Greenville, NC Car Insurance For Less Than You’re Paying Now
If you’re new to shopping for car insurance online, you may be overwhelmed because of the huge number of companies competing for business in Greenville.
Finding the best rates in Greenville is not rocket science. If you have car insurance now, you will be able to reduce your rates substantially using this strategy. Nevertheless, North Carolina consumers must know the way companies price insurance differently because it can help you find the best coverage.
Compare the Market for Car Insurance in Greenville, North Carolina
Most companies give insurance quotes directly from their websites. The process is quite easy as you simply enter the coverages you want into the quote form. After you submit the form the system obtains information on your driving record and credit history and generates pricing information.
Online quotes makes it a lot easier to compare rates but the process of having to visit a lot of sites and enter the same data into a form gets old quite quickly. But it’s absolutely necessary to have as many quotes as possible in order to get a better rate.
A more efficient way to find cheaper rates requires only one form to return rates from more than one company. It’s a real time-saver, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes quoting online much more enjoyable. After your information is entered, your coverage is rated and you can choose any or none of the resulting price quotes. If a lower price is quoted, you simply finish the application and purchase the new policy. It takes less than 15 minutes and can result in significant savings.
To find out what other companies charge, click here and begin entering your coverage information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you duplicate deductibles and limits identical to your current policy. Doing this guarantees you will have rate quotes based on the exact same insurance coverage.
How insurance companies determine rates
Smart consumers have a good feel for the rating factors that play a part in calculating the rates you pay for car insurance. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that may reward you with big savings.
Shown below are a partial list of the pieces car insurance companies consider when setting rates.
- Traffic citations inflate rates – Good drivers tend to pay less for car insurance than their less careful counterparts. Even a single moving violation can increase rates twenty percent or more. Drivers who get dangerous violations like DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions may be required to submit a SR-22 form to the state department of motor vehicles in order to prevent a license revocation.
- Clean credit earns discounts – A driver’s credit rating is a huge factor in determining your rates. Consumers who have excellent credit tend to be less risk to insure than drivers with lower credit scores. If your credit score can use some improvement, you could potentially save money when insuring your by spending a little time repairing your credit.
- Little extras can really add up – There are a ton of extra bells and whistles that you can buy when buying car insurance. Coverages for rental car reimbursement, towing coverage and term life insurance are examples of these. These may sound like a good investment when talking to your agent, but if they’re wasting money eliminate them to save money.
- Consolidate policies to earn discounts – Many car insurance companies will award you with lower prices to people who buy several policies from them such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. Discounts can amount to ten or even up to twenty percent in some cases. If you currently are using one company, it’s still a good idea to shop around to verify if the discount is saving money. You may still find better rates by buying car insurance from a different company.
- High numbers of claims are not good – Car insurance companies in North Carolina give better rates to people who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. If you file claims often, you can expect either higher rates or even cancellation. Your insurance policy is designed for larger claims.
- Performance influences rates – The type of car you own makes a big difference in your rates. The cheapest insurance rates tend to be for economy passenger cars, but the final cost of insurance is determined by many other factors.
- Lower rates come with age – Young drivers in North Carolina are known to be careless and easily distracted when driving so they pay higher car insurance rates. Parents adding a young driver onto your car insurance can break the bank. More mature drivers are more cautious drivers, tend to file fewer claims and are safer drivers.
- Discounts for married couples – Having a wife or husband actually saves money on your policy. Having a significant other translates into being more mature and it’s statistically proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.
Cut your premium with discounts
Companies that sell car insurance don’t always list every discount very well, so we took the time to find some of the more common and the more hidden car insurance savings.
- Lower Rates for Military – Being on active duty in the military could mean lower rates.
- Drive Safe and Save – Safe drivers may save up to 50% more than drivers with accidents.
- Multi-policy Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles with one insurance company you will save 10% to 20% off each policy.
- Defensive Driver – Taking a course in driver safety could save 5% or more if you qualify.
- Early Switch Discount – Some insurance companies reward drivers for signing up prior to your current policy expiring. It’s a savings of about 10%.
- Organization Discounts – Participating in a professional or civic organization could trigger savings when buying car insurance.
- Discount for New Cars – Adding a new car to your policy can be considerably cheaper due to better safety requirements for new cars.
- Sign Online – A handful of insurance companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks simply for signing online.
- Discount for Good Grades – This discount can earn a discount of 20% or more. The good student discount can last up until you turn 25.
It’s important to understand that most discounts do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only cut specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. So when the math indicates you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you’re out of luck.
Your personal situation dictates your coverage
When it comes to buying proper insurance coverage, there isn’t really a cookie cutter policy. Each situation is unique.
Here are some questions about coverages that can aid in determining if your situation may require specific advice.
- What can I do if my company denied a claim?
- Are there companies who specialize in insuring high-risk drivers?
- Should I sign the liability waiver when renting a car?
- Do I have any recourse if my insurance company denies a claim?
- I have good health insurance, so how much medical payments coverage do I need?
- Is North Carolina a no-fault state?
- Who is covered by my policy?
- Is my vehicle covered for flood damage?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but a few of them apply, you may need to chat with a licensed insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, simply complete this short form.
Are insurance agents a thing of the past?
Some consumers just want to talk to a local agent and that is a personal choice. The biggest benefit of getting online price quotes is that you can obtain lower rates but also keep your business local.
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this simple form, your information is sent to companies in Greenville who will give you bids for your insurance coverage. There is no need to leave your computer as quotes are delivered to your email. How cool is that?! You’ll get the best rates without the usual hassles of price shopping.
Selecting an insurance company shouldn’t rely on just the premium amount. Agents should be asked these questions:
- If they are an independent agency, which companies do they recommend?
- What insurance company do they write the most business with?
- Do they review policy coverages at every renewal?
- If your car is in the repair shop, do you have coverage for a rental car?
- How long have they worked with personal auto insurance coverage?
- Are they full-time agents?
- Are claim adjusters local or do you have to take your car somewhere else?
Do you need an independent or captive car insurance agent?
When researching a local agent, there are a couple of different types of agents that you can select. Greenville agents can either be independent or captive.
Captive Insurance Agents
These agents are contracted to one company such as State Farm, AAA and Liberty Mutual. They generally cannot shop your coverage around so they have no alternatives for high prices. These agents are well schooled on the products they sell which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums. Some people will only purchase coverage from captives mostly because of the prominence of the brand and the convenience of having all coverages with one company.
Listed below are captive insurance agents in Greenville that are able to give comparison quotes.
- Allstate Insurance Co – 2115 Greenville Blvd SE – Greenville, NC 27858 – (252) 752-4147
- State Farm Insurance – 3105 S Evans St # A – Greenville, NC 27834 – (252) 355-2461
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Independent agencies do not work for one specific company but rather can write business with many different companies and potentially find a lower price. If your agent finds better pricing, your agent can switch companies and you don’t have to find a new agent. When shopping rates, we recommend you get quotes from at least one independent agent for the best price selection.Most can insure with smaller companies which may provide better rates.
Below is a short list of independent insurance agencies in Greenville willing to provide price quotes.
- Nationwide Insurance – 1410 E Arlington Blvd # B – Greenville, NC 27858 – (252) 756-0160
- Cline Hall Agency Inc – 3750 S Evans St # B – Greenville, NC 27834 – (252) 756-5200
- Insurance Center Of Greenville – 2755 Charles Blvd – Greenville, NC 27858 – (252) 355-0364
- Modlin Agency – 2408 Charles Blvd # 1 – Greenville, NC 27858 – (252) 355-7557
- Direct General Ins Agency – 2304 S Memorial Dr – Greenville, NC 27834 – (252) 353-6000
To view a complete directory of car insurance agents in Greenville, please go to this site.
After getting reasonable responses for all questions you ask in addition to an acceptable price estimate, you have narrowed it down to an insurance agent that will provide car insurance coverage.
Smart shoppers get results
As you shop your coverage around, do not buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There have been many cases where an insured cut collision coverage to discover at claim time they didn’t have enough coverage. The ultimate goal is to get the best coverage possible for the lowest price while still protecting your assets.
You just learned quite a bit of information on how to reduce car insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. You may even find the best prices are with the smaller companies.
Drivers switch companies for many reasons like unfair underwriting practices, not issuing a premium refund, poor customer service and questionable increases in premium. Regardless of your reason, switching companies can be easy and end up saving you some money.
More consumer information in North Carolina
Additional detailed information is located at the North Carolina Department of Insurance website. Consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, get help finding coverage, and read state legal mandates and laws.
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