The preferred way to find cheaper prices for car insurance rates is to compare prices annually from companies who sell auto insurance in Long Beach. You can shop around by following these guidelines.
- Spend some time learning about what is in your policy and the measures you can control to lower rates. Many risk factors that increase rates such as tickets, at-fault accidents, and a not-so-good credit history can be amended by making small lifestyle or driving habit changes.
- Request price quotes from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Exclusive agents and direct companies can provide rates from a single company like GEICO and Allstate, while independent agents can quote rates from multiple sources.
- Compare the quotes to your current policy premium to determine if you can save on Optima Hybrid insurance in Long Beach. If you find a lower rate and switch companies, make sure there is no lapse between the expiration of your current policy and the new one.
The most important part of this process is to use the same amount of coverage on every price quote and and to look at every company you can. This ensures an accurate price comparison and a complete price analysis.
It’s a fact that auto insurance companies want to keep you from comparing prices. Insureds who shop for lower rates will, in all likelihood, buy a different policy because they stand a good chance of finding better rates. A survey found that people who routinely shopped for cheaper coverage saved as much as $3,500 over four years as compared to drivers who never shopped around for better prices.
If finding the best price on auto insurance is your objective, understanding how to get free comparison quotes and analyze coverage rates can help simplify the process.
Lower Your Long Beach Insurance Costs
Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that go into determining your policy premiums. When consumers understand what controls the rates you pay, this empowers consumers to make smart changes that may result in much lower annual insurance costs.
Shown below are most of the major factors insurance companies consider when setting your prices.
- Age of drivers – Youthful drivers in California are known to be more careless when driving with friends so insurance rates are higher. If you’ve ever had to add a beginning driver to your policy can break the bank. Older, more experienced drivers are viewed as being more responsible, tend to file fewer claims, and get fewer tickets.
- Performance makes a difference – The make and model of the vehicle you need insurance for makes a huge difference in your car insurance bill. Lower performance four cylinder passenger cars usually have the lowest rates, but the final cost of insurance is determined by many other factors.
- Increase coverage deductibles and save – Comp and collision deductibles define how much the insured will be required to pay before a claim is paid by your company. Protection for physical damage, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, insures against damage to your car. Some instances where coverage would apply are collision with another vehicle, vandalism, and damage caused by road hazards. The higher the amount the insured is willing to pay, the lower your rates will be.
- Only buy coverage you need – Insurance companies have many additional coverages that can add up if you aren’t diligent. Insurance for roadside assistance, better glass coverage, and additional equipment coverage could be just wasting money. They may seem good when buying your policy, but if you don’t need them eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
- Liability is important – The liability coverage on your policy provides coverage in the event that a jury decides you are liable for damages from an accident. Your liability coverage provides legal defense coverage which can be incredibly expensive. It is affordable coverage compared to other policy coverages, so drivers should buy more than the minimum limits required by law.
- Excellent credit means lower rates – Having a bad credit score can be a huge factor in determining your rates. Therefore, if your credit history could use some work, you could pay less to insure your Kia Optima Hybrid by improving your credit score. Consumers who have high credit ratings tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers with lower credit ratings.
- Does insurance coverage cost less for women? – Statistics show that females tend to be a little less risky than males. This data doesn’t prove that females are better at driving than males. Males and females cause at-fault accidents at a similar rate, but men tend to have more serious accidents. Men also statistically get higher numbers of serious violations such as reckless driving. Youthful male drivers are most likely to cause an accident and therefore pay the highest rates.
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Claims statistics for a Kia Optima Hybrid – Insurance companies include the past claim history for a vehicle to help set a rate to offset losses. Vehicles that the data shows to have a trend towards higher claim severity or frequency will have a higher cost to insure.
The table below outlines the collected loss data for Kia Optima Hybrid vehicles. For each policy coverage type, the statistical loss for all vehicles, as an average, is a value of 100. Percentages below 100 suggest a better than average loss history, while percentages above 100 indicate higher probability of having a loss or a tendency for losses to be larger than average.
Insurance Loss Ratings for Kia Optima Hybrid Vehicles Vehicle Make and Model Collision Property Damage Comp Personal Injury Medical Payment Bodily Injury Kia Optima Hybrid 143 115 116 139 158 151 BETTERAVERAGEWORSEData Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for 2013-2015 Model Years
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Consumers switch companies for any number of reasons including delays in responding to claim requests, questionable increases in premium, poor customer service or high prices. Whatever your reason, finding a great new company is not as difficult as it may seem.
When searching for inexpensive Long Beach car insurance quotes, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are too many instances where someone sacrificed liability coverage limits only to find out they didn’t purchase enough coverage. The proper strategy is to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate.
Cheaper car insurance in Long Beach can be purchased both online in addition to many Long Beach insurance agents, so you should compare both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. A few companies may not offer rates over the internet and these small, regional companies only sell through local independent agents.
More resources
- Air Bags: Potential Dangers to Your Children (Insurance Information Institute)
- Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance Rates for a Honda Civic in Long Beach? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Auto Insurance Rates for Safe Drivers in Long Beach? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Car Insurance for College Graduates in Long Beach? (FAQ)
- What does Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Cover? (Allstate)
- Pickups fall short in headlight tests (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)