Car Insurance in Oak Hill, WV – 9 Tricks to Save Money

No one in their right mind likes having to buy car insurance, in particular when their premiums are too high.

Many car insurance companies vie for your hard-earned dollar, so it can be very hard to choose a insurance company to find the absolute lowest price

Discounts are great for lower rates

Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, buy you may qualify for discounts to help offset the cost. Most are applied when you complete an application, but some must be inquired about in order for you to get them.

• Senior Discount – Older drivers can possibly qualify for better car insurance rates.
• Safety Course Discount – Taking a course in driver safety could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
• Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Vehicles with factory air bags or motorized seat belts can get savings of more than 20%.
• No Charge for an Accident – A few companies allow you one accident before raising your premiums if your claims history is clear for a certain period of time.
• Clubs and Organizations – Belonging to certain professional organizations is a good way to get lower rates when buying car insurance.
• Anti-lock Brake System – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles prevent accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
• Seat Belts Save – Requiring all passengers to use a seat belt can save up to 15% on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
• Own a Home – Being a homeowner can save you money because of the fact that having a home requires personal responsibility.
• Multi-policy Discount – When you combine your home and auto insurance with the same insurance company you could get a discount of approximately 10% to 15%.

Consumers should know that some credits don’t apply to the entire cost. Some only apply to specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. So when the math indicates having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any amount of discount will help reduce your overall premium however.

Comprehensive Car Insurance Comparison in Oak Hill, West Virginia

The are a couple different ways of comparing rates from car insurance companies in your area. The quickest method to find the cheapest insurance rates is to get quotes online. This is very easy and can be done in several different ways.

1. Probably the best way consumers can make multiple comparisons is an all-inclusive rate comparison click here to open form in new window. This form prevents you from having to do separate forms to each individual car insurance company. One quote request compares rates from multiple companies.
2. A different way to shop for car insurance online is going to the website for every company you want to comare to complete their respective quote request forms. For example, let’s say you want comparison quotes from State Farm, GEICO and Farmers. To get rate quotes you would need to spend time on each company’s site and enter your policy data, which is why the first method is quicker. To view a list of companies in Oak Hill, click here.

It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but be sure to compare apples-to-apples coverages and limits with each company. If you are comparing different limits and deductibles on each one it’s not possible to make an equal comparison in Oak Hill. Having just a slight variation in coverages may result in large price differences. Keep in mind that more quotes will enable you to find a lower rate.

Information about specific coverages

Knowing the specifics of a car insurance policy can help you determine the best coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be confusing and reading a policy is terribly boring. Shown next are typical coverages found on the average car insurance policy.

Comprehensive auto coverage – This pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first have to pay a deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive can pay for claims such as vandalism, damage from flooding, a tree branch falling on your vehicle, damage from getting keyed and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Collision coverages – This coverage will pay to fix damage to your vehicle caused by collision 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 insurance covers claims like damaging your car on a curb, colliding with another moving vehicle and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. You can also increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Liability – This provides protection from injuries or damage you cause to people or other property in an accident. This insurance protects YOU from claims by other people, and does not provide coverage for your injuries or vehicle damage.

It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see liability limits of 50/100/50 which stand for a $50,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Another option is a combined single limit or CSL which combines the three limits into one amount rather than limiting it on a per person basis.

Liability can pay for claims such as attorney fees, funeral expenses, court costs, legal defense fees and repair costs for stationary objects. How much coverage you buy is your choice, but buy higher limits if possible. West Virginia state law requires minimum liability limits of 20,000/40,000/10,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy more coverage.

UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage gives you protection from other drivers when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. It can pay 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 (which is 20/40/10), their limits can quickly be used up. So UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked. Usually these coverages are similar to your liability insurance amounts.

Medical payments and PIP coverage – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for bills such as prosthetic devices, pain medications, surgery and doctor visits. They are used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. It covers all vehicle occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is only offered in select states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

One last thing

When shopping online for car insurance, it’s very important that you do not reduce needed coverages to save money. There have been many situations where drivers have reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits and discovered at claim time they didn’t have enough coverage. Your strategy should be to buy enough coverage for the lowest price, not the least amount of coverage.

Lower-priced car insurance is possible online in addition to many Oak Hill insurance agents, so compare prices from both so you have a total pricing picture. Some car insurance companies do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these small, regional companies sell through independent agents.

More West Virginia car insurance resources

Much more information about car insurance in West Virginia is available on the website for the West Virginia Insurance Commission found here. West Virginia consumers can file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, learn about insurance regulations, and find out which companies have the most complaints.