Learn How to Pay Less and Get More for Hackensack New Jersey Car Insurance

Have you had enough of scraping the payment together each month for car insurance? Your situation is no different than millions of other consumers. Drivers have multiple insurance companies to pick from, and although it’s nice to have multiple companies, it can be more difficult to compare rates and find the lowest cost car insurance.

It’s a good habit to shop coverage around once or twice a year because insurance rates are variable and change quite frequently. Even if you got the best price last year the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. There is too much inaccurate information about car insurance on the web, but we’re going to give you some tested techniques to slash your car insurance rates.

The purpose of this article is to let you in on the best way to quote coverages and some money-saving tips. If you currently have a car insurance policy, you will most likely be able to cut costs considerably using these tips. New Jersey consumers only need an understanding of the most efficient way to shop online.

Companies offer discounts so take them!

The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, but you can get discounts that many people don’t even know exist. Certain discounts will be applied when you complete an application, but lesser-known reductions have to be specially asked for before you will receive the discount. If you’re not getting every credit you deserve, you’re paying more than you need to.

Homeowners Discount – Owning a home in Hackensack can help you save on car insurance because owning a home shows financial diligence.
Anti-theft System – Vehicles with anti-theft systems are stolen less frequently and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
Life Insurance Discount – Some companies give a break if you buy life insurance.
Early Switch Discount – Some companies give discounts for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiration. It’s a savings of about 10%.
More Vehicles More Savings – Buying insurance for multiple cars or trucks on one policy could earn a price break for each car.
Drivers Education – Have your child take driver’s ed class if offered at their school.

As a disclaimer on discounts, some of the credits will not apply to the entire cost. Some only reduce individual premiums such as collision or personal injury protection. Even though it may seem like adding up those discounts means a free policy, you won’t be that lucky. But all discounts will reduce your overall premium however.

Finding Car Insurance in Hackensack, New Jersey

There are a variety of methods to compare car insurance quotes, but some are less labor-intensive and much quicker. You could waste time discussing policy coverages with local insurance agents in Hackensack, or you can utilize the internet to quickly compare rates.

Most of the best insurance companies participate in a marketplace where prospective buyers enter their policy data once, and at least one company returns a rated price based on the submitted data. This eliminates the need for repetitive form submissions for each company.

To compare rates now click here (opens in new window).

The only downside to using this type of system is you cannot specify the companies you want pricing from. So if you prefer to choose specific insurance companies to compare rates, we have a listing of the cheapest car insurance companies in New Jersey. Click here for list of insurance companies in New Jersey. Hackensack car insurance

Which method you use is up to you, but ensure you’re using exactly the same information for every quote you compare. If the quotes have higher or lower deductibles you can’t possibly truly determine the lowest rate in Hackensack.

Decisions you make can impact your rates

Smart consumers have a good feel for some of the elements that play a part in calculating your car insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what determines base rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with big savings.

Shown below are a partial list of the pieces used by your company to calculate rates.

Men fork out a little more – The statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, this does not mean men are worse drivers. Both sexes tend to get into accidents at a similar rate, but the men have costlier accidents. Men also statistically receive more costly citations such as DWI and reckless driving. Young males are several times more likely to be in an accident and thus pay the highest rates.
How’s your driving record? – Drivers with clean records get better rates than people who have multiple driving citations. Only having one moving violation may increase your cost by as much as thirty percent. Drivers who have severe citations such as hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions may need to submit a SR-22 form with their state motor vehicle department in order to drive a vehicle legally.
Safer cars cost less to insure – Safer cars get lower rates. These vehicles result in less severe injuries and any reduction in injury severity translates into savings for insurance companies and lower rates for you.
High numbers of claims are not good – If you are a frequent claim filer, you can expect either higher rates or even cancellation. Insurance companies in New Jersey give lower rates to policyholders who are claim-free. Car insurance is meant to be used in the event of the bigger claims that can’t be paid out-of-pocket.
Never let your coverage lapse – Allowing your car insurance policy to lapse is a quick way to trigger a rate increase. And not only will your rates increase, failure to provide proof of insurance might get you a steep fine or even jail time.You may then be required to file a SR-22 with the New Jersey motor vehicle department to get your license reinstated.
Pleasure use saves money – The higher the mileage driven every year the higher your rate. Most companies price each vehicle’s coverage based on their usage. Cars used primarily for pleasure use qualify for better rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Double check that your car insurance declarations sheet properly reflects the correct usage for each vehicle.

Do I just need basic coverages?

When it comes to buying proper insurance coverage, there isn’t really a “best” method to buy coverage. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs and your policy should reflect that. Here are some questions about coverages that might point out if you might need professional guidance.

Am I covered by my spouse’s policy after a separation?
Why am I be forced to buy a membership to get insurance from some companies?
Does having multiple vehicles earn me a discount?
When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
Is my dog or cat covered if injured in an accident?
Does my policy cover me when driving someone else’s vehicle?
Am I covered if I drive in a foreign country?
What discounts do I qualify for?
How high should my medical payments coverage be?

If you’re not sure about those questions but you know they apply to you, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It is quick, free and can help protect your family.

Save $382 a year? Really?

New Jersey consumers get pounded daily by advertisements for the lowest price auto insurance by companies like Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm. They all have a common claim about savings if you move to them.

How can each company make almost identical claims?

All the different companies have a certain “appetite” for the type of customer that makes them money. For example, a desirable insured might be between the ages of 40 and 55, insures multiple vehicles, and has excellent credit. A propective insured who matches those parameters will get very good rates and is almost guaranteed to save when switching.

Consumers who don’t qualify for the requirements will have to pay higher prices which usually ends up with business going elsewhere. The ads state “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. That is how insurance companies can confidently make those claims.

Because of the profiling, drivers must get quotes from several different companies. It’s impossible to know which car insurance company will have the lowest rates.

Buy online or local, you save

We just showed you some good ideas how to get a better price on car insurance. The key concept to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the higher the chance of saving money. You may even find the lowest priced car insurance comes from a small mutual company. Some small companies may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates than their larger competitors like State Farm, GEICO and Nationwide.

Cheaper car insurance can be sourced online and also from your neighborhood Hackensack agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some car insurance companies may not provide the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.

More New Jersey car insurance resources

More information can be read on the website for the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance located here. Consumers can discover disciplinary actions, view a list of available companies, and find out which companies have the most complaints.