Tightwads Guide for Saving on Plainfield New Jersey Auto Insurance

Have you had enough of being strong-armed each month for car insurance? You’re in the same situation as many other New Jersey drivers. Since consumers have many options, it’s nearly impossible to find the lowest cost insurance company.

Smart consumers take time to check auto insurance prices occasionally because prices trend upward over time. Despite the fact that you may have had the lowest rates two years ago there may be better deals available now. So just ignore everything you know about auto insurance because you’re about to learn the easiest way to find lower rates on auto insurance.

You probably qualify for some discounts

The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, but you can get discounts that many people don’t even know exist. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied when you get a quote, but a few must be specially asked for before being credited. If you aren’t receiving every discount possible, you are throwing money away.

• Paperless Signup – Certain companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying a policy and signing up over the internet.
• Early Switch Discount – Some insurance companies reward drivers for switching policies before your current expiration date. It’s a savings of about 10%.
• Seat Belt Usage – Drivers who require all occupants to use their safety belts could cut 10% or more off the personal injury premium cost.
• Safe Driver Discount – Drivers who don’t get into accidents may save up to 50% more than drivers with accidents.
• Accident Free – Drivers with accident-free driving histories pay less compared to drivers who are more careless.
• Organization Discounts – Participating in a professional or civic organization is a good way to get lower rates when shopping for auto insurance.
• Discount for Life Insurance – Larger companies have lower rates if you buy a life insurance policy as well.

It’s important to note that most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. Most only cut the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. So even though they make it sound like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it just doesn’t work that way. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce your premiums.

To see a list of companies with the best auto insurance discounts in New Jersey, click here to view.

Plainfield Auto Insurance Prices Online

Comparing auto insurance rates is a ton of work if you don’t utilize the easiest way. You could waste time discussing policy coverages with local insurance agents in Plainfield, or you could use the web to accomplish the same thing much quicker.

Most of the larger companies enroll in a system that allows shoppers to enter their coverage request one time, and each company can provide price quotes determined by their information. This saves time by eliminating quote requests to every company.

To access this free quoting program, click to open in new window.

The one downside to comparing rates this way is you are unable to specify the insurers to receive prices from. If you would rather choose from a list of companies to request quotes from, we have a page of companies who write auto insurance in New Jersey. Click to view list.

Whichever way you use, ensure you are comparing identical coverage limits and deductibles with every price quote. If you compare differing limits you can’t possibly determine the best price in Plainfield.

Why your price might be higher

Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that come into play when calculating your auto insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.

• Better crash test results mean better rates – Cars with high safety ratings are cheaper to insure. These vehicles reduce injuries and lower injury rates means lower claim amounts passed on to you as lower rates.
• Pleasure use saves money – The higher the mileage driven every year the more you’ll pay to insure your vehicle. Most companies charge to insure your cars based on their usage. Cars not used for work or commuting get more affordable rates as compared to vehicles used primarily for driving to work. Ask your agent if your auto insurance declarations sheet is showing the correct usage for each vehicle.
• Do you know you’re credit rating? – A driver’s credit rating is a large factor in determining your rates. People with high credit ratings tend to be more responsible as compared to drivers with lower credit scores. So if your credit history can use some improvement, you could save money insuring your by improving your credit score.
• Are you male or female? – Statistics have proven women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, don’t assume that women are better drivers. Men and women have accidents in similar numbers, but the men cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Men also statistically get cited for more serious violations like DUI and reckless driving.

There’s no such thing as the perfect policy

When buying the best auto insurance coverage, there really is no perfect coverage plan. Every situation is different so your insurance should reflect that Here are some questions about coverages that may help highlight if your insurance needs would benefit from an agent’s advice.

• Should I have combined single limit or split liability limits?
• Are all vehicle passengers covered by medical payments coverage?
• What if I total my vehicle and owe more than it’s worth?
• Do I have coverage when making deliveries for my home business?
• I have good health insurance, so how much medical payments coverage do I need?
• Am I covered when driving in Canada or Mexico?
• Should I buy additional glass protection?
• Do I need higher deductibles?
• Which companies will insure high-risk drivers?
• Do I need motorclub coverage?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions but one or more may apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, simply complete this short form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier It only takes a few minutes and may give you better protection.

Are auto insurance companies telling the truth?

New Jersey consumers get pounded daily by advertisements for cheaper car insurance from the likes of Progressive, Allstate and GEICO. All the ads make an identical promise of big savings after switching your coverage to them.

How can each company make almost identical claims?

All the different companies have a certain “appetite” for the driver that earns them a profit. For instance, a profitable customer might be profiled as between the ages of 30 and 50, has no driving citations, and chooses high deductibles. Any new insured that hits that “sweet spot” will qualify for the lowest rates and as a result will probably cut their rates substantially.

Consumers who fall outside this ideal profile will have to pay higher rates which leads to business going elsewhere. The ad wording is “customers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that kind of money. That is how insurance companies can confidently make the claims of big savings.

Because of the profiling, you should get quotes from several different companies. It’s not possible to predict the company that will have the lowest rates.

More effort can pay off

When you buy insurance online, don’t be tempted to skimp on coverage in order to save money. There are a lot of situations where an insured cut comprehensive coverage or liability limits and discovered at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your aim should be to get the best coverage possible for the lowest price.

We just showed you a lot of ways to lower your auto insurance rates. The key concept to understand is the more times you quote, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even find the most savings is with a lesser-known regional company. They often have lower prices on specific markets than their larger competitors like GEICO and State Farm.

Additional auto insurance links

Additional auto insurance information is available on the website for the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance located here. New Jersey consumers can view a list of available companies, read state legal mandates and laws, and find out industry alerts.