Learn How to Lower Your Premiums for Dayton, OH Car Insurance

Are you overwhelmed by the number of car insurance companies in Dayton? Lot’s of other consumers are too. People have so many options available that it can easily become more work than you anticipated to find the lowest price.

It’s important to take a look at other company’s rates quite often because insurance rates are variable and change quite frequently. Despite the fact that you may have had the best rates a few years ago there is a good chance you can find better rates now. Block out anything you think you know about car insurance because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to the quickest way to lower your rates without sacrificing coverage.

Learn How to Buy Car Insurance Cheaper

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that come into play when calculating car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively influences your rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in better car insurance rates.

The list below includes some of the factors used by your company to calculate premiums.

• High credit ratings translate to low rates – A driver’s credit score is a important factor in determining what you pay for car insurance. If your credit score is lower than you’d like, you could pay less to insure your by improving your credit score. Drivers with high credit scores tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than drivers who have poor credit.
• Don’t get talked into coverage you don’t need – There are a ton of extra bells and whistles that you can get tricked into buying if you aren’t careful. Coverages for personal injury protection, accidental death and term life insurance may be costing you every month. These coverages may sound good initially, but if they’re wasting money eliminate them to save money.
• Higher safety ratings means cheaper insurance – Vehicles with good safety scores tend to have better insurance rates. Safe vehicles reduce injuries and lower injury rates translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and lower rates for you.
• Special features that cut premiums – Owning a car with a theft deterrent system can get you a discount on your car insurance. Theft prevention devices like vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems can help prevent your car from being stolen.

How to Get Cheap Car Insurance in Dayton, OH

There are multiple methods to shop for car insurance, but there is one way that is easier and takes less work. You can spend countless hours talking to agents in Dayton, or you can utilize online quotes to achieve your goal.

Most major companies enroll in a system where prospective buyers submit their information once, and each participating company then gives them pricing based on the submitted data. This eliminates the need for quote forms to every company.

To access this free quoting program, click here (opens in new window).

The only downside to comparing rates this way is you cannot specify the insurers to receive prices from. So if you prefer to choose individual companies to compare prices, we have a listing of companies who write car insurance in Ohio. Click here to view list.

It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just make absolute certain that you use the exact same coverage information with every price quote. If the quotes have different values for each quote you can’t possibly decipher which rate is best in Dayton. Having just a slight variation in insurance coverages may result in large price differences. And when comparison shopping, obtaining a wide range of quotes will improve the odds of getting a lower rate.

Don’t be fooled by advertising claims

Companies like GEICO, State Farm and Progressive consistently run ads on television and other media. All the ads have a common claim that you can save if you change to their company. But how can every company make the same claim?

All the different companies have a certain “appetite” for the type of customer that earns them a profit. An example of a preferred risk might be between 30 and 50, is a homeowner, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. Any driver who meets those qualifications receives the best rates and as a result will probably save quite a bit of money when switching.

Consumers who don’t qualify for this ideal profile must pay a higher premium and this can result in business not being written. The ad wording is “people who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. That is how insurance companies can make those claims. This illustrates why you should get quotes from several different companies. It’s just too difficult to predict which car insurance company will fit your personal profile best.

You probably qualify for some discounts

Companies don’t always publicize all their discounts in a way that’s easy to find, so the following is a list of some of the more common and also the lesser-known car insurance savings.

• Senior Discount – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may receive a discount up to 10%.
• Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Requiring all passengers to use a seat belt could cut 10% or more off your medical payments premium.
• New Vehicle Savings – Insuring a new car can cost up to 25% less because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
• College Student – Kids in college who live away from home and do not have a car may be able to be covered for less.
• Theft Prevention Discount – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems can help prevent theft and will save you 10% or more.
• Club Memberships – Affiliation with a civic or occupational organization could trigger savings on your policy.
• Anti-lock Brake Discount – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes prevent accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
• Defensive Driving Course – Completing a course in driver safety could save 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
• Paperless Signup – Some insurance companies will give a small break simply for signing digitally online.
• Military Discounts – Having a deployed family member could be rewarded with lower premiums.

Consumers should know that most discount credits are not given to the entire cost. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like collision or personal injury protection. Just because you may think adding up those discounts means a free policy, you won’t be that lucky.

To choose insurers with discount car insurance rates in Dayton, follow this link.

There’s no such thing as the perfect policy

When buying coverage for your personal vehicles, there is no one size fits all plan. Each situation is unique.

For example, these questions might help in determining whether you may require specific advice.

• At what point should I drop full coverage?
• What happens if I owe more than my vehicle is worth?
• Why does it cost so much to insure a teen driver in Dayton?
• Are rental cars covered under my policy?
• Does my policy cover me when driving someone else’s vehicle?
• What should my uninsured motorist coverage limits be in Ohio?
• Are there companies who specialize in insuring high-risk drivers?
• Am I covered if I drive in a foreign country?
• Is my nanny covered when driving my vehicle?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, simply complete this short form.

Additional detailed information is available at the Ohio Department of Insurance website. Consumers can learn about specific coverages, file complaints about a company, discover disciplinary actions, and learn about insurance regulations.

Other informative sites include this online resource for car insurance quotes in Ohio and this page of Dayton insurance agents.

A little work can save a LOT of money

Consumers leave their current company for many reasons like high prices, being labeled a high risk driver, an unsatisfactory settlement offer and policy cancellation. It doesn’t matter what your reason, finding the right car insurance provider is not as difficult as it may seem.

Throughout this article, we presented many ways to reduce car insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better your comparison will be. Consumers could even find that the most savings is with a smaller regional carrier.

The cheapest car insurance can be bought online and with local Dayton insurance agents, so compare prices from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. A few companies do not offer online price quotes and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.