8 Must-Know Methods When Looking for the Best Deal on Chattanooga Tennessee Car Insurance

Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can overdraw your savings account and force you to make sacrifices. Shopping your coverage around is a smart way to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket. Drivers have so many insurance companies to insure vehicles with, and although it’s a good thing to be able to choose, it can be more difficult to compare rates.

It’s important to price shop coverage on a regular basis because prices are variable and change quite frequently. Despite the fact that you may have had the best price on Chattanooga car insurance last year there may be better deals available now. So just forget anything you know (or think you know) about car insurance because you’re about to learn one of the best ways to save on car insurance.

Get Cheaper Rates by Understanding Pricing

Consumers need to have an understanding of the different types of things that come into play when calculating the price you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay allows you to make educated decisions that could result in lower car insurance prices.

The list below includes some of the items companies use to determine premiums.

Never go without insurance – Having an insurance coverage lapse will be a guaranteed way to increase your car insurance rates. And not only will insurance be more expensive, but not being able to provide proof of insurance will get you a revoked license or a big fine.Then you may be required to submit proof of financial responsibility or a SR-22 with the Tennessee motor vehicle department.
Your stress level may be raising your rates – Occupations such as judges, social workers and stock brokers have the highest rates attributed to job stress and lots of time spent at work. On the other hand, occupations like pilots, students and the unemployed get better rates.
Your location is important – Choosing to live in a rural area can be a good thing when insuring your vehicles. Lower population means reduced accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft. Drivers in populated Tennessee areas regularly have much more traffic to deal with and a longer drive to work. Higher commute times can result in more accidents.
Claim-free discounts can add up – If you tend to file frequent claims, you can look forward to higher rates. Auto insurance companies in Tennessee generally give cheaper rates to policyholders who file claims infrequently. Insurance coverage is intended for larger claims.
Lower miles equals lower premium – The more miles you rack up on your car in a year the more you will pay for car insurance. Most companies price each vehicle’s coverage based upon how you use the vehicle. Vehicles that are left in the garage qualify for better rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Verify your car insurance policy is showing how each vehicle is driven.
Lower rates with optional equipment – Driving a car with anti-theft technology or alarm system can get you a discount on your car insurance. Anti-theft features such as LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM’s OnStar system all hinder your vehicle from being stolen.

How to Compare Car Insurance Costs in Chattanooga

Getting better car insurance pricing is actually quite simple. The only requirement is to spend a few minutes to get quotes provided by online insurance companies. This is very easy and can be done in just a few minutes using one of these methods.

The fastest way to find low rates would be an industry-wide quote request form click here to open form in new window. This type of form saves time by eliminating separate quote forms for each company. A single form gets rate comparisons direct from many companies.
Another way to compare prices is spending the time to visit each company’s website to complete their respective quote request forms. For example, let’s say you want to compare rates from Progressive, GEICO and Travelers. You would have to visit each site and enter your information, which is why the first method is quicker. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in Chattanooga, click here.

It’s up to you how you get prices quotes, just make sure you use exactly the same coverage limits and deductibles for every quote you compare. If each company quotes unequal deductibles or liability limits it’s not possible to determine the best price in Chattanooga.

Are you falling for claims of savings?

Tennessee drivers constantly see and hear ads that promise big savings by Allstate and Progressive. All the ads have a common claim about savings if you change to their company.

But how can every company say the same thing? It’s all in the numbers. Chattanooga Tennessee insurance ad

All companies can use profiling for the type of driver that earns them a profit. For instance, a profitable customer might be profiled as between 30 and 50, is a homeowner, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A customer getting a price quote that hits that “sweet spot” will get the preferred rates and most likely will save quite a bit of money when switching.

Consumers who don’t measure up to this ideal profile must pay higher premiums and ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ad wording is “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save money. That is how companies can advertise the savings.

This illustrates why you need to compare as many rates as you can. It’s just too difficult to predict which company will have the lowest rates.

Cut your premium with discounts

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but there are discounts available that many people don’t even know exist. Some trigger automatically at quote time, but less common discounts must be manually applied before you get the savings. If you don’t get every credit available, you’re paying more than you need to.

Pay Now and Pay Less – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save up to 5%.
Discounts for Safe Drivers – Insureds without accidents can pay as much as 50% less than drivers with accidents.
Discount for Life Insurance – Some companies give a break if you buy life insurance from them.
Distant Student – Youth drivers who are attending college and do not have access to a covered vehicle can receive lower rates.
Drivers Education – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to enroll in driver’s education if offered at their school.

Consumers should know that most credits do not apply to all coverage premiums. Some only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like collision or personal injury protection. So even though they make it sound like it’s possible to get free car insurance, car insurance companies aren’t that generous. Any amount of discount will bring down the cost of coverage.

For a list of providers who offer car insurance discounts in Tennessee, follow this link.

What is the best insurance coverage?

When buying coverage for your vehicles, there really is no one size fits all plan. Every situation is different so your insurance needs to address that. These are some specific questions can aid in determining if your situation would benefit from professional advice.

Is my dog or cat covered if injured in an accident?
When do I need to add a new car to my policy?
What can I do if my company denied a claim?
Where can I get insurance after a DUI in Tennessee?
Does having multiple vehicles earn me a discount?
What is high-risk coverage and where do I buy it?
Do I get a pro-rated refund if I cancel my policy early?

If you can’t answer these questions, you may need to chat with a licensed insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, simply complete this short form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It is quick, free and may give you better protection.

Additional information is available on the website for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance found here. Tennessee drivers can find disaster information, file complaints about a company, find out industry alerts, and learn about insurance regulations.

Better coverage you can count on

As you restructure your insurance plan, don’t be tempted to buy poor coverage just to save money. In many instances, consumers will sacrifice comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to discover later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your strategy should be to buy enough coverage for the lowest price, not the least amount of coverage.

Cheaper car insurance can be purchased on the web and with local Chattanooga insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers do not offer you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.