Truthfully, the best way to find cheaper quotes for auto insurance rates is to do an annual price comparison from different companies who sell insurance in Durham.
- Try to comprehend coverages and the things you can control to prevent high rates. Many policy risk factors that result in higher prices like traffic citations, accidents, and a low credit rating can be remedied by making minor driving habit or lifestyle changes. This article gives tips to prevent expensive rate increases and find overlooked discounts.
- Request price quotes from direct carriers, independent agents, and exclusive agents. Exclusive and direct companies can only provide price estimates from one company like GEICO or Allstate, while agents who are independent can provide prices for a wide range of companies. Begin your rate comparison
- Compare the price quotes to the premium of your current policy and determine if cheaper Ion coverage is available in Durham. If you can save some money and change companies, ensure coverage does not lapse between policies.
- Provide adequate notice to your current company to cancel your current policy. Submit a completed application and payment to your new carrier. Once the paperwork is finalized, put the new proof of insurance certificate in an accessible location in your vehicle.
The most important part of shopping around is to use similar coverage information on every price quote and and to get rate quotes from as many car insurance companies as possible. This guarantees an accurate price comparison and a complete selection of prices.
Sad but true, the majority of drivers have bought car insurance from the same company for over three years, and virtually 40% of consumers have never compared rates to find lower-cost insurance. North Carolina insurance shoppers could pocket up to $90 a year by just comparing rate quotes, but most just don’t grasp the amount of savings they would get if they moved their coverage to a different company.
Discount Durham insurance rates
Buying insurance is not cheap, but you might already qualify for some discounts that could help you make your next renewal payment. Certain discounts will be applied when you complete an application, but less common discounts must be specifically requested before you get the savings.
- Seat Belts Save – Drivers who require all vehicle occupants to buckle their seat belts could save 15% off the personal injury premium cost.
- Safety Course Discount – Participating in a course teaching defensive driving skills may get you a small discount and also improve your driving technique.
- Telematics Data – Drivers that enable driving data submission to study driving manner by installing a telematics device like Drivewise from Allstate or In-Drive from State Farm may get a rate reduction as long as they are good drivers.
- Drivers Education – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to successfully take a driver’s education course if it’s offered in school.
- Paperwork-free – Many insurance companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying your policy online.
- Renewal Discounts – A few insurance companies offer discounts for buying a new policy early. You can save around 10% with this discount.
- More Vehicles More Savings – Buying insurance for multiple vehicles with the same company can get a discount on all vehicles.
- Multi-line Discount – If the company offers life insurance, you could get a discount if you purchase some life insurance too.
A quick disclaimer, many deductions do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most cut specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. If you do the math and it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, it doesn’t quite work that way.
Large insurance companies and their offered discounts are detailed below.
- GEICO offers premium reductions for anti-lock brakes, defensive driver, daytime running lights, seat belt use, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, and federal employee.
- Travelers may include discounts for hybrid/electric vehicle, good student, payment discounts, student away at school, and multi-policy.
- Farm Bureau policyholders can earn discounts including renewal discount, driver training, safe driver, multi-policy, youthful driver, 55 and retired, and good student.
- Liberty Mutual has savings for newly retired, safety features, exclusive group savings, multi-policy, teen driver discount, and new graduate.
- American Family offers discounts for early bird, mySafetyValet, defensive driver, good student, and good driver.
- Progressive may offer discounts for online signing, continuous coverage, online quote discount, good student, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, and homeowner.
If you need inexpensive Durham auto insurance quotes, ask all companies you are considering to apply every possible discount. Savings may not be available in your state.
The companies shown below are our best choices to provide comparison quotes in North Carolina. If multiple companies are listed, we recommend you visit two to three different companies to get the best price comparison.
Learn How to Buy Car Insurance for Less
Smart consumers have a good feel for some of the things that aid in calculating your policy premiums. When consumers understand what controls the rates you pay, this enables informed choices that could result in cheaper rates.
Shown below are some of the most common factors companies use to determine your premiums.
Urban areas may pay more – Choosing to live in less populated areas is a positive aspect when it comes to car insurance. Fewer people translates into fewer accidents in addition to lower liability claims. City drivers have much more traffic and longer commutes to work. More time commuting can result in more accidents.
Bundle policies with the same company – Most insurers give discounts to buyers that buy multiple policies in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even with this discount, you still need to shop around to guarantee you are still saving the most.
Being married can save on car insurance – Having a significant other actually saves money when buying car insurance. Marriage is viewed as being more stable financially and statistics show married drivers tend to file fewer claims.
Always keep your car insurance policy in place – Driving your car without having proper coverage is a misdemeanor and as a result your rates will increase for letting your insurance coverage expire. Not only will rates go up, not being able to provide proof of insurance could result in a steep fine or even jail time. Then you may be required to submit proof of financial responsibility or a SR-22 with the North Carolina DMV.
Which is the best insurance?
Keep in mind that when it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage for your vehicles, there isn’t really a cookie cutter policy. Everyone’s situation is unique so this has to be addressed. For example, these questions might help in determining whether you may require specific advice.
- Are my friends covered when driving my car?
- Does coverage extend to a rental car in a foreign country?
- How does medical payments coverage work?
- Does rental coverage apply when I am renting a car?
- Is business property covered if stolen from my car?
- When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
- Why am I required to buy liability insurance?
- Should I bundle my homeowners policy with my auto?
If you can’t answer these questions, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, simply complete this short form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It’s fast, free and can provide invaluable advice.
Car insurance agents can give valuable advice
Some people just want to go talk to an agent and that is just fine! Professional agents can make sure you are properly covered and help in the event of a claim. One of the benefits of price shopping on the web is that you can obtain lower premium rates and also buy local. And providing support for neighborhood agents is important particularly in Durham.
Once you complete this short form, your information gets sent to agents in your area who will give you bids for your insurance coverage. It makes it easy because there is no need to leave your computer because quoted prices will be sent straight to your inbox. If you wish to get a rate quote from a specific insurance company, you can always visit that company’s website and fill out their quote form.
Two types of Durham car insurance agents
If you want to use a reputable insurance agent or broker, it’s important to understand the different types of agencies that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Auto insurance agencies are categorized either independent or exclusive. Either can insure your vehicles properly, but it’s good to learn the difference between them because it may have an impact on your selection of an agent.
Independent Auto Insurance Agencies
These agents are normally appointed by many insurers and that is an advantage because they can write policies through many companies and potentially find a lower price. If they find a lower price, the business is moved internally and you won’t have to switch agencies.
If you are trying to find cheaper rates, we recommend you get several quotes from multiple independent agents to have the most options to choose from.
Featured below is a list of independent insurance agents in Durham that may be able to give price quote information.
Reliable Insurance Agency of North Carolina Inc.
3325 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd #200 – Durham, NC 27707 – (919) 864-9048 – View Map
Knox Insurance Agency
200 Meredith Dr Suite 104 – Durham, NC 27713 – (919) 313-6411 – View Map
Hix Insurance Center
1533 Glenn School Road, Building C Unit A-14 – Durham, NC 27704 – (919) 220-3031 – View Map
Exclusive Auto Insurance Agencies
Exclusive insurance agents normally can only provide a single company’s rates like American Family, State Farm, and AAA. These agents are unable to provide prices from multiple companies so they have no alternatives for high prices. Exclusive agencies are usually quite knowledgeable on sales techniques which helps overcome the inability to quote other rates.
Below are Durham exclusive agents that can give you rate quotes.
Jeff Stephenson – State Farm Insurance Agent
8200 Renaissance Pkwy #1004 – Durham, NC 27713 – (919) 572-1702 – View Map
Ashley Manuel – State Farm Insurance Agent
5842 Fayetteville Rd #112 – Durham, NC 27713 – (919) 544-8101 – View Map
Tracey Stidham – State Farm Insurance Agent
3622 Shannon Rd #102 – Durham, NC 27707 – (919) 401-6147 – View Map
Picking the best car insurance agent shouldn’t rely on just a cheap price. Any agent in Durham should be willing to answer these questions.
- Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?
- Do they specialize in personal lines auto insurance in Durham?
- Do they have 24-hour customer assistance?
- How long has their agency been open in Durham?
- Will one accident increase rates?
- Are you getting all the discounts the company offers?
Auto insurance in North Carolina serves several purposes
Despite the high cost, insurance serves several important purposes.
First, the majority of states have mandatory liability insurance requirements which means it is punishable by state law to not carry a specific level of liability coverage if you want to drive legally. 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 your car has a lienholder, most banks will have a requirement that you buy insurance to ensure the loan is repaid in case of a total loss. If you let the policy lapse, the bank may buy a policy for your Saturn at a more expensive rate and make you pay for the much more expensive policy.
Third, auto insurance preserves not only your car but also your financial assets. Insurance will also pay for all forms of medical expenses for you, any passengers, and anyone injured in an accident. Liability insurance, one of your policy coverages, will also pay to defend you if you cause an accident and are sued. If your car is damaged in a storm or accident, comprehensive and collision coverage will pay to repair the damage.
The benefits of carrying adequate insurance more than offset the price you pay, particularly for liability claims. An average driver in America is overpaying more than $750 every year so it’s very important to do a rate comparison at every renewal to help ensure money is not being wasted.
Cheap insurance premiums are out there
As you restructure your insurance plan, you should never buy less coverage just to save a little money. There are too many instances where an insured cut full coverage and found out when filing a claim that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The goal is to buy enough coverage at a price you can afford and still be able to protect your assets.
We just covered a lot of ways to shop for Saturn Ion insurance online. The key concept to understand is the more times you quote, the higher the chance of saving money. Drivers may even discover the lowest prices are with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. These smaller insurers may often insure only within specific states and give better rates than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate, GEICO and Progressive.
To read more, feel free to visit these articles:
- Five Tips to Save on Auto Insurance (Insurance Information Institute)
- Who Has the Cheapest Durham Auto Insurance for a Jeep Wrangler? (FAQ)
- How Much are Durham Car Insurance Quotes for Ride Shares? (FAQ)
- What Insurance is Cheapest for Veterans in Durham? (FAQ)
- Who Has Affordable Durham Car Insurance for a Toyota Corolla? (FAQ)
- Who Has Affordable Car Insurance Rates for Drivers Under 21 in Durham? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes for Drivers with a Bad Driving Record in Durham? (FAQ)
- Tread Depth and Tire Safety (State Farm)
- Five Mistakes to Avoid (Insurance Information Institute)
- Protect Yourself Against Auto Theft (Insurance Information Institute)