Anyone knows that auto insurance companies don’t want customers comparing rates. People who compare rates once a year are likely to switch to a new company because there are good odds of finding a lower-priced policy. A recent auto insurance study discovered that consumers who routinely compared quotes saved about $3,400 over four years compared to those who never shopped for cheaper rates.
If finding the best price on car insurance in Raleigh is the reason you’re reading this, then having a good understanding the best way to shop and compare car insurance can make it easier to shop your coverage around.
If you want to save money, the best way to get discount car insurance rates is to compare prices annually from insurance carriers who sell insurance in Raleigh. This can be done by completing these steps.
- Step 1: Try to understand how auto insurance works and the modifications you can make to drop your rates. Many policy risk factors that result in higher rates like accidents, traffic tickets, and poor credit can be eliminated by making minor changes in your lifestyle.
- Step 2: Compare price quotes from independent agents, exclusive agents, and direct companies. Direct companies and exclusive agencies can only give prices from a single company like GEICO or Farmers Insurance, while independent agencies can quote prices from multiple sources. View a list of agents
- Step 3: Compare the new quotes to your existing coverage to determine if switching companies saves money. If you can save money and switch companies, make sure the effective date of the new policy is the same as the expiration date of the old one.
The key thing to know about shopping around is to make sure you’re comparing the same liability limits and deductibles on each price quote and and to get prices from as many car insurance companies as possible. This guarantees a level playing field and a good representation of prices.
The best way we recommend to compare rate quotes for Volvo S40 insurance in Raleigh is to know most larger insurance companies will pay a fee to give rate comparisons. All consumers are required to do is provide the companies a bit of rating information such as how much you drive, if you went to college, whether your vehicle is owned or leased, and your job. Your information is sent automatically to insurance companies and they return rate quotes with very little delay.
To find the cheapest car insurance rates, click here and enter your coverage details.
The companies in the list below are ready to provide price quotes in North Carolina. If you want to find the cheapest car insurance in North Carolina, it’s a good idea that you click on several of them to get the cheapest price.
Choosing Volvo vehicle insurance is an important decision
Despite the high cost of buying insurance for a Volvo S40 in Raleigh, maintaining insurance is most likely required but also gives you several important benefits.
First, almost all states have minimum liability requirements which means state laws require a minimum amount of liability protection in order to be legal. 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.
Second, if you bought your car with a loan, almost every bank will require that you buy full coverage to ensure they get paid if you total the vehicle. If you default on your policy, the bank may insure your Volvo at a much higher rate and require you to reimburse them for the expensive policy.
Third, insurance safeguards both your assets and your Volvo S40. Insurance will pay for medical bills for not only you but also any passengers injured in an accident. Liability insurance, one of your policy coverages, will also pay to defend you if you cause an accident and are sued. If damage is caused by hail or an accident, your policy will pay all costs to repair after the deductible has been paid.
The benefits of insuring your car are without a doubt worth the cost, especially if you ever need it. As of last year, the average driver in North Carolina overpays as much as $810 a year so it’s very important to do a rate comparison each time the policy renews to help ensure money is not being wasted.
Statistics and details
The coverage information shown below highlights different insurance premium costs for Volvo S40 models. Understanding how car insurance premiums are determined can be of help when making smart choices when buying a car insurance policy.
Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
S40 2.4I | $234 | $446 | $254 | $16 | $76 | $1,026 | $86 |
S40 T5 | $234 | $446 | $254 | $16 | $76 | $1,026 | $86 |
S40 T5 AWD R-Design | $234 | $446 | $254 | $16 | $76 | $1,026 | $86 |
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Table data represents married female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $100 deductibles, and North Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, claim-free, multi-vehicle, homeowner, and multi-policy. Premium costs do not factor in specific garaging location which can lower or raise insurance rates noticeably.
Age-based auto insurance rates by gender in Raleigh
The chart below illustrates the difference between Volvo S40 car insurance costs for male and female drivers. The rates are based on no claims or driving violations, comprehensive and collision coverage, $500 deductibles, drivers are single, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
Full coverage or liability only
The illustration below shows the comparison of Volvo S40 premium costs with and without full coverage. The premiums assume no accidents or driving violations, $250 deductibles, drivers are single, and no discounts are factored in.
When to stop buying physical damage coverage
There isn’t a steadfast formula to eliminate physical damage insurance, but there is a broad guideline. If the yearly cost of full coverage is about 10% or more of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.
For example, let’s assume your Volvo S40 settlement value is $5,000 and you have $1,000 deductibles. If your vehicle is severely damaged, the most you would get paid by your company is $4,000 after paying your policy deductible. If it’s costing you more than $400 a year for your policy with full coverage, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.
There are some conditions where removing full coverage is not in your best interest. If you have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, you must maintain physical damage coverage in order to prevent the bank from purchasing higher-priced coverage. Also, if you don’t have enough money to buy a different vehicle if your current one is in an accident, you should keep full coverage in place.
Discounts mean cheaper rates for Volvo S40 insurance in Raleigh
Companies that sell car insurance do not advertise every discount they offer in an easy-to-find place, so we researched some of the best known as well as the least known credits that may apply to you. If you are not receiving all the discounts possible, you’re paying more than you need to.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – By paying your entire bill at once instead of monthly or quarterly installments you can avoid monthly service charges.
- Theft Prevention System – Vehicles optioned with advanced anti-theft systems can help prevent theft and will qualify for a discount on a Raleigh car insurance quote.
- Seat Belt Discounts – Requiring all passengers to fasten their seat belts can save 10% or more on the premium charged for medical payments and/or PIP.
- Paperless Signup – A few companies will give a small break for buying a policy and signing up on their website.
- Federal Employees – Simply working for the federal government could cut as much as 10% off with certain companies.
- Distant Student Discount – College-age children who are enrolled in a college that is more than 100 miles from Raleigh and leave their car at home may be able to be covered for less.
- Accident Forgiveness Coverage – Not a discount per se, but some insurance companies will let one accident slide without getting socked with a rate hike so long as you haven’t had any claims for a certain period of time.
- Auto/Life Discount – Not every insurance company offers life insurance, but if they do you may earn a small discount if you purchase some life insurance in addition to your auto policy.
- Professional Memberships – Having an affiliation with specific professional or occupational memberships or organizations is a good way to get lower rates on your policy.
Consumers should know that many deductions do not apply to your bottom line cost. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. Despite the fact that it seems like it’s possible to get free car insurance, car insurance companies aren’t that generous. But any discount will bring down the amount you have to pay.
The information below illustrates the difference between Volvo S40 car insurance rates with and without some available policy discounts. The costs are based on a male driver, no tickets, no at-fault accidents, North Carolina state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $500 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with homeowner, claim-free, safe-driver, multi-car, marriage, and multi-policy discounts applied.
A few popular companies and a partial list of their discounts are shown below.
- Farmers Insurance offers discounts for homeowner, early shopping, distant student, bundle discounts, youthful driver, alternative fuel, and multi-car.
- State Farm offers premium reductions for Drive Safe & Save, passive restraint, multiple autos, anti-theft, and defensive driving training.
- Liberty Mutual may have discounts that include preferred payment discount, new vehicle discount, teen driver discount, multi-car, new graduate, good student, and exclusive group savings.
- MetLife may offer discounts for good student, accident-free, multi-policy, claim-free, and good driver.
- Progressive includes discounts for good student, online signing, multi-policy, online quote discount, multi-vehicle, continuous coverage, and homeowner.
Double check with every company the best way to save money. Some discounts may not apply to policyholders in Raleigh. To locate providers who offer online Volvo S40 insurance quotes in Raleigh, click this link.
How to know if you need help
When selecting adequate coverage, there isn’t really a “best” method to buy coverage. Every insured’s situation is different so this has to be addressed.
Here are some questions about coverages that can help discover whether or not you might need professional guidance.
- How does medical payments coverage work?
- What if I owe more than I can insure my car for?
- How high should my medical payments coverage be?
- Should I buy additional glass protection?
- Does my liability insurance cover pulling a trailer or camper?
- Are my tools covered if they get stolen from my vehicle?
- Does my car insurance cover rental cars?
- Can my babysitter drive my car?
If you’re not sure about those questions, you may need to chat with an agent. To find an agent in your area, complete this form or click here for a list of auto insurance companies in your area.
Raleigh auto insurance companies ranked
Insuring your vehicle with the best insurer can be difficult considering how many choices drivers have in Raleigh. The company ratings in the next section could help you choose which car insurance companies you want to consider when comparing rate quotes.
Company | Value | Customer Service | Claims | Customer Satisfaction | A.M Best Rating | Overall Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Travelers | 93 | 98 | 99 | 88% | A++ | 95.1 |
USAA | 83 | 99 | 100 | 91% | A++ | 94.1 |
Mercury Insurance | 97 | 96 | 88 | 89% | A+ | 93.4 |
AAA Insurance | 91 | 95 | 92 | 90% | A | 93.3 |
Nationwide | 85 | 95 | 97 | 89% | A+ | 92.4 |
Allstate | 77 | 100 | 97 | 88% | A+ | 90.7 |
State Farm | 80 | 94 | 96 | 88% | A++ | 90.6 |
The Hartford | 88 | 93 | 91 | 87% | A+ | 90.4 |
Safeco Insurance | 91 | 95 | 85 | 88% | A | 90.2 |
Progressive | 88 | 94 | 83 | 88% | A+ | 90.1 |
American Family | 91 | 86 | 95 | 83% | A | 89.7 |
Esurance | 86 | 90 | 94 | 90% | A+ | 89.5 |
The General | 86 | 93 | 89 | 84% | A- | 88.2 |
GEICO | 79 | 89 | 95 | 87% | A++ | 87.8 |
Titan Insurance | 86 | 82 | 92 | 86% | A+ | 86.5 |
21st Century | 86 | 82 | 90 | 84% | A | 86.4 |
Liberty Mutual | 79 | 87 | 95 | 78% | A | 85.3 |
Farmers Insurance | 77 | 80 | 80 | 84% | A | 80.3 |
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Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies