What exactly is a car insurance quote?
A car insurance quote is an estimation of how much you will pay for auto insurance coverage. Your driving history, where you live, the type of car you drive, and a variety of other personal and environmental factors all influence your quote. Because each insurer writes its auto policies using different criteria, no two insurance quotes are the same.
Continue reading to learn more about car insurance quotes and how to get a free quote online.
How to Obtain Free Auto Insurance Quotes
While car insurance is required in almost every state in the United States, finding the right policy at a reasonable price can be difficult. After researching the best car insurance companies, the next step should be to locate and compare insurance quotes. This can be accomplished using the following methods:
Information required to obtain insurance quotes
You’ll need the same basic information whether you get your quotes from an agent or from an online comparison site like The Zebra. To get an accurate online auto insurance quote, have the following items on hand.
How are car insurance quotes calculated?
It is critical to understand that an insurance company’s primary goal is to predict risk and assign premiums based on the risk that a specific driver may pose. To estimate this risk, car insurance companies look at your entire driving profile, including factors like location, demographics, insurance history, driving record, and vehicle.
1. Your residence
Because most insurance is regulated at the state level, state legislation has an impact on car insurance premiums. In Michigan, for example, drivers must carry much higher amounts of Personal Injury Protection coverage, which raises the cost of car insurance. Although each state regulates insurance differently, auto insurance prices can vary by ZIP code. Prices can even differ from one street to the next.
Your location may determine whether you can get a low-cost car insurance quote. If you live in a densely populated area with a high number of auto insurance claims, your premium will be higher than if you live in a less densely populated area. Even if you haven’t filed any claims, you could end up paying more because of your location.
2. Describe yourself
“Who you are” is a broad way for an insurance company to estimate the risk you represent. Every company considers different characteristics, including the following common rating factors:
Gender influences car insurance quotes
Gender is not a significant factor in auto insurance rating. In fact, the difference in car insurance premiums between men and women is less than 1%. This premium difference is greater for teenagers: male teen drivers pay $1,000 more per year than female teen drivers. According to historical data from car insurance companies, young male drivers are more likely to take risks while driving than female drivers of the same age.
How does age affect auto insurance rates?
Your age influences your car insurance premium. A young driver is statistically less experienced and more likely to receive a citation or file a bodily injury or property damage claim. In the eyes of an insurance company, this means increased risk and a greater need for financial protection, resulting in a higher premium.
As you gain driving experience, your chances of getting cheap auto insurance quotes rise after the age of 19 — and again at the age of 25. This holds true until you reach your 60s, when your car insurance rates may rise.
What effect does marital status have on car insurance quotes?
While the difference is small, married drivers are more likely than single, divorced, or widowed drivers to obtain low-cost car insurance quotes. Car insurance companies assume that married drivers share driving responsibilities and are less likely to file claims.
How homeownership affects auto insurance costs
Renters pay slightly higher car insurance premiums than condo or homeowner owners, but only marginally. The cost of car insurance for a renter versus a homeowner is only about $15 per six-month policy. Homeowners have lower car insurance rates because they are thought to be more financially stable and less likely to file a claim.
What effect education has on auto insurance quotes
When compared to a driver without a degree, a driver with a degree can save $24 per year on car insurance premiums. Car insurance companies consider clients with higher levels of education to be less risky, and they reward that lower risk with a lower premium.
How your credit score affects your car insurance premiums
In contrast to education level or gender, a driver’s credit score has a significant impact on their insurance rate. Drivers with “worst” credit pay more than twice as much for auto insurance as those with “excellent” credit — about $152 per month.
Drivers with poor credit are more likely to file a claim than drivers with good credit, according to insurance providers. Furthermore, when a claim is filed by a driver with poor credit, the insurance company’s claim payout tends to be higher. Insurance companies cover this risk by charging higher rates to those with poor credit.
3. Your insurance background
It’s critical to consider how your previous auto insurance history will affect your car insurance quotes. Insurance gaps — or periods when you have only the bare minimum of coverage or no coverage at all — can raise your premium because insurance companies view those who have been uninsured or underinsured as financially unstable and riskier to insure. A long insurance history with high limits and few claims can result in low-cost online car insurance quotes.
4. Your driving style
The assessment of your driving style by an insurance company entails more than you might think. When determining a quote, an auto insurance company will consider the primary way you use your vehicle, the number of miles you drive each year, and your driving record.
- Use of a vehicle
- Mileage per year
- Infractions on the road
- Type of vehicle
Car insurance quotes and primary vehicle use
The way you use your vehicle can have an impact on the cost of car insurance quotes. Those who drive only for pleasure (which is becoming increasingly common due to the abundance of remote workers) can expect to pay significantly less for car insurance than those who commute regularly.
It’s critical to understand the distinction between a business-use personal policy, as described above, and a commercial car insurance policy. If you use your vehicle to transport goods or lend it to employees, you may require commercial insurance.
If you work as a rideshare driver for Uber or Lyft, talk to your insurance provider about getting a rideshare endorsement. This endorsement protects you from being denied coverage if you are injured while on the job.
What effect does annual mileage have on car insurance quotes?
The amount you drive reflects the amount of risk you pose to your insurance company. In California, your annual mileage makes a big difference: there is a 30% difference between those who drive less than 7,500 miles per year and those who drive 15,000 or more miles per year. This works out to about $549 per year.
Mileage driven has less of an impact if you live elsewhere in the United States, but it isn’t completely ignored.
How does driving safety affect auto insurance quotes?
Driving history is one of the most important factors in generating online car insurance quotes. A driver’s driving history is a good predictor of how they will drive in the future, according to an auto insurance company. If a driver has a history of speeding tickets, at-fault accidents, driving without insurance, or other violations, their insurance rates will be higher. Those with a clean driving record can expect to pay much lower rates on average.
Car insurance quotes and vehicle type
The type of vehicle listed on a policy has an impact on insurance rates. A high-priced performance vehicle or a foreign-built model may be more expensive to insure. Vehicles that are less expensive to repair or aren’t designed for fast driving, such as vans and sedans, are less expensive to insure.
Make prudent insurance claims.
Accidents that are your fault can result in high insurance premiums. If you’re unfamiliar with how insurance companies price policies, you might be tempted to use your collision coverage if you’ve damaged your vehicle by backing into a pole, for example. Filing a claim may seem like a good idea if you have a low deductible. However, unless you’ve caused significant damage, it may be worthwhile to pay for damages out of pocket and avoid involving your insurance company.
It’s also important to keep in mind that a claim will likely remain on your insurance record for three to five years. This means that, while filing a claim may appear to be less expensive in the short term, you may end up paying much more in the long run.
If you’re not sure whether to file a claim, read our guide to learn more.
Take a close look at your insurance coverage.
Unlike your home, the value of your vehicle depreciates rapidly, which means that the coverage levels you once had may no longer be necessary after a few years. For example, collision and comprehensive coverage — when combined, referred to as full coverage car insurance — are intended to protect your vehicle from damage. However, if your vehicle is worth less than $4,000, the insurance payout may not be worth the cost of your insurance premium.
When looking for cheap car insurance quotes, have a good idea of the value of your vehicle from Kelley Blue Book or NADA. Consider raising your deductible if your vehicle is worth more than $4,000 but you need to save money. Because your car insurance deductible and premium are inversely related, increasing your deductible will lower your bill. You can see how changing your deductible affects your premium in the chart below.
Take advantage of car insurance discounts.
When your driving record is pulled, some car insurance discounts are automatically applied to your policy. You should double-check that they haven’t forgotten anything. The following are some potential discounts and cost-cutting programmes in which you may be able to participate.
Understand your auto insurance options.
The following are some common types of car insurance, as well as some additional coverage options. Knowing these details will help you find a great deal, whether you get auto insurance quotes online or through an agent. You can also add endorsements to your policy to supplement or tailor it to your specific needs as a driver.
Car insurance quotes should be compared.
There are two common methods for finding a car insurance policy: the traditional method involves working with an insurance agent, and the modern method involves online quote comparison. Because your auto insurance rates may vary depending on your circumstances, you should obtain car insurance quotes online at least every six months to ensure you’re with the right insurance company.
If you find a lower rate elsewhere, you should consider cancelling your current policy and switching to a different insurer. The balance of the outstanding premium should be refunded. When you move from one state to another, add a car to your insurance policy, get married, or celebrate a birthday, you can find cheap auto insurance quotes.
Why a Zebra?
The Zebra is an independent insurance advisor and quote comparison site that helps customers compare auto and home insurance prices, coverage, and service levels.
You can do the following with The Zebra:
- Get multiple quotes at once to save time.
- Find the most affordable car insurance companies based on your driving history.
- Determine which type of coverage is best for you.
- Get help from our knowledgeable in-house agents.
• Visitors can also be comfortable and confident that your personal data is secure.
By allowing you to compare insurance rates from every major carrier, the Zebra takes the guesswork out of determining which insurers will be best for your driving profile. We work with both large and small insurers to find you a policy that meets your needs, even if you’re looking for low-income car insurance. Begin the process online or call an agent from our in-house agency. Most of the country’s top insurers have appointed our agency to sell policies on their behalf.
The Zebra values your privacy so much that we don’t even ask for your phone number. User can accept that your information is safe with any of us. We will never send you spam and will never sell your information.