Is Your Summerville South Carolina Car Insurance Too High? Start Saving Today

Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can overdraw your savings account and put the squeeze on your family’s finances. Comparing price quotes is free and is an excellent way to help make ends meet.

Drivers have multiple auto insurance companies to buy insurance from, and even though it’s nice to have a selection, it makes it harder to compare rates.

Quick Summerville Car Insurance Quotes

The are a couple different ways to get quotes from different in Summerville, SCinsurance companies. The easiest way by far to find the cheapest insurance rates is to perform an online rate comparison. This is very easy and can be done in a couple of different ways.

1. The best way to get quotes for comparison is a comparison rater form click here to open form in new window. This easy form keeps you from doing repetitive form submissions for every car insurance company. A single form compares rates from several companies.
2. A more time consuming way to find lower rates requires visiting each company website to complete their respective quote request forms. For instance, let’s say you want to compare GEICO, Liberty Mutual and State Farm. To find out each rate you need to spend time on each company’s site to enter your coverage information, which is why the first method is more popular. For a list of links to insurance companies in Summerville, click here.

Which method you use is up to you, but make sure you use identical coverages and limits for every quote you compare. If each company quotes different deductibles you will not be able to determine which rate is truly the best in Summerville. Having just a slight variation in limits can make a big difference in price. And when comparison shopping, comparing a large number of companies gives you a better chance of getting a lower rate.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but you may find discounts that can drop the cost substantially. A few discounts will automatically apply when you get a quote, but some must be asked for before they will apply.

• Good Student Discount – Getting good grades can get you a discount of up to 25%. This discount can apply up to age 25.
• Federal Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job may qualify you for a discount with select insurance companies.
• Bundle and Save – If you insure your home and vehicles with one company you could get a discount of approximately 10% to 15%.
• Drivers Education – Cut your cost by having your teen driver take driver’s ed class in school.
• Senior Citizens – Older drivers may be able to get reduced rates.
• Early Signing – Select companies give a discount for switching to them prior to your current policy expiration. This can save 10% or more.
• Safe Drivers – Insureds without accidents can pay as much as 50% less than less cautious drivers.
• Paperwork-free – A handful of insurance companies may give you up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up digitally online.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire policy premium. The majority will only reduce specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. So even though it sounds like it’s possible to get free car insurance, you’re out of luck. Any amount of discount will bring down your premiums.

Summerville Rates are Influenced by These Factors

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that help determine your car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates helps enable you to make changes that can help you get lower car insurance prices.

The following are some of the items that factor into your rates.

• Older drivers save more – Teenage drivers in South Carolina tend to be more careless when behind the wheel so they pay higher car insurance rates. Older insureds are viewed as being more responsible, file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel.
• Safe vehicles cost less to insure – Safer cars can get you lower premiums. The safest vehicles result in less severe injuries and better occupant protection translates into savings for insurance companies and lower rates for you.
• Liability coverage is cheap – Liability insurance provides coverage when a jury decides you are liable for personal injury or accident damage. It will provide legal defense coverage which can cost thousands of dollars. Liability insurance is quite affordable compared to physical damage coverage, so drivers should carry high limits.
• Don’t let your coverage lapse – Letting your insurance expire will be a quick way to increase your car insurance rates. And not only will insurance be more expensive, but being ticketed for driving with no insurance will get you a hefty fine and possibly a revoked license.
• High deductibles save money – Physical damage deductibles represent how much money you are required to spend before your car insurance pays a claim. Physical damage insurance, termed comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, covers damage that occurs to your car. A few examples of covered claims would be colliding with a building, damage caused by hail, or theft. The more you have to pay, the less your company will charge you for insurance.
• One company can mean more discounts – Some companies will give a discount to customers who have multiple policies with them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even if you’re getting this discount it’s in your best interest to shop around to make sure you are getting the best deal.

Tailor your coverage to you

When buying the right insurance coverage for your vehicles, there really is no “perfect” insurance plan. Everyone’s situation is unique so your insurance should reflect that These are some specific questions might help in determining whether you might need professional guidance.

• Am I covered when delivering products for my home-based business?
• Can I get a multi-policy discount for packaging my home and auto coverage?
• Am I covered if I crash into my own garage door?
• Does liability extend to a camper or trailer?
• When do I need to add a new car to my policy?
• Can I afford low physical damage deductibles?
• Is my babysitter covered when using my vehicle?
• How much underlying liability do I need for an umbrella policy?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you know they apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, simply complete this short form or go to this page to view a list of companies.

Additional car insurance information is available on the website for the South Carolina Department of Insurance found here. South Carolina drivers can file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, view agent and company licensing information, and read consumer alerts.

Other informative sites include Auto Insurance 101 and this page where you can research Summerville insurance agents.

Misconceptions in car insurance advertisements

Car insurance companies such as GEICO, State Farm and Progressive constantly bombard you with ads on TV and radio. They all seem to have a common claim of big savings if you switch your policy. How do they all claim to save you money?

Insurance companies have a preferred profile for the driver they prefer to insure. A good example of a driver they prefer might be between the ages of 30 and 50, has no tickets, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A customer who meets those qualifications gets the lowest rates and therefore will save when switching.

Drivers who don’t meet this ideal profile will be charged a higher premium which leads to business going elsewhere. Company advertisements say “customers that switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that kind of money. That’s the way insurance companies can confidently claim big savings.

That is why you should get a wide range of price quotes. Because you never know the company that will give you the biggest savings.

More comparisons equals lower rates

Cheap car insurance can be bought both online and with local Summerville insurance agents, so you should compare both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and usually these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

You just learned some good ideas how to reduce car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more you quote, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even find the best prices are with some of the lesser-known companies. Regional companies may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive or GEICO.