Easy Ways to Pay Less on St Elizabeth Car Insurance

Are you overwhelmed by the wide range of car insurance companies in St Elizabeth? Lot's of other consumers are too. There are so many options available that it can turn into a real challenge to compare prices.

Choosing the best insurance company for you in St Elizabeth is not that difficult. Essentially every driver who carries car insurance will most likely be able to save money. Although Missouri car owners do need to know how big insurance companies price online insurance.

What determines how much you pay?

Consumers need to have an understanding of the different types of things that go into determining your car insurance rates. Knowing what impacts premium levels allows you to make educated decisions that could result in lower car insurance prices.

Drive a safer car and pay less - Cars with high safety ratings can get you lower premiums. Safe vehicles result in less severe injuries and fewer injuries means lower claim amounts and thus lower rates.
Do you need the policy add-ons? - There are many extra coverages that you can get tricked into buying on your policy. Coverages for personal injury protection, accidental death and motor club memberships may be costing you every month. These may sound like a good investment initially, but if you don't need them eliminate them to save money.
One company can mean more discounts - Most insurers will award you with lower prices to policyholders who buy several policies from them in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even if you're getting this discount it's still a good idea to comparison shop to make sure you are getting the best deal. You may still be able to find a better deal by insuring with multiple companies.
Teen drivers pay high rates - Young drivers in Missouri are statistically proven to get distracted easily when behind the wheel so they pay higher car insurance rates. Older insureds are more responsible, tend to file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel.
High performance equals high price - The performance level of the car you are insuring makes a big difference in your rates. The lowest base rates are generally reserved for low performance passenger cars, but there are many factors that impact the final cost.
Better credit means lower rates - A driver's credit score is a big factor in calculating your car insurance rates. Therefore, if your credit rating is lower than you'd like, you could save money insuring your by spending a little time repairing your credit. Drivers with good credit tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than drivers who have poor credit.
How's your driving record? - Whether or not you get tickets has a lot to do with how much you pay for insurance. Good drivers get better rates than bad drivers. Even one moving violation can increase rates forty percent or more. Drivers with serious tickets such as DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions are required to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) with their state motor vehicle department in order to continue driving.

How to Compare St Elizabeth Car Insurance Costs

Comparing car insurance rates can take time and effort if you don't understand the most efficient way. You can spend your afternoon talking about coverages with local insurance agents in St Elizabeth, or you could use online quotes to quickly compare rates.

Most of the larger companies participate in an industry program that enables customers to submit one quote, and every company provides a quote based on that information. This saves time by eliminating quote requests to each individual car insurance company. To submit your quote information now, click here to open in new window.

The one disadvantage to using this type of form is that consumers can't choose which providers to get pricing from. So if you want to select specific providers to request quotes from, we put together a list of companies who write car insurance in Missouri. Click here for list of insurance companies in Missouri.

It's up to you which method you use, but compare identical coverage limits and deductibles with each company. If the quotes have different liability limits you can't possibly make an equal comparison in St Elizabeth. Quoting even small variations in coverages can make a big difference in price. Just keep in mind that quoting more helps locate the best rates.

Don't pay full price with these discounts

Companies offering auto insurance don't necessarily list all available discounts very clearly, so the following is a list of some of the more common and also the lesser-known savings tricks you should be using.

Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Driving fewer miles could qualify for discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
Defensive Driver - Completing a driver safety course could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
Anti-lock Brake System - Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control are safer to drive and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
New Car Discount - Buying coverage on a new vehicle can cost up to 25% less since new cars are generally safer.
Early Signing - Some companies give discounts for switching to them prior to your current policy expiration. This can save 10% or more.
Passive Restraints - Vehicles equipped with air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems may earn rate discounts of 20% or more.
Military Rewards - Being on active duty in the military could mean lower rates.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discount credits are not given the the whole policy. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. So despite the fact that it appears all the discounts add up to a free policy, you won't be that lucky.

To choose insurers offering car insurance discounts in Missouri, click here to view.

The car insurance bait and switch

21st Century, Allstate and State Farm constantly bombard you with ads in print and on television. All the companies make an identical promise about savings if you switch to them. How does each company make the same claim? It's all in the numbers.

All companies are able to cherry pick for the type of driver that makes them money. A good example of a profitable customer could be between 30 and 50, has no tickets, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A customer who meets those qualifications will get the preferred rates and therefore will save when switching.

Potential insureds who don't measure up to these standards must pay more money and ends up with business going elsewhere. The ads state "customers who switch" not "everyone that quotes" save money. That's the way companies can truthfully advertise the way they do. This illustrates why you need to get as many quotes as possible. Because you never know which car insurance company will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Even more information can be read at the Missouri Department of Insurance website. Consumers can find disaster information, discover disciplinary actions, and read consumer alerts.

Affordable insurance is out there

The cheapest car insurance can be found from both online companies and with local St Elizabeth insurance agents, so compare prices from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some car insurance companies do not offer online price quotes and usually these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, it's very important that you do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are a lot of situations where an insured dropped collision coverage and discovered at claim time that the savings was not a smart move. The proper strategy is to get the best coverage possible at the best price while not skimping on critical coverages.

We just showed you some good ideas how you can compare car insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more companies you get rates for, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may be surprised to find that the best prices are with a small mutual company.