How to Find the Best Car Insurance Rate for You

A car may be one of the most expensive things you’ll buy in your life. Thus, protecting this purchase with car insurance makes a lot of sense. You simply don’t want terrifying financial losses in cases of accidents, damage, or theft.

Hence, finding the best deal should be your main objective. You will do well to make it a priority, whether it’s your first time buying car insurance or you’re renewing an existing one. Here are a few tips on finding the best car insurance rate for you.

Learn the Minimum Car Insurance Requirement

Before getting into shopping mode, you should learn about your state’s minimum coverage requirements. If getting the cheapest car insurance is your goal, you need to know the lowest rate you can get legally and start from there.

U.S. law requires you to get liability coverage. Meanwhile, most states require coverage for property damage, bodily injury per person, and bodily injury per accident. Alabama only requires these three coverages, while Kansas has eight requirements.

You may also want to consider adding uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance for accidents where the driver causing the incident has insufficient or no coverage. If your vehicle is leased or financed, the lending company will also require comprehensive and collision insurance. This coverage will be on top of the state’s minimum requirement.

Collect Quotes and Compare Rates

It will help if you request multiple price quotes from car insurance companies. It’s like what you do when looking for a supplier for an event or office. Compare what they offer and determine which one provides the best value for your money.

While on it, do not focus solely on national companies. Some local car insurers may surprise you by offering more competitive rates with similar coverages as national ones. Some customers prefer local and regional companies over national insurers because of their excellent customer service.

Comparisons shouldn’t end with finding the lowest rates. Some companies may offer slightly higher pricing but include way better coverages than the cheapest ones. What you can do is to identify the budget range you can work with. Then, prepare a list of car insurance features you’re looking for. Use this as a guideline for evaluating your choices.

You may also rely on car insurance comparison tools. Prepare all the necessary information about your vehicle, such as manufacturing year, make, and model.

Refer to Market Research and Surveys

You could be one of those car owners who lack the time and energy to make their own comparisons. Luckily, there are market research and surveys available. Use these resources to picture better what companies have to offer.

A February 2022 market study from ValuePenguin showed that State Farm offers the lowest overall pricing. It also recommended that low-mileage drivers get coverage from Metromile. Another finding reveals that Farm Bureau has the cheapest rates for people with poor credit history.

Meanwhile, Nerdwallet released results from its market survey showing that Geico provides the cheapest car insurance for people with a recent accident record.

Look for Discounts

Another way to lower your rate is to inquire about available discounts from the providers. You will find these discounts listed on their websites if you’re lucky.

One typical discount that these firms offer is the multi-car discount. If your family uses multiple cars, you could get a discount by buying car coverage in bulk from the same company. This is cheaper compared with purchasing them individually.

Companies also offer one-time payment discounts to individuals who can make a one-time payment for their annual payment. Theft is one of the most significant risks to car insurance companies. Insurance providers would give big discounts to car owners with anti-theft systems to prevent it. However, ensure that you’ve checked which devices qualify in the discount program before buying one.

You may also encounter companies that offer discounts to good drivers during their renewal period. Examples of these programs are Allstate’s Drivewise and Progressive’s Snapshot.

Final Thoughts

Learning about these tips will surely help you find the best car insurance rate you’re looking for. It doesn’t matter if you made your comparisons or followed market surveys. The important thing is that you learned to set your priorities when searching for car insurance.