Yes, Switching Auto Insurance Carriers Can Be Wise
Don’t just trust Geico. Yes, they have low insurance–but they don’t always have the lowest options. Sometimes you can find localized solutions that ultimately save you more money over the long run. Certainly, it will depend on your present financial situation, and the sort of vehicle you can attain.
For example, if you pay all your insurance for the year up front, you can package its cost. This will save you several hundred dollars a year. However, people don’t always have enough finances available to make such an up-front insurance purchase, and are accordingly forced to pay the monthly cost.
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Also, the sort of vehicle you drive will contribute to your insurance rates. Though specific costs for the sort of insurance you pay may differ per company, generally, a red sports car is going to cost you more than a late-model RV. Also, some insurance options aren’t available unless you’ve got certain vehicles. For example, USAA won’t even insure an RV; but Farmer’s Insurance will.
Be Sure You Shop Around with Insurance Carriers
So you should definitely shop around, you may be surprised what’s available to you. That said, don’t go with the most “bottom dollar” option immediately. There are “shell” companies who deal in insurance, and will do everything in their power to avoid awarding a settlement when the time comes. You need to carefully vet the sort of insurance you secure, or you could risk being the victim of a scam.
Many insurance groups have fine print or other exigencies that allow them to back out of awarding settlements when the time comes. Though this isn’t ethical, when done in a savvy enough way, it can be technically legal. Also, the types of coverage available can influence what sort of costs you pay. Full coverage on a late-model RV will likely run you about $100 a month, or $1,200 a year. Meanwhile, liability may only be $250 a year.
What makes sense is finding resources that compare and contrast multiple insurance options to help you narrow down your search. Online rate comparison resources can be invaluable in this search. They’ll appraise you pertaining to specific considerations that affect your final price. These include the following:
- The Age Of The Insured Party
- Whether There’s Been A DUI, And When
- What Level Of Credit A Driver Is Working With
- If Any Speeding Tickets Have Been Recently Sustained
- At-Fault Accidents, And When Those Accidents Took Place
A Closer Look At Mitigating Factors
The older you are, up to a certain age, the cheaper your insurance will be. Teenagers pay more for insurance; young people in general do until their mid-twenties. But once you start getting to your later years as a senior citizen, rates increase as well; so shop around with this in mind.
A DUI will make it so you have to pay extra for what’s known as an SR-22 on insurance. This is necessary for the first three years after a conviction, and the ripple effect from the DUI will generally be included in estimates of insurance cost for the next decade or so, depending on your state and insurance provider.
Remember, insurance providers play the numbers, so they look at statistical trends over individual achievement–for the most part. There are localized insurance options that may treat you better. If you’ve got bad credit, in all likelihood you’ll see higher insurance–but again, this will depend on your provider.
Regardless of provider, recent speeding tickets tend to increase insurance price, as do at fault accidents. However, old tickets or old accidents may not come into play if they don’t show up when the insurance agent looks up your driver’s license number.
Shop Around And Save
Some factors are beyond your control, such as age or accidents. However, what is in your control is your provider. So shop around, just like the TV ads say. You can save hundreds a year (and sometimes even on a monthly basis) by being wise and strategic in your choice of auto insurance provider.