Car Insurance in Brandon – 6 Discounts to Save Money
Nobody cherishes buying car insurance, in particular when the cost is too high.
Since consumers have many choices, it is hard for the average consumer to pick the lowest price company.
You should take the time to shop coverage around periodically since insurance rates fluctuate regularly. Despite the fact that you may have had the best rates on your last policy you will most likely find a better rate today. You can find a lot of misleading information regarding car insurance online but we’re going to give you some good information on how to find affordable car insurance.
How to Compare Car Insurance in Brandon, SD
Most major insurance companies quote price estimates online. This process is pretty easy as you simply enter the coverages you want into the quote form. Behind the scenes, their rating system automatically orders your driving and credit reports and generates pricing information based on many factors. Online price quotes streamlines rate comparisons, but having to visit a lot of sites and enter the same data into a form can be a bit tiresome and repetitive. But it is imperative to perform this step if you want to find the lowest car insurance rates.
A more efficient way to find lower prices utilizes a single form that gets price quotes from several companies at one time. The form is fast, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes price shopping online much more efficient. Immediately after submitting the form, it is rated with multiple companies and you can pick your choice of the resulting price quotes. If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, you can simply submit the application and purchase the new policy. The whole process only takes a few minutes and may result in a nice savings.
To get comparison pricing now, simply click here to open in new window and complete the simple form. If you have coverage now, it’s recommended you input the insurance coverages identical to your current policy. This ensures you will have a fair comparison for exact coverage.
Be sure to get all your discounts
Companies offering auto insurance don’t always list every discount very clearly, so we break down both well-publicized and also the lesser-known ways to save on car insurance.
- Sign Early and Save – Some insurance companies reward drivers for switching to them before your current expiration date. It can save you around 10%.
- More Vehicles More Savings – Buying coverage for multiple cars or trucks on the same car insurance policy qualifies for this discount.
- Memberships – Belonging to a qualifying organization may earn a discount when buying car insurance.
- E-sign – A few companies may give you up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up on their website.
- Military Discounts – Having a deployed family member could be rewarded with lower premiums.
- Passive Restraints – Factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can receive discounts of 20% or more.
A little note about advertised discounts, most discounts do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most cut the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when it seems like you can get free auto insurance, it just doesn’t work that way.
To see a list of companies with discount car insurance rates in Brandon, follow this link.
What happened to insurance agents?
A small number of people prefer to buy from a licensed agent and there is nothing wrong with that. One of the great benefits of comparing rates online is you may find better rates but also keep your business local.
After filling out this quick form, your coverage information is immediately sent to companies in Brandon who will give you bids for your business. You never need to leave your computer since price quotes are sent immediately to your email address. How cool is that?! You’ll get the best rates and an insurance agent to talk to.
Deciding on a company needs to be determined by more than just a low price. These are valid questions to ask:
- If you have an accident, will your rates go up?
- What are the financial ratings for the companies they represent?
- What insurance company do they write the most business with?
- If you are a high risk driver, do they have special markets for your coverage?
- How are claims handled?
- Are claim adjusters local or do you have to take your car somewhere else?
- Is the agent and/or agency licensed to do business in South Dakota?
- Are they full-time agents?
Types of auto insurance agents in Brandon
When researching local Brandon agents, there are two types of insurance agents that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Brandon agents are either independent (non-captive) or captive.
Captive Agents
Captive agencies can only write with one company and examples are State Farm, AAA and Liberty Mutual. They generally cannot provide prices from multiple companies so they are skilled at selling on more than just price. Captive agents are well schooled on their company’s products which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums.
Shown below are Brandon captive insurance agencies who may provide you with price quote information.
Farmers Insurance Group – 108 S 6th Ave – Brandon, SD 57005 – (605) 582-6051
American Family Insurance – 108 S Splitrock Blvd – Brandon, SD 57005 – (605) 582-6481
Independent Agents (or Brokers)
Independent insurance agents are not required to write business for one company but instead can place your coverage amongst many companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. To move your coverage to a new company, the agent simply finds a different carrier and you don’t have to find a new agent.
When comparison shopping, it’s a good idea to get quotes from several independent insurance agents to have the most options to choose from.
Below is a list of independent agents in Brandon who can help you get rate quotes.
Brandon Valley Insurance – 300 S Splitrock Blvd – Brandon, SD 57005 – (605) 582-6988
Midwest Truck Insurance – 914 E Redwood Blvd – Brandon, SD 57005 – (605) 582-8404
For a full directory of licensed insurance agents in Brandon, please click here.
Upon receiving reasonable responses and a low price estimate, you may have just found an insurance agency that will properly service your car insurance policy.
Additional detailed information is available at the South Dakota Division of Insurance website. South Dakota drivers can view a list of available companies, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, read state legal mandates and laws, and report car insurance fraud.
Other useful links include this site for rates in South Dakota and this link where you can get more info about Brandon coverage.
Car insurance policy specifics
Learning about specific coverages of car insurance aids in choosing the best coverages and proper limits and deductibles. Car insurance terms can be difficult to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. Shown next are the usual coverages found on the average car insurance policy.
Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP provide coverage for immediate expenses like chiropractic care, X-ray expenses and dental work. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover you and your occupants and will also cover getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not universally available and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Collision coverage protection
This pays for damage to your vehicle resulting from a collision with another car or object. You have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision can pay for things like damaging your car on a curb, colliding with a tree, driving through your garage door and colliding with another moving vehicle. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. It’s also possible to raise the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Liability
Liability coverage will cover damage that occurs to a person or their property in an accident. It protects YOU against claims from other people. It does not cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. As an example, you may have policy limits of 25/50/25 that means you have $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability coverage protects against things like bail bonds, attorney fees, emergency aid, funeral expenses and loss of income. How much liability coverage do you need? That is your choice, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford. South Dakota requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/25,000 but you should consider buying more liability than the minimum.
Comprehensive insurance
This covers damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. A deductible will apply and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive can pay for things such as theft, vandalism, a tree branch falling on your vehicle, damage from flooding and hitting a deer. The maximum payout a car insurance company will pay at claim time is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits (which is 25/50/25), their limits can quickly be used up. So UM/UIM coverage is very important.
Best coverage at the best price
We covered many ideas to compare car insurance prices online. It’s most important to understand that the more companies you get rates for, the better your comparison will be. Drivers may discover the most savings is with a small local company. These smaller insurers can often provide lower rates in certain areas as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive or GEICO.
Affordable car insurance is attainable online as well as from independent agents in Brandon, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. There are still a few companies who don’t offer online price quotes and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.