Buy Buckhannon West Virginia Auto Insurance Like a Tightwad

Are you sick and tired of being strong-armed to pay your car insurance bill each month? You are in the same boat as many other drivers in West Virginia. Companies like Progressive, State Farm and GEICO increase brand awareness with advertising and it can be hard to separate fact from fiction and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.

If you have a policy now or need a new policy, you will benefit by learning to find better prices and still get good coverage. Finding affordable coverage in Buckhannon is quite easy. West Virginia drivers only need an understanding of the proper way to buy auto insurance online.

Finding Auto Insurance in Buckhannon, West Virginia

There are a lot of ways you can shop for auto insurance but one way is more efficient than others. You can waste a lot of time driving to agents in Buckhannon, or you can utilize online quoting to get rates in a matter of minutes.

Most of the larger companies participate in a marketplace where prospective buyers enter their policy data once, and each participating company can give them a price based on the submitted data. This saves time by eliminating quotation requests to every company.

To submit your quote information now, click here (opens in new window).

One minor caviat to doing it this way is that you can’t choose the companies to receive prices from. So if you want to select from a list of companies to compare, we have assembled a list of the cheapest auto insurance companies in West Virginia. Click to view list.

Which method you use is up to you, but be sure to compare the exact same coverages and limits for every quote you compare. If you have different liability limits it’s not possible to determine the lowest rate in Buckhannon.

Pay less by taking advantage of discounts

Car insurance companies don’t always advertise all available discounts very well, so we researched some of the more common as well as the least known auto insurance savings. If you don’t get every credit you qualify for, you are paying more than you should be.

• E-sign – A few companies will give a small break simply for signing online.
• Discount for Good Grades – Performing well in school can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. The discount lasts well after school through age 25.
• Multiple Cars – Buying coverage for all your vehicles with the same company can get a discount on all vehicles.
• Payment Discounts – If you pay your bill all at once rather than paying monthly you could save up to 5%.
• Low Mileage – Fewer annual miles can qualify you for lower rates on the low mileage vehicles.
• Homeowners Pay Less – Owning a home in Buckhannon can help you save on auto insurance because of the fact that having a home requires personal responsibility.
• Military Rewards – Having a family member in the military may qualify for rate reductions.

Consumers should know that most credits do not apply to the entire policy premium. A few only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as collision or personal injury protection. So when it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, auto insurance companies aren’t that generous.

How insurance companies determine rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that play a part in calculating the price you pay for auto insurance. Knowing what determines base rates enables informed choices that will entitle you to lower auto insurance prices.

Shown below are some of the items auto insurance companies consider when setting prices.

• Lower rates with optional equipment – Purchasing a vehicle that has an advanced theft prevention system can help lower your rates. Theft prevention features like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all aid in stopping auto theft.
• Higher safety ratings means cheaper insurance – Cars with high safety ratings tend to have better insurance rates. These vehicles protect occupants better and better occupant protection translates into savings for insurance companies and thus lower rates.
• Protect yourself with liability coverage – Your policy’s liability coverage will protect you when a jury decides you are liable for damages caused by your negligence. It will provide you with a defense in court which can be incredibly expensive. Liability insurance is quite affordable as compared to coverage for physical damage, so buy as much as you can afford.
• Are you male or female? – Statistics demonstrate that women are safer drivers than men. However, don’t assume that men are worse drivers. Women and men tend to get into accidents in similar numbers, but the males cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. They also get more serious tickets such as reckless driving.
• Your job and insurance rates – Did you know that where you work can have an impact on rates? Occupations such as lawyers, social workers and dentists are shown to have the highest average rates attributed to high stress levels and long work hours. Other occupations such as actors, historians and homemakers pay the least.

Additional detailed information is located at the West Virginia Insurance Commission website. West Virginia consumers can read consumer alerts, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, and download brochures.

Other useful links include this site for rates in West Virginia and this page where you can research Buckhannon insurance agents.

Do you really save 40% when you switch?

Consumers in West Virginia can’t ignore all the ads for the lowest price auto insurance by Allstate and Progressive. They all seem to say the same thing that you’ll save big after switching to their company.

But how can every company claim to save you money?

Different companies can use profiling for the driver that earns them a profit. An example of a profitable customer might be profiled as between 30 and 50, has no driving citations, and has a high credit rating. A customer getting a price quote that hits that “sweet spot” will get very good rates and is almost guaranteed to save when they switch companies.

Drivers who fall outside these standards will be quoted a more expensive rate which usually ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads state “customers who switch” not “people who quote” save that much. That’s the way insurance companies can confidently advertise the way they do. This emphasizes why you need to get as many quotes as possible. You cannot predict which insurance companies will have the lowest rates.

In Summary

The cheapest auto insurance can be sourced both online as well as from independent agents in Buckhannon, and you need to price shop both in order to have the best chance of saving money. A few companies don’t offer online quoting and many times these smaller companies only sell through independent insurance agents.

As you shop your coverage around, don’t be tempted to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many cases where an insured dropped collision coverage and discovered at claim time that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your goal should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at the best price while still protecting your assets.

In this article, we covered a lot of ways to save on auto insurance. The key thing to remember is the more times you quote, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the best prices are with some of the smallest insurance companies. Smaller companies can often provide lower rates in certain areas than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm and Allstate.