Is Your Colorado Car Insurance Breaking the Bank?

Comparison shopping for car insurance can be difficult for beginners to comparison shopping online. You can find a lot of misleading information regarding car insurance on the internet, so we’re going to give you some guaranteed methods to buy car insurance cheaper in the beautiful state of Colorado.

Finding the best rates is easy if you know what you’re doing. If you are paying for car insurance now, you will most likely be able to lower your premiums substantially using this strategy. Colorado vehicle owners only need to know the tricks to get comparison rates on the web.

Don’t miss these discounts

Companies that sell car insurance do not advertise all available discounts very well, so we researched some of the best known and the harder-to-find savings tricks you should be using. If you don’t get every credit available, you’re paying more than you need to.

Student in College – Kids in college who attend school more than 100 miles from home without a vehicle on campus can be insured at a reduced rate.
Senior Discount – Mature drivers can possibly qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
Memberships – Affiliation with a professional or civic organization is a good way to get lower rates when buying car insurance.
Life Insurance – Select insurance companies reward you with a break if you buy life insurance.
One Accident Forgiven – Some insurance companies will allow you to have one accident before raising your premiums so long as you haven’t had any claims for a set time period.
Paperless Signup – A few companies give back up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up online.
Employee of Federal Government – Being employed by or retired from a federal job could cut as much as 10% off depending on your company.
Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Vehicles equipped with air bags can receive discounts of more than 20%.
Seat Belts Save – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts can save 10% or more off the personal injury premium cost.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to the overall cost of the policy. A few only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. So when it seems like you can get free auto insurance, you won’t be that lucky.

Compare the Market for Car Insurance

Most companies give coverage prices on their websites. Getting quotes is pretty painless as you just enter your coverage information as detailed in the form. When complete, their system requests credit information and your driving record and quotes a price.

This simplifies rate comparisons, but the process of having to visit many different websites and type in the same information can get tiresome after awhile. But it’s very important to compare as many rates as possible in order to get the lowest possible prices on car insurance.

A more efficient way to get multiple rate quotes uses one form that obtains quotes from several different companies. The form is fast, eliminates form submissions, and makes online quotes much simpler. Immediately after submitting the form, it gets priced and you are able to buy any or none of the price quotes you receive. If the quotes result in lower rates, you simply finish the application and purchase the new policy. This process takes 15 minutes at the most and you’ll know if lower rates are available.

In order to use this form to compare rates, click here to open in new window and enter your vehicle and coverage information. To compare your current rates, we recommend you duplicate deductibles and limits as shown on your current policy. Doing this assures you will have an apples-to-apples comparison for similar coverage.

Buy Cheaper Car Insurance with These Tips

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that come into play when calculating car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.

The list below includes a few of the “ingredients” used by your company to calculate premiums.

Don’t skimp on liability – The liability section of your policy will protect you if a jury decides you are liable for personal injury or accident damage. Liability provides for a legal defense which can be incredibly expensive. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so do not cut corners here.
Pleasure use saves money – The more you drive every year the more you’ll pay to insure your vehicle. Almost all companies price each vehicle’s coverage based on how the vehicle is used. Cars and trucks used primarily for pleasure use qualify for better rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Double check that your car insurance policy properly reflects the correct driver usage.
Cautious drivers pay less – Whether or not you get tickets has a big impact on rates. Only having one moving violation can bump up the cost by twenty percent. Drivers who don’t get tickets tend to pay less for car insurance than people who have multiple driving citations. Drivers with severe tickets like DUI or reckless driving are required to submit a SR-22 form with the Colorado DMV in order to drive a vehicle legally.
Frequent car insurance claims increase rates – Auto insurance companies in Colorado award discounts to people who do not file claims often. If you are a frequent claim filer, you can expect higher rates. Your insurance policy is intended to be relied upon for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
Extra coverages can waste money – There are a lot of extra bells and whistles that you can get tricked into buying if you aren’t careful. Things like rental car reimbursement, accidental death and additional equipment coverage may be costing you every month. They may seem like a good idea when talking to your agent, but now you might not need them so remove them from your policy.

But don’t I need an insurance agent?

Certain consumers would rather sit down with an agent and that is a personal choice. Educated insurance agents can help determine the best coverages and help file insurance claims. One of the great benefits of getting online price quotes is the fact that you can find the lowest rates but still work with a licensed agent.

After completing this form (opens in new window), the quote information is transmitted to local insurance agents who will give you bids for your business. There is no reason to even leave your home as quotes are delivered immediately to your email address. It doesn’t get any easier!

For a listing of car insurance agents in Colorado, view this site.

Are car insurance companies telling the truth?

Colorado drivers can’t get away from ads for the lowest price auto insurance from the likes of State Farm, GEICO and Progressive. All the companies make an identical promise that you’ll save big if you move your coverage to them.

But how can every company say the same thing? This is how they do it.

Insurance companies can use profiling for the type of customer that is profitable for them. For example, a profitable customer might be profiled as a mature driver, insures multiple vehicles, and chooses high deductibles. Any new insured who meets those qualifications will get very good rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Potential insureds who don’t meet this ideal profile must pay higher prices and ends up with business not being written. The ad wording is “drivers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. That’s why companies can state the savings. This illustrates why you absolutely need to get quotes from several different companies. It is impossible to predict which car insurance company will provide you with the cheapest rates.

Best coverage at the best price

As you restructure your insurance plan, make sure you don’t skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There are many occasions where drivers have reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. The aim is to buy enough coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on the coverage you need.

People who switch companies do it for any number of reasons including lack of trust in their agent, an unsatisfactory settlement offer, delays in responding to claim requests or high rates after DUI convictions. It doesn’t matter what your reason, finding a new car insurance company is less work than it seems.

Cheap Colorado car insurance can be bought on the web as well as from independent agents in Colorado, and you should be comparing both to have the best rate selection. Local independent agents are able to place your coverage with regional insurance providers that don’t always offer the ability to get a quote online.

For more Colorado car insurance information

More detailed Colorado car insurance information can be found at the Colorado DORA Division of Insurance website. Colorado drivers can find a variety of consumer forms, discover disciplinary actions, read state legal mandates and laws, and learn about insurance regulations.