West Memphis Arkansas Auto Insurance For Less Than You’re Paying Now

Shopping for cheap West Memphis auto insurance over the internet can be somewhat difficult for people who are new to buying insurance online. Since there are so many online companies, how can you even start to compare every one to find the best pricing?

If you currently have a car insurance policy, you stand a good chance to be able to reduce your rates substantially using these tips. This information will tell you how to get online quotes and some money-saving tips. But Arkansas car owners must understand how big insurance companies compete online.

Don’t overlook these discounts

Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but you can get discounts that you may not even be aware of. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically when you complete an application, but less common discounts must be manually applied before they will apply.

  • Accident Free – Drivers who don’t have accidents pay much less as compared to drivers who are more careless.
  • Drivers Education – Cut your cost by having your teen driver enroll in driver’s education if it’s offered in school.
  • New Vehicle Savings – Insuring a new car can save up to 30% since new cars are generally safer.
  • Memberships – Participating in a professional or civic organization could trigger savings when shopping for auto insurance.
  • Federal Employees – Employees or retirees of the government could cut as much as 10% off with select insurance companies.
  • Sign Early and Save – Some companies give discounts for signing up before your current expiration date. It can save you around 10%.
  • No Charge for an Accident – Certain companies permit an accident before raising your premiums as long as you don’t have any claims prior to the accident.
  • Seat Belt Usage – Requiring all passengers to use a seat belt can save up to 15% off the personal injury premium cost.
  • Good Student Discount – This discount can get you a discount of up to 25%. The discount lasts until age 25.
  • Student in College – Youth drivers living away from home attending college and do not have a car can receive lower rates.

It’s important to note that most credits do not apply to the entire cost. The majority will only reduce individual premiums such as comp or med pay. So even though they make it sound like all those discounts means the company will pay you, auto insurance companies aren’t that generous. But all discounts will cut the cost of coverage.

To see a list of insurance companies offering auto insurance discounts in West Memphis, click here to view.

How to Get West Memphis Auto Insurance Comparison Quotes

There are a lot of ways you can shop for auto insurance but one way is less time-consuming than others. You can spend your afternoon talking about coverages with insurance companies in West Memphis, or you could use online quoting to accomplish the same thing much quicker.

Many of the larger companies belong to an insurance system where prospective buyers only type in their quote data once, and each participating company provides a quote for coverage. This prevents consumers from doing repetitive form submissions for each company you want a rate for.

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

The one disadvantage to doing it this way is that you can’t choose which companies you want to price. If you prefer to choose from a list of companies for rate comparison, we have assembled a list of the cheapest auto insurance companies in Arkansas. Click to view list.

Whichever way you use, compare identical coverages and limits for every quote you compare. If you use unequal deductibles or liability limits then you won’t be able to make an equal comparison in West Memphis. Quoting even small variations in coverages may result in large price differences. And when comparison shopping, quoting more will enable you to find a lower rate.West Memphis AR auto insurance

Smart Buyers can Save Money

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that help determine your auto insurance rates. Knowing what impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that could result in better auto insurance rates.

The following are some of the items that factor into premiums.

  • Do you work long hours in a high stress job? – Occupations such as lawyers, social workers and financial analysts have higher average rates attributed to high stress levels and long work days. Conversely, professions such as farmers, engineers and the unemployed get better rates.
  • Bad driving skills means higher rates – Whether or not you get tickets has a big impact on rates. Careful drivers receive lower rates than their less careful counterparts. Only having one moving violation can boost insurance rates by twenty percent. Drivers with dangerous tickets like reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence are required to submit a SR-22 form with their state motor vehicle department in order to prevent a license revocation.
  • Credit scores impact auto insurance rates – A driver’s credit history is a large factor in determining what you pay for auto insurance. Therefore, if your credit is not that good, you could pay less to insure your by repairing your credit. Drivers with excellent credit tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than drivers who have lower credit scores.
  • Do you have enough liability coverage? – Liability insurance provides coverage when a jury decides you are liable for personal injury or accident damage. Liability insurance provides you with a defense in court starting from day one. Liability insurance is quite affordable compared to physical damage coverage, so do not skimp.
  • Increase deductibles and save – The deductibles define the amount you are required to spend out-of-pocket in the event of a claim. Physical damage coverage, termed comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, protects your car from damage. Some examples of claims that would be covered could be running into the backend of another car, vandalism, and burglary. The more money the insured has to pay upfront, the less your company will charge you for insurance.
  • Marriage brings a discount – Being married can actually save you money on your auto insurance policy. Marriage means you’re more responsible and statistics show drivers who are married are more cautious.
  • Men are more aggressive – Statistics show that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. However, this does not mean women are better drivers. Women and men have accidents at a similar rate, but the male of the species have costlier accidents. Men also tend to get more serious tickets like DUI and reckless driving. Young males are most likely to cause an accident and therefore are the most expensive to insure.

Neighborhood agents for auto insurance

Certain consumers would rather buy from a local agent. The best thing about comparing insurance prices online is you can get the lowest rates but still work with a licensed agent. Supporting small agencies is especially important in West Memphis.

For easy comparison, once you complete this form (opens in new window), your insurance data is submitted to participating agents in West Memphis who will battle to get your business. There is no reason to drive around as quotes are delivered directly to your email. It doesn’t get any easier! You’ll get the best rates and work with a local agent.

The type of insurance agent you choose is important

When searching for a local agent, you need to know there are two different agency structures to choose from. Agents are either captive or independent.

Independent Agents (or Brokers)

Independent agencies are not locked into one company so they can insure your vehicles with any number of different companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. If your agent finds better pricing, the business is moved internally and that require little work on your part. When shopping rates, it’s recommended you contact at a minimum one independent agency to get the best comparison. They also have the ability to place coverage with smaller companies which can save you money.

Listed below is a short list of independent agencies in West Memphis that can give you price quotes.

  • Crittenden Insurance Inc – 620 Thompson Ave – West Memphis, AR 72301 – (870) 735-5570
  • Safeco Insurance – 564 Dabbs Rd – West Memphis, AR 72301 – (870) 400-3430
Captive Insurance Agents

Captive insurance agents can only write with one company and some examples include State Farm, AAA and Liberty Mutual. Captives cannot compare other company’s rates so always compare other rates. They are very knowledgeable in insurance sales which helps them compete with independent agents. Consumers sometimes buy insurance from these agents partially due to loyalty to the company and the convenience of having a single billing for all their coverages.

The following is a list of captive insurance agencies in West Memphis willing to provide price quote information.

  • Allstate Insurance Co – 1985 Kroger Dr – West Memphis, AR 72301 – (870) 735-9797
  • State Farm Insurance – 555 E Broadway St – West Memphis, AR 72301 – (870) 735-2908

To view a complete directory of auto insurance agents in West Memphis, click here to link.

Selecting an insurance agent shouldn’t rely on just the bottom line cost. Any agent should be forthright in answering these questions:

West Memphis AR auto insurance

  • How much can you save by raising your physical damage deductibles?
  • Do they have adequate Errors and Ommissions coverage? This protects you if they make a mistake.
  • Is the agency involved in supporting local community causes?
  • What are the financial ratings for the companies they represent?
  • Are they properly licensed to sell insurance in Arkansas?
  • Are they full-time agents?
  • Does the agency have a good rating with the Better Business Bureau?
  • Is vehicle damage repaired with OEM or aftermarket parts?

Upon getting good answers as well as a affordable price, you may have just found an insurance agency that is a good match to service your policy.

The best insurance company isn’t always the cheapest

As you restructure your insurance plan, make sure you don’t buy less coverage just to save a little money. There have been many situations where an accident victim reduced collision coverage only to find out that they should have had better coverage. Your aim should be to find the BEST coverage at an affordable rate, not the least amount of coverage.

In this article, we presented many ideas to reduce auto insurance prices online. It’s most important to understand that the more price quotes you have, the higher the chance of saving money. Consumers could even find that the lowest priced auto insurance comes from a small local company.

Budget-conscious auto insurance can be bought both online in addition to many West Memphis insurance agents, and you should be comparing both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. A few companies do not provide the ability to get a quote online and these small insurance companies work with independent agents.

Additional Arkansas consumer information

Additional auto insurance information can be read on the Arkansas Insurance Department website found here. Consumers can file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, discover disciplinary actions, learn about insurance regulations, and download brochures.