policy digitally online.
Homeowners Discount - Owning a house in Okauchee may trigger a car insurance policy discount because owning a home is proof that your finances are in order.
Passive Restraints and Air Bags - Factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can qualify for discounts of 20% or more.
Lower Rates for Military - Having a deployed family member could mean lower rates.
Theft Prevention System - Anti-theft and alarm systems help deter theft and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
Multi-car Discount - Insuring more than one vehicle on the same car insurance policy qualifies for this discount.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most credits do not apply to all coverage premiums. A few only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. Just because you may think all those discounts means the company will pay you, car insurance companies aren't that generous. Any amount of discount will reduce your overall premium however.

To see a list of companies offering car insurance discounts in Okauchee, follow this link.

How to Compare Car Insurance Quotes in Okauchee, Wisconsin

Finding cheaper car insurance prices isn't really that difficult. Just take time comparing price quotes provided by online insurance companies. It is quite easy and can be accomplished using a couple different methods.

The best way to compare a lot of rates at once is to use a rate comparison form click here to open form in new window. This method saves time by eliminating boring form submissions to each individual car insurance company. Filling out one form will return quotes from all major companies.
A different way to compare rate quotes is to take the time to go to each individual company website to complete a price quote. For instance, let's say you want to compare rates from , and . To find out each rate you need to go to every website and enter your information, and that's why the first method is more popular. To view a list of companies in Okauchee, click here.
The least efficient method to compare rates to different agent offices. Shopping for car insurance online has reduced the need for local agents unless you have a need for the trained guidance only provided by licensed agents. You can, however, obtain prices from the web and still use a local agent and we'll cover that in a bit.

It doesn't matter which method you choose, just ensure you are comparing exactly the same coverages and limits with each company. If your comparisons have different deductibles it will be very difficult to make an equal comparison in Okauchee.

How to Lower your Car Insurance Rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that go into determining your car insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with big savings.

Listed below are a few of the "ingredients" used by your company to calculate rates.

Your spouse saves you money - Having a spouse can actually save you money when buying car insurance. It translates into being more responsible it has been statistically shown that being married results in fewer claims.
Do you know your deductibles? - Insurance for physical damage to your car, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, is used to repair damage to your car. A few examples of covered claims are running into the backend of another car, vandalism, and windstorm damage. Your deductibles are how much you are willing to pay before your car insurance pays a claim. The higher the amount you have to pay, the less your car insurance will be.
Do you know you're credit rating? - Credit score is a huge factor in calculating your car insurance rates. So if your credit rating is lower than you'd like, you could pay less to insure your by improving your credit score. People with high credit ratings tend to be more responsible than drivers who have poor credit.
Save money with special equipment - Choosing a vehicle with anti-theft technology or alarm system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft features like LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM's OnStar system can thwart your car from being stolen.
Do you qualify for a multi-policy discount? - Most companies will give a discount to policyholders who carry more than one policy such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. This can amount to anywhere from five to ten percent in most cases. Even if you're getting this discount it's in your best interest to compare rates to verify if the discount is saving money. You may still be able to find a better deal by insuring with multiple companies.
Lower miles equals lower premium - The more miles you rack up on your car in a year the more you will pay for car insurance. Almost all companies rate vehicles based upon how you use the vehicle. Vehicles not used for work or commuting qualify for better rates than those used for commuting. Ask your agent if your car insurance policy is rated on how each vehicle is driven.

Are car insurance companies telling the truth?

Consumers can't get away from ads that promise big savings from the likes of State Farm, GEICO and Progressive. They all seem to say the same thing about savings if you switch your coverage to them.

How can each company make the same claim? This is how they do it.

All the different companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer that is profitable for them. For example, a desirable insured could be over the age of 40, has no driving citations, and has a high credit rating. Any new insured who fits that profile receives the best rates and most likely will save when they switch companies.

Potential insureds who don't qualify for the requirements will have to pay more money which usually ends up with business going elsewhere. Company advertisements say "drivers who switch" not "people who quote" save that much money. That's the way companies can truthfully state the savings.

Because of the profiling, drivers must compare as many rates as you can. It's just too difficult to predict which car insurance company will have the lowest rates.

Best coverage at the best price

Cheap car insurance is available from both online companies as well as from independent agents in Okauchee, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance companies don't offer the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

You just learned a lot of tips how to compare car insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. Drivers may discover the lowest premiums are with a smaller regional carrier. These smaller insurers may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments than their larger competitors like .

As you restructure your insurance plan, it's not a good idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. In many cases, someone sacrificed uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that they should have had better coverage. Your aim should be to buy enough coverage for the lowest price.

Learn more about Wisconsin car insurance

Additional information can be found on the website for the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. Click here for link. Consumers can get help finding coverage, report car insurance fraud, find out industry alerts, and view a list of available companies.