Smart Auto Insurance Blog

The Hartford Financial Services Group has some helpful tips on how to save money on auto insurance found on courant.com in the article “Tips for Saving $$ On Your Auto Insurance” by Korky Vann. 

Many auto insurance companies will offer discounts to long time customers so it’s worth checking with your current provider to see what you may qualify for.  Also, some providers offer group plans from employers.  These are usually available from business, professional or alumni groups.  Discounts may be available through these associations when more than one car is insured on a policy or other products such as home owners insurance is used through the company.

Auto insurance quotes can also be lowered by paying your bills on time.  Your credit score is an important factor in determining auto insurance rates.  You can also raise your deductible for a lower monthly payment if you are looking to save money month to month.  The most common advice is to shop around to see what competitive offers may be out there.

Major Northeastern insurer Plymouth Rock is offering several discounts on Massachusetts auto insurance, according to a recent press release.

To promote environmental consciousness, Plymouth has decreased auto insurance premiums for people who have “gone green” by driving fewer miles than the average in their area. This is similar to other auto insurance companies giving lower rates to drivers who do not use their cars for work commutes.

Inexperienced drivers, who normally have to pay more for policies, can save on their auto insurance rates by successfully completing a driving course from Driven Advanced Drivers Training. Plymouth Rock policy holders receive a 10% discount on the course.

Georgia auto insurance companies such as State Farm are charging lower auto insurance rates to drivers with better credit ratings, WALB News’ Jim Wallace reports. With these ratings, the higher the better. Insurers believe that lower credit ratings correlate with a higher likelihood of filing auto accident claims. A motorist’s credit rating plays a large part in calculating the insurance score that determines the premiums they charge. (Other factors include your driving record and demographic characteristics like age, location, and marital status.) Unfortunately, the perceived greater risk results in more expensive auto insurance for those with bad credit.

If your credit is good, Jim says that this is the perfect time to take advantage of the competition in the state’s car insurance market. Otherwise, try to improve your credit rating before shopping around for auto insurance quotes. You could save hundreds of dollars per year!

(Photo credit: History.com)

According to a press release, State Farm is lowering its Georgia auto insurance rates next month. As of March 9th, both comprehensive coverage and collision coverage premiums will decrease by an average of 1.5%. (However, medical and liability coverage rates will not change.) This is thanks to State Farm having to pay out fewer insurance claims than expected. This decision by the largest auto insurer in the state could save drivers over $16 million!

Get your own State Farm quote now and see if you will save money under the new rates.

A new program from Progressive Insurance allows drivers to go online and pick their own auto insurance premium. The Name Your Price tool on their website will show you the most package that best fits the price you entered. Then, you can gradually change the desired level of coverage with a slider (Want lower auto insurance rates? Up your deductible or lower your coverage limit). Pretty simple, right?

The insurer plans to take the Name Your Price tool nationwide this year. It’s currently available in these states:

• California
• Ohio
• Texas
• Florida
• Connecticut
• Kansas
• Georgia
• Maryland
• Indiana
• Illinois
• Oklahoma
• Michigan
• Pennsylvania
• Missouri
• Wisconsin
• Washington

Get your own Progressive Insurance quotes.

Auto insurance companies warn that a new bill in the Colorado state legislature could increase rates for motorists, claims Bob Mook of the Denver Business Journal. In 2003, the state switched to a tort system (where insurers pay a percentage of costs based on whose fault the accident was, going to court to settle disputes), but the Colorado No-Fault Motor Vehicle Insurance Act would reverse that change.

Governor Bill Ritter says that the tort system saves drivers about $322 per year on average, a 35% decrease from auto insurance rates under the no-fault system. A representative of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association claims that Colorado auto insurance premiums have dropped from being the ninth-highest in the nation to 23rd-highest since the reform. According to Bob, insurance companies believe that no-fault insurance, where each insurer pays all expenses for their driver without assigning blame, is easily defrauded.

A Business Wire press release has announced that Geico plans to lower its rates for Georgia auto insurance! The company’s representative states that on average, the same policies will cost 2.3% less than they did previously. She credits greater efficiency with better Geico insurance quotes at the same time other insurers in Georgia are increasing premiums.

The decreases go into effect on February 8th for existing policies. They apply to newly bought policies immediately.

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Progressive Insurance is launching its MyRate tracking device in Kentucky this week, according to Alex Davis from the Courier-Journal. The product is a small computer that plugs into a car’s diagnostic port under the dashboard (for cars built after 1996) and tracks a person’s driving habits. Based on those results, individual auto insurance premiums will be calculated

Behaviors tracked by MyRate include:

• How often a driver slams on the brakes
• How often a driver accelerates rapidly
• When a vehicle is used
• How many miles are driven

According to Jeannine Koranda of the Wichita Eagle, a bill pending in the state legislature would prevent Kansas auto insurance companies from charging different premiums to drivers with different credit ratings. Senate Bill 24 is currently waiting for a hearing in the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee.

The bill has sponsors from both political parties, whom believe that auto insurance rates should be based primarily on a person’s driving record. Senator Oletha Faust-Goudeau also believes that using credit ratings to determine premiums has a disproportionate impact on lower socioeconomic levels: they tend to have lower credit ratings, and therefore pay more for their car insurance. This bill could change that, and lower rates for most Kansas drivers.

The two largest providers of Alabama auto insurance recently announced plans to lower their rates, according to Jeff Amy in the Press-Register. State Farm, which holds almost a quarter of the state’s auto insurance market, will lower its rates by about 1.8%, as of January 12. Second-place Alfa Insurance is going to decrease its rates by 1.7% to 1.9%, depending on the subsidiary which wrote the policy. Those rate changes will go into effect on January 26.

Progressive Insurance also intends to lower its insurance rates for one of its Alabama subsidiaries later this month, by 5% on average. They’re the fourth-largest insurer in Alabama.

While Jeff warns that these lower rates won’t necessarily apply to everybody, it’s still a good idea to check out State Farm quotes or Progressive Insurance quotes, as well as Alfa’s, in order to keep up with rate changes in Alabama.

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