No one likes having to buy car insurance, in particular when the cost is too high. Because you have many choices of insurance companies, it can be impossible to find the right car insurance provider.
Buying car insurance is quite easy. If you have a policy now or are looking for a new policy, you can use this information to cut your premiums and possibly find even better coverage. Consumers only need an understanding of the most efficient way to buy car insurance over the internet.
Effectively comparing car insurance prices can be a daunting task if you aren’t aware of the easiest way. You could waste a few hours talking about coverages with insurance agencies in your area, or you could save time and use the internet to get the quickest rates.
Most of the best insurance companies enroll in a system where prospective buyers enter their coverage request one time, and at least one company then returns a price quote based on the submitted data. This saves time by eliminating quotation requests to each company.
To find out how much you’re overpaying now click here (opens in new window).
The single downside to using this type of system is you can’t choose which companies you want to price. So if you want to choose specific insurance companies for rate comparison, we have a page of low cost car insurance companies in your area. View list of insurance companies.
Compare rates however you want, just make absolute certain that you use nearly identical coverages and limits with each company. If you compare different deductibles it will be next to impossible to determine which rate is truly the best.
Get affordable car insurance with discounts
Car insurance is not an enjoyable expense, but there are discounts available to cut the cost considerably. Most are applied at the time of quoting, but a few need to be requested specifically before you get the savings. If you’re not getting every credit you deserve, you may be paying too high a price.
- Drive Less and Save – Maintaining low annual mileage could be rewarded with lower prices on the low mileage vehicles.
- Buy New and Save – Putting insurance on a new car may earn a small discount because newer vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
- Passive Restraint Discount – Vehicles with factory air bags or motorized seat belts may earn rate discounts of 20% or more.
- Driver’s Ed – Teen drivers should complete a driver education course as it can save substantially.
- Seat Belt Discounts – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use their safety belts can save a little off the medical payments premium.
- Data Collection Discounts – Insureds that choose to allow their insurance company to scrutinize driving habits by using a telematics device in their vehicle such as Snapshot from Progressive or Drivewise from Allstate may get a rate reduction if they show good driving skills.
- E-sign Discounts
- First Accident Forgiveness – Not really a discount, but certain companies will let one accident slide before your rates go up if your claims history is clear for a specific time period.
While discounts sound great, it’s important to understand that most discount credits are not given to the entire cost. Some only apply to individual premiums such as comp or med pay. So even though they make it sound like all the discounts add up to a free policy, that’s just not realistic.
A few companies who may offer most of the discounts above include:
Before purchasing a policy, check with all the companies the best way to save money. Some credits might not be available to policyholders in your area. If you would like to see a list of car insurance companies that have a full spectrum of discounts, click here.
What if I want to buy from local car insurance agents?
A small number of people would rather get advice from a local agent and doing so can bring peace of mind Agents can answer important questions and help in the event of a claim. An additional benefit of getting free rate quotes online is you may find lower rates but still work with a licensed agent.
After filling out this quick form, the coverage information gets sent to agents in your area that provide and help you find cheaper coverage. You never need to leave your house since price quotes are sent to the email address you provide. If you need to quote rates from a particular provider, you just need to find their quoting web page to submit a rate quote request.
Finding the right insurance company should include more criteria than just the quoted price. These questions are important to ask:
- What insurance companies do they work with?
- Can you contact them at any time?
- What are their preferred companies if they are an independent agency?
- If you are a high risk driver, do they have special markets for your coverage?
- Does the company have a local claim office?
Captive and independent car insurance agents
If you want an insurance agent, you should know the types of agencies and how they can quote your rates. Insurance agencies are classified as either independent or captive. Both can insure your vehicles properly, but it’s important to point out how they differ since it can impact the type of agent you choose.
Captive Agents
Agents of this type normally can only provide a single company’s rates and some examples include Allstate, AAA, Farmers Insurance, and State Farm. Captives cannot provide rate quotes from other companies so always compare other rates. These agents receive a lot of sales training on what they offer which helps them sell on service rather than price.
Independent Agents
Independent insurance agents often have many company appointments and that enables them to quote your coverage with a variety of different insurance companies and find the cheapest rate. If they find a lower price, your agent can switch companies and you can keep the same agent.
When comparing car insurance prices, it’s a good idea to get some free quotes from several independent insurance agents to ensure the widest selection of prices.
To help find agencies in your area, this page can help to find an insurance agent.
Upon receiving good responses to any questions you have and quotes, it’s possible that you found an auto insurance agent that can be relied on to provide car insurance coverage.
Find Cheaper Car Insurance with These Tips
When buying car insurance it’s important to understand the factors that go into determining your premiums. When consumers understand what determines premiums, this allows you to make good choices that could help you find lower car insurance prices. Many different elements are part of the calculation when pricing auto insurance. A few of the factors are predictable like an MVR report, but other factors are not as apparent like where you live or your commute time.
- Your occupation can affect car insurance rates – Occupations such as military generals, business owners and stock brokers tend to pay higher rates than the rest of us due to intense work requirements and lengthy work days. Other jobs like farmers, engineers and homemakers get better rates on 540i insurance.
- High premiums for teen drivers – Older people are more cautious drivers, cost insurance companies less in claims and receive fewer citations.Beginning drivers are known to get distracted easily when at the wheel of a vehicle so car insurance rates are higher.
- Gender matters – Over the last 30 years, statistics show that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. Now that doesn’t mean women are better drivers. Males and females cause accidents at about the same rate, but the men get into accidents with more damage. In addition to higher claims, males also have more aggressive citations like reckless driving and DUI.
- Drive lots and pay more – The more you drive in a year’s time the more you’ll pay to insure your vehicle. A lot of insurance companies calculate rates based upon how you use the vehicle. Cars not used for work or commuting cost less to insure compared to those used for work or business. It’s a good idea to make sure your declarations sheet states how each vehicle is driven, because improper ratings can cost you money. Having an incorrect usage rating on your 540i is throwing money out the window.
- Companies want multiple policies – The majority of insurance companies allow lower prices to customers that have more than one policy in the form of a multi-policy discount. The amount of the discounts can be 10 percent or more. Even though this discount sounds good, consumers should still comparison shop to confirm you are receiving the best rates possible.
- Credit rating impacts premium costs – A driver’s credit rating can be an important factor in determining your rates. If your credit score could use some work, you could pay less to insure your BMW 540i by taking the time to improve your credit score. Insureds with very high credit ratings tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than drivers who have lower credit scores.
- Cut car insurance rates and deter theft – Selecting a car model that has an advanced theft prevention system can earn a premium discount. Theft prevention features such as vehicle immobilizer systems, OnStar, and tracking devices like LoJack can help prevent car theft.
Car insurance advertising gotchas
Drivers get pounded daily by advertisements that claim the best auto insurance rates from companies such as 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. All the companies advertise the message of big savings if you just switch to their company.
How does every company give you a better price? Here is how they do it.
Car insurance companies quote the lowest rates for a prospective insured that makes them money. An example of a profitable customer should be between the ages of 30 and 50, is a homeowner, and does not commute to work. Anybody who meets those qualifications will get the preferred auto insurance rates and will also save money with a new company.
Potential customers who fall short of those criteria will be quoted more expensive rates which results in business not being written. The wording the ads use say “customers that switch” not “everybody who quotes” will save that much if they switch. That’s the way insurance companies can confidently make claims that they all have the best premium rates. This really emphasizes why you really should quote coverage with many companies. Because without a comparison, you cannot know which car insurance company will provide the lowest auto insurance rates.
Persistent drivers can save
When searching for , it’s a bad idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where consumers will sacrifice liability coverage limits only to discover later they didn’t have enough coverage. The ultimate goal is to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.
Cheaper BMW 540i insurance can be purchased online and from local insurance agents, and you should compare rates from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance companies may not have online price quotes and usually these small, regional companies work with independent agents.
We just presented a lot of techniques to save on BMW 540i insurance. The key concept to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better chance you’ll have of finding . Consumers could even find that the best price on car insurance is with an unexpected company. Smaller companies can often provide lower premium rates in certain areas than their larger competitors like State Farm and Allstate.
