10 Ways You Can Buy Car Insurance for Less in Southold New York

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy high-priced car insurance? Trust us when we tell you many consumers are feeling buyer's remorse and feel like there's no way out. Big-name insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive persitently shower you with fancy advertisements and it is challenging if not impossible to sift through the bull and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.

If you have a current car insurance policy or are shopping for new coverage, you can follow these tips to get lower rates and still get good coverage. Choosing the best insurance company for you in Southold is easy if you know what you're doing. New York vehicle owners just need to know the most efficient way to shop their coverage around over the internet.

More discounts equal less premium

Companies offering auto insurance don't always advertise all available discounts in a way that's easy to find, so we took the time to find some of the more common and the more hidden discounts you could be receiving. If you aren't receiving every discount possible, you're paying more than you need to.

Memberships - Belonging to a civic or occupational organization may earn a discount when buying car insurance.
Multiple Vehicles - Having multiple vehicles on the same car insurance policy could earn a price break for each car.
Homeowners Discount - Owning a home in Southold can save you money due to the fact that maintaining a home is proof that your finances are in order.
Military Rewards - Being deployed with a military unit may qualify for rate reductions.
Anti-lock Brakes - Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles can reduce accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
Air Bag Discount - Vehicles equipped with air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can qualify for discounts of more than 20%.
Paperless Signup - Certain companies will give a small break for buying a policy and signing up digitally online.
Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Fewer annual miles can earn a substantially lower rate.
Discount for Good Grades - A discount for being a good student can get you a discount of up to 25%. This discount can apply well after school through age 25.
55 and Retired - Mature drivers may be able to get reduced rates.

Consumers should know that some credits don't apply to all coverage premiums. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when the math indicates all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies don't profit that way.

To see a list of insurers who offer car insurance discounts in Southold, click here.

Compare Quotes for Southold Car Insurance

Most companies give pricing online. Getting quotes is pretty easy as you just enter the coverages you want into the quote form. Once you submit the form, their rating system will obtain credit information and your driving record and generates pricing information based on these factors. Online quotes makes comparing rates easy, but the time it takes to visit each company's website and repetitively complete many quote forms is repetitive and time-consuming. Unfortunately, it is important to perform this step in order to get a lower rate.

The preferred way to lower your rates is to use a quote form to get prices from a lot of companies. It's a real time-saver, eliminates form submissions, and makes quoting online much more enjoyable and efficient. Immediately after submitting the form, your coverage is rated and you can select your choice of the price quotes you receive. If the quotes result in lower rates, you simply finish the application and buy the new coverage. This process takes 15 minutes at the most and may result in a nice savings.

To find out how much you're overpaying now, click here and submit your coverage information. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you input the coverages identical to your current policy. This makes sure you will receive comparison quotes based on the exact same insurance coverage.

Switch companies and save? Really?

Consumers can't get away from ads that promise big savings by companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive. All the companies have a common claim that you'll save big after switching to them.

How can each company make the same claim?

All companies are able to cherry pick for the type of driver that is profitable for them. For example, a profitable customer could be between the ages of 30 and 50, has no driving citations, and drives newer vehicles. Any new insured that hits that "sweet spot" will qualify for the lowest rates and therefore will save when they switch companies.

Drivers who do not match the requirements must pay a higher premium and this can result in business going elsewhere. The ad wording is "people who switch" not "everyone that quotes" save money. That's the way companies can claim big savings. This illustrates why drivers must get a wide range of price quotes. It's just too difficult to predict which car insurance company will give you the biggest savings.

In the end, you save

Discount car insurance can be sourced from both online companies and with local Southold insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best selection. A few companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

When trying to cut insurance costs, it's not a good idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, someone sacrificed physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time that it was a big mistake. Your focus should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.

Learn more about New York car insurance

More detailed New York car insurance information can be found at the New York Department of Financial Services website. Consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, get help finding coverage, find out industry alerts, and read industry bulletins.