How to Decide on Car Insurance

Last updated March 2, 2022

There are many factors that go into choosing the best auto insurance plan. This resource will walk you through the factors that you should consider when deciding on an auto insurance policy.

When hunting for the most affordable car insurance, it’s important to remember that insurance is essentially risk management. The less financial risk you want, the more insurance you’ll want to purchase. But lower risk and better coverage come at a higher price that, when push comes to shove, you hope you’ll never actually have to use. This conundrum is what makes choosing the right car insurance so difficult. 

Consider what kind of insurance you need

The kind of insurance and level of coverage you need depends on several factors including:

Where You Live– most states have legal requirements on liability and other kinds of insurance

If You’re Leasing or Paying Off Your Vehicle– if you’re leasing or still paying off your car, your lender might dictate the level of coverage you need to maintain for the duration of your loan
Your Vehicle and Lifestyle– depending on the vehicle you want to insure and how you intend to use it, you’ll want to consider different coverage options

The more types of insurance and higher limits you have, generally the higher your premium will be, so it’s important to get only the insurance that’s right for you so you’re paying the lowest possible price while still feeling confident in your car insurance coverage.

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Consider your deductible

Your deductible is how much you will pay out of pocket for repairs in the event of an accident before your insurance will cover the rest.

Many factors can affect your deductible such as:

The Car You Drive– cars that cost more to repair are among the most expensive to insure
The State You Live In– depending on your state’s auto insurance requirements
Your Personal Information– your age, marital status, credit score, and so on can all affect your deductible

Generally, if you offer to raise your deductible, your monthly insurance premium will be lower. However, doing this does put more risk on you because you will be paying more out of pocket if you ever do have an accident.

Compare your car insurance options

To choose the best auto insurance policy for you, compare your options across numerous providers. Get quotes from numerous insurance providers before making your decision, and compare the level of coverage they offer, the monthly premium they quote you, and the deductible of the policy.

Hot Tip: ask potential providers if you qualify for any discounts

Many auto insurance providers offer money-saving deals such as discounts for: 

Being a safe or low-risk driver 
Vehicle safety and/or security features such as backup cameras, lane departure sensors, blind-spot detectors, and so on 
Good credit score 
How much (or little) you drive

Save by comparing

One of the best ways to ensure you get the right coverage at the right price is to compare auto insurance quotes.

About Rate Retriever

At Rate Retriever, our mission is to make the way you shop for insurance transparent and fair through user-friendly tools that respect your privacy and deliver reliable, comprehensive results.

So we took everything we hated about comparing insurance quotes online – the spam, the long questionnaires, the limited choices, the inaccuracy of quote prices – and threw it out the window, favoring a short form that more accurately estimates what you’ll pay at each of the top insurance providers near you.

Rate Retriever is an independent company that is not owned by an insurance provider, nor do we provide insurance ourselves. This independence allows us to be your free and impartial insurance research tool, helping you make the best decisions for your insurance needs.

We may earn a commission when you click one of the links or call one of the providers listed on our site; however, we do not allow our partnerships to influence which information we provide.

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