We don’t have to tell you that insurance companies don’t want policyholders to shop around. Insureds who compare price quotes will, in all likelihood, move their business because they stand a good chance of finding coverage at a more affordable price. A study discovered that drivers who compared rates regularly saved over $3,400 over four years compared to drivers who never shopped around for better prices.
If saving the most money on car insurance in Chula Vista is why you’re reading this, then having a grasp of how to shop for insurance coverage can save time, money, and frustration.
It takes a few minutes, but the best way to save money on car insurance rates is to compare prices regularly from different companies that sell auto insurance in Chula Vista.
First, get an understanding of how insurance works and the things you can change to keep rates low. Many policy risk factors that result in higher prices like speeding tickets, accidents and a less-than-favorable credit rating can be eliminated by paying attention to minor details. This article provides additional tips to prevent rate hikes and get bigger discounts that may have been overlooked.
Second, get rate quotes from independent agents, exclusive agents, and direct companies. Exclusive agents and direct companies can only give rate quotes from a single company like GEICO or State Farm, while independent agencies can quote rates for a wide range of companies. Select a company
Third, compare the new rate quotes to your existing coverage to see if you can save by switching companies. If you can save some money, make sure coverage does not lapse between policies.
Fourth, tell your current company to cancel your current auto insurance policy. Submit a completed policy application and payment to your new carrier. As soon as you can, place the new certificate verifying proof of insurance above your visor, in the console, or in the glove compartment.
The critical component of shopping around is to use the same liability limits and deductibles on every quote and and to get price quotes from every insurance company. Doing this enables an accurate price comparison and a good representation of prices.
Nine discounts for lower-cost insurance quotes
Car insurance is not cheap, but discounts can save money and there are some available to help bring down the price. Many of these discounts will be applied automatically when you complete an application, but some discounts are required to be requested specifically prior to getting the savings.
- Discount for Life Insurance – Insurance companies who offer life insurance give a small discount if you purchase life insurance from them.
- Payment Discounts – If paying your policy premium upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save up to 5%.
- Accident Forgiveness – Not really a discount, but companies like Allstate and State Farm may permit one accident before raising your premiums so long as you haven’t had any claims prior to the accident.
- Anti-lock Brakes – Cars with ABS braking systems or traction control can stop better under adverse conditions so companies give up to a 10% discount.
- Service Members Pay Less – Having a deployed family member could trigger a small discount.
- Multiple Policy Discount – When you have multiple policies with the same company you may save as much as 10 to 15 percent.
- Drivers Ed for Students – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to enroll in driver’s education if it’s offered in school.
- Onboard Data Collection – Policyholders that allow companies to analyze where and when they drive by using a telematics device like Allstate’s Drivewise might see lower rates if they exhibit good driving behavior.
- No Accidents – Insureds who avoid accidents and claims pay much less as compared to drivers with a long claim history.
Please keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to the entire policy premium. The majority will only reduce specific coverage prices like collision or personal injury protection. So even though they make it sound like you can get free auto insurance, it doesn’t quite work that way. But any discount will positively reduce your policy premium.
The best insurance companies and some of their more popular discounts are shown below.
- State Farm may offer discounts for student away at school, multiple autos, multiple policy, accident-free, and anti-theft.
- Progressive may have discounts that include multi-vehicle, online quote discount, continuous coverage, good student, multi-policy, and online signing.
- Progressive offers discounts including good student, continuous coverage, homeowner, online signing, and online quote discount.
- MetLife includes discounts for good driver, defensive driver, claim-free, multi-policy, accident-free, and good student.
- Farm Bureau policyholders can earn discounts including multi-vehicle, driver training, multi-policy, youthful driver, renewal discount, and 55 and retired.
- GEICO discounts include anti-theft, defensive driver, membership and employees, multi-policy, and federal employee.
- SAFECO may include discounts for multi-car, homeowner, accident prevention training, teen safety rewards, bundle discounts, and safe driver.
Before purchasing a policy, check with every company to apply every possible discount. Some credits may not apply in Chula Vista. If you would like to choose from a list of providers that offer some of these discounts in Chula Vista, click here.
Finding Hyundai Veloster insurance in Chula Vista, California
To find the best insurance prices, there are several ways to compare prices from different Chula Vista insurance companies. One of the best ways to lower the rate you pay for Hyundai Veloster insurance is to use the internet to compare rates.
When price shopping your coverage, more quotes will enable you to find the best rates. Some regional insurers cannot provide rate quotes online, so you also need to get quotes from those companies as well.
The companies shown below can provide free quotes in California. If your goal is to find cheaper auto insurance in California, we recommend you get rates from several of them to get the cheapest price.
When to get professional advice
When it comes to adequate coverage, there really isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of policy. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs.
These are some specific questions can aid in determining whether your personal situation might need professional guidance.
- Am I missing any policy discounts?
- Are my custom wheels covered?
- Am I covered if I hit a deer?
- Do I have any recourse if my insurance company denies a claim?
- Am I covered if I hit someone who is not insured?
- Is my state a no-fault state?
If you’re not sure about those questions, you might consider talking to a licensed agent. If you don’t have a local agent, complete this form.
Car insurance agents near you
Many people prefer to get professional advice from a licensed agent and that is a smart decision One of the best bonuses of comparing insurance prices online is that you can obtain cheaper prices and also buy local. And providing support for local insurance agencies is especially important in Chula Vista.
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this form (opens in new window), the quote information is submitted to local insurance agents that give free quotes for your business. It simplifies rate comparisons since you won’t have to search for an agent due to the fact that quote results will go to you. You’ll get the best rates without having to waste a lot of time. If you have a need to get a comparison quote from a specific company, you would need to visit that company’s website and submit a quote form there.
Not all auto insurance agents are the same
If you are wanting to purchase auto insurance from local Chula Vista agents, you need to know there are two different types of agencies and how they work. Chula Vista agents can be classified as either exclusive or independent.
Independent Insurance Agents
Agents that elect to be independent do not write with just one company so they can quote policies amongst many companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. If you are not satisfied with one company, an independent agent can move your coverage and you won’t have to switch agencies. When shopping rates, you absolutely need to compare quotes from independent agents for the best price selection. They also have the ability to place coverage with different regional companies which may provide better rates.
Featured below is a list of independent insurance agencies in Chula Vista that may be able to give you free auto insurance rate quotes.
- Mexican Insurance Specialists
249 E St – Chula Vista, CA 91910 – (619) 420-8200 – View Map - California Brokerage Insurance
355 K St – Chula Vista, CA 91911 – (619) 420-8888 – View Map - Areli’s Insurance Services
1010 Broadway #7 – Chula Vista, CA 91911 – (619) 409-1690 – View Map
Exclusive Insurance Agencies
Agents that choose to be exclusive normally can only provide a single company’s rates like Allstate, Farmers Insurance, State Farm, and AAA. Exclusive agents cannot provide other company’s prices so you need to shop around if the rates are high. They receive a lot of sales training on what they offer which helps overcome the inability to quote other rates. Consumers sometimes use the same exclusive agent primarily because of the brand and the convenience of having a single billing for all their coverages.
Shown below is a list of exclusive agents in Chula Vista willing to provide rate quotes.
- Allstate Insurance: Alfredo Contreras
2318 Proctor Valley Rd #102 – Chula Vista, CA 91914 – (619) 505-2040 – View Map - State Farm: Danny Patel
345 F St #160 – Chula Vista, CA 91910 – (619) 426-8352 – View Map - Bruce Anderson – State Farm Insurance Agent
871 Harold Pl #109 – Chula Vista, CA 91914 – (619) 422-3333 – View Map
Deciding on an insurance agency should depend on more than just a low price. These are valid questions to ask:
- In the event of vehicle damage, can you pick the collision repair facility?
- What are their preferred companies if they are an independent agency?
- Do you have coverage for a rental car if your vehicle is in the repair shop?
- What will you get paid if your car is a total loss? How is that amount determined?
- Do clients work directly with the agent or are most inquiries handled by a CSR?
- Does the agent help file claims?
Information about specific coverages
Knowing the specifics of your auto insurance policy helps when choosing the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy.
Insurance for medical payments – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance reimburse you for short-term medical expenses such as funeral costs, nursing services, chiropractic care and hospital visits. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or if you do not have health coverage. They cover both the driver and occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not available in all states and may carry a deductible
Collision coverage – This coverage pays for damage to your Veloster from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision insurance covers things such as sustaining damage from a pot hole, hitting a parking meter, colliding with a tree, backing into a parked car and driving through your garage door. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible on your Veloster to get cheaper collision coverage.
Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance – This protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. This coverage pays for injuries to you and your family and also any damage incurred to your Hyundai Veloster.
Because many people only carry the minimum required liability limits (which is 15/30/5), their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important. Normally these coverages do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision) – This pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for claims such as damage from flooding, theft, a broken windshield, hitting a bird and damage from getting keyed. The maximum payout you’ll receive from a claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Coverage for liability – This coverage can cover injuries or damage you cause to other’s property or people in an accident. Coverage consists of three different limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have liability limits of 15/30/5 that means you have a $15,000 limit per person for injuries, $30,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $5,000. Occasionally you may see one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which provides one coverage limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability can pay for things such as repair bills for other people’s vehicles, emergency aid, medical services, legal defense fees and medical expenses. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a personal decision, but you should buy higher limits if possible. California requires minimum liability limits of 15/30/5 but drivers should carry higher limits.
The next chart demonstrates why minimum state limits may not be adequate.
Frequent quotes can save
Some insurance companies may not offer rates over the internet and usually these small insurance companies sell through independent insurance agencies. Lower-priced car insurance in Chula Vista is definitely available on the web and from local agencies, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates.
You just learned a lot of information how to shop for Hyundai Veloster insurance online. The key concept to understand is the more companies you get prices for, the better chance you’ll have of finding cheaper Chula Vista car insurance quotes. Drivers may even discover the most savings is with a small mutual company.
When you buy Chula Vista car insurance online, do not buy less coverage just to save a little money. In many cases, an accident victim reduced physical damage coverage and found out when filing a claim that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your objective should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at a price you can afford, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.
To read more, feel free to browse these articles:
- Car Insurance: When not to Skimp (BankRate.com)
- How Much is Car Insurance for Uber Drivers in Chula Vista? (FAQ)
- All About Airbag Safety (State Farm)
- Self-driving cars won’t replace humans (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- Vehicle Safety Ratings (iihs.org)