Trying to find better insurance prices for a new or used Volvo V40 can be an all-consuming task, but you can learn our auto insurance buying tips and make it easy. There are more efficient ways to compare auto insurance rates and you need to know the absolute fastest way to get price quotes for your Volvo and locate the best price possible from both online companies and local agents.
It’s a good habit to do price comparisons as often as possible because auto insurance rates are adjusted regularly by insurance companies. Even if you got the lowest rate on V40 coverage at your last renewal you may be paying too much now. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because we’re going to demonstrate the best way to get good coverage at a lower rate.
If you currently have a car insurance policy, you should be able to reduce your rates substantially using these methods. Locating more affordable auto insurance is quite easy. But car owners must know the way companies sell insurance online.
When looking for , there are a couple ways to compare rate quotes from many auto insurance companies in your state. One of the best ways to comparison shop is to perform an online rate comparison. This can be accomplished in a couple of different ways.
The most efficient method to get the best comparison quotes is a comparison rater form (click to open form in new window). This method eliminates the need for boring form submissions for each price estimate. One form submission gets rate comparisons direct from many companies. It’s the fastest way to compare.
A less efficient way to get comparison quotes requires visiting each company website to complete a price quote. For sake of this example, we’ll pretend you want to compare rates from Allstate, Esurance and State Farm. To get rate quotes you would need to go to every website to enter your coverage information, which is why the first method is quicker.
To view a list of companies in your area, click here.
Even if you have time, the least recommended method to compare rates is to spend your day driving to all the different insurance agencies. Buying insurance online eliminates the middleman unless you’re the type of person who wants the trained advice of an agent trained in personal lines coverage. Some companies do allow you to price shop your coverage online but have a local agent actually write the policy.
Whichever way you use, compare identical coverage limits for each price quote. If you are comparing higher or lower deductibles you will not be able to determine which company has the best rates. Just a small difference in limits can mean a large discrepancy in price. And when price shopping your coverage, comparing a wide range of rates increases your odds of finding a lower rate than you’re paying now. Some companies don’t provide online price quotes, so it’s recommended that you also compare quotes from them, too.
Can you really save if you switch?
Allstate, GEICO and Progressive continually stream television and radio advertisements. All the ads try to convey promises that you can save just by switching your coverage. But how can every company save you money? This is the trick they use.
Insurance companies look for specific characteristics for the type of driver that earns them the most money. For instance, a driver they prefer should be a married female, owns their home, and drives a car with an anti-theft system. Any customer that meets those criteria will probably get the lowest car insurance rates and will probably save some money.
Drivers who do not match the “perfect” profile will see higher premium rates and this results in business going elsewhere. The ads say “people that switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much money. This is how companies can truthfully make those claims. Because of the profiling, you really should compare price quotes frequently. It’s not possible to predict which insurance companies will have better rates than you’re paying now.
Reduce your auto insurance rates with these eight discounts
Some companies don’t necessarily list all disounts very well, so below is a list some of the best known and the more hidden ways to save on auto insurance.
- Driver Safety – Participating in a driver safety course could earn you a small percentage discount and also improve your driving technique.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time rather than paying monthly you can actually save on your bill.
- Driver’s Ed – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to take driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
- Service Members Pay Less – Being on active duty in the military could mean lower rates.
- Data Collection Discounts – Insureds that choose to allow their auto insurance company to scrutinize when and where they use their vehicle remotely such as State Farm’s In-Drive might get better premium rates if they have good driving habits.
- Home Ownership Discount – Being a homeowner can get you a discount because maintaining a house shows financial diligence.
- Distant College Student Discount – Children who are enrolled in a college that is more than 100 miles from home and do not have a car could qualify for this discount.
- Seat Belt Discounts – Requiring all passengers to wear their seat belts can save 10% or more on medical payment and PIP coverage.
Keep in mind that some of the credits will not apply to all coverage premiums. The majority will only reduce individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So even though it sounds like adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies don’t profit that way.
A list of companies and a partial list of their discounts can be read below.
- State Farm includes discounts for safe vehicle, good driver, anti-theft, defensive driving training, accident-free, and multiple autos.
- Progressive has savings for online quote discount, homeowner, multi-policy, continuous coverage, online signing, and multi-vehicle.
- Progressive discounts include multi-policy, good student, continuous coverage, multi-vehicle, online signing, homeowner, and online quote discount.
- MetLife may include discounts for good driver, accident-free, good student, claim-free, multi-policy, and defensive driver.
- Farm Bureau has discounts for renewal discount, 55 and retired, youthful driver, driver training, multi-policy, and multi-vehicle.
- GEICO may have discounts that include federal employee, emergency military deployment, good student, anti-lock brakes, anti-theft, and multi-policy.
- SAFECO offers premium reductions for drive less, safe driver, teen safe driver, homeowner, teen safety rewards, bundle discounts, and accident prevention training.
When comparing rates, check with every prospective company how many discounts you can get. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts may not apply to policies in your state. To see insurers offering auto insurance discounts, click here.
When to get professional advice
When buying coverage, there is no perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s situation is a little different.
Here are some questions about coverages that may help highlight whether your personal situation could use an agent’s help.
- How much underlying liability do I need for an umbrella policy?
- What is high-risk coverage and where do I buy it?
- When do I need to add a new car to my policy?
- Should I sign the liability waiver when renting a car?
- Can I afford low physical damage deductibles?
- Why am I be forced to buy a membership to get insurance from some companies?
- Am I getting all the discounts available?
If you’re not sure about those questions but you think they might apply to your situation, you might consider talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, simply complete this short form.
Auto insurance agents near you
Many drivers just prefer to go talk to an agent and doing that can be a smart decision A nice benefit of getting online price quotes is that you can find the best rates and still buy from a local agent.
To find an agent, once you fill out this form (opens in new window), your insurance coverage information is emailed to insurance agents who will return price quotes for your coverage. It’s much easier because you don’t need to search for any insurance agencies because quoted prices will be sent to the email address you provide. Get lower rates without requiring a lot of work. If for some reason you want to quote rates from a specific insurance company, feel free to find their quoting web page and complete a quote there.
Choosing the best insurer shouldn’t rely on just a cheap price. Ask your prospective agent these questions:
- How much experience to they have in personal lines coverages?
- Do the coverages you’re quoting properly cover your vehicle?
- How much can you save by raising your physical damage deductibles?
- Does the agency support the community they serve?
- Are claim adjusters local or do you have to take your car somewhere else?
- What is the financial rating for the quoted company?
- Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?
Car insurance agents are either independent or captive
When looking for a reliable agent, you should know the different types of agents and how they can write your policy. Insurance agencies can be classified as either captive or independent agents depending on their company appointments.
Captive Agencies
Captive agents normally can only provide a single company’s rates such as Farmers Insurance, Allstate, or State Farm. Captives cannot shop your coverage around so they are skilled at selling on more than just price. These agents are very knowledgeable on what they offer which helps overcome the inability to quote other rates. Many people use the same agent mostly because of the brand name and the convenience of having all coverages with one company.
Independent Agents
Agents that elect to be independent are not required to write business for one company so they have the ability to put coverage with lots of companies and find the cheapest auto insurance rates. If they quote lower rates, they can switch companies in-house which makes it simple for you.
If you are trying to find cheaper rates, you should always get several quotes from independent agents to ensure the widest selection of prices. A lot of them also have access to different regional companies which could offer lower prices.
To locate insurance agencies near you, click through to find a local auto insurance agency.
After getting positive feedback to any questions you may have as well as offering an affordable quote, it’s possible that you found an auto insurance agent that is a good match to properly service your auto insurance policy. But keep in mind once you purchase a policy you can terminate coverage whenever you wish so never assume you’re contractually obligated to a specific company for the full term.
Information about specific coverages
Understanding the coverages of a auto insurance policy can help you determine the best coverages and proper limits and deductibles. Auto insurance terms can be impossible to understand and coverage can change by endorsement.
Liability auto insurance
This coverage protects you from damage that occurs to other’s property or people that is your fault. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show values of 25/50/25 which means a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability coverage protects against claims like legal defense fees, court costs, bail bonds and structural damage. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but consider buying as large an amount as possible.
Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP provide coverage for immediate expenses for hospital visits, surgery, X-ray expenses and prosthetic devices. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance program or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Comprehensive insurance
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for claims such as falling objects, hitting a bird, rock chips in glass, theft and hail damage. The maximum amount your auto insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Collision insurance
Collision coverage covers damage to your V40 caused by collision with an object or car. You will need to pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision can pay for things such as hitting a parking meter, sustaining damage from a pot hole, damaging your car on a curb, driving through your garage door and sideswiping another vehicle. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. Another option is to bump up the deductible to bring the cost down.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)
This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. This coverage pays for hospital bills for your injuries and damage to your Volvo V40.
Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is very important.
Buy online or local, you save
Drivers who switch companies do it for a variety of reasons including policy cancellation, questionable increases in premium, delays in responding to claim requests and even high rates after DUI convictions. Regardless of your reason, finding a great new company is actually quite simple.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, never skimp on coverage in order to save money. In many cases, drivers have reduced liability coverage limits and learned later that it was a big error on their part. The ultimate goal is to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the best price, but do not skimp to save money.
We covered a lot of tips how to shop for Volvo V40 insurance online. The key thing to remember is the more companies you get car insurance rates for, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even discover the lowest priced auto insurance comes from a smaller regional carrier.
