Proven Techniques to Save on Oregon Car Insurance

Are you tired of not being able to afford each month for car insurance? You are in the same boat as the majority of other car owners in Missouri.

Insurance companies such as GEICO and Progressive continually bombard you with fancy advertisements and it can be hard to sift through the bull and find the best price available.

Learn How to Buy Car Insurance Cheaper

Consumers need to have an understanding of the different types of things that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. Having a good understanding of what influences your rates helps enable you to make changes that will entitle you to better car insurance rates.

Listed below are some of the factors that factor into prices.

  • Always keep insurance in force - Allowing your car insurance policy to lapse is a guaranteed way to bump up your car insurance costs. And not only will your rates increase, getting caught without coverage can result in a revoked license or a big fine.
  • Small claims can cost you - If you tend to file frequent claims, you can definitely plan on either higher rates or even cancellation. Companies in Missouri award cheaper rates to drivers who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. Car insurance is intended for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
  • How many coverages with the same company - Most insurers provide better rates to insureds who consolidate policies with them such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. Discounts can be five, ten or even twenty percent. Even with this discount, you may still want to comparison shop to confirm you are receiving the best rates possible. You may still be able to find better rates by splitting coverages up.
  • Your job and insurance rates - Did you know your occupation can influence how much you pay for car insurance? Careers like doctors, business owners and dentists are shown to have the highest average rates attributed to high stress and long work hours. Other occupations such as farmers, historians and homemakers pay the least.
  • Battle of the sexes - The statistics show women are more cautious behind the wheel. That doesn't necessarily mean that men are WORSE drivers than women. Men and women are in accidents at about the same rate, but the men cause more damage. Men also statistically receive more costly citations like DUI and reckless driving. Young males are several times more likely to be in an accident and are penalized with high car insurance rates.
  • Save money with special equipment - Driving a car that has an advanced theft prevention system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft features such as vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems all hinder car theft.
  • Liability insurance protects assets - Liability insurance will protect you when you are found liable for damages caused by your negligence. Liability provides legal defense coverage up to the limits shown on your policy. Liability insurance is quite affordable compared to physical damage coverage, so do not cut corners here.
  • Do you need the policy add-ons? - There are many extra bells and whistles that can waste your money when buying car insurance. Insurance for rental car reimbursement, accident forgiveness and membership fees may be costing you every month. These coverages may sound good at first, but your needs may have changed so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.

Comparison of Car Insurance in Oregon

All major car insurance companies allow you to get coverage price quotes directly from their websites. Obtaining pricing doesn't take a lot of time as you simply type in as detailed in the form. After the form is submitted, the system will obtain information on your driving record and credit history and returns pricing information. Online quotes makes it a lot easier to compare rates but the time it takes to visit each company's website and repetitively fill out multiple forms is repetitive and time-consuming. But it's very important to compare as many rates as possible in order to find better car insurance pricing.

The preferred way to lower your car insurance bill makes use of a single form to obtain quotes from a bunch of companies at once. The form is fast, requires much less work on your part, and makes quoting online much more efficient. After your information is entered, it is rated and you can choose your choice of the resulting price quotes.

If the quotes result in lower rates, you simply finish the application and purchase the new policy. The entire process takes just a few minutes to complete and could lower your rates considerably.

In order to find out what other companies charge, click here to open in new window and submit the form. If you have a policy now, it's recommended that you enter the insurance coverages exactly as shown on your declarations page. This makes sure you will receive comparison quotes for the exact same coverage.

These discounts can lower your rates

Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, buy you may qualify for discounts that many people don't even know exist. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of quoting, but lesser-known reductions have to be specifically requested before you will receive the discount.

  • Seat Belts Save - Drivers who require all occupants to wear their seat belts could cut 10% or more on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
  • Employee of Federal Government - Employees or retirees of the government can earn a discount up to 10% with a few car insurance companies.
  • Multiple Policy Discount - If you insure your home and vehicles with one insurance company you will save 10% to 20% off each policy.
  • Senior Citizens - If you're over the age of 55, you may qualify for a discount up to 10%.
  • Payment Discounts - If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of making monthly payments you could save 5% or more.

It's important to note that most discount credits are not given to the entire cost. Some only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as comp or med pay. So despite the fact that it appears you could get a free car insurance policy, you're out of luck. But any discount will reduce the cost of coverage.

To choose insurance companies offering car insurance discounts in Oregon, click here to view.

Are you falling for claims of savings?

Car insurance providers like Progressive, Allstate and GEICO constantly bombard you with ads on television and other media. They all make an identical promise that you can save if you switch your policy. How can each company claim to save you money?

Different companies can use profiling for the right customer that makes them money. An example of a driver they prefer might be between the ages of 30 and 50, is a homeowner, and has excellent credit. Any driver who meets those qualifications will qualify for the lowest rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Potential insureds who are not a match for the requirements will be quoted more money and ends up with the customer not buying. The ad wording is "people who switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that kind of money. That's why insurance companies can make those claims.

This emphasizes why you need to get as many comparisons as possible. You cannot predict the company that will have the lowest rates.

More information is available on the website for the Missouri Department of Insurance through this link. Visitors are able to find a variety of consumer forms, download brochures, read consumer alerts, and read industry bulletins.

Affordable insurance is out there

While you're price shopping online, it's a bad idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are too many instances where an accident victim reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits to discover at claim time they didn't purchase enough coverage. Your strategy should be to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate while still protecting your assets.

Lower-priced car insurance can be found both online in addition to many Oregon insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some companies do not provide online price quotes and these smaller companies work with independent agents.