6 Tricks to Save on Auto Insurance in Merrimack, NH

Perplexed by the number of auto insurance options in Merrimack? Many other drivers are as well. Drivers have so many options that it can quickly become a ton of work to find the lowest price.

Lower rates by qualifying for these six discounts

Companies don’t always advertise every discount very well, so we break down both well-publicized as well as the least known savings tricks you should be using.

• Multi-car Discount – Insuring more than one vehicle with the same company could earn a price break for each car.
• Club Memberships – Being a member of a professional or civic organization may earn a discount on your policy.
• Safety Course Discount – Taking part in a course in driver safety could possibly earn you a 5% discount depending on where you live.
• Auto/Home Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles with one insurance company you may save 10% to 20% off each policy.
• Discount for Swiching Early – Some insurance companies reward drivers for switching to them prior to your current policy expiring. The savings is around 10%.
• Employee of Federal Government – Employees or retirees of the government can earn a discount up to 10% with select insurance companies.

It’s important to understand that most discounts do not apply the the whole policy. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though it sounds like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, companies wouldn’t make money that way.

To choose providers offering auto insurance discounts in Merrimack, click this link.

Comprehensive Auto Insurance Comparison in Merrimack, New Hampshire

There are several ways to compare quotes and find the best price. The simplest method to compare insurance prices involves getting comparison quotes online. This is very easy and can be done in a couple of different ways.

1. The fastest way to find low rates is a comparison rater form (click to open form in new window). This easy form saves time by eliminating separate quotation requests for each company you want a rate for. A single, simple form will return quotes from many national carriers. This is perfect if you don’t have a lot of time.
2. A more difficult way to get comparison quotes requires visiting the website for every company you want to comare to complete their respective quote request forms. For instance, we’ll pretend you want to compare Allstate, Liberty Mutual and Progressive. To find out each rate you need to visit each site to enter your coverage information, which is why the first method is more popular.

   For a handy list of car insurance company links in Merrimack, click here.

However you get your quotes, compare the exact same coverage limits for every quote you compare. If your comparisons have different limits and deductibles on each one it will be impossible to determine the lowest rate in Merrimack. Quoting even small variations in coverages can result in a big premium difference. And when comparing auto insurance rates, know that obtaining a wide range of quotes gives you a better chance of getting the best rates.

Auto insurance coverage breakdown

Learning about specific coverages of a auto insurance policy helps when choosing which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. The terms used in a policy can be difficult to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring.

Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance – This gives you protection from other drivers when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your occupants and damage to your vehicle.

Since a lot of drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (25/50/25 in New Hampshire), their limits can quickly be used up. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea.

Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision) – Comprehensive insurance will pay to fix damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things like a tree branch falling on your vehicle, theft, rock chips in glass, hail damage and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The highest amount you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Collision – This pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision coverage pays for things like driving through your garage door, scraping a guard rail and hitting a mailbox. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider removing coverage from lower value vehicles. Another option is to raise the deductible to save money on collision insurance.

Auto liability insurance – This coverage provides protection from damages or injuries you inflict on people or other property in an accident. It protects you against other people’s claims, and doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

It consists of three limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You might see values of 100/300/100 that translate to $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $300,000 in injury protection per accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.

Liability coverage pays for things such as pain and suffering, medical services, attorney fees, loss of income and court costs. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is up to you, but buy as high a limit as you can afford. New Hampshire state minimum liability requirements are 25,000/50,000/25,000 but drivers should carry more coverage.

Insurance for medical payments – Med pay and PIP coverage reimburse you for expenses like prosthetic devices, dental work and EMT expenses. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance plan or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Smart consumers save more

Insureds switch companies for a variety of reasons including not issuing a premium refund, high rates after DUI convictions, lack of trust in their agent or even extreme rates for teen drivers. It doesn’t matter what your reason, finding a new company is not as hard as you think.

Affordable auto insurance can be sourced from both online companies and also from your neighborhood Merrimack agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best rate selection. Some auto insurance companies may not provide you the ability to get quotes online and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

We covered some good ideas how to compare auto insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more providers you compare, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may be surprised to find that the lowest rates come from some of the lesser-known companies.