The Three Categories of Car Insurance Carriers

Knowing where to hunt for the good deals is key to finding lower cost auto insurance and some competitive car insurance discounts.

The cost of your car insurance will depend on several different factors. Depending on where you live, the number of options will vary, as will the price. For example, New York and California are known for having very high rates, and major urban areas will be more expensive than rural ones. This is because of the higher levels of traffic, the possibility of theft, and the higher crime rates.

Your safety record as a driver, how many years you’ve been driving, your employment, the kind of car you drive…all of these will influence how much you have to pay for insurance.

While you cannot necessarily change these factors, you can prepare yourself to get the best possible rate. A very useful idea is to break down your search into the three major types of insurance carriers. While you may not have time to get a quote from every carrier in your area, there are three major types and you should get a quote from at least one of each.

The first type is what are known as the 800 number insurance carriers, such as Geico Direct at 1-800-861-8380. These companies could be a bit cheaper than other options because they do not pay commissions to agents in the field.

The second type of insurance carrier is local office based carriers such as Statefarm or Allstate. These carriers have their own agents as well, but are based out of local offices. They can be more expensive then than the first type, but they cover a wider range of drivers.

Independent agents are the third category. Companies such as Travelers Insurance Company or the Hartford will usually not be the cheapest, but they will be a good option for higher risk drivers who cannot get policies from the first two types of insurance companies. If you fit into this category, you should contact several of these companies’ agents and compare their rates.

Finding car insurance discounts takes some work, but it helps to break it down into categories to make your search more efficient and targeted to your unique needs.

The Car Insurance for New Young Drivers Guide was established to help people learn about the various aspects of car insurance.