9 Simple Tricks to Slash Car Insurance Costs in Fremont

I can’t think of a single person who likes having to buy car insurance, in particular when the cost is way too high. Big companies like GEICO, Farmers Insurance and State Farm constantly bombard you with advertising and it is difficult to see through the deception and take the time to shop coverage around.

Discounts can save BIG

Companies don’t list all available discounts very well, so we break down both well-publicized and also the lesser-known discounts you could be receiving. If you don’t get every credit possible, you’re just leaving money on the table.

Passive Restraint Discount – Vehicles with factory air bags or motorized seat belts may earn rate discounts of more than 20%.
Anti-theft System – Vehicles with anti-theft systems help deter theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
Payment Discounts – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of making monthly payments you can actually save on your bill.
Good Student – A discount for being a good student can get you a discount of up to 25%. Earning this discount can benefit you up until you turn 25.
Use Seat Belts – Drivers who require all occupants to use their safety belts could cut 10% or more on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
More Vehicles More Savings – Having multiple cars or trucks with the same company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
Student in College – Youth drivers living away from home attending college without a vehicle on campus can be insured at a reduced rate.
Accident Forgiveness – A handful of insurance companies will forgive one accident before raising your premiums so long as you haven’t had any claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
Clubs and Organizations – Participating in a civic or occupational organization could qualify you for a break when buying car insurance.

Drivers should understand that most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. Most only cut the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. Just because it seems like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it doesn’t quite work that way.

Compare Quotes for Fremont Car Insurance

Lowering your car insurance rates can be relatively painless. The only thing you need to do is take time getting comparison quotes from different insurance companies. This can be accomplished in several different ways.

The most efficient way to get quotes is an all-inclusive rate comparison (click to open form in new window). This method saves time by eliminating boring form submissions for every car insurance company. A single, simple form will return price quotes from all major companies.
Another way to get quotes online is to take the time to go to the website for every company you want to comare to complete a price quote. For sake of this example, let’s assume you want to compare rates from Progressive, Liberty Mutual and GEICO. To find out each rate you need to go to every website and enter your policy data, and that’s why the first method is more popular.
For a handy list of car insurance company links in Fremont, click here.
The least efficient way to compare rates is driving around to insurance agents’ offices. The internet can eliminate the need for a local agent unless you require the professional guidance only provided by licensed Fremont agents. It is possible to get the lowest quotes online but buy from a local insurance agent and we’ll touch on that later.

It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just double check that you are using identical quote information for each comparison quote. If you enter different deductibles then you won’t be able to truly determine the lowest rate in Fremont.

What happened to insurance agents?

Some consumers just want to visit with an insurance agent and there is nothing wrong with that. Agents are trained to spot inefficiencies and help you file claims. One of the best bonuses of comparing rates online is you can get lower rates and still have an agent to talk to.

Once you complete this quick form, the quote information gets sent to participating agents in Fremont who will compete for your coverage. You won’t need to drive around as quotes are delivered straight to your inbox. How cool is that?!

Selecting an insurer needs to be determined by more than just a cheap price. Some important questions to ask are:

Are claims handled at the agent’s location?
Are there any discounts that you might be missing?
Does the agency provide any after hours assistance?
If your car is in the repair shop, do you have coverage for a rental car?
Is vehicle mileage a factor when determining depreciation for repairs?
How are they compensated?

Best auto insurance agent in Fremont

When looking for a good Fremont insurance agent, there are a couple of types of agencies from which to choose. Insurance agencies in Fremont are categorized either captive or independent (non-captive). While both can write coverage properly, but it’s worth learning how they are different because it can influence buying decisions.

Captive Insurance Agents

This type of agents can only place business with one company like Liberty Mutual, State Farm, Allstate and AAA. These agents are not able to provide prices from multiple companies so keep that in mind. They receive extensive training on their company’s products which can be an advantage.

Below is a short list of captive insurance agencies in Fremont who may provide you with rate quotes.

Allstate Insurance – 42140 Blacow Rd – Fremont, CA 94538 – (510) 498-4200
Farmers Insurance Group – 3100 Mowry Ave – Fremont, CA 94538 – (510) 744-1068
State Farm Insurance – 46923 Warm Springs Blvd # 208 – Fremont, CA 94539 – (510) 979-9929
Fremont California insurance quotes

Independent Agents (or Brokers)

Independent agencies do not work for one specific company so they can insure your vehicles with any number of different companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. If you are not satisfied with one company, an independent agent can move your coverage and that require little work on your part. When shopping rates, it’s a good idea to include several independent insurance agents to have the most options to choose from.

Shown below are Fremont independent agents who can help you get rate quotes.

Susan Chen Insurance – 5310 Farwell Pl # E – Fremont, CA 94536 – (510) 794-8200
Amy Huang Agency – 4510 Peralta Blvd # 5 – Fremont, CA 94536 – (510) 713-8086
AASK Insurance Svc – 41900 Christy St – Fremont, CA 94538 – (510) 742-8516
Sonny Hubbard Agency – 3833 Peralta Blvd # C – Fremont, CA 94536 – (510) 792-9040
Suzan Pheley Agency – 46850 Warm Springs Blvd – Fremont, CA 94539 – (510) 490-8400

To view a full list of insurance agents in Fremont, please view this page.

After getting reasonable responses to these questions and a low price estimate, you’ve probably found an insurance agency that meets your needs to insure your vehicles.

Car insurance coverage information

Having a good grasp of car insurance helps when choosing which coverages you need for your vehicles. Car insurance terms can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Listed below are typical coverage types found on the average car insurance policy.

Collision – This covers damage to your vehicle caused by collision with an object or car. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision coverage protects against claims like crashing into a ditch, hitting a parking meter, crashing into a building, backing into a parked car and colliding with a tree. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Comprehensive protection – This covers damage that is not covered by collision coverage. A deductible will apply then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things like vandalism, hitting a deer, damage from getting keyed and fire damage. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Medical expense coverage – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage provide coverage for bills for things like ambulance fees, funeral costs and pain medications. They are often used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover all vehicle occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is only offered in select states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Uninsured or underinsured coverage – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include injuries to you and your family and damage to your vehicle.

Due to the fact that many California drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits (which is 15/30/5), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is very important.

Liability car insurance – This provides protection from damages or injuries you inflict on people or other property. It protects YOU from legal claims by others, and does not provide coverage for your injuries or vehicle damage.

Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You commonly see liability limits of 100/300/100 which stand for a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $300,000 in injury protection per accident, and a total limit of $100,000 for damage to vehicles and property.

Liability can pay for things such as loss of income, structural damage, medical expenses, legal defense fees and pain and suffering. How much liability coverage do you need? That is your choice, but consider buying higher limits if possible. California state law requires minimum liability limits of 15,000/30,000/5,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy more coverage.

Affordable insurance is out there

You just read many tips how you can lower your car insurance rates. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may be surprised to find that the best price on car insurance is with some of the smallest insurance companies. They may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates than their larger competitors like State Farm and Allstate.

Discount car insurance is available both online and with local Fremont insurance agents, so you should compare both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some insurance companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and these smaller companies work with independent agents.

When buying insurance coverage, it’s not a good idea to buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There are a lot of situations where consumers will sacrifice collision coverage only to regret at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your goal should be to buy the best coverage you can find at an affordable rate.

California car insurance information

Even more information is located at the California Department of Insurance website. Visitors are able to view a list of available companies, read state legal mandates and laws, learn about insurance regulations, and report car insurance fraud.