How to Know You're Wasting Money for Auto Insurance in Stony Brook

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an underperforming, overpriced auto insurance policy? Believe me when I say there are many people just like you. Big companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly blast consumers with ad campaigns and it is difficult to sift through the bull and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.

It's important to price shop coverage every six months because prices are constantly changing. Just because you had the lowest rates a few years ago you can probably find a better price now. So block out anything you think you know about auto insurance because you're going to get a crash course in the tricks you need to know to lower your annual insurance bill.

If you have insurance now or need new coverage, you will benefit by learning to shop for the lowest rates while maintaining coverages. Choosing the best insurance company for you in Stony Brook is not that difficult. New York consumers only need to know the most efficient way to find the lowest price online.

Learn How to Buy Auto Insurance Cheaper

Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that go into determining the rates you pay for auto insurance. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with lower auto insurance prices.

Listed below are a few of the "ingredients" that factor into rates.

With age comes lower rates - Older insureds are viewed as being more responsible, tend to file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel. Youthful drivers are statistically proven to be more careless when behind the wheel and because of this, their auto insurance rates are much higher.
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. Some examples of claims that would be covered would be a windshield shattered by a rock, damage caused by hail, and burglary. Your deductibles are how much you are willing to pay before your auto insurance pays a claim. The higher the amount the insured has to pay upfront, the less your auto insurance will be.
Better credit scores mean better rates - Credit score is a important factor in calculating your auto insurance rates. Therefore, if your credit score is lower than you'd like, you could save money insuring your by improving your credit score. Consumers who have high credit scores tend to be less risk to insure than drivers who have poor credit.
Save money with special equipment - Choosing a vehicle with an alarm system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft features like vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems can thwart your car from being stolen.
Your spouse saves you money - Having a spouse can actually save you money when buying auto insurance. It usually means you are more responsible and it's proven that being married results in fewer claims.
Are you male or female? - Statistics demonstrate women are more cautious behind the wheel. That doesn't necessarily mean that men are WORSE drivers than women. Women and men cause accidents in similar percentages, but the males cause more damage. They also get cited for more serious violations like DUI and reckless driving. Youthful male drivers are most likely to cause an accident and are penalized with high auto insurance rates.

Don't pay full price with these discounts

The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not even be aware of. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of quoting, but lesser-known reductions have to be manually applied before you will receive the discount. If you aren't receiving every discount possible, you are paying more than you should be.

Senior Citizens - If you're over the age of 55, you may qualify for a discount up to 10%.
Homeowners Discount - Owning a house in Stony Brook may trigger a auto insurance policy discount because owning a home is proof that your finances are in order.
Passive Restraint Discount - Factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can qualify for discounts of 20% or more.
Payment Discounts - If you pay your bill all at once instead of making monthly payments you could save 5% or more.
Drivers Ed for Students - Cut your cost by having your teen driver complete a driver education course in school.
College Student - Children who attend school more than 100 miles from home and do not have a car may be able to be covered for less.
Sign Online - Certain companies may give you up to $50 for buying your policy digitally online.

A little note about advertised discounts, most credits do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only apply to individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. So when it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, you won't be that lucky. Any amount of discount will reduce your premiums.

To choose companies offering auto insurance discounts in Stony Brook, follow this link.

The auto insurance bait and switch

Consumers in New York can't ignore all the ads that promise big savings from companies such as Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm. They all seem to say the same thing about savings if you switch your policy.

How can each company claim to save you money?

All companies are able to cherry pick for the right customer that makes them money. For example, a desirable insured might be between the ages of 30 and 50, has no driving citations, and has a short commute. A customer getting a price quote who fits that profile is entitled to the best price and therefore will save when they switch companies.

Potential insureds who don't measure up to the requirements will have to pay more money which usually ends up with the customer not buying. The ads state "customers that switch" not "everyone that quotes" save that kind of money. That's the way companies can truthfully make the claims of big savings.

Because of the profiling, you should get quotes from several different companies. It's impossible to know which auto insurance company will fit your personal profile best.

Learn more about New York auto insurance

Additional information can be found on the website for the New York Department of Financial Services located here. Visitors are able to read enforcement actions against agents and companies, report car insurance fraud, find out industry alerts, and view a list of available companies.

A tidy conclusion

As you shop your coverage around, it's not a good idea to buy poor coverage just to save money. There are many occasions where someone sacrificed uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your aim should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at a price you can afford.

The cheapest auto insurance is available both online in addition to many Stony Brook insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers do not provide online price quotes and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

We covered a lot of tips how to save on auto insurance. The key thing to remember is the more times you quote, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. You may be surprised to find that the lowest rates come from the least-expected company. Some small companies may cover specific market segments cheaper as compared to the big name companies such as .