Buy Bismarck North Dakota Car Insurance Like a Penny-pincher

Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can overdraw your personal savings and put a big crunch on your finances. Doing a price comparison is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to help make ends meet. Popular companies such as GEICO, 21st Century and Progressive persitently shower you with ad campaigns and it is difficult to ignore the flashy ads and do the work needed to find the best deal.

How to Get Car Insurance in Bismarck, North Dakota

Reducing your insurance rates isn’t really that difficult. The only thing you need to do is spend a little time getting comparison quotes online from several insurance companies. This is very easy and can be done in several different ways.

One of the best ways to get the best comparison quotes would be an industry-wide quote request form click here to open form in new window. This method saves time by eliminating repetitive form entry for each company. Just one form will get you price quotes from car insurance companies with the best prices.
A less efficient way to compare rate quotes requires you to visit each individual company website and fill out their own quote form. For sake of this example, we’ll pretend you want to compare GEICO, 21st Century and American Family. To get rate quotes you would need to go to every website and enter your information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. To view a list of companies in Bismarck, click here.
The least recommended method of getting rate comparisons is to spend time driving to insurance agents’ offices. Shopping for car insurance online eliminates the need for an insurance agent unless you require the trained guidance that only a license agent can provide. It is possible to comparison shop your insurance online but still have the advice of a local agent. We’ll cover that shortly.

However you get your quotes, compare exactly the same information for each price quote. If each company quotes mixed coverages you can’t possibly find the best deal in Bismarck.

Don’t overlook these discounts

Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but discounts can save money and there are some available to cut the cost considerably. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at quote time, but some must be inquired about prior to receiving the credit. If you don’t get every credit available, you are throwing money away.

Homeowners Pay Less – Owning a house in Bismarck can save you money because of the fact that having a home requires personal responsibility.
Multiple Vehicles – Buying insurance for multiple vehicles on one policy could earn a price break for each car.
Military Rewards – Having a family member in the military could be rewarded with lower premiums.
Drivers Ed for Students – Require your teen driver to complete a driver education course in high school.
Anti-lock Brake Discount – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes prevent accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
Safety Course Discount – Completing a driver safety course could possibly earn you a 5% discount if you qualify.
Employee of Federal Government – Simply working for the federal government can earn a discount up to 10% with a few car insurance companies.
Drive Safe and Save – Insureds without accidents can pay as much as 50% less than less cautious drivers.

A little note about advertised discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to your bottom line cost. Most only cut individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So even though they make it sound like all the discounts add up to a free policy, you’re out of luck. But any discount will cut the cost of coverage.

To see a list of insurers with discount car insurance rates in Bismarck, click here to view.

Car Insurance through a local agent

Some people just want to get advice from a local agent and that is just fine! Licensed agents can point out coverage gaps and help you file claims. One of the great benefits of comparing insurance prices online is you may find better rates and still have an agent to talk to. And providing support for local businesses is important especially in Bismarck.

For easy comparison, once you complete this form (opens in new window), the coverage information gets sent to agents in your area who will return price quotes to get your business. You never need to even leave your home because quoted prices will be sent immediately to your email address. It doesn’t get any easier!

Independent or Captive: It’s your choice

If you’re trying to find a local agent, there are a couple of different agency structures to choose from. Insurance agencies in Bismarck are classified as either independent (non-captive) or captive. Either one can do a good job, but it’s worth learning the differences since it can impact your selection of an agent.

Independent Agents

Independent insurance agents are not required to write business for one company but rather can write business with lots of companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. If you are not satisfied with one company, your agent can switch companies and that require little work on your part.

When searching for an agent, it’s a good idea to contact multiple independent agents for the best price selection.<img class="alignright" style="padding-top:15px" src="https://www.findnewcarinsurance.com/wp-content/uploads/ci175-106.jpg" alt="Bismarck auto insurance” />

Listed below is a short list of independent insurance agents in Bismarck that are able to give price quotes.

Kramer Agency – 123 E Broadway Ave – Bismarck, ND 58501 – (701) 255-4502
N D Vanover Agency – 925 Basin Ave – Bismarck, ND 58504 – (701) 258-2158
American Insurance – 107 W Central Ave – Bismarck, ND 58501 – (701) 250-9181
Preferred Insurance Inc – 1929 N Washington St – Bismarck, ND 58501 – (701) 222-1827
Brach Johnson Agency – 1820 E Broadway Ave – Bismarck, ND 58501 – (701) 223-3715

Captive Insurance Agents

These agents work for only one company like State Farm, AAA, Farmers Insurance or Allstate. Captives cannot provide prices from multiple companies so they have no alternatives for high prices. Captive agents receive extensive training on their company’s products and that can be a competitive advantage.

Shown below is a list of captive insurance agencies in Bismarck who can help you get rate quotes.

State Farm Insurance – 1632 Capitol Way – Bismarck, ND 58501 – (701) 250-5300
Farmers Insurance Group – 433 E Bismarck Expy # 4 – Bismarck, ND 58504 – (701) 255-6505
American Family Insurance – 1135 S 12th St # 1 – Bismarck, ND 58504 – (701) 258-8410
Allstate Insurance – 1929 N Washington St – Bismarck, ND 58501 – (701) 223-4548

To view a complete directory of Bismarck captive agencies, visit this link.

Picking a car insurance agent shouldn’t rely on just the bottom line cost. Any agent should have no problem answering these questions:

Will your rates increase after a single accident?
Do they regularly work with personal auto policies?
How are they compensated?
What insurance companies do they recommend if they are an independent agent?
Which members of your family are coverage by the policy?
What insurance company do they write the most business with?
Do they have advanced training designations such as CPCU, AAI, AIC, or CIC?

Once you have received good answers for all questions you ask as well as a affordable price, it’s possible that you found an insurance agency that meets your needs to insure your vehicles.

Make smart decisions and save

Consumers need to have an understanding of the different types of things that come into play when calculating the rates you pay for car insurance. Knowing what controls the rates you pay allows you to make educated decisions that will entitle you to much lower annual insurance costs.

Bump up deductibles to save – Insurance for physical damage to your car, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your car. A few examples of covered claims could be a windshield shattered by a rock, collision with an animal, and burglary. Your deductibles are how much you are required to spend before your car insurance pays a claim. The more you have to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.
Your job and insurance rates – Did you know your occupation can influence how much you pay for car insurance? Occupations like real estate brokers, social workers and dentists have the highest average rates attributed to job stress and long work hours. Other jobs such as farmers, historians and performers get better rates.
Keep rates low by being claim-free – Auto insurance companies in North Dakota award discounts to drivers who are claim-free. If you file claims often, you can look forward to either higher rates or even cancellation. Insurance coverage is designed for larger claims.
Older drivers save more – Teen drivers in North Dakota tend to be less responsible when driving so car insurance rates are higher. Adding a teen driver to your car insurance policy can be quite pricey. More mature drivers tend to be more responsible, file fewer claims and receive fewer citations.
Add-on coverages can add up – There are many extra bells and whistles you can purchase on your car insurance policy. Insurance for roadside assistance, better glass coverage and term life insurance may be wasting your money. They may seem like a good idea initially, but if they’re wasting money eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.

Car insurance ads bend the truth

Consumers in North Dakota get pounded daily by advertisements for car insurance savings by companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive. All the ads say the same thing about savings if you move to them.

How do they all claim to save you money?

Insurance companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer that earns them a profit. An example of a preferred risk could be a mature driver, has no driving citations, and has a high credit rating. Any new insured who fits that profile will get very good rates and as a result will probably save when switching.

Potential customers who don’t measure up to these standards will be quoted higher prices and ends up with the customer not buying. The ad wording is “customers who switch” not “people who quote” save money. This is how companies can state the savings.

This emphasizes why it’s extremely important to compare many company’s rates. It’s just too difficult to predict which company will have the lowest rates.

What is YOUR best insurance company?

As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, it’s not a good idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are a lot of situations where drivers have reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits only to discover later that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The aim is to find the BEST coverage at the best price.

Budget-conscious car insurance can be purchased on the web and also from your neighborhood Bismarck agents, and you need to price shop both to get a complete price analysis. Some companies may not provide online quoting and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

We just covered a lot of tips how to lower your car insurance rates. It’s most important to understand that the more companies you get rates for, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may be surprised to find that the biggest savings come from a lesser-known regional company. These smaller insurers may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates compared to the large companies like Progressive and GEICO.

Additional resources for North Dakota consumers

Additional information can be found on the website for the North Dakota Insurance Department through this link. Consumers can find a variety of consumer forms, find out industry alerts, and learn about insurance regulations.