Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy overpriced auto insurance? Trust us, there are many people just like you.
Drivers have so many insurance companies to purchase coverage from, and although it’s a good thing to have a selection, too many choices makes it more difficult to locate the cheapest rates.
The purpose of this article is to let you in on how car insurance quotes work and some tips to save money. If you currently have car insurance, you stand a good chance to be able to reduce your rates substantially using these tips. But consumers can benefit by having an understanding of how big insurance companies price insurance differently and take advantage of how the system works.
Pieces of the Aston Martin Virage rate puzzle
Smart consumers have a good feel for the factors that play a part in calculating auto insurance rates. Understanding what controls the rates you pay allows you to make educated decisions that may reward you with better auto insurance rates.
Shown below are a partial list of the pieces companies use to determine rates.
- Lower rates with optional equipment – Owning a car with an alarm system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft features such as tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar can help prevent auto theft.
- More claims means more premium – Insurance companies give lower rates to drivers who are claim-free. If you frequently file small claims, you can definitely plan on either policy cancellation or increased premiums. Insurance coverage is designed for larger claims.
- High crash test scores lower rates – Vehicles with high crash test scores get lower rates. The safest vehicles result in less severe injuries and fewer injuries means less money paid by your insurance company and lower rates for you. If your Aston Martin is rated at least four stars on Safercar.gov you may qualify for a discount.
- Don’t buy coverages you don’t need – There are a lot of additional coverages that can waste your money on your auto insurance policy. Coverages for roadside assistance, accident forgiveness and term life insurance are some examples. These coverages may sound good at first, but if they’re wasting money eliminate them to save money.
- More than one policy can earn a discount – Many companies will award you with lower prices to policyholders who buy several policies from them in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even though this discount sounds good, you may still want to comparison shop to confirm you are receiving the best rates possible.
- Please use or commuting – The more miles you rack up on your Aston Martin each year the higher your rates will be. Most insurance companies charge to insure your cars based on their usage. Autos left parked in the garage get more affordable rates as compared to vehicles used primarily for driving to work. If your policy improperly rates your Virage can result in significantly higher rates. Make sure your auto insurance policy properly reflects how each vehicle is driven.
How to Get Auto Insurance
There are multiple methods to compare auto insurance prices and some are less labor-intensive and much quicker. You can spend countless hours talking about coverages with insurance companies in your area, or you could save time and use the web to achieve your goal.
Many insurance companies belong to a marketplace that enables customers to only type in their quote data once, and every company then gives them pricing determined by their information. This system prevents you from having to do form submissions to every company.
To find out how much you can save on auto insurance click here to open in new window.
The one downside to comparing rates this way is that consumers can’t choose the companies to get pricing from. If you would rather choose specific providers to compare rates, we have a page of auto insurance companies in your area. View list of insurance companies.
Which method you use is up to you, but make absolute certain that you use the exact same coverages and limits on every quote. If you have mixed coverages it’s not possible to decipher which rate is best. Slightly different insurance coverages can mean a large discrepancy in price. Just keep in mind that having more price comparisons provides better odds of finding a lower rate.
Save money by taking advantage of these discounts
Insuring your fleet can be pricey, but there are discounts available that you may not know about. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at the time of purchase, but a few must be requested specifically prior to receiving the credit.
- Air Bag Discount – Factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can receive discounts of 20% or more.
- Seat Belt Usage – Drivers who require all occupants to use a seat belt could cut 10% or more off your PIP or medical payments premium.
- Accident Waiver – A handful of insurance companies will allow you to have one accident before your rates go up as long as you don’t have any claims for a certain period of time.
- Claim Free – Claim-free drivers pay much less when compared to accident-prone drivers.
- Employee of Federal Government – Active or retired federal employment may qualify you for a discount for Virage coverage depending on your company.
It’s important to understand that many deductions do not apply the the whole policy. Most cut individual premiums such as collision or personal injury protection. So when it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies don’t profit that way. But any discount will help reduce your overall premium however.
Buying car insurance locally
Certain consumers would prefer to buy from a licensed agent. The best thing about comparing insurance prices online is you may find better rates and still have an agent to talk to. And providing support for local insurance agencies is definitely important in smaller rural communities.
To help locate an agent, after submitting this short form, your information is emailed to agents in your area who will battle for your insurance coverage. You won’t need to leave your computer since price quotes are sent straight to your inbox. How’s that for easy! You’ll get the best rates and an insurance agent to talk to.
Best auto insurance agent
If you’re trying to find a reputable insurance agent or broker, you need to know there are two different agency structures that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. agents are classified as either independent or captive.
Independent Insurance Agents
Independent insurance agents are not required to write business for one company but rather can write business with many different companies and potentially find a lower price. If you are not satisfied with one company, they simply move the coverage in-house and you won’t have to switch agencies. When shopping rates, it’s a good idea to include price quotes from several independent insurance agents for maximum quote selection.
Captive Agents
Captive agents are contracted to one company such as American Family, Liberty Mutual and AAA. These agents are not able to compare other company’s rates so it’s a take it or leave it situation. These agents receive extensive training on their company’s products which can be an advantage.
For a full directory of auto insurance agents, click here.
Picking an insurance agent requires more thought than just a low price. These are valid questions to ask:
- Do they make recommendations based only on price?
- If your car is totalled, how to they determine the replacement cost?
- Who is covered by the car insurance policy?
- How much can you save by raising your physical damage deductibles?
- Does the agency support the community they serve?
- Are there any hidden costs in their price quote and does it include driving and credit history?
- Do clients work directly with the agent or are most inquiries handled by a CSR?
- Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?
After getting positive responses to these questions and an acceptable price quote, chances are good that you have found an insurance agency that can properly insure your vehicles.
Final considerations
Lower-priced Aston Martin Virage insurance can be bought online as well as from independent agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some auto insurance companies don’t offer online price quotes and many times these smaller companies only sell through independent insurance agents.
In this article, we covered many tips how you can lower your Aston Martin Virage insurance rates. The key thing to remember is the more times you quote, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may even discover the best prices are with some of the lesser-known companies. These smaller insurers may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Nationwide.
