10 Discounts Chester Drivers Neglect when Quoting Car Insurance on the Internet

Are you sick and tired of being strong-armed each month for car insurance? Your situation is no different than millions of other consumers.

Having so many insurance companies to choose from, it can be challenging to pick the best car insurance company.

Compare the Market for Car Insurance in Chester, PA

Most companies such as Allstate and Progressive quote prices for coverage directly from their websites. Getting quotes doesn’t take a lot of time as you just type in your required coverages into a form. After you complete the form, the system collects information on your driving record and credit history and generates a price determined by many factors. This helps simplify price comparisons, but the time it takes to visit different websites and enter the same data into a form gets old quite quickly. But it’s absolutely necessary to have as many quotes as possible if you are searching for the best price possible.

The preferred way to lower your car insurance bill is to use a quote form to return rates from several different companies. It saves time, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes quoting online much easier. Once the form is submitted, it gets priced with multiple companies and you can pick your choice of the pricing results.

If you find a better price it’s easy to complete the application and purchase coverage. It can be completed in a matter of minutes and you’ll know if lower rates are available.

To save time and compare pricing, click here to open in new window and enter your information. To compare your current rates, we recommend you complete the form with the limits and deductibles as close as possible to your current policy. This ensures you’re receiving comparison quotes based on similar coverages.

Discounts are basically free money

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be applied when you purchase, but lesser-known reductions have to be manually applied prior to getting the savings.

  • Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Factory air bags or automatic seat belts can receive discounts up to 30%.
  • Seat Belt Usage – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use a seat belt could cut 10% or more on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
  • Bundle and Save – If you have multiple policies with one company you may save 10% to 20% off each policy.
  • Drivers Ed for Students – Cut your cost by having your teen driver take driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
  • Accident Free – Drivers with accident-free driving histories pay less compared to drivers who are more careless.
  • Early Signing – Some companies give discounts for switching to them before your current policy expires. This can save 10% or more.
  • New Vehicle Savings – Buying coverage on a new vehicle is cheaper since new cars are generally safer.
  • Anti-theft System – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems prevent vehicle theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
  • Anti-lock Brake Discount – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems can reduce accidents and will save you 10% or more.
  • Federal Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job may qualify you for a discount depending on your company.

Drivers should understand that some of the credits will not apply the the whole policy. Some only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as collision or personal injury protection. Just because you may think all those discounts means the company will pay you, you’re out of luck. Any amount of discount will bring down the cost of coverage.

Additional car insurance information can be found on the website for the Pennsylvania Insurance Department located here. Visitors are able to read consumer alerts, find out industry alerts, discover disciplinary actions, and learn about insurance regulations.

The following information may also be useful.

Detailed coverages of your car insurance policy

Having a good grasp of a car insurance policy helps when choosing the best coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Car insurance terms can be confusing and coverage can change by endorsement. Shown next are typical coverage types found on the average car insurance policy.

Auto liability – This protects you from damage or injury you incur to other people or property by causing an accident. This coverage protects you from claims by other people. It does not cover your injuries or vehicle damage.

Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You commonly see liability limits of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 bodily injury coverage, $300,000 for the entire accident, and a total limit of $100,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Occasionally you may see one limit called combined single limit (CSL) that pays claims from the same limit rather than limiting it on a per person basis.

Liability insurance covers claims like repair costs for stationary objects, loss of income, bail bonds and emergency aid. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but consider buying as much as you can afford. Pennsylvania requires drivers to carry at least 15,000/30,000/5,000 but you should think about purchasing higher limits.

Comprehensive coverages – This coverage covers damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive insurance covers claims such as falling objects, theft, a broken windshield, fire damage and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The maximum amount a car insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Coverage for medical payments – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP reimburse you for bills such as hospital visits, pain medications, dental work and X-ray expenses. They can be used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is only offered in select states and may carry a deductible

Collision coverage – This pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. A deductible applies and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision can pay for things like crashing into a ditch, backing into a parked car, sustaining damage from a pot hole and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle when the “other guys” either have no liability insurance or not enough. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your occupants and also any damage incurred to your vehicle.

Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law (which is 15/30/5), their limits can quickly be used up. So UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked. Usually your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages do not exceed the liability coverage limits.

A tidy conclusion

In this article, we presented many tips how you can reduce car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more providers you compare, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the best prices are with the smaller companies. These smaller insurers may only write in your state and offer lower rates as compared to the big name companies such as Allstate, GEICO and Progressive.

The cheapest car insurance is possible online in addition to many Chester insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both in order to have the best chance of saving money. A few companies do not provide the ability to get a quote online and usually these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.