6 Simple Methods to Lower Auto Insurance Costs in Riverton

Overpriced auto insurance can take a big chunk out of your checking account and force you to prioritize other expenses. Doing a price comparison is a great way to tighten up your finances.

Lots of insurers contend for your hard-earned dollar, so it’s not easy to compare every insurance company to discover the definitive lowest rate

If you currently have a car insurance policy, you stand a good chance to be able to lower your premiums substantially using these tips. Choosing the best insurance company for you in Riverton is not that difficult. Although Wyoming consumers must understand how insurance companies market on the web because it can help you find the best coverage.

Comprehensive Riverton Auto Insurance Comparison Quotes

Most major insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate and GEICO allow you to get price estimates directly from their websites. Getting quotes is fairly simple as you just type in your coverage information as requested by the quote form. Once entered, the system automatically retrieves information on your driving record and credit history and returns a price quote determined by many factors. Being able to quote online makes it a lot easier to compare rates but the time it takes to visit a lot of sites and fill out multiple forms is not the best way to spend an afternoon. Unfortunately, it is important to perform this step in order to get the lowest possible prices on auto insurance.

The easiest way to locate the lowest prices utilizes a single form that analyzes rates from several companies at one time. It saves time, eliminates form submissions, and makes online quotes much more enjoyable and efficient. After your information is entered, it gets priced and you can select any of the returned quotes.

If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, you can click and sign and purchase coverage. The whole process takes 15 minutes at the most and you’ll know if lower rates are available.

To find out if lower rates are available, simply click here to open in new window and complete the simple form. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you complete the form with deductibles and limits exactly as shown on your declarations page. Using the same limits helps guarantee you will have a price comparison for exact coverage.

Take these six discounts and save

The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of purchase, but a few need to be asked for prior to getting the savings.

  • Good Student Discount – A discount for being a good student can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. The discount lasts until age 25.
  • College Student – Youth drivers who live away from home without a vehicle on campus may be able to be covered for less.
  • Anti-lock Brake System – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes are safer to drive and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
  • Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your bill all at once instead of making monthly payments you may reduce your total bill.
  • Air Bag Discount – Cars that have air bags can qualify for discounts of 20% or more.
  • Multiple Cars – Buying insurance for all your vehicles with the same company can get a discount on all vehicles.

It’s important to note that some of the credits will not apply to the entire cost. Most only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. So when the math indicates it’s possible to get free car insurance, it doesn’t quite work that way. Any qualifying discounts will bring down your overall premium however.

To choose providers offering auto insurance discounts in Wyoming, click this link.

But don’t I need an insurance agent?

Some consumers would prefer to get advice from a local agent and that is a personal choice. One of the great benefits of comparing rates online is the fact that you can find better rates but still work with a licensed agent. And supporting local businesses is important particularly in Riverton.

To help locate an agent, after submitting this simple form, your insurance coverage information is sent to agents in your area who will return price quotes for your coverage. There is no reason to even leave your home as quotes are delivered to the email address you provide. It doesn’t get any easier! You can find the lowest rates without the usual hassles of price shopping.

Captive agents vs. Independent agents

When searching for a good Riverton insurance agent, there are a couple of different agency structures from which to choose. Agencies in Riverton can either be independent (non-captive) or captive.

Independent Agents

Independent insurance agents do not work for one specific company but rather can write business with multiple insurance companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. If your agent finds better pricing, the business is moved internally and you won’t have to switch agencies. When shopping rates, it’s a good idea to contact several independent insurance agents to have the most options to choose from.

Shown below are independent agencies in Riverton who can help you get price quotes.

Farnsworth Insurance – 113 S Broadway Ave – Riverton, WY 82501 – (307) 856-9247
Big Mountain Insurance – 503 W Main St – Riverton, WY 82501 – (307) 856-1256

Captive Agents

Captive insurance agents can only place business with one company such as American Family, State Farm and Allstate. They usually cannot compare other company’s rates so they are skilled at selling on more than just price. Captives are usually quite knowledgeable in insurance sales which can be an advantage.

Shown below is a short list of captive agencies in Riverton that are able to give rate quotes.

Allstate Insurance – 106 N 3rd St E – Riverton, WY 82501 – (307) 856-6573
Farm Bureau Insurance – 824 Forest Dr – Riverton, WY 82501 – (307) 856-9091
Farmers Insurance Group – 113 S 2nd St E – Riverton, WY 82501 – (307) 856-4439
State Farm Insurance – 618 E Washington Ave – Riverton, WY 82501 – (307) 856-4118

For a full directory of captive insurance agents in Riverton, please click here.

Selecting an insurance agent needs to be determined by more than just the bottom line cost. Ask your prospective agent these questions:

  • Can they provide you with a list of referrals?
  • What insurance companies do they work with?
  • Do clients work directly with the agent or are most inquiries handled by a CSR?
  • Is working in the agency their full-time job?
  • Is assistance available after office hours?
  • If your car is in the repair shop, do you have coverage for a rental car?
  • Will their companies depreciate repairs to your car based on the mileage?
  • Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?

After getting positive responses as well as a affordable price, you may have just found an auto insurance agent that is a good match to provide auto insurance coverage.

When might I need help?

When choosing the right insurance coverage for your vehicles, there is no “perfect” insurance plan. Each situation is unique and your policy should reflect that. These are some specific questions may help highlight if you could use an agent’s help.

  • Is pleasure use cheaper than using my vehicle to commute?
  • What is covered by UM/UIM coverage?
  • Does having multiple vehicles earn me a discount?
  • What is the difference between comprehensive and collision coverage?
  • Does my insurance cover damage caused when ticketed for reckless driving?
  • What are the financial responsibility laws in Wyoming?
  • What if I total my vehicle and owe more than it’s worth?

If you can’t answer these questions but a few of them apply, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.

Specifics of your auto insurance policy

Understanding the coverages of your auto insurance policy helps when choosing which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring. These are the normal coverages available from auto insurance companies.

Medical payments and PIP coverage – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage provide coverage for short-term medical expenses like EMT expenses, pain medications, funeral costs and nursing services. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance program or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is not available in all states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Collision coverages – Collision insurance covers damage to your vehicle resulting from a collision with an object or car. A deductible applies then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision can pay for things such as scraping a guard rail, crashing into a ditch, driving through your garage door, colliding with another moving vehicle and sustaining damage from a pot hole. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. It’s also possible to increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Comprehensive auto coverage – Comprehensive insurance coverage covers damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You need to pay your deductible first then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive can pay for claims like damage from getting keyed, damage from flooding, falling objects and hitting a deer. The maximum payout your auto insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Auto insurance in Riverton WY

Liability car insurance – Liability insurance protects you from damage or injury you incur to other’s property or people. This coverage protects you from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t cover damage to your own property or vehicle.

Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have limits of 100/300/100 which stand for a limit of $100,000 per injured person, $300,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $100,000. Occasionally you may see one limit called combined single limit (CSL) that pays claims from the same limit rather than limiting it on a per person basis.

Liability coverage protects against claims like emergency aid, medical services and funeral expenses. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible. Wyoming state law requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/100,000/15,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy better liability coverage.

UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage – This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered losses include injuries to you and your family as well as damage to your vehicle.

Due to the fact that many Wyoming drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits (Wyoming limits are 25/100/15), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is very important. Normally the UM/UIM limits are set the same as your liablity limits.

The best insurance company isn’t always the cheapest

We’ve covered many ways to compare auto insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more price quotes you have, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may be surprised to find that the lowest rates come from the least-expected company. They often have lower prices on specific markets than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate and Progressive.

When buying insurance coverage, it’s very important that you do not buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There are a lot of situations where an insured dropped liability limits or collision coverage to discover at claim time that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your goal should be to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate while still protecting your assets.

Lower-priced auto insurance is available from both online companies as well as from independent agents in Riverton, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some companies don’t offer online price quotes and most of the time these smaller companies sell through independent agents.

To learn even more about auto insurance

Additional auto insurance information is located on the website for the Wyoming Insurance Department found here. Consumers can read consumer alerts, read state legal mandates and laws, and find out industry alerts.

Other useful links include this page for auto insurance prices in Wyoming and this link where you can get more info about Riverton auto insurance.