Harrison Car Insurance Buying Tips You Aren't Supposed to Know

Consumers not familiar with shopping for insurance online will discover finding the cheapest Harrison car insurance to be a formidable task.

Smart consumers take time to price shop coverage every six months because prices are adjusted regularly by insurance companies. Just because you had the lowest rates a few years ago other companies may now be cheaper. Block out anything you think you know about car insurance because you’re about to learn the best methods to buy cheaper car insurance.

How to Get Car Insurance in Harrison, Arkansas

There are a variety of methods you can shop for car insurance but one way is more efficient than others. You can spend your afternoon talking about coverages with insurance agencies in Harrison, or you could save time and use online quoting for quick rates.

Most major companies belong to an insurance system where prospective buyers complete one form, and each company can provide price quotes based on that data. This prevents consumers from doing quotation requests for each company you want a rate for.

To find out how much you can save on car insurance click here (opens in new window).

One minor caviat to getting quotes like this is buyers cannot specifically choose the providers to get quotes from. So if you want to select specific insurance companies for rate comparison, we have assembled a list of the cheapest car insurance companies in Arkansas. Click here for list of insurance companies in Arkansas.

It’s up to you which method you use, but compare apples-to-apples quote information with every price quote. If you compare differing limits you can’t possibly find the best deal in Harrison. Slightly different insurance coverages may result in large price differences. Just remember that comparing more company’s prices helps you find the best offered rates.

Why you might pay higher rates in Harrison

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that help determine the price you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay helps enable you to make changes that will entitle you to better car insurance rates.

The following are a partial list of the pieces that factor into prices.

Poor driving leads to higher costs – Your driving record has a lot to do with how much you pay for insurance. Good drivers tend to pay less for car insurance than bad drivers. Even one ticket can increase rates forty percent or more. Drivers who get serious violations such as DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions may be required to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) with their state motor vehicle department in order to continue driving.
Always keep insurance in force – Not having insurance is a misdemeanor and as a result your rates will increase for letting your insurance expire. Not only will rates go up, but not being able to provide proof of insurance will get you a hefty fine and possibly a revoked license.You may need to prove you have insurance by filing a SR-22 with the Arkansas motor vehicle department.
An active claims history can cost you – Auto insurance companies in Arkansas generally give better rates to drivers who file claims infrequently. If you file claims often, you can definitely plan on higher rates. Car insurance is intended to be relied upon for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
Men pay higher rates – Statistics demonstrate that women are safer drivers than men. However, this does not mean women are BETTER drivers than men. Both sexes have accidents at a similar rate, but the men have costlier accidents. Men also statistically get more serious tickets such as reckless driving. Teenage male drivers tend to get in the most accidents and thus pay the highest rates.
Rates may be lower depending on your job – Did you know your occupation can influence how much you pay for car insurance? Occupations such as real estate brokers, executives and accountants tend to pay higher rates than average because of stressful work requirements and lengthy work days. On the flip side, occupations such as pilots, athletes and homemakers have the lowest average rates.
Better crash test results mean better rates – Vehicles with high crash test scores can get you lower premiums. These vehicles result in less severe injuries and fewer injuries means lower claim amounts and thus lower rates.

These discounts can slash car insurance rates

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you can get discounts that you may not even be aware of. A few discounts will automatically apply at quote time, but a few must be requested specifically before they will apply.

Good Student Discount – A discount for being a good student can get you a discount of up to 25%. The good student discount can last until age 25.
Drive Less and Save – Driving fewer miles could be rewarded with discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
Federal Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job can earn a discount up to 10% with select insurance companies.
Safety Course Discount – Successfully completing a driver safety course could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
Payment Method – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of paying each month you may reduce your total bill.

Drivers should understand that some credits don’t apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only apply to individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like it’s possible to get free car insurance, car insurance companies aren’t that generous. But any discount will help reduce your premiums.

When might I need help?

When choosing coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a cookie cutter policy. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs. save money concept

For example, these questions may help highlight whether or not you might need professional guidance.

Why is insurance for a teen driver so high in Harrison?
Can I afford to pay high deductible claims out of pocket?
Should I buy more coverage than the required Arkansas minimum liability coverage?
Are my friends covered when driving my vehicle?
Should I put collision coverage on all my vehicles?
Can my teen driver be rated on a liability-only vehicle?
Should I rate my vehicle as pleasure use or commute?
Which companies will insure high-risk drivers?
What if I don’t agree with a claim settlement offer?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions but you think they might apply to your situation, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form.

But don’t I need an insurance agent?

Some consumers just want to talk to a local agent and there is nothing wrong with that. One of the best bonuses of comparing insurance prices online is that you can obtain lower rates but also keep your business local. Supporting local agencies is especially important in Harrison.

To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this quick form, your coverage information gets sent to companies in Harrison who will return price quotes for your business. There is no need to leave your computer since price quotes are sent to your email. How cool is that?! You can find better rates and a licensed agent to work with.

Captive or Independent: There is a difference

When finding a good insurance agency, there are two types of agencies that you can select. Insurance agencies in Harrison are classified as either captive or independent.

Independent Agents (or Brokers)

Independent agents do not work for one specific company but instead can place your coverage amongst many companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. To move your coverage to a new company, the agent simply finds a different carrier and you don’t have to find a new agent.

When comparison shopping, we recommend you include at least one independent agent for maximum quote selection. They often place coverage with smaller regional carriers which may provide better rates.

Shown below are Harrison independent agents that can give you pricing information.

Mc Gaughey Insurance Co – 128 N Willow St – Harrison, AR 72601 – (870) 741-3485
Boyd Insurance – 1412 N Highway 62 65 # 2 – Harrison, AR 72601 – (870) 365-0414

Captive Insurance Agents

These agents have only one company to place business with and some examples include Allstate, AAA, Liberty Mutual and State Farm. They generally cannot compare other company’s rates so they have no alternatives for high prices. Captive agencies are very knowledgeable on the products they sell which helps them compete with independent agents. Some people will only buy insurance from these agents mostly because of the prominence of the brand and strong financial ratings.

Listed below are Harrison captive insurance agents that can give you comparison quotes.

Shelter Insurance – 103 E Prospect Ave – Harrison, AR 72601 – (870) 741-8412
State Farm Insurance – 1416 N Highway 62 65 # 1 – Harrison, AR 72601 – (870) 741-8626
Farm Bureau Insurance – 110 W Industrial Park Rd – Harrison, AR 72601 – (870) 741-3488
Allstate Insurance – 916 N Highway 62 65 – Harrison, AR 72601 – (870) 741-8085
Farmers Insurance Group – 908 Highway 62 65 N – Harrison, AR 72601 – (870) 741-8026

To view a full list of Harrison captive agents, please view this page.

Picking an auto insurance agent should depend on more than just a low price. These are valid questions to ask:

Is vehicle damage repaired with OEM or aftermarket parts?
Do they make recommendations based only on price?
If they are an independent agency, which companies do they recommend?
What insurance company do they write the most business with?
Do the companies they represent have a solid financial rating?
Can they give you a list of client referrals?
Does the agency provide any after hours assistance?

Upon getting acceptable answers to these questions in addition to an acceptable price estimate, you have narrowed it down to an insurance agent that will adequately provide car insurance.

Keep this in mind

Throughout this article, we presented many tips how you can lower your car insurance rates. The key concept to understand is the more times you quote, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may even discover the lowest premiums are with a smaller regional carrier.

As you shop your coverage around, don’t be tempted to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are a lot of situations where an insured cut liability coverage limits only to regret that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your goal should be to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.

People leave their current company for a number of reasons such as delays in responding to claim requests, denial of a claim, extreme rates for teen drivers and an unsatisfactory settlement offer. Whatever your reason, finding the right car insurance provider is pretty easy and you might even save some money in the process.

Additional car insurance information can be read on the Arkansas Insurance Department website through this link. Visitors are able to view a list of available companies, find out industry alerts, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.

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Harrison Car Insurance Buying Tips You Aren’t Supposed to Know