Astonishing but true according to a recent study, most car insurance policyholders have bought car insurance from the same company for a minimum of four years, and nearly 40% of drivers have never even compared quotes to find affordable rates. With the average premium in North Carolina being $1,000, drivers could save roughly 10% a year, but they don’t understand how simple it is to go online and compare rates.
If you want to find the absolute lowest rates, then the best way to find more affordable Hyundai Equus insurance in Charlotte is to start doing an annual price comparison from insurance carriers that sell auto insurance in North Carolina.
Step 1: Gain an understanding of the coverage provided by your policy and the things you can control to prevent expensive coverage. Many policy risk factors that drive up the price like careless driving and an unacceptable credit rating can be controlled by making small lifestyle or driving habit changes. This article provides more ideas to find cheap prices and find possible discounts that are available.
Step 2: Obtain price quotes from independent agents, exclusive agents, and direct companies. Exclusive and direct companies can only quote rates from one company like Progressive or Farmers Insurance, while independent agents can give you price quotes from multiple insurance companies.
Step 3: Compare the new rate quotes to your current policy and see if you can save money. If you find a better price, make sure the effective date of the new policy is the same as the expiration date of the old one.
One piece of advice is that you’ll want to compare the same deductibles and limits on each quote and and to get price quotes from as many car insurance companies as possible. This provides a fair rate comparison and the most accurate and complete price analysis.
Insurance policy discounts you can’t miss
Car insurance is not cheap, but there are discounts available to cut the cost considerably. Some trigger automatically at the time of purchase, but a few need to be asked about before they will apply.
- Drivers Education – It’s a good idea to have your young drivers complete a driver education course in school or through a local driver safety program.
- Online Discount – Some of the larger companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks simply for signing online.
- Government Employee Discount – Active or retired federal employment may qualify for a discount when you quote Charlotte auto insurance depending on your insurance provider.
- Defensive Driver Discounts – Taking part in a course that instructs on driving safety may get you a small discount and easily recoup the cost of the course.
- Military Deployment Discount – Having an actively deployed family member can result in better premium rates.
- Discount for Multiple Policies – When you have multiple policies and insure them both with the same insurance company you could earn a discount of as much as 10 to 15 percent.
- Good Student – Getting good grades may save as much as 25% on a Charlotte auto insurance quote. The good student discount can last up until you turn 25.
- Senior Discount – Drivers over the age of 55 could receive a small discount on rates.
- Claim Free – Insureds with no claims or accidents can save substantially when compared to drivers who are more careless.
- Discounts for Safe Drivers – Drivers who don’t get into accidents can save up to 40% or more on their Charlotte auto insurance quote than their less cautious counterparts.
A quick disclaimer, most discounts do not apply to the entire cost. The majority will only reduce specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though the math looks like you could get a free insurance policy, it doesn’t quite work that way.
A partial list of companies that may have these money-saving discounts are:
It’s a good idea to ask each company or agent which discounts you qualify for. Depending on the company, some discounts may not be available in Charlotte. For a list of insurers that offer discounts in Charlotte, follow this link.
When comparison shopping, more quotes provides better odds of finding the best price. Some regional insurers cannot provide price estimates online, so it’s recommended that you also compare price quotes from the smaller companies as well.
The car insurance companies shown below can provide comparison quotes in North Carolina. If multiple companies are listed, we suggest you click on several of them to get a more complete price comparison.
How You Can Control Hyundai Equus Insurance Prices
A large part of saving on auto insurance is knowing some of the factors that come into play when calculating the level of your policy premiums. If you understand what controls the rates you pay, this allows you to make good choices that may reward you with better auto insurance rates. Lots of things are used when premium rates are determined. A few of the factors are predictable such as your driving history, but some are more obscure like where you live or your vehicle rating.
Don’t cut corners with liability coverage – Your policy’s liability coverage is the protection in the event that you are responsible for physical damage or personal injury to other. Your liability coverage provides legal defense coverage to attempt to prove you were not liable. This coverage is very inexpensive as compared to coverage for physical damage, so do not skimp.
Is your car built for speed? – The performance of the car, truck or SUV you need insurance for makes a substantial difference in how high your rates are. The lowest base rates are usually found on low performance passenger models, but that’s not the only thing that factors into the final price.
Driver age impacts costs – Older drivers have been proven to be more responsible, statistically cause fewer accidents, and are safer drivers. Inexperience drivers are proven to be inattentive and easily distracted in a vehicle so they pay higher auto insurance rates.
Driving citations are costly – Only having one driving citation can bump up the cost by as much as twenty percent. Attentive drivers get better prices than their less careful counterparts. Drivers unfortunate enough to have severe citations such as reckless driving or DUI may face state-mandated requirements to submit a SR-22 or proof of financial responsibility with their state’s licensing department in order to legally drive.
Marriage pays dividends – Getting married may earn you lower rates on your auto insurance bill. It may mean you are more mature than a single person and statistics show married couples file fewer claims.
Better premiums on safer cars – Vehicles that have high safety ratings tend to have lower insurance rates. These vehicles reduce the chance of injuries and fewer injuries translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and thus lower rates.
Loss probability for a Hyundai Equus – Companies use data from past claims to calculate a rate that will offset losses. Models that tend to have a trend towards higher claims will have a higher cost to insure. The next table illustrates the actual insurance loss data for Hyundai Equus vehicles.
For each policy coverage, the claim probability for all vehicles as a whole is considered to be 100. Numbers under 100 imply a favorable loss record, while values over 100 indicate frequent claims or larger claims.
Make and Model | Collision | Property Damage | Comp | Personal Injury | Medical Payment | Bodily Injury |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hyundai Equus 4dr | 155 | 83 | 225 | 85 |
Empty fields indicate not enough data collected
Statistics from IIHS.org for 2013-2015 Model Years
Your situation helps dictate your coverage
Keep in mind that when it comes to choosing adequate coverage, there really is not a one size fits all plan. Every insured’s situation is different and your policy should reflect that. These are some specific questions could help you determine if you will benefit from professional help.
- What is the rate difference between pleasure use and commuting?
- Does my insurance cover a custom paint job?
- Should I buy more coverage than the required North Carolina minimum liability coverage?
- Do I need higher collision deductibles?
- Will I lose any money if I cancel my policy before it expires?
- Do I need replacement cost coverage on my Hyundai Equus?
- Should I have a commercial auto policy?
- What does medical payments cover?
- How does medical payments coverage work?
If you’re not sure about those questions, you may need to chat with a licensed insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, fill out this quick form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.
Are insurance agents obsolete?
Many drivers just prefer to sit down with an agent and that is a smart decision One of the benefits of comparing insurance online is that drivers can save money and get the lowest rates and still buy from a local agent.
For easy comparison, once you complete this quick form, your insurance coverage information is emailed to insurance agents in Charlotte that provide free Charlotte auto insurance quotes for your business. It simplifies rate comparisons since you won’t have to do any legwork because prices are sent to you. Get lower rates without requiring a lot of work. If you wish to quote rates for a specific company, you can always search and find their rate quote page and give them your coverage information.
Finding the right insurer needs to be determined by more than just a cheap quote. These questions are important to ask:
- Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?
- Is coverage determined by price?
- Is vehicle damage repaired with OEM or aftermarket parts?
- Which companies do they recommend if they are an independent agency?
- Does the company have a local claim office in Charlotte?
If you’re trying to find a local Charlotte insurance agent, it’s helpful to know the types of insurance agents that you can select. Agencies in Charlotte can either be exclusive agents or independent agents.
Exclusive Insurance Agents
Agents in the exclusive channel can only provide one company’s prices and examples are Allstate, Farmers Insurance or State Farm. Exclusive agents cannot provide prices from multiple companies so always compare other rates. These agents are usually well trained in insurance sales which helps overcome the inability to quote other rates.
The following is a short list of exclusive agents in Charlotte who can help you get comparison quotes.
Brian McCaw – State Farm Insurance Agent
5950 Fairview Rd #220 – Charlotte, NC 28210 – (704) 554-0144 – View Map
Allstate Insurance: Bob White
601 S Kings Dr, Ste FF – Charlotte, NC 28204 – (704) 376-3479 – View Map
Jeff Genant – State Farm Insurance Agent
15105 John J Delaney Dr – Charlotte, NC 28277 – (704) 594-3000 – View Map
Independent Insurance Agents
Agents that elect to be independent are not limited to a single company and that is an advantage because they can write policies with many different companies and find you the best rates. If your premiums go up, your agent can just switch to a different company and you won’t have to switch agencies. If you are trying to find cheaper rates, it’s recommended you get rate quotes from multiple independent agents in order to compare the most rates.
The following are Charlotte independent agents that are able to give rate quotes.
Mark McDuffie Insurance Agency
6101 Carnegie Blvd #415 – Charlotte, NC 28209 – (704) 364-9227 – View Map
A1 Insurance
537 W Sugar Creek Rd # 104B – Charlotte, NC 28213 – (704) 598-4442 – View Map
All Points Insurance Agencies
5618 Albemarle Rd # 200 – Charlotte, NC 28212 – (980) 221-9468 – View Map
After getting good responses to any questions you have as well as a affordable price, you’ve probably found a car insurance agent that meets the requirements to provide insurance coverage. But remember, you have the power to terminate coverage at any point so don’t assume you’re contractually obligated to any specific agency for the full term.
Best reasons to buy car insurance in North Carolina
Even though it can be expensive, paying for car insurance is not optional due to several reasons.
- Almost all states have minimum mandated liability insurance limits which means state laws require a specific level of liability coverage in order to drive the car legally. In North Carolina these limits are 30/60/25 which means you must have $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $60,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of property damage coverage.
- If you bought your vehicle with a loan, almost all lenders will require that you have insurance to ensure the loan is repaid in case of a total loss. If you let the policy lapse, the bank may buy a policy for your Hyundai for a much higher rate and force you to pay for the expensive policy.
- Car insurance preserves both your assets and your car. Insurance will also pay for all forms of medical expenses for yourself as well as anyone injured by you. One policy coverage, liability insurance, will also pay to defend you if you cause an accident and are sued. If you have damage to your Hyundai as the result of the weather or an accident, your policy will pay to have it repaired.
The benefits of buying enough insurance are definitely more than the cost, especially for larger claims. In a recent study of 1,000 drivers, the average customer is overpaying more than $865 each year so it’s important to compare rates once a year at a minimum to help ensure money is not being wasted.
Be persistent to save money
We just covered a lot of tips how to reduce Hyundai Equus insurance rates online in Charlotte. The key concept to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the better your chances of lowering your car insurance rates. Consumers may even find the lowest rates are with some of the smallest insurance companies. They may often insure only within specific states and give better rates as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm or Progressive.
Low-cost Hyundai Equus insurance in Charlotte can be sourced on the web and also from your neighborhood Charlotte agents, so you need to shop Charlotte auto insurance with both to have the best rate selection. Some insurance companies do not offer online rate quotes and usually these smaller providers work with independent insurance agencies.
Helpful resources
- Electronic Stability Control FAQ (iihs.org)
- Who Has Cheap Charlotte Auto Insurance Rates for a Ford F-150? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance for a Honda Accord in Charlotte? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance for Retired Military in Charlotte? (FAQ)
- Who Has Affordable Car Insurance for College Students in Charlotte? (FAQ)
- What are my Rights when Filing a Claim? (Insurance Information Institute)
- Things to Know Before you Cancel Insurance (Allstate)