Money-Saving Tips

5 Reasons To Change To An Unknown Insurance Company

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Disclosure: The ads and links on this website may promote products. We may receive compensation. Always check with legal professionals before making any financial decision.

Can you trust a car insurance company if you’ve never heard of them before? What happens if you are in an accident? If you’ve never heard of them, will they go out-of-business right as you need them? Here are the top five reasons to change to an unknown insurance company.

The First Reason To Change To An Unknown Insurance Company:

Insurance Companies Have To Cover You. PERIOD.

We’ve all heard of those companies where their prices seem too good to be true. The online scam for a free trip to Paris for two. Or maybe the big screen TV you win if you complete enough surveys. And the eBay seller whose account magically disappears after you click “Buy Now”. All of these experiences make us nervous about trusting a new company. You can rest assured that any legitimate insurance company is so heavily regulated that they can’t be a fly-by-night operation. In order to legally issue insurance, they have to prove they have enough funds to pay out for the coverage they provide. Above that, some states require that all the insurance companies pay into a monthly fund to cover any expenses that one insurance company cannot pay should they somehow fail.

The First Reason To Change To An Unknown Insurance Company: Insurance Companies Have To Cover You. PERIOD.

The Second Reason To Change To An Unknown Insurance Company:

You Don’t Have to Pay for Their Ads

It may seem strange but all companies have to get the money from their ad budgets somewhere. This money either comes from investors, loans, or customers. Every time you see an ad for Geico, Nationwide, The General, Progressive, Allstate or State Farm, just remember that their customers are probably paying for you to see that. Super Bowl ads get more expensive each year and so does your car insurance. Any correlation there?

The Third Reason To Change To An Unknown Insurance Company:

You Get The Same Coverage With Them

Since car insurance is based on the same coverage options, you end up with the same coverage no mater where you go. State Farm’s 50/100/50 coverage is just the same as SafeCo’s. Progressive’s collision coverage covers the same events as Root’s. The only differences are minor features and options. For example, some carriers offer accident forgiveness if you have had them for several years. Progressive will let you have full-coverage insurance with $2,500 deductibles whereas several other carriers only allow $500 or $1,000 deductibles. Some carriers offer Gap coverage on financed cars. Most of these features are overpriced or unnecessary.

The Third Reason To Change To An Unknown Insurance Company: You Get The Same Coverage With Them

The Fourth Reason To Change To An Unknown Insurance Company:

You Support Smaller Businesses and Competitive Rates

If you think about it, the only thing keeps car insurance rates down is competition. There aren’t laws to keep them at a certain price. Since car insurance is a requirement to drive, you have to buy it. Hypothetically, if a car insurance carrier was the only company in your state that could sell you car insurance, they could hike up rates until only the richest people could drive. Could you image paying $1,000 a month on car insurance? I’ve seen rates that high.

When you buy insurance from a smaller insurance company, it keeps them in business. This probably helps the local insurance agent support his or her family but it also makes it so that the larger guys can’t hike up their rates. If Geico, Progressive and State Farm charged you $150 a month but word got out that Root only cost $65, the larger companies will have to be careful before raising their rates to $200 a month for fear of losing customers.

The Fifth Reason To Change To An Unknown Insurance Company:

You End Up Saving A LOT of Money!

When I got car insurance for the first time, I was paying about $175 a month for liability for a 13 year old Ford Focus. When I switched to Root, the cost went down to $62 a month for full coverage with insured and underinsured coverage. That’s saved me $113 a month! What would you do with an extra $1,356 a year? Buy a new TV, have the downpayment on a new car, or make that family vacation last a few extra days. Wouldn’t that be worth a few minutes of your time?

What To Use The Best Insurance Company?

Download The App And Take Root For A Spin!

Read my review here!

Best App For Car Insurance Quotes

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Disclosure: The ads and links on this website may promote products. We may receive compensation. Always check with legal professionals before making any financial decision.

What is the best app for car insurance quotes? Why should I use an app instead of going into an insurance office? How can an app save me money on car insurance?

What Is An App For Car Insurance Quotes?

There are a couple different types of apps you can use to get a car insurance quote. The traditional apps are basically just rebranded websites in the form of a smartphone app. However, the better set of apps actually base your rate off of the way you drive. The choice is up to you. Would you like to just get a State Farm or Geico Quote? Download their app or use their websites. But if you are a good driver, why not try one of these apps and see if you can get an even lower rate?

Best App For Car Insurance Quotes
What Is The Best App For Car Insurance Quotes?

Traditional Car Insurance App Quotes

These are no different than simply clicking on Allstate.com, Gabi.com or pretty much any other website. Unless your smartphone is your primary internet browsing device, I would recommend not using these apps. They will take up space on your phone, might use some of your limited data for the month, it may take several minutes for them to download, might get in the way of finding apps you are looking for and, more or less, have the same exact utility as the carrier’s website. Just use their website and see what quotes they give you.

The Best Apps For Car Insurance Quotes

These apps are great! If you have a few marks on your driving history or not the best credit report, these apps are probably your best bet at getting a cheap car insurance quote. Even if you have a great driving history, these apps will probably save you a bundle every month. I found that I could get much better coverage at almost 1/3 of the price with Root instead of Allstate. How is this possible?

How Root Insurance Saved Me Money

Root Insurance works by having you install their app and tracking how you drive. They track things like how often you drive, what hours of the day you drive and how you accelerate and decelerate. With this information, they chose which drivers to insure. By being picking about who they approve, they can avoid having to pay out on accidents. This savings allows them to give you great rates and still make money. They also avoid some of the larger expenses that other insurance carriers have. They seem to focus on viral digital marketing instead of television ads, for example. With a focus on keeping costs down, they are usually the cheapest around. When I sold insurance, I checked my insurance rates with several carriers. Being appointed with 11 of them, I got a glimpse into auto insurance quotes most people don’t. I found that they beat all of the carriers I tried. About a year and a half later, I tried again but I couldn’t beat them. Root has some of the best insurance rates. Because they saved me so much money, I believe they are the best app for car insurance quotes.

Root Insurance App Quote
Root Insurance Logo

Summary

There you have it! Now you know which apps to download and which to avoid when looking for the best car insurance rate. If you want to learn more about Root Insurance, click here to read my review. It tells you the top five reasons I believe they are the best car insurance company right now. Or, if you would rather just get a quote with them, click this link.

How To Save Money On Car Insurance Quotes

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Disclosure: The ads and links on this website may promote products. We may receive compensation. Always check with legal professionals before making any financial decision.

Are you trying to save on car insurance quotes? No one wants to pay more than they have to pay for car insurance. Some people don’t know how to shop their rates. If you haven’t checked rates lately, here are some tips on how to save money on car insurance quotes.

How To Save Money On Car Insurance Quotes
How To Save Money On Car Insurance Quotes

What Is A Car Insurance Quote?

A car insurance quote usually starts with an estimation of what your rates would be. From the estimation, you can decide if it is worth having them run your credit score and driving record. After they verify the information you gave them, then they give you an official quote. This quote should be exactly what you pay each month for the length of the insurance term.

So I May Not Pay The Rate I Saw Online?

Unfortunately, a lot of the car insurance quote websites don’t have enough information to give you a fully accurate quote. They may give you a number but that number may change. Insurance isn’t like buying milk. The price isn’t the same for everybody. It is an approve process much like getting a credit card.

Just as you might get a lower interest rate from CapitalOne than I get, I may get a lower quote from Geico than you get. There are multiple factors that decide how much the insurance company will charge you for auto insurance. Although this may seem unfair, the rates are based on the perceived risk of insuring you. The good news is that once you know what drives your rate up, you can change a few things to lower your cost.

What Determines My Car Insurance Quote?

The biggest factors that determine your insurance quote are: the vehicle you are insuring, your zip code, your age, your gender, your marital status, driving history and credit score. I will explore each of these factors in more detail. This will let you know how to get cheaper insurance.

How To Save Money On Car Insurance Quotes With Your Car

The car you drive can make a huge impact on your car insurance rates

The car you drive can make a huge impact on your car insurance rates. This is especially true of full coverage car insurance but affects liability rates too. As you can imagine, an insurance company having to replace a $100,000 brand new BMW is going to be more expensive to insure than a $2,000 15 year old Ford Focus. This means that the BMW would probably cost more to buy and insure. Should this be the only deciding factor in buying a car? No. However, it should be a consideration, especially if you will have a car payment.

In general, older cars are cheaper to insure. They usually use an estimate that is similar to what the Kelly Blue Book value of your used car. Some of the cheapest cars to insure are actually antique cars. I have seen someone who was paying about $100 a month for a normal car insurance rate but it went down to $19 with a policy for an antique T-Bird from the early 1990s. So if you have an old T-Bird, Mustang or Camaro that is in good running order, you may want to consider making it your daily driver.

Hybrids and electric cars are also usually more expensive to insure. This is probably because their batteries can be costly to replace after an accident. Also, they usually require specially trained mechanics to assess damage or make repairs. However, you still might save more money on gas with a hybrid or electric car than your rate goes up.

How Can My Zip Code Help Me Save Money On Car Insurance Quotes?

The number of accidents, stop lights, roundabouts, stop signs and more can change how much car insurance costs. While I highly doubt it would be worth moving to save money on car insurance, it’s something you should factor into relocation costs. If you want to see how much your rates will vary, try looking at insurance estimates (without running your credit score and driving record) both where you currently live and where you are about to move.

Can My Age Affect My Insurance Rates?

Kinda. While, you know how everyone says that your car insurance rates go down after you turn 25? That’s not entirely true. It isn’t about age so much as how long you have had a clean driving record. The exception to this being that younger people, especially teenage boys, are usually more expensive to insure. They do base rates off of how likely someone your age would have an accident.

Generally, assuming you started driving at 16, if you are about 25-65, you will get the best rates based on age. After about 65-75, you will actually start to see your insurance rates increase.

Can My Age Affect My Insurance Rates?

Can My Marital Status Affect My Insurance Rates?

Yes! Married people, especially men, are less likely to get into car accidents. You actually get a discount for being married. Getting a divorce can raise your car insurance rates a bit because you will be considered single again. The good news for divorcees is that they usually are in a better age bracket and have cleaner driving histories than they did before their marriage so their rates might not actually go up at all.

Can My Marital Status Affect My Insurance Rates?

How Does My Driving History Change My Can Insurance Quotes?

Your driving history probably plays the biggest role in determining your car insurance rates. I have seen people with absolutely horrible driving records get unbelievable high rates. I once talked to a man who had several accidents, DUIs and tickets get a quote north of $750 a month for liability! The more accidents you’ve been in, the more likely it is that you will be in another in the near future. The more tickets you have, the higher your rate will be. If you have a DUI, please go and get a lawyer to help you fight it. If you get a ticket, traffic school is probably worth it.

Tickets and moving violations stay on your driving record for 3 years. Accidents and insurance claims stay on your driving record for 5 years. Please tell the agent who is quoting you about everything on your driving record. It is much better for a few things to come down and your rate be lower than you thought than to lie and go through the whole process of getting a quote for the rate to double or triple and it be out of your price range.

How To Save Money On Car Insurance Quotes With A Good Credit History

I have never seen a good credit score lower someone’s rates but I have seen people’s rates skyrocket and the insurance carrier even rejecting them because of a bad payment history. The good news is that this credit check usually has less to do with your FICO score and more to do with your payment history.

If you have utilities in your name, installment loans that you pay every month and a history of paying car insurance on time, you should be fine. However, not paying these bills or having several accounts in collections may make an insurance company think twice about you.

How To Save Money On Car Insurance Quotes With A Good Credit History

Summary

Now you should be empowered to take control of your car insurance rates. You now know all of the primary factors that can change your insurance quote. I invite all my readers to get a quote from Root Insurance because they have given me the best quotes I have been able to find. Also, if you download the app and get a quote with my link, they will give us both $50 gift cards, even if you don’t sign up! So try it out and let me know how it goes!

You can check out my full review here.

Where Can I Compare Auto Insurance Quotes?

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Disclosure: The ads and links on this website may promote products. We may receive compensation. Always check with legal professionals before making any financial decision.

Looking to see where can I compare auto insurance quotes? How many auto insurance quotes should I get? Save money by finding the best quote!

Where Can I Compare Auto Insurance Quotes?
Where Can I Compare Auto Insurance Quotes?

Why Should I Compare Auto Insurance Quotes?

Why is it important to compare auto insurance quotes? It is really worth my time? You should compare rates because insurance is a monthly bill. As long as you drive a vehicle, you need auto insurance. Because of this, even a small savings can amount to a large sum. $20 a month of savings can be an extra $240 in a year. For most people, the savings can be even larger.

When I switched from Allstate to Root, I got better coverages and saved over $100 a month! An extra $1,200 a year is a big deal for most people. Could you imagine saving that much with just a little bit of comparing prices? This is especially beneficial for retirees and middle class families. The smaller the wiggle room in your budget, the more important is it.

The issue with getting one quote is that you will never know if it is high or low. When I signed up for Allstate, I didn’t shop around. Unlike an iPhone or gallon of milk, insurance prices vary dramatically. One company may charge twice as much as another. Due to lack of accessibility, it is hard to compare prices. Generally, if you only get one quote, you lose.

How Long Should I Spend On Comparing Auto Insurance Quotes?

Generally, people are busy. Of course, getting each quote takes time. However, it’s worth it to spend the time to get each quote. To save time, some people like to go to insurance agents who represent several companies. However, there can be some issues in doing that. Insurance agents have no fiduciary duty to you. If they have two rates in front of them, they may give you whatever pays them more. There are definitely good agents out there but be careful.

Also, sometimes carriers’ rates may be more through an agency. Did you see the small print on the Progressive ad? It usually says that rates vary by how you buy. In the agency where I worked, people often said they couldn’t find lower rates for themselves. If they can’t do that for themselves, why would they do that for you?

How Many Quotes Should I Get?

The short answer is as many as possible. Most of the time, I recommend 10-15 or more quotes. This will give you a good idea as to about what you will pay. This should also be enough to find one of the cheapest rates in your area. Of course, there is always a chance there will be a lower rate. If you are finding a huge range of quotes, keep looking. However, if all the rates are close ($5-25) then you are probably okay to stop looking.

Just remember that savings will add up over time. For example, if you make $25 an hour, it may not seem worth your time. However, even if searching only saves you $25 a month, that would be worth 12 hours of your time.

Don’t give up until you get those 10+ quotes!

Where Can I Compare Auto Insurance Quotes?

There are several comparison quote websites. This quotes are usually good but not perfect. There also usually get paid for generating leads. I would try not to give them a cell phone number, if possible. You can check out Insurify, NerdWallet, Gabi, and The Zebra.

However, once you find a good quote, I would go straight to the company’s website to sign up. Make sure they aren’t raising your rate by using a comparison service.

Summary

Now you know why you should compare auto insurance quotes, how long you should spend, how many quotes to get and where you can compare several quotes. Remember to always be careful and double check everything. An independent agent or comparison website may have a cost. However, they may also save you time and money. Always do your research.

Personally, I always go with Root Insurance. I have had the best experience with them. If you use my link, they’ll actually give us both $50, even if you don’t sign up. You should try them and let me know what you think in the comments!

5 Reasons Root Insurance May Be The Best Insurance Company

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Disclosure: The ads and links on this website may promote products. We may receive compensation. Always check with legal professionals before making any financial decision.

Have you seen the ads or heard about Root Insurance? What makes them different from other insurance carriers? Can I really save 62% off of my auto insurance? Here is my Root Insurance Review!

Root Car Insurance Review
Root Insurance Might Be The Best Option For You

Number 1: No Commissioned Sales Agents

When you buy car insurance, about 5-15% of that is just a paycheck for your insurance agent. There is nothing wrong with sales agents making a living but think about how much you could save by cutting out the middle man. Root doesn’t use use insurance agents to sell their products. Instead, they rely on internet marketing and word-of-mouth to find new clients. In fact, if you want to get a free $50, just use my link to get a quote and they’ll send you a gift card even if you don’t sign up for their insurance. Marketing this way allows them to keep their costs down and pass the savings on to you.

Number 2: Root Insurance Only Insures Good Drivers

Because only a small portion of drivers drive up the cost of the insurance company paying out for accidents, Root Insurance decided to not cover the types of drivers who are more likely to cost the company money. This is another way Root saves money which lets them keep their rates low.

Root Insurance Review

Number 3: Your Rate Is Based On Your Driving

Although several companies now will give you discounts for letting them track how you drive, Root is the only one I know of where they factor that discount into your quote. They do it through just an app on your phone. No worrying about having to return expensive equipment or plugging something into your car. You also get to have that savings during your very first month with them.

Number 4: Root Insurance Has Great Customer Service

Unfortunately, I did get in a car accident after switching to Root. I was worried at first but they took good care of me. You take photos of the accident right inside the app and upload it to someone who will help with your case. They can email, call or text you so it’s easy to be in touch with them. Everyone I talked to was US-based so there isn’t any cultural or linguistic differences to overcome in communicating with them.

Root Insurance Customer Service

Number 5: Root Has The Lowest Car Rates I’ve Ever Seen

When working in insurance, I could check rates with 12 different carriers. Root beat them all. It wasn’t even close. I believe Progressive Insurance was the next best at more than twice the price for just liability vs having full coverage with Root. I ended up saving more like 70+% on car insurance when I switched to them. Really, just get a quote. It usually takes a couple weeks after you start it. Either way, you’ll get a $50 gift card for just having it run in the background on your phone. If their rates aren’t better, you don’t have to pay them anything but you still get the $50. What do you have to lose other than maybe a bit of battery charge?

Download The App And Take Root For A Spin!

That’s it for my Root Insurance review!