The recommended way to find better pricing on Kia Optima Hybrid insurance in Durham is to compare quotes once a year from insurers in North Carolina. You can shop around by following these guidelines.
- Try to understand how your policy works and the changes you can make to prevent rate increases. Many things that result in higher prices such as at-fault accidents, speeding tickets, and a less-than-favorable credit history can be controlled by paying attention to minor details.
- Obtain price quotes from direct carriers, independent agents, and exclusive agents. Exclusive agents and direct companies can only give prices from one company like Progressive and State Farm, while independent agents can quote rates from multiple sources.
- Compare the new rate quotes to the price on your current policy and see if there is a cheaper rate. If you can save some money and buy the policy, ensure coverage does not lapse between policies.
- Provide written notification to your current company of your intention to cancel your current auto insurance policy and submit a completed policy application and payment to the new company. As soon as you receive it, put the new proof of insurance certificate in your vehicle.
One bit of advice is to make sure you’re comparing identical coverage information on each price quote and and to get rate quotes from all possible companies. This ensures a fair price comparison and plenty of rates choose from.
It’s a fact that car insurance companies don’t want you shop around. People who compare price quotes will presumably switch companies because there is a good probability of finding coverage at a more affordable price. A recent survey found that drivers who routinely shopped for cheaper coverage saved approximately $865 annually compared to drivers who never compared other company’s rates.
If finding budget-friendly Kia Optima Hybrid insurance in Durham is your goal, then understanding how to get rate quotes and compare insurance premiums can save money and time.
If you currently have auto insurance, you will surely be able to save money using the concepts covered in this article. Quoting the best auto insurance coverage in Durham is easy to do. But North Carolina consumers benefit from understanding how the larger insurance companies market insurance on the web because it can help you find the best coverage.
Lower rate quotes by taking advantage of discounts
Auto insurance is expensive, but there could be significant discounts that you may not even be aware of. A few discounts will automatically apply when you quote, but a few must be asked for before being credited. If you are not receiving all the discounts you deserve, you are just wasting money.
- Own a Home and Save – Owning a house in Durham can help you save on auto insurance since owning and maintaining a home is proof of financial responsibility.
- Seat Belt Discounts – Drivers who require all occupants to buckle up can save up to 10 percent (depending on the company) on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Driving less could be rewarded with discounted prices on garaged vehicles.
- Distant Student Discount – Kids who attend college more than 100 miles from Durham without a vehicle on campus can receive lower rates.
- Pay Early and Save – If you pay your bill all at once instead of paying each month you could save up to 5%.
- Driver Education Discount – Require your teen driver to successfully take a driver’s education course as it will make them better drivers and lower rates.
- Defensive Driver – Passing a driver safety course could possibly earn you a 5% discount and also improve your driving technique.
- Senior Citizen Rates – Mature drivers can possibly qualify for better auto insurance rates.
It’s important to understand that most credits do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when the math indicates all those discounts means the company will pay you, that’s just not realistic.
To see a list of companies that offer multiple discounts in Durham, click here to view.
When comparing car insurance rates, know that comparing all the rates in your area will improve the odds of getting the best offered rates. Not every company does rate quotes online, so it’s important to compare prices from the smaller companies as well.
The companies shown below can provide comparison quotes in Durham, NC. To buy cheaper auto insurance in Durham, NC, we recommend you visit several of them to get a more complete price comparison.
Why Your Insurance Costs might be higher
When buying insurance it’s important to understand some of the factors that go into determining the level of your policy premiums. When consumers understand what influences your rates, this enables informed choices that could help you find lower premium levels.
Males pay more for insurance – Over time, data shows that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. That doesn’t necessarily mean that women are BETTER drivers than men. Both genders tend to get into at-fault accidents in similar percentages, but the male of the species cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Not only that, but men also get more serious tickets such as DWI and reckless driving. Males from age 16 to 21 have the highest risk to insure and therefore are the most expensive to insure.
Cars with good safety ratings cost less to insure – Vehicles that have high safety ratings get lower rates. Safer cars result in less severe injuries and reduced instances of injuries means less money paid by your insurance company passed on to you as lower rates.
Pay more if you have a long commute – Residing in a rural area may provide you with better prices when buying insurance. Urban drivers have to deal with more aggressive driving styles and a longer drive to work. Lower population corresponds to lower accident rates as well as less vandalism and auto theft.
Liability insurance safeguards assets – Your insurance policy’s liability coverage provides coverage when a court rules you are at fault for physical damage or personal injury to other. It will provide you with a defense in court to defend your case. This coverage is relatively inexpensive when compared to the cost of physical damage coverage, so do not cut corners here.
Tickets and citations cost more than a fine – Having a clean driving record has a huge affect on how much you pay. Drivers with clean records tend to pay less for car insurance than people who have multiple driving citations. Even a single speeding ticket can boost insurance rates to the point where it’s not affordable. Drivers unfortunate enough to have multiple citations like DUI or reckless driving may find that they have to to submit a SR-22 form with their state’s department of motor vehicles in order to legally drive.
Poor credit rating equals high costs – A driver’s credit score factor in calculating your insurance rates. Drivers with good credit tend to be better risks to insure as compared to drivers with bad credit. Therefore, if your credit history can be improved, you could potentially save money when insuring your Kia Optima Hybrid if you improve your credit rating.
Higher deductibles are cheaper – Physical damage deductibles represent how much money the insured will be required to pay if you file a covered claim. Insurance for physical damage, also called comprehensive and collision insurance, covers damage that occurs to your car. Some coverage claims are collision with another vehicle, fire damage, and damage from wind. The more the insured is willing to pay, the lower your rates will be.
Kia Optima Hybrid claim probability – Car insurance companies use data from past claims when they calculate premium rates for each model. Models that historically have higher number or severity of losses will have higher premium rates. The data below shows the insurance loss data used by companies for Kia Optima Hybrid vehicles.
For each type of coverage, the statistical loss for all vehicles, as a total average, is represented as 100. Values that are 100 or less indicate better than average losses, while percentage values above 100 point to more claims or statistically larger losses.
| Specific Kia Model | Collision | Property Damage | Comp | Personal Injury | Medical Payment | Bodily Injury |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kia Optima Hybrid | 143 | 115 | 116 | 139 | 158 | 151 |
Statistics from IIHS.org for 2013-2015 Model Years
Buying auto insurance from Durham insurance agents
Many people would prefer to get advice from a local agent and doing so can bring peace of mind An additional benefit of comparing rate quotes online is that you can find cheap auto insurance quotes but also keep your business local.
To help locate an agent, after submitting this short form, your coverage information is sent to local insurance agents that give free quotes for your coverage. You don’t have to find an agent on your own as quotes are delivered immediately to your email address. You can find the lowest rates and work with a local agent. In the event you want to quote rates from a specific auto insurance provider, you just need to jump over to their website and complete a quote there.
Choosing an insurance company requires more thought than just the quoted price. Some important questions to ask are:
- What discounts might you be missing?
- How much training do they have in personal risk management?
- Are claim adjusters local or do you have to take your car somewhere else?
- Are they able to influence company decisions when a claim is filed?
- In the event of vehicle damage, can you pick the collision repair facility?
- Are they primarily personal or commercial lines agents in Durham?
When searching for a good insurance agency, you should know the types of insurance agents and how they can quote your rates. Agents are considered either exclusive or independent.
Exclusive Insurance Agencies
Exclusive insurance agents can only write with one company and examples are Allstate, Farmers Insurance or State Farm. They generally cannot provide rate quotes from other companies so you might not find the best rates. Exclusive insurance agents receive a lot of sales training on their company’s products which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums. Consumers sometimes use the same agent partially due to the brand name rather than low price.
Shown below is a short list of exclusive agencies in Durham who may provide you with rate quotes.
- Nationwide Insurance: All About Insurance
2605 Guess Rd – Durham, NC 27705 – (919) 479-8200 – View Map - Nationwide Insurance Marsh Dawson Agency
821 Hanson Rd – Durham, NC 27713 – (919) 806-5109 – View Map - Allstate Insurance Agent: Michelle Riley
6015 Fayetteville Rd Ste 115 – Durham, NC 27713 – (919) 544-2155 – View Map
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Agents of this type are not employed by one company so they can quote policies amongst many companies and potentially find a lower price. To transfer your coverage to a different company, your agent can switch companies and you stay with the same agent. If you need lower rates, we recommend you get rate quotes from at least one independent agent so that you have a good selection of quotes to compare. They also have the ability to place coverage with small regional insurance companies that may provide cheaper auto insurance rates.
Shown below is a short list of independent agencies in Durham that are able to give comparison quotes.
- The Sorgi Insurance Agency
16 Consultant Pl Suite 102 – Durham, NC 27707 – (919) 682-4814 – View Map - George Stevens Insurance Inc
1320 Hill St – Durham, NC 27707 – (919) 403-3611 – View Map - Bowen Agency, Inc.
4905 Pine Cone Dr Suite 5 – Durham, NC 27707 – (919) 929-4222 – View Map
Insurance does more than just protect your car
Despite the fact that insurance is not cheap in Durham, insurance is mandatory in North Carolina but it also protects more than you think.
First, almost all states have mandatory insurance requirements which means it is punishable by state law to not carry a minimum amount of liability insurance in order to be legal. In North Carolina these limits are 30/60/25 which means you must have $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $60,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of property damage coverage.
Second, if you bought your car with a loan, most banks will require that you carry insurance to guarantee loan repayment. If coverage lapses or is canceled, the lender may have to buy a policy to insure your Kia at a significantly higher premium and require you to fork over for it.
Third, insurance preserves both your Kia and your personal assets. Insurance will pay for all forms of medical expenses for not only you but also any passengers injured in an accident. Liability insurance will also pay attorney fees if anyone sues you for causing an accident. If you receive damage to your vehicle caused by a storm or accident, your insurance policy will pay all costs to repair after the deductible has been paid.
The benefits of carrying adequate insurance definitely exceed the price paid, especially when you need to use it. Unknowingly, the average driver is currently overpaying as much as $800 each year so we recommend shopping around at least once a year to make sure the price is not too high.
Durham car insurance companies ranked
Selecting the right insurance company can be rather challenging considering how many choices drivers have in North Carolina. The information below may help you pick which providers you want to consider purchasing from.
Top 10 Durham Car Insurance Companies Overall
- Travelers
- USAA
- AAA Insurance
- Nationwide
- Allstate
- State Farm
- The Hartford
- Safeco Insurance
- Progressive
- American Family
Quote often and quote early
Some insurance providers do not provide online price quotes and these regional carriers work with independent agents. Cheaper auto insurance in Durham can be found both online and from local agencies, and you should be comparing both to have the best selection.
We just showed you a lot of information how to compare Kia Optima Hybrid insurance rates in Durham. It’s most important to understand that the more times you quote, the better likelihood of getting the cheapest Kia Optima Hybrid rate quotes. Drivers may even discover the biggest savings come from some of the smallest insurance companies.
As you prepare to switch companies, do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, an insured cut full coverage only to find out that the savings was not a smart move. Your goal is to purchase a proper amount of coverage at a price you can afford but still have enough coverage for asset protection.
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