Auto Insurance in Huntington – 8 Discounts to Cut Costs

Are you a victim of an overpriced auto insurance policy? Believe me, you’re not the only one. Since consumers have many different company options, it can be impossible to find the right insurance company.

It’s important to compare rates every six months because rates are variable and change quite frequently. Even if you think you had the lowest price a couple years back there may be better deals available now. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to how to use online quotes to save money, get proper deductibles and limits, all at the lowest rate.

The purpose of this post is to help you learn how to effectively get price quotes and some money-saving tips. If you currently have a car insurance policy, you stand a good chance to be able to lower your premiums substantially using this information. New York consumers only need an understanding of the most efficient way to compare company rates online.

Comprehensive Huntington Auto Insurance Comparison

Lowering your auto insurance rates is actually quite simple. You just need to take the time comparing rates online from several insurance companies. This can be done in just a few minutes using one of these methods.

Probably the best way to find low rates is a comparison rater form click to view form in new window. This easy form eliminates the need for separate forms for each company you want a rate for. One simple form gets you coverage quotes from all major companies.
A more difficult way to compare rate quotes requires you to visit each company website and complete a new quote form. For examples sake, we’ll assume you want to compare rates from Progressive, Farmers and Liberty Mutual. To get rate quotes you would need to spend time on each company’s site and enter your policy data, which is why most consumers use the first method. For a handy list of car insurance company links in Huntington, click here.

It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but make sure you use exactly the same coverages and limits with every price quote. If you use different values for each quote you can’t possibly determine the lowest rate in Huntington.

Don’t be fooled by advertising claims

Consumers constantly see and hear ads for cheaper car insurance from companies such as Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm. All the ads make the same claim about savings if you change your policy.

How do they all make the same claim? This is how they do it.

All the different companies can use profiling for the driver they prefer to insure. An example of a preferred risk might be over the age of 40, a clean driving record, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. Any driver that hits that “sweet spot” gets the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to save quite a bit of money when switching.

Potential customers who do not match the requirements will have to pay higher premiums which usually ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads state “people who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much money. This is how companies can make the claims of big savings.

Because of the profiling, you should get quotes from several different companies. You cannot predict which auto insurance company will fit your personal profile best.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Insuring your fleet can be pricey, but there are discounts available that can drop the cost substantially. Certain discounts will be applied when you quote, but a few must be specifically requested in order for you to get them. If they aren’t giving you every credit you deserve, you’re just leaving money on the table. save money concept

Drivers Education – Cut your cost by having your teen driver enroll in driver’s education if it’s offered in school.
Auto/Life Discount – Some companies give better rates if you take out a life insurance policy as well.
Senior Discount – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may be able to get a discount up to 10%.
Anti-lock Brake Discount – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes can avoid accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
Accident Forgiveness – A few companies allow you one accident before your rates go up if you are claim-free prior to the accident.
Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts could cut 10% or more off your medical payments premium.
Multi-policy Discount – When you have multiple policies with the same company you could get a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
Good Student Discount – Getting good grades can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. This discount can apply well after school through age 25.

Keep in mind that most credits do not apply the the whole policy. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. Just because you may think it’s possible to get free car insurance, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any qualifying discounts will cut your overall premium however.

For a list of insurers offering auto insurance discounts in Huntington, click this link.

Coverages available on your auto insurance policy

Knowing the specifics of your policy can help you determine appropriate coverage and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring. Shown next are typical coverages found on most auto insurance policies.

Insurance for medical payments – Med pay and PIP coverage pay for expenses like ambulance fees, rehabilitation expenses, dental work and funeral costs. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. They cover you and your occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal Injury Protection is not an option in every state but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision) – Comprehensive insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as hitting a bird, fire damage, damage from flooding and rock chips in glass. The most a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Collision – This coverage covers damage to your vehicle resulting from colliding with an object or car. You first must pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision can pay for things such as hitting a mailbox, damaging your car on a curb, crashing into a ditch, rolling your car and hitting a parking meter. This coverage can be expensive, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance – This protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Because many people only carry the minimum required liability limits (25/50/10 in New York), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea. Frequently the UM/UIM limits are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.

Liability – Liability insurance provides protection from damages or injuries you inflict on other’s property or people that is your fault. It protects you against claims from other people, and does not provide coverage for damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

Coverage consists of three different limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. Your policy might show limits of 50/100/50 that translate to a $50,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $50,000. Alternatively, you may have a combined single limit or CSL which limits claims to one amount with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability can pay for things such as legal defense fees, bail bonds and medical expenses. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is up to you, but you should buy higher limits if possible. New York state minimum liability requirements are 25,000/50,000/10,000 but drivers should carry better liability coverage.

A tidy conclusion

You just read a lot of techniques to shop for auto insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more quotes you get, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. Drivers may discover the most savings is with a lesser-known regional company. They often have lower prices on specific markets than their larger competitors like Allstate and Progressive.

As you shop your coverage around, it’s a bad idea to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are a lot of situations where someone dropped liability coverage limits only to find out they didn’t purchase enough coverage. The ultimate goal is to purchase plenty of coverage for the lowest price while still protecting your assets.

For more reading

Additional information is available on the website for the New York Department of Financial Services. Click here for link. New York consumers can learn about insurance regulations, report car insurance fraud, read state legal mandates and laws, and read industry bulletins.