How to Know You're Throwing Money Away for Car Insurance in Syracuse

Tired of scraping the payment together each month for car insurance? You are in the same boat as many other drivers in New York. Companies like GEICO and Progressive continually bombard you with advertising and it can be hard to sift through the bull and find the best price available.

If you have a policy now or are looking for a new policy, you will benefit by learning to get lower rates while maintaining coverages. Buying car insurance in Syracuse is easy if you know what you're doing. New York vehicle owners just need to know how to get comparison quotes on the web.

Why some people pay less for insurance in Syracuse

Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that play a part in calculating the rates you pay for car insurance. Having a good understanding of what controls the rates you pay allows you to make educated decisions that could result in better car insurance rates.

Shown below are a few of the "ingredients" companies use to determine premiums.

Don't sacrifice liability coverage - Your policy's liability coverage will protect you if you are found liable for damages from an accident. It will provide for a legal defense up to the limits shown on your policy. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap as compared to coverage for physical damage, so buy as much as you can afford.
Do you work long hours in a high stress job? - Occupations such as lawyers, architects and dentists tend to pay the highest average rates attributed to stressful work requirements and long work hours. Other professions such as farmers, historians and retirees have the lowest average rates.
Teen drivers pay high rates - Mature drivers are more responsible, tend to cause fewer accidents and receive fewer citations. Youthful drivers have a tendency to be careless and easily distracted in a vehicle and because of this, their car insurance rates are much higher.
Your credit rating is important - A driver's credit score is a large factor in your rate calculation. Drivers with high credit scores tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than those with lower credit scores. So if your credit score is low, you could save money insuring your by improving your credit score.
Lower rates with optional equipment - Driving a car that has an advanced theft prevention system can help bring down rates. Theft prevention devices such as GM's OnStar, tamper alarm systems and vehicle immobilizers all hinder your car from being stolen.
High crash test scores lower rates - Safer cars are cheaper to insure. Safe vehicles result in less severe injuries and any reduction in injury severity translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and more competitive rates for policyholders.
Your location affects your rates - Being located in a small town is a positive aspect when talking about car insurance. Fewer drivers means fewer accidents. Drivers who live in large New York cities have more traffic problems and much longer commute distances. More time commuting means more change of being in an accident.
Multi-policy discounts can save money - Some companies will award you with lower prices to insureds 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 though this discount sounds good, you may still want to comparison shop to make sure you are getting the best deal. Drivers may still find better rates by buying insurance from more than one company.

Compare Syracuse Car Insurance Costs

Reducing your insurance rates is a fairly straight forward process. Just take a couple of minutes to compare rate quotes online with multiple companies. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in several different ways.

The fastest way to get the best comparison quotes is to use a rate comparison form click to view form in new window. This method saves time by eliminating multiple quote forms for each company. In just a few minutes this one form gets you price quotes from multiple low-cost companies.
A slightly less efficient method to compare rate quotes requires a trip to each individual company website to complete a price quote. For example, let's say you want rates from , and . You would have to visit each site to input your insurance information, which is why most consumers use the first method.

To view a list of companies in Syracuse, click here.
The least efficient way of getting rate comparisons to insurance agents' offices. The internet eliminates the need for an insurance agent unless you prefer the personal advice of a licensed agent. You can, however, find lower rates online and still use a local agent and you'll learn how to do that later.

Whichever way you use, ensure you're using exactly the same quote information for every company. If you compare mixed coverages it will be next to impossible to decipher which rate is best in Syracuse.

Take advantage of discounts

Car insurance companies don't list all available discounts in a way that's easy to find, so we took the time to find both the well known and the more hidden car insurance savings. If you aren't receiving every discount available, you are paying more than you should be.

Organization Discounts - Being a member of a civic or occupational organization could qualify you for a break when buying car insurance.
Accident Free - Claim-free drivers can save substantially when compared with accident-prone drivers.
Employee of Federal Government - Employees or retirees of the government can earn a discount up to 10% depending on your company.
Anti-lock Brake Discount - Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control can avoid accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
Air Bag Discount - Vehicles equipped with air bags can qualify for discounts of more than 20%.
Pay Now and Pay Less - If you pay your bill all at once instead of making monthly payments you can actually save on your bill.
Military Rewards - Having a deployed family member could be rewarded with lower premiums.
Auto/Home Discount - If you insure your home and vehicles with the same company you will save 10% to 20% off each policy.
Student in College - Children who attend school more than 100 miles from home and don't have a car may qualify for this discount.
Discount for Life Insurance - Select insurance companies reward you with better rates if you take out life insurance from them.

Drivers should understand that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire cost. Most cut the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though it may seem like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies wouldn't make money that way.

To choose insurers with discount car insurance rates in Syracuse, follow this link.

Are car insurance companies telling the truth?

Consumers in New York can't ignore all the ads for the lowest price auto insurance by companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive. All the companies say the same thing that you'll save big if you change to them.

How can each company claim to save you money?

Different companies can use profiling for the type of driver that makes them money. For example, a profitable customer might be over the age of 40, is a homeowner, and chooses high deductibles. Any driver who fits that profile gets the lowest rates and most likely will save when they switch companies.

Potential insureds who don't qualify for the requirements must pay more money which usually ends up with the customer not buying. The ads say "people who switch" not "people who quote" save money. That's why companies can state the savings. This illustrates why you need to compare as many rates as you can. You cannot predict the company that will give you the biggest savings.

More detailed New York car insurance information can be found at the New York Department of Financial Services website. Visitors are able to find out which companies have the most complaints, read industry bulletins, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, and find out industry alerts.

In the end, you save

Budget-conscious car insurance can be sourced both online and with local Syracuse insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some insurance companies do not offer online price quotes and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

When buying insurance coverage, it's a bad idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, an accident victim reduced physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your focus should be to purchase plenty of coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.