Best Ways to Save on Bakersfield Honda Element Insurance

Have you fallen victim to an under-performing, overpriced auto insurance policy? You’re in good company because there are lots of Bakersfield residents who feel the same.

Shocking but true, the vast majority of auto insurance customers have bought auto insurance from the same company for four years or more, and approximately 40% of consumers have never quoted rates to find cheap coverage. Most drivers in California could save an average of up to 35% each year, but they don’t want to take the time to find cheap rates by getting comparison quotes. Many auto insurance companies vie for your insurance dollar, so it can be very hard to choose a insurer and get the definite lowest rate on Honda Element insurance in Bakersfield.

You should take the time to get comparison quotes periodically because auto insurance prices change quite often. Even if you think you had the best rate on Honda Element insurance in Bakersfield six months ago you can probably find a lower rate today. Forget all the misinformation about auto insurance because you’re about to learn the easiest way to remove unneeded coverages and save money.

If you already have coverage or are looking for a new policy, you can learn to get lower rates without having to cut coverage. Locating the best rates in Bakersfield can initially seem challenging. Drivers only need an understanding of the tricks to compare prices online from multiple companies.

Buy Honda Element Insurance for Less

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that aid in calculating your policy premiums. If you have some idea of what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this enables you to make decisions that could result in lower rates.

The list below includes some of the most common factors used by your company to calculate your rates.

Incidental coverages can cost a lot – Policies have extra bells and whistles you can purchase on your Element policy. Insurance for things like personal injury protection, high-cost glass coverage, and Farm Bureau memberships may be costing you every month. You may think they are a good idea when talking to your agent, but your money might be better spent on other coverage so eliminate them to save money.

More miles equals more premium – The more you drive your Honda every year the more you will pay for auto insurance. Most companies calculate rates partially by how you use the vehicle. Autos left parked in the garage receive better premium rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. A policy that improperly rates your Element may be wasting your money. Double check that your auto insurance declarations sheet reflects the correct driver usage, because improper ratings can cost you money.

Being married can lower costs – Walking down the aisle may cut your premiums on your auto insurance policy. Having a significant other usually means you are more responsible and insurance companies reward insureds because drivers who are married file infrequent claims.

How many coverages with the same company – Many companies will award better rates to people who buy several policies from them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even with this discount, it’s always a smart idea to compare other Bakersfield Element insurance rates to guarantee you are still saving the most.

High credit scores save money – An insured’s credit history is a big factor in calculating your auto insurance rates. Drivers who have excellent credit tend to file fewer claims than drivers who have poor credit. So if your credit rating can be improved, you could pay less to insure your Honda Element by repairing your credit.

How’s your driving record? – Drivers with clean records get better rates compared to bad drivers. Even one driving citation can increase the cost of insurance twenty percent or more. Drivers with multiple violations such as DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions might be required by their state to submit a SR-22 form with the DMV in their state in order to prevent their license from being revoked.

The information below highlights how speeding tickets and at-fault fender-benders can drive up Honda Element car insurance rates for different ages of insureds. The rates are based on a married female driver, comp and collision included, $250 deductibles, and no other discounts are factored in.

Many insurance companies provide prices for coverage directly from their websites. Comparing prices online for Honda Element insurance in Bakersfield is quite simple as you just enter the amount of coverage you want on the page. After the form is submitted, their system makes automated requests for information on your driving record and credit history and generates pricing information based on these and other factors. This makes it a lot easier to compare rates and it is important to get many rate quotes if you want to get the best rate possible.

To compare pricing, compare rate quotes from the providers shown below. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you copy deductibles and limits exactly as shown on your declarations page. This ensures you will have a price comparison for exact coverage.

The providers in the list below provide free rate quotes in Bakersfield, CA. If multiple providers are shown, it’s highly recommended you compare several of them to get the lowest price.

Honda Element insurance rates and statistics

The premium information shown next highlights a range of insurance coverage prices for Honda Element models. Understanding more about how auto insurance prices are formulated is important for you to make smart choices when purchasing an insurance policy.

Data variables include single female driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, safe-driver, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, and homeowner. Prices do not factor in specific Bakersfield garaging location which can influence premium rates considerably.

Car insurance deductibles

The hardest decision when buying coverage is what deductibles to buy. The comparison tables below may help to illustrate the costs and benefits between low and high comp and collision deductibles. The first table uses a $250 comprehensive and collision deductible and the second rate table uses a $500 deductible.

Data assumes married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, homeowner, multi-policy, claim-free, and safe-driver. Prices do not factor in vehicle location which can lower or raise price quotes substantially.

Based on this data, we can arrive at the conclusion that using a $250 deductible costs about $17 more each month or $204 every year than opting for the higher $500 deductible. Due to the fact that you would have to pay $250 more out-of-pocket with a $500 deductible as compared to a $250 deductible, if you have at a minimum 15 months between claim filings, you would save more money if you decide on a higher deductible.

The chart below illustrates how your deductible choice and can raise or lower Honda Element insurance prices for different age groups of insureds. The data assumes a married male driver, comp and collision included, and no discounts are applied.

Honda Element insurance rates: Men versus women

The information below illustrates the difference between Honda Element insurance premiums for male and female drivers. The rate quotes are based on no claims or driving violations, full coverage, $250 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no other discounts are factored in.

Price comparison of only insuring for liability

The diagram below illustrates the comparison of Honda Element insurance costs with full physical damage coverage compared to only buying the minimum liability limits required in California. The price estimates are based on no claims or driving citations, $500 deductibles, single status, and no policy discounts are applied.

Deciding between full coverage and liability only

There is no set rule to drop comp and collision coverage, but there is a general guideline. If the yearly cost of full coverage is more than about 10% of the replacement cost of your vehicle minus the policy deductible, then it may be the right time to buy liability only.

For example, let’s pretend your Honda Element claim settlement value is $7,000 and you have $1,000 policy deductibles. If your vehicle is destroyed, you would only receive $6,000 after paying the physical damage deductible. If premiums are more than $600 annually for full coverage, then you may need to consider dropping full coverage.

There are some scenarios where eliminating full coverage is not advised. If you have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, you have to carry full coverage as part of the loan conditions. Also, if your finances do not allow you to purchase a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should keep full coverage on your policy.

Why you need auto insurance

Even though Bakersfield Element insurance rates can get expensive, maintaining insurance may be mandatory for several reasons.

• Almost all states have minimum mandated liability insurance limits which means you are required to buy specific minimum amounts of liability coverage in order to license the vehicle. In California these limits are 15/30/5 which means you must have $15,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $5,000 of property damage coverage.
• If you bought your Element with a loan, most banks will require that you buy full coverage to guarantee loan repayment. If you cancel or allow the policy to lapse, the lender may have to buy a policy to insure your Honda at a much higher premium rate and force you to pay for the expensive policy.
• Insurance safeguards not only your Honda but also your financial assets. Insurance will pay for medical transport and hospital expenses incurred in an accident. As part of your policy, liability insurance also covers legal expenses if anyone sues you for causing an accident. If mother nature or an accident damages your car, collision and comprehensive (also known as other-than-collision) coverage will pay to have it repaired.

The benefits of carrying enough insurance definitely exceed the price paid, especially if you ever need it. Unknowingly, the average driver overpays as much as $830 a year so compare rates once a year at a minimum to ensure rates are inline.

Save money with these discounts

Auto insurance can be pricey, but companies offer discounts that you may not know about. Many of these discounts will be applied automatically at the time of quoting, but some may not be applied and must be inquired about in order for you to get them. If you don’t get every credit you qualify for, you’re just leaving money on the table.

• Low Mileage – Keeping the miles down on your Honda may enable drivers to earn better rates on cars that stay parked.
• No Claims – Insureds with no claims or accidents get the best auto insurance rates when compared with bad drivers.
• Drivers Ed for Students – Require your teen driver to complete a driver education course in school or through a local driver safety program.
• Employee of Federal Government – Simply working for the federal government can save as much as 8% depending on your company.
• Passenger Safety Discount – Factory air bags or automatic seat belts can get savings of 20 to 30 percent.
• Theft Deterrent – Vehicles that have factory alarm systems and tracking devices help deter theft and will qualify for a discount on a Bakersfield auto insurance quote.

You can save money using discounts, but most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. So even though it sounds like all those discounts means the company will pay you, you aren’t that lucky.

The diagram below illustrates the comparison of Honda Element car insurance rates with and without discounts applied to the rates. The rate quotes are based on a male driver, no claims, a clean driving record, California state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $100 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with multi-policy, multi-car, safe-driver, homeowner, marriage, and claim-free discounts applied.

Insurance companies that possibly offer some of the discounts shown above may include but are not limited to:

• State Farm
• GEICO
• Allstate
• SAFECO
• Farm Bureau
• Progressive
• AAA

Double check with all companies you are considering what discounts are available to you. Some discounts might not apply in Bakersfield. If you would like to view providers who offer online Honda Element insurance quotes in California, click this link.

Local Bakersfield insurance agencies

A lot of people would rather get professional advice from a licensed agent and that is OK! Good agents are trained risk managers and will help you if you have claims. One of the best bonuses of comparing insurance prices online is the fact that drivers can get the lowest rates but also keep your business local.

To help locate an agent, after submitting this form (opens in new window), your insurance data gets sent to insurance agents in Bakersfield who will give you bids for your insurance coverage. You don’t have to contact an agency since price quotes are sent straight to your inbox. If you have a need to compare prices from a specific company, just navigate to their website and fill out their quote form.

Choosing a company is decision based upon more than just a cheap quote. These are some valid questions you should ask.

• Are they properly licensed to sell insurance in California?
• Will a damage claim use OEM or aftermarket replacement parts?
• Do they get extra compensation for selling add-on coverages?
• Will the agent help in case of a claim?
• Are glass claims handled on-site or do you have to take your vehicle to a repair shop?
• Do they have cheaper tiers of coverage?

Independent or Exclusive: It’s your choice

If you’re trying to find local Bakersfield agents, it helps to know the two different types of agencies and how they can quote your rates. Car insurance agents can be classified as either exclusive or independent (non-exclusive). Both types of agents can insure your vehicles properly, but it’s important to point out the differences because it may have an impact on the selection process.

Exclusive Car Insurance Agents

Exclusive agencies have only one company to place business with and examples are Allstate, State Farm and Farmers Insurance. They generally cannot shop your coverage around so always compare other rates. Exclusive insurance agents are trained well on what they offer which helps overcome the inability to quote other rates.

Shown below is a list of exclusive agents in Bakersfield willing to provide price quote information.

View more agents

Independent Agents

Agents in the independent channel are not employed by one company so they can quote policies with multiple insurance companies and find the cheapest rate. If your agent finds better pricing, your agent can just switch to a different company and you can keep the same agent.

If you are comparing car insurance prices, it’s recommended you include several independent agencies in order to compare the most rates.

Below are Bakersfield independent insurance agents who can help you get price quote information.

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Persistence is the key to cheap rates

When buying insurance coverage, do not buy less coverage just to save a little money. There have been many cases where someone sacrificed full coverage only to find out that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. The ultimate goal is to purchase a proper amount of coverage at a price you can afford, but do not skimp to save money.

Affordable Honda Element insurance in Bakersfield is available online and from local insurance agents, and you need to price shop both so you have a total pricing picture. Some insurance providers do not offer price quotes online and many times these small insurance companies only sell through local independent agents.

We’ve covered a lot of ways to lower your Honda Element insurance car insurance rates in Bakersfield. The key concept to understand is the more you quote Bakersfield auto insurance, the better your chances of lowering your premium rates. Drivers may even discover the lowest car insurance rates are with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. Smaller companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost compared to the large companies like State Farm or Progressive.

Steps to buying low-cost Honda Element insurance in Bakersfield

If you want to find the absolute lowest rates, then the best way to save on auto insurance rates in Bakersfield is to compare prices once a year from different companies that insure vehicles in California.

First, read and learn about individual coverages and the steps you can take to keep rates in check. Many policy risk factors that cause rate increases like distracted driving and a less-than-favorable credit history can be remedied by making small lifestyle or driving habit changes.

Second, compare price quotes from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Exclusive agents and direct companies can only quote rates from a single company like Progressive or Farmers Insurance, while agents who are independent can provide price quotes from multiple companies.

Third, compare the new rates to the price on your current policy and see if you can save money. If you can save some money and switch companies, verify that coverage does not lapse between policies.

Fourth, notify your company or agent of your intention to cancel the current policy and submit a down payment along with a completed application for your new policy. Once received, store the certificate verifying proof of insurance above your visor, in the console, or in the glove compartment.

One bit of advice is that you use similar limits and deductibles on every price quote and and to get rate quotes from all possible companies. This guarantees a level playing field and the best price quote selection.

Helpful learning opportunities

• What is Covered by an Auto Insurance Policy? (Insurance Information Institute)
• How Much is Car Insurance for a Company Car in Bakersfield? (FAQ)
• Who Has Affordable Car Insurance Rates for a Toyota Camry in Bakersfield? (FAQ)
• Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance for a Ford Fusion in Bakersfield? (FAQ)
• Parking Tips to Reduce Door Dings (State Farm)
• Auto Crash Statistics (Insurance Information Institute)