The best way to get discount auto insurance rates in Colorado Springs is to start doing an annual price comparison from insurers in Colorado.
First, read about how insurance works and the modifications you can make to prevent expensive coverage. Many rating factors that are responsible for high rates like at-fault accidents, careless driving, and a poor credit score can be remedied by paying attention to minor details.
Second, compare prices from direct carriers, independent agents, and exclusive agents. Exclusive agents and direct companies can provide rates from a single company like GEICO or Allstate, while agents who are independent can provide prices for a wide range of insurance providers.
Third, compare the new quotes to the premium of your current policy to see if switching to a new carrier will save money. If you find a better price and change companies, make sure the effective date of the new policy is the same as the expiration date of the old one.
Fourth, provide notification to your current company to cancel your existing policy and submit a completed policy application and payment for your new coverage. As soon as you have the new policy, keep your new certificate verifying coverage in your vehicle’s glove compartment or console.
A good tip to remember is to try to compare the same amount of coverage on each price quote and and to compare as many auto insurance providers as possible. Doing this provides the most accurate price comparison and the best rate selection.
Inconceivable but true, the majority of drivers kept their policy with the same company for at least four years, and almost half have never compared rates with other companies. Colorado Springs drivers could cut their rates by up to 35% a year just by comparing rates, but they don’t believe the big savings they would realize if they bought a different policy.
Components of Your Dodge Stratus Insurance Prices
Many factors are taken into consideration when quoting car insurance. Most are fairly basic such as traffic violations, although others are less obvious like your vehicle usage or your financial responsibility. When buying car insurance it’s important to understand some of the factors that aid in calculating your policy premiums. When you know what positively or negatively determines premiums, this enables informed choices that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.
Listed below are most of the major factors car insurance companies consider when setting your rate level.
Frequent car insurance claims will increase rates – Insurance companies in Colorado generally give cheaper rates to drivers who are claim-free. If you are a frequent claim filer, you can pretty much guarantee higher rates. Insurance coverage is designed for the bigger claims that can’t be paid out-of-pocket.
Decrease rates by maintaining coverage – Letting your insurance expire is a quick way to increase your renewal premiums. Not only will you pay higher rates, not being able to provide proof of insurance can result in a license revocation or jail time.
Low credit score equals high rates – Your credit rating can be a huge factor in calculating your car insurance rates. So if your credit history is not that good, you could save money insuring your Dodge Stratus by repairing your credit. Insureds with high credit ratings tend to file fewer claims than drivers who have poor credit.
Younger vs. older drivers – Young drivers in Colorado are proven to be more careless when driving so they pay higher car insurance rates. More experienced drivers are more responsible, statistically cause fewer accidents, and receive fewer citations.
City dwellers may pay more – Living in areas with lower population can be a good thing when trying to find low car insurance rates. Less people means reduced accidents in addition to fewer liability claims. Drivers who live in large Colorado cities have congested traffic and longer commutes to work. More time on the road means more chance of being in an accident.
Does your occupation cost you more? – Jobs like lawyers, police officers, and medical professionals tend to pay higher rates than the rest of us due to high stress levels and extremely grueling work hours. On the flip side, professions such as professors, engineers and homemakers get better rates.
Lower rates by increasing comp and collision deductibles – Protection for physical damage, aka comp and collision, insures against damage to your Dodge. Some instances where coverage would apply would be running into the backend of another car, vandalism, and burglary. Comprehensive and collision coverage deductibles state the amount of money you are willing to pay out-of-pocket if you file a covered claim. The larger the amount you have to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.
Insurance rates and driver gender – Over time, data shows females are less aggressive when driving. This data doesn’t prove that men are worse drivers. Both sexes are in at-fault accidents at a similar rate, but men cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Men also get higher numbers of serious violations like DWI (DUI) or reckless driving.
Verify you’re earning every discount
Insurance is not an enjoyable expense, but you may find discounts that could help you make your next renewal payment. A few discounts will automatically apply when you purchase, but lesser-known reductions have to be asked for prior to receiving the credit.
- Multiple Policy Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles and insure them with the same company you could save up to 20% and get you cheaper Stratus insurance.
- Drive Less and Save – Low mileage vehicles can earn cheaper rates.
- One Accident Forgiven – Not really a discount, but companies like Allstate and Progressive will let one accident slide before raising your premiums if your claims history is clear for a set time period.
- Colorado Springs Homeowners Pay Less – Owning your own home or condo can earn you a little savings because owning a home is proof that your finances are in order.
- Military Deployment Discount – Having a deployed family member could mean lower prices.
- Senior Citizen Discount – Mature drivers are able to get a discount up to 10%.
- Telematics Data – Drivers that enable their insurance company to scrutinize driving patterns by using a small device installed in their vehicle such as Progressive’s Snapshot could possibly reduce rates if their driving habits are good.
- Passenger Safety Discount – Factory air bags or automatic seat belts may get savings of up to 25% or more.
Discounts save money, but please remember that some of the credits will not apply to your bottom line cost. Most only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like you can get free auto insurance, insurance companies wouldn’t stay in business.
A few of the larger companies and a partial list of their discounts are shown below.
- State Farm offers premium reductions for Drive Safe & Save, student away at school, driver’s education, Steer Clear safe driver discount, passive restraint, and multiple policy.
- American Family may have discounts that include good driver, Steer into Savings, early bird, defensive driver, and multi-vehicle.
- AAA includes discounts for good driver, anti-theft, good student, multi-policy, education and occupation, pay-in-full, and AAA membership discount.
- GEICO may offer discounts for federal employee, anti-theft, driver training, multi-policy, air bags, five-year accident-free, and defensive driver.
- Mercury Insurance offers discounts including ease of repair, multi-policy, anti-theft, good student, good driver, low natural disaster claims, and age of vehicle.
- Farmers Insurance has discounts for distant student, multi-car, business and professional, early shopping, electronic funds transfer, and bundle discounts.
- Progressive has savings for multi-policy, continuous coverage, online signing, multi-vehicle, homeowner, online quote discount, and good student.
Before buying, ask every prospective company what discounts are available to you. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts may not apply in Colorado Springs. To view insurance companies with discount insurance rates in Colorado, follow this link.
One last note
Cheap Dodge Stratus insurance in Colorado Springs is attainable both online and also from your neighborhood Colorado Springs agents, so you should compare both to get a complete price analysis. Some auto insurance companies may not have rates over the internet and many times these regional carriers prefer to sell through independent agents.
You just read many tips how you can compare Dodge Stratus insurance prices in Colorado Springs. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher your chance of finding affordable Dodge Stratus insurance quotes. Consumers could even find that the lowest priced auto insurance comes from some of the smallest insurance companies.
As you shop your coverage around, it’s a bad idea to skimp on coverage in order to save money. There are many occasions where drivers have reduced liability limits or collision coverage only to find out that the savings was not a smart move. The ultimate goal is to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate, not the least amount of coverage.
To learn more, link through to the articles below:
- Electronic Stability Control FAQ (iihs.org)
- What Insurance is Cheapest After a Speeding Ticket in Colorado Springs? (FAQ)
- What Car Insurance is Cheapest for College Students in Colorado Springs? (FAQ)
- New head restraint design cuts injuries (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- Neck Injury FAQ (iihs.org)