It’s an obvious statement that car insurance companies don’t want policyholders to shop around. Insureds who compare rates once a year are highly likely to move their business because there is a good probability of finding lower rate quotes. A recent study showed that people who make a habit of shopping around saved as much as $3,400 over four years as compared to drivers who never compared prices.
If finding the lowest price for car insurance is the reason for your visit, then learning about how to find companies and compare insurance rates can help make the process easier.
The best way we recommend to get affordable auto insurance rates in Bakersfield is to start comparing prices yearly from companies who sell insurance in California. You can compare prices by completing these steps.
Step 1: Gain an understanding of the different coverages in a policy and the changes you can make to prevent rate increases. Many things that result in higher prices like traffic tickets, fender benders, and a less-than-favorable credit rating can be remedied by making minor driving habit or lifestyle changes. Read the full article for additional ideas to get affordable coverage and find discounts that may have been missed.
Step 2: Compare prices from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Direct companies and exclusive agencies can only quote rates from a single company like GEICO or State Farm, while agents who are independent can provide price quotes for a wide range of insurance providers.
Step 3: Compare the new rate quotes to the premium of your current policy and determine if cheaper MKC coverage is available in Bakersfield. If you find better rates and switch companies, ensure there is no coverage lapse between policies.
Step 4: Notify your company or agent of your decision to cancel your existing policy and submit payment along with a signed and completed policy application to the new company. Immediately safely store the certificate of insurance along with the vehicle’s registration papers.
The key thing to know about shopping around is to make sure you’re comparing the same level of coverage on every price quote and and to compare as many companies as possible. Doing this provides a fair price comparison and a complete price analysis.
Most companies like State Farm, Allstate and GEICO allow you to get prices on their websites. This process is easy for anyone because you just enter the coverage amounts you desire on the page. Upon sending the form, the company’s rating system obtains your credit score and driving record and returns a price quote.
The ability to get online quotes for Lincoln MKC insurance in Bakersfield makes it easy to compare insurance prices and it’s necessary to do this if you want to find the cheapest price on insurance.
To find out how much you’re overpaying now, take a look at the companies shown below. To compare your current rates, we recommend you enter the coverages as close as possible to your current policy. This makes sure you will have comparison quotes based on the exact same insurance coverage.
The companies in the list below provide price comparisons in California. If multiple companies are listed, it’s highly recommended you get prices from several of them to get the best price comparison.
Lower Your Bakersfield Insurance Prices
Part of the car insurance buying process is learning the factors that go into determining your premiums. If you have a feel for what impacts premium levels, this empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with lower premium levels. Many different elements are part of the equation when you get your auto insurance bill. A few of the factors are predictable like an MVR report, although others are more obscure such as your marital status or your vehicle rating.
The itemized list below are some of the factors that factor into premiums.
- Vehicles with better crash test results cost less to insure – Safe vehicles tend to be cheaper to insure. Highly rated vehicles protect occupants better and lower rates of occupant injuries means your insurance company pays less which can mean better rates for you.
- Higher coverage deductibles are cheaper – Comprehensive and collision coverage deductibles represent how much money you are required to pay before your car insurance pays a claim. Physical damage protection, also called comprehensive and collision insurance, insures against damage to your car. Examples of some claims that would be covered are a windshield broken by a bird, hail damage, and having a roll-over accident. The more you have to pay, the less money you will pay for car insurance.
- Don’t abuse policy claims – If you are the type of insured that files lots of claims you shouldn’t be surprised to get much higher rates or policy non-renewal. Car insurance companies in California give the best rates to policyholders who do not file claims often. Your car insurance is designed for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
- Men pay higher prices – Over the last 50 years, statistics have shown women tend to be less risk to insure than men. That doesn’t necessarily mean that men are WORSE drivers than women. Women and men are in at-fault accidents in similar numbers, but guys cause more damage. Not only that, but men also get higher numbers of serious violations like DWI (DUI) or reckless driving.
- Pleasure use saves money – The more miles you rack up on your Lincoln in a year’s time the higher your rate. The majority of insurers apply a rate based on their usage. Autos that sit idle most of the time receive lower rates than those used for commuting. Make sure your declarations sheet states how each vehicle is driven, because it can save money. A policy that improperly rates your MKC is just wasting money.
- Higher premiums for demanding vocations – Did you know that where you work can have an impact on rates? Occupational choices like lawyers, executives, and stock brokers generally have the highest rates because of intense work-related stress and lengthy work days. On the other hand, occupations like professors, historians and performers generally pay rates lower than average.
- Prevent car insurance policy lapses – Driving your car without having proper coverage is illegal and you will pay a penalty because you let your insurance lapse for non-payment. In addition to paying higher premiums, being ticketed for driving with no insurance may result in fines or a revoked license. You may then have to file a SR-22 with the California department of motor vehicles.
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Loss probability for a Lincoln MKC – Companies use past loss statistics for each vehicle to determine a price that will be profitable for them. Vehicles that the statistics show to have high amounts or severity of claims will cost more for coverage. The data below shows the actual insurance loss data for Lincoln MKC vehicles.
For each policy coverage, the loss probability for all vehicles, regardless of make or model, is considered to be 100. Values that are under 100 are indicative of better than average losses, while percentage numbers above 100 indicate frequent claims or tendency to have higher losses.
Insurance Loss Ratings for Lincoln MKC Vehicles Vehicle Model Collision Property Damage Comp Personal Injury Medical Payment Bodily Injury Lincoln MKC 4dr 2WD 97 76 69 Lincoln MKC 4dr 4WD 99 68 72 82 BETTERAVERAGEWORSEEmpty fields indicate not enough data collected
Data Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for 2013-2015 Model Years
Why do I need car insurance?
Despite the high cost, insuring your vehicle may be required and benefits you in several ways.
- The majority of states have mandatory liability insurance requirements which means state laws require 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 your MKC has a lienholder, most lenders will have a requirement that you have physical damage coverage to protect their interest in the vehicle. If you do not keep the policy in force, the bank may buy a policy for your Lincoln for a much higher rate and force you to reimburse them much more than you were paying before.
- Insurance protects your car and your assets. Insurance will pay for medical bills for not only you but also any passengers injured in an accident. As part of your policy, liability insurance also pays for attorney fees and expenses in the event you are sued. If your Lincoln gets damaged, collision and comprehensive coverages will cover the repair costs.
The benefits of carrying adequate insurance outweigh the cost, particularly if you ever have a claim. Unknowingly, the average driver overpays more than $820 a year so you should quote your policy with other companies each time the policy renews to make sure the price is not too high.