It’s an obvious statement that insurance companies don’t want you shop around. Drivers who shop around annually are likely to switch to a new company because they have good chances of finding lower prices. A study showed that consumers who routinely compared rates saved an average of $72 a month compared to those who never shopped for cheaper rates.
If finding the lowest rates on auto insurance in Raleigh is your intention, then learning a little about how to get rate quotes and compare coverage rates can save time, money, and frustration.
It takes a few minutes, but the best way to find cheaper Toyota Corolla iM insurance in Raleigh is to do a yearly price comparison from different companies who sell insurance in North Carolina.
Step 1: Try to comprehend how companies price auto insurance and the modifications you can make to prevent expensive coverage. Many rating criteria that drive up the price such as distracted driving and a bad credit score can be rectified by paying attention to minor details.
Step 2: Compare prices from exclusive agents, independent agents, and direct providers. Direct and exclusive agents can only give prices from a single company like Progressive or Farmers Insurance, while agents who are independent can give you price quotes from multiple companies. View a list of agents
Step 3: Compare the new quotes to the price on 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.
Step 4: Notify your company or agent of your intent to cancel your current coverage. Submit the signed application along with the required initial payment to the newly selected company. Once the application is submitted, put the new certificate verifying proof of insurance with your vehicle’s registration.
The key aspect of shopping around is to try to use the same level of coverage on every price quote and and to compare as many companies as feasibly possible. This provides a level playing field and a complete rate analysis.
How to get free Toyota Corolla iM insurance quotes online
All the larger auto insurance companies like Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm allow you to get price estimates on the web. Comparing prices online for Toyota Corolla iM insurance in Raleigh is quite simple as all you need to do is type in the coverages you want on the page. After the form is submitted, the system makes automated requests for your credit score and driving record and quotes a price based on these and other factors.
Being able to quote online for Toyota Corolla iM insurance in Raleigh makes comparing rates easy, and it’s also necessary to compare as many rates as possible in order to get cheap rates.
To get comparison pricing now, compare rates now from the companies shown below. To compare your current rates, we recommend that you enter deductibles and limits exactly as they are listed on your policy. This helps ensure you’re receiving a rate comparison using the exact same coverages.
The following companies provide free quotes in North Carolina. To locate the best auto insurance in Raleigh, we recommend you compare several of them in order to get a fair rate comparison.
Why car insurance is not optional
Despite the high cost of buying insurance for a Toyota Corolla iM in Raleigh, insurance serves an important purpose.
- Most states have mandatory insurance requirements which means the state requires a specific level 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.
- If you bought your Toyota Corolla iM with a loan, most banks will make it mandatory that you have insurance to ensure the loan is repaid in case of a total loss. If you do not pay your insurance premiums, the bank or lender will purchase a policy for your Toyota at a more expensive rate and make you pay for it.
- Insurance protects both your vehicle and your assets. It will also cover medical transport and hospital expenses for yourself as well as anyone injured by you. Liability insurance will also pay for a defense attorney if you cause an accident and are sued. If your car is damaged in a storm or accident, comprehensive and collision coverage will pay to repair the damage.
The benefits of buying enough insurance definitely exceed the price paid, especially for larger claims. According to a 2015 survey, the average American driver is overpaying more than $700 annually so it’s very important to do a rate comparison every year to save money.
Components of Your Toyota Corolla iM Insurance Rates
It’s important that you understand the different types of things that help calculate insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively influences your rates, this allows you to make good choices that may result in much lower annual insurance costs. Many things are used in the calculation when premium rates are determined. Some factors are common sense such as traffic violations, although others are less apparent like your continuous coverage or your vehicle rating.
- Too many policy claims and you’ll pay more – Auto insurance companies in North Carolina award better rates to policyholders who are not frequent claim filers. If you frequently file small claims, you can definitely plan on higher premiums or even policy non-renewal. Insurance coverage is intended to be relied upon for the large, substantial claims.
- What are good liability limits? – Liability insurance will afford coverage in the event that you are found liable for personal injury or accident damage. Liability insurance provides for a legal defense which can be incredibly expensive. Liability is cheap compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so buy as much as you can afford.
- Policy add-ons could be costing you – There are quite a few extra add-on coverages that sound like a good idea at the time but may not be useful. Things like rental car coverage, towing coverage, and membership fees are examples of these. These may sound like a good investment when deciding what coverages you need, but if you’ve never needed them in the past consider taking them off your policy.
- Accidents are costly – Careful drivers pay less for auto insurance compared to bad drivers. Getting just one ticket may cause rates to rise forty percent or more. Drivers unfortunate enough to have multiple citations such as reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence may find that they have to to submit a SR-22 form with their state’s licensing department in order to prevent their license from being revoked.
- Rural vs Urban Areas – Being located in less populated areas has it’s advantages when talking about insurance. Lower population translates into fewer accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft. Urban drivers have more road rage incidents and longer commutes to work. Longer commute distances means a statistically higher chance of an accident.
- Credit score impacts prices – Credit rating factor in determining premium rates. People that have high credit scores tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than drivers with poor credit. So if your credit score is lower than you’d like, you may save money insuring your Toyota Corolla iM if you clean up your credit.
- Reduce rates by driving safer vehicles – Vehicles with good safety scores tend to have better insurance rates. Highly rated vehicles result in less severe injuries and lower rates of occupant injuries means lower claim amounts which can result in lower premiums. If your Toyota Corolla iM has at least an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website you may qualify for a discount.
Affordable Toyota Corolla iM insurance in Raleigh
The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, but discounts can save money and there are some available to help bring down the price. Some discounts apply automatically at quote time, but some may not be applied and must be inquired about prior to getting the savings.
- Good Student – This discount may save as much as 25% on a Raleigh auto insurance quote. Earning this discount can benefit you up until you turn 25.
- Safe Driver Discounts – Drivers who avoid accidents can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates compared to rates paid by drivers with frequent claims.
- Military Rewards – Being deployed in the military may lower your prices slightly.
- Raleigh Homeowners Pay Less – Just being a homeowner may earn you a small savings because it demonstrates responsibility.
- 55 and Retired – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may be able to get better car insurance rates.
- Passive Restraint Discount – Factory options such as air bags may qualify for discounts of 20% or more.
Don’t be surprised that some credits don’t apply to all coverage premiums. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like medical payments or collision. Even though the math looks like all the discounts add up to a free policy, you’re out of luck.
Large car insurance companies and some of the discounts are:
- GEICO discounts include anti-theft, federal employee, seat belt use, multi-vehicle, five-year accident-free, and multi-policy.
- MetLife may include discounts for good driver, defensive driver, good student, accident-free, multi-policy, and claim-free.
- State Farm may offer discounts for accident-free, driver’s education, defensive driving training, Drive Safe & Save, good driver, and good student.
- Progressive offers discounts for multi-policy, homeowner, online signing, multi-vehicle, good student, and continuous coverage.
- Mercury Insurance includes discounts for ease of repair, anti-theft, accident-free, good student, and low natural disaster claims.
- 21st Century has savings for theft prevention, teen driver, driver training, early bird, and defensive driver.
- Allstate offers premium reductions for premier plus, resident student, economy car, good payer, and anti-theft.
Before purchasing a policy, check with each company to give you their best rates. Some of the discounts discussed earlier might not apply in Raleigh.
Auto insurance quotes from local Raleigh insurance agencies
Certain consumers just prefer to have an agent’s advice and we recommend doing that Professional insurance agents can help you choose the best coverages and will help you if you have claims. An additional benefit of comparing auto insurance online is the fact that drivers can get cheap auto insurance rates and still choose a local agent. Supporting neighborhood insurance agencies is still important in Raleigh.
For easy comparison, once you complete this simple form, your insurance coverage information is emailed to participating agents in Raleigh who can give free rate quotes for your coverage. There is no need to even leave your home since rate quotes are delivered to you instantly. If you wish to compare rates for a specific company, feel free to jump over to their website and give them your coverage information.
Types of auto insurance agents in Raleigh
If you want to use a good Raleigh insurance agent, there are two different agency structures and how they differ in how they quote coverages. Insurance agencies in Raleigh are either independent or exclusive depending on the company they work for. Either one can sell affordable auto insurance policies, but it is important to understand how they differ since it can impact buying decisions.
Independent Auto Insurance Agencies
Independent agents are not required to write business for one company and that gives them the ability to insure with lots of companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. If they quote lower rates, they simply move your policy to a different company and you can keep the same agent. If you need cheaper auto insurance rates, we recommend you check rates from multiple independent agents so that you can do a thorough price comparison. Most also have access to smaller mutual companies who may have lower rates.
Featured below is a short list of independent insurance agents in Raleigh that may be able to give competitive price quotes.
- AssuredPartners NL
4505 Falls of Neuse Rd Suite 350 – Raleigh, NC 27609 – (919) 781-0200 – View Map - Lee Winters Insurance Agency
1330 St Marys St Suite 250 – Raleigh, NC 27605 – (919) 828-7130 – View Map - Nationwide Insurance: Michael E Okoli Agency Inc
309 W Millbrook Rd #151 – Raleigh, NC 27609 – (919) 786-1960 – View Map
Exclusive Insurance Agents
Exclusive agencies can only provide pricing for a single company and examples are AAA, Allstate, State Farm, or Farmers Insurance. They are unable to provide other company’s prices so if the price isn’t competitive there isn’t much they can do. Exclusive agencies are trained well on their company’s products which helps them compete with independent agents. Some people will only choose to use an exclusive agent primarily because of the brand name rather than having low rates.
Below is a list of exclusive agencies in Raleigh who can help you get comparison quotes.
- Amanda Hagood – State Farm Insurance Agent
5910 Duraleigh Rd #135 – Raleigh, NC 27612 – (919) 834-3615 – View Map - Doug Wingate – State Farm Insurance Agent
2414 Wycliff Rd #110 – Raleigh, NC 27607 – (919) 787-0888 – View Map - Tom Patterson – State Farm Insurance Agent
805 Spring Forest Rd #1400 – Raleigh, NC 27609 – (919) 954-1340 – View Map
Choosing an insurance agent requires more thought than just a cheap quote. Get answers to these questions too.
- Where would your vehicle be repaired?
- Is there any savings for paying the full premium?
- Is the coverage adequate for your vehicle?
- Are claims handled at the agent’s location?
- If you have an accident, will your rates go up?
- Do clients work directly with the agent or are most inquiries handled by a CSR?
- Can they provide you with a list of referrals?
- Do they have advanced training designations such as CPCU, AAI, AIC, or CIC?
Once you have satisfactory answers to any questions you have as well as a price you’re happy with, you have narrowed it down to an auto insurance agent that can properly insure your vehicles.
One last thing about your coverage
Cheap Toyota Corolla iM insurance in Raleigh is attainable both online in addition to local insurance agencies, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some companies may not provide online rate quotes and many times these regional carriers only sell through local independent agents.
When shopping online for insurance, never skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There are many occasions where an insured cut uninsured motorist or liability limits to discover at claim time that the savings was not a smart move. Your focus should be to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.
In this article, we presented some good ideas how to find lower-cost Toyota Corolla iM insurance in Raleigh. The key concept to understand is the more you quote Raleigh auto insurance, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may even find the lowest prices come from the smaller companies.
Helpful learning opportunities
- Protecting Teens from Drunk Driving (Insurance Information Institute)
- Who Has Cheap Raleigh Auto Insurance Quotes for Electric Cars? (FAQ)
- Steps to Take After an Auto Accident (Insurance Information Institute)
- Medical Payments Coverage (Liberty Mutual)