Buying car insurance is something that every vehicle driver here in North Carolina must do, by law, and every car insurance buyer is typically looking for the same thing – the best coverage at the lowest price. One of the biggest mistakes car insurance buyers can make is in failing to compare a variety of different quotes from competing insurance companies to find the best deal. With the use of the Internet, this exercise has become much easier than ever before. To make things even simpler, you can have a trusted, independent agency do all the groundwork for you. A broker with access to numerous top-rated insurance companies will be able to provide you with multiple quotes from multiple companies on multiple coverage plans and help determine which ones best suit your particular needs.
Set Yourself Up for the Best Possible Policy Rates
Just as car insurance can be customized to meet your precise needs, there are many opportunities out there that will allow you to minimize premium costs for your coverage. Knowing where these opportunities lie will give you access to take advantage of these money-saving tricks of which you may have been previously unaware, so let’s discuss a few proven methods for acquiring the lowest vehicle insurance rates.
- Buy a car that costs less to insure. If you’ve narrowed your vehicle choices down to two or three possibilities, find out which model costs the least to insure. Premium rates will vary due to different cars’ initial costs, safety profiles, typical repair costs and the likelihood of their being stolen.
- Carry a high deductible. Raising the deductible amount on your policy will automatically lower premium costs.
- Claim all possible discounts offered by your insurance company. There are dozens of various discounts given by different companies, such as discounts for insuring multiple vehicles or for bundling multiple types of policies like life, car and homeowners. Discounts exist for having certain anti-theft devices, for having daytime running lights and for completing a defensive-driving course. There are many more discounts. Be sure to ask.
- Keep a clean driving record with no tickets or accidents.
- Maintain a good credit rating.
- When switching insurance companies make sure there are no gaps between policies. A policy lapse can end up causing a huge premium increase.
- Drive fewer miles annually and, if you’re moving, consider an area where car insurance is generally less expensive to buy.