It’s easy to assume that insurance companies don’t want customers comparing rates. Consumers who compare price quotes are likely to switch companies because they stand a good chance of finding better rates. A recent auto insurance study revealed that consumers who routinely shopped for cheaper coverage saved on average $865 a year compared to drivers who didn’t regularly shop around.
If finding the cheapest rates on insurance in Memphis is your ultimate goal, then having some knowledge of the best way to compare insurance can make the process more efficient.
If you want to save the most money, the best way to get discount car insurance rates is to regularly compare price quotes from insurers who provide car insurance in Memphis. Rate comparisons can be done by completing these steps.
- Step 1: Get a basic knowledge of how your policy works and the things you can change to prevent high rates. Many risk factors that cause high rates such as traffic violations and a low credit score can be controlled by being financially responsible and driving safely. Keep reading for more ideas to help keep rates affordable and find available discounts that you may qualify for.
- Step 2: Obtain price quotes from independent agents, exclusive agents, and direct companies. Direct and exclusive agents can provide rates from a single company like GEICO and State Farm, while agents who are independent can give you price quotes for a wide range of insurance providers.
- Step 3: Compare the price quotes to your current policy and see if you can save money. If you find better rates and switch companies, make sure there is no coverage gap between policies.
The most important part of shopping around is to make sure you’re comparing similar limits and deductibles on every quote and and to compare all possible companies. This helps ensure a fair rate comparison and the most accurate and complete price analysis.
Buying the cheapest car insurance in Memphis seems hard but is not really that difficult. If you have insurance now, you should be able to get lower rates using the ideas covered in this article. Although Tennessee car owners do need to learn how big insurance companies compete online and use it to find better rates.
Low Cost companies for Kia Stinger insurance
The companies shown below have been selected to offer quotes in Tennessee. If multiple companies are listed, we recommend you get rate quotes from several of them to get the best price comparison.
Affordable rates by earning these five discounts
Companies that sell car insurance don’t necessarily list the entire discount list in a way that’s easy to find, so the below list has a few of the more common as well as some of the hidden credits that may apply to you.
- Federal Employees – Active or retired federal employment can earn a discount up to 10% with certain companies.
- Student Discount for Driver Training – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to enroll and complete driver’s education as it can save substantially.
- No Claim Discounts – Claim-free drivers have much lower rates compared to policyholders that have many claims.
- Renewal Discounts – Some car insurance companies give discounts for switching to them before your current expiration date. It’s a savings of about 10%.
- More Vehicles More Savings – Buying coverage for multiple cars with the same company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
Remember that many deductions do not apply to the entire policy premium. Some only reduce specific coverage prices like comprehensive or collision. Despite the appearance that you can get free auto insurance, it doesn’t quite work that way.
Larger car insurance companies and their offered discounts are:
- State Farm offers premium reductions for accident-free, driver’s education, Steer Clear safe driver discount, Drive Safe & Save, and good driver.
- Progressive discounts include homeowner, continuous coverage, online quote discount, multi-policy, good student, multi-vehicle, and online signing.
- Progressive includes discounts for multi-vehicle, online quote discount, homeowner, online signing, good student, continuous coverage, and multi-policy.
- MetLife has savings for good student, good driver, accident-free, defensive driver, and claim-free.
- Farm Bureau policyholders can earn discounts including 55 and retired, safe driver, renewal discount, good student, and multi-policy.
- GEICO may offer discounts for military active duty, air bags, emergency military deployment, anti-theft, membership and employees, and good student.
- SAFECO offers discounts including multi-car, teen safe driver, teen safety rewards, safe driver, and drive less.
If you need lower rates, check with every prospective company which discounts you qualify for. Discounts may not be available in every state. If you would like to choose from a list of providers that offer many of these discounts in Memphis, click this link.
Auto insurance quotes from local Memphis insurance agents
A lot of people just prefer to talk to a local agent and often times that is recommended One of the great benefits of comparing insurance prices online is that you can find the best rates but still work with a licensed agent.
After completing this quick form, your insurance coverage information is sent to agents in your area who will return price quotes for your auto insurance coverage. You won’t need to do any legwork because prices are sent to you instantly. You can get cheaper auto insurance rates without a big time investment. If you need to get a comparison quote for a specific company, you would need to find their quoting web page and give them your coverage information.
Picking the best company requires more thought than just the premium amount. These are some questions your agent should answer.
- How often do they review coverages?
- Will the agent help in case of a claim?
- Is there a 24/7 contact number?
- What kind of financial rating does the company have?
- Do they feel the quoted coverages are adequate?
- Do they regularly work with personal auto policies in Memphis?
Different types of Memphis car insurance agents
If you want a good Memphis insurance agent, it helps to know the two different types of agents and how they differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Auto insurance policy providers can be categorized as either independent agents or exclusive agents.
Exclusive Agents
These type of agents can usually just insure with one company and some examples include State Farm, Allstate, or Farmers Insurance. They generally cannot compare rates from other companies so it’s a take it or leave it situation. Exclusive insurance agents receive extensive training on their company’s products which can be an advantage.
Shown below are exclusive insurance agents in Memphis who may provide you with price quotes.
Farmers Insurance: Candace Hall
1444 E Shelby Dr #329 – Memphis, TN 38116 – (901) 345-2615 – View Map
Ulysses Cosby – State Farm Insurance Agent
248 Cooper St – Memphis, TN 38104 – (901) 276-1044 – View Map
State Farm: Warren Hodges
5170 Sanderlin Ave #204 – Memphis, TN 38117 – (901) 767-2000 – View Map
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Agents that choose to be independent often have affiliation with several companies so they can write business through many companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. To transfer your coverage to a different company, they can switch companies in-house and you don’t have to do anything.
If you need cheaper auto insurance rates, we highly recommend that you get rate quotes from at a minimum one independent agency in order to compare the most rates.
The following are Memphis independent insurance agencies who can help you get price quote information.
Nationwide Insurance: Daysha J Palacio-Miller
1850 Poplar Crest Cove Ste 102 – Memphis, TN 38119 – (901) 762-8585 – View Map
Farris Evans Insurance Agency Inc
1568 Union Ave – Memphis, TN 38104 – (901) 274-5424 – View Map
Collier Insurance
606 S Mendenhall Rd #200 – Memphis, TN 38117 – (901) 529-2900 – View Map
Coverages available on your car insurance policy
Having a good grasp of car insurance can help you determine appropriate coverage at the best deductibles and correct limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Shown next are the normal coverages found on the average car insurance policy.
Comprehensive coverages
This coverage covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for claims like damage from getting keyed, rock chips in glass, vandalism and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Coverage for medical payments
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for immediate expenses such as prosthetic devices, hospital visits, doctor visits, pain medications and nursing services. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance plan or if you do not have health coverage. Coverage applies to both the driver and occupants and also covers getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is only offered in select states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Collision coverage
This coverage pays for damage to your Stinger resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision insurance covers claims such as colliding with a tree, damaging your car on a curb, backing into a parked car and rolling your car. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible on your Stinger in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Uninsured and underinsured coverage
This coverage protects you and your vehicle from other motorists when they do not carry enough liability coverage. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your Kia Stinger.
Since a lot of drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (25/50/15 in Tennessee), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked.
Auto liability
Liability insurance protects you from damage or injury you incur to other’s property or people that is your fault. This insurance protects YOU from legal claims by others. It does not cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. As an example, you may have limits of 25/50/15 which means a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and a total limit of $15,000 for damage to vehicles and property.
Liability insurance covers things such as emergency aid, bail bonds, legal defense fees, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and loss of income. How much coverage you buy is your choice, but consider buying higher limits if possible. Tennessee requires drivers to carry at least 25/50/15 but it’s recommended drivers buy higher limits.
The illustration below demonstrates why buying the state minimum limits may not provide adequate coverage.
One last note
While you’re price shopping online, you should never skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There are a lot of situations where an accident victim reduced physical damage coverage to discover at claim time that the savings was not a smart move. Your aim should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at the best possible price while still protecting your assets.
We’ve covered many tips how you can shop for Kia Stinger insurance online. It’s most important to understand that the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. You may even discover the most savings is with some of the lesser-known companies. Regional companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm or Progressive.
More detailed auto insurance information is located in these articles:
- Teen Driver Statistics (Insurance Information Institute)
- What Auto Insurance is Cheapest for Drivers with Good Credit in Memphis? (FAQ)
- How Much are Memphis Car Insurance Rates for a Honda Civic? (FAQ)
- How Much are Memphis Car Insurance Quotes for 16 Year Olds? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Memphis Auto Insurance with Multiple Speeding Tickets? (FAQ)
- Your Car has been Stolen: Now What? (Allstate)
- Winter Driving (Insurance Information Institute)
- Car Insurance for Teen Drivers with Divorced Parents (Allstate)