Car Insurance in Maryville, TN – 9 Discounts You Might be Forgetting

Finding lower rates for Maryville car insurance can seem to be hard for people who are new to buying insurance online. People have so many options available that it can easily become more work than you anticipated to compare prices in Maryville.

How much can you save with these nine discounts?

Companies that sell car insurance don’t always advertise all their discounts very well, so the following is a list of both the well known and also the lesser-known ways to save on car insurance.

• Paperless Signup – Certain companies give back up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up digitally online.
• Senior Discount – Mature drivers can possibly qualify for reduced rates.
• Service Members Pay Less – Being deployed with a military unit could be rewarded with lower premiums.
• Federal Government Employee – Being employed by or retired from a federal job could cut as much as 10% off depending on your company.
• Multiple Cars – Buying coverage for all your vehicles on the same car insurance policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
• Driver’s Ed – Require your teen driver to successfully complete driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
• No Charge for an Accident – Certain companies will allow you to have one accident without raising rates if your claims history is clear prior to the accident.
• Claim Free – Drivers who don’t have accidents can earn big discounts when compared to frequent claim filers.
• Payment Discounts – By paying your policy upfront instead of paying each month you can actually save on your bill.

Drivers should understand that most credits do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. A few only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. So when it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies don’t profit that way.

How much car insurance do I need?

When buying the right insurance coverage, there is no one size fits all plan. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs.

Here are some questions about coverages that may help highlight if your situation will benefit from professional help.

• Does my insurance cover my expensive audio equipment?
• Does my medical payments coverage pay my health insurance deductible?
• Do no-fault laws apply in Tennessee?
• What is the difference between comprehensive and collision coverage?
• Why am I required to buy high-risk coverage?
• Why does it cost so much to insure a teen driver in Maryville?
• Who is covered by my policy?
• Should I buy additional glass protection?
• Are split liability limits better than a combined single limit?

If you can’t answer these questions, you might consider talking to an agent. To find an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form.

Can switching companies really save?

Car insurance companies such as Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly bombard you with ads on TV and radio. They all seem to say the same thing about savings if you switch to their company. How does each company make the same claim? This is how they do it.

Different companies have a certain “appetite” for the driver that is profitable for them. For instance, a preferred risk could possibly be between the ages of 30 and 50, a clean driving record, and drives newer vehicles. A customer getting a price quote that hits that “sweet spot” receives the best rates and therefore will save when switching.

Consumers who don’t measure up to the requirements will have to pay higher prices which leads to the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads state “drivers who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much money. That is how companies can make those claims. Because of the profiling, drivers should get as many comparisons as possible. It’s just too difficult to predict which car insurance company will provide you with the cheapest rates.

More tips and info about car insurance can be found at the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance website. Consumers can get help finding coverage, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, download brochures, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.

Car insurance coverage options

Learning about specific coverages of a car insurance policy helps when choosing which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. The terms used in a policy can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.

Liability coverages

Liability coverage can cover damages or injuries you inflict on other’s property or people in an accident. This coverage protects you against other people’s claims, and does not provide coverage for 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 policy limits of 100/300/100 that translate to a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and a limit of $100,000 paid for damaged property.

Liability coverage pays for things such as medical expenses, legal defense fees, court costs and loss of income. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but buy higher limits if possible. Tennessee state minimum liability requirements are 25,000/50,000/15,000 but drivers should carry better liability coverage.

Comprehensive coverages

Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive can pay for things such as hail damage, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and hitting a bird. The maximum payout your car insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage

Your UM/UIM coverage gives you protection when other motorists are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and damage to your vehicle.

Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (25/50/15), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea.

Coverage for medical payments

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage pay for expenses for things like rehabilitation expenses, funeral costs, ambulance fees and nursing services. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants in addition to being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal Injury Protection is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Collision protection

Collision coverage will pay to fix damage to your vehicle from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. A deductible applies then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision coverage pays for claims such as scraping a guard rail, hitting a mailbox and rolling your car. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Another option is to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

What is YOUR best insurance company?

We just showed you a lot of tips how to compare car insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more times you quote, the better your chances of lowering your rates. Consumers may even find the best price on car insurance is with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising.

Discount car insurance is definitely available on the web as well as from independent agents in Maryville, and you should compare price quotes from both to get a complete price analysis. Some insurance providers don’t offer online price quotes and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

People leave their current company for any number of reasons including not issuing a premium refund, extreme rates for teen drivers, unfair underwriting practices or even an unsatisfactory settlement offer. Regardless of your reason, finding a new company is easier than you think.