How To Get Car Insurance For the First Time
We ’ ll screen everything first-time buyers need to know about car policy in this article, including :
How to buy first-time car insurance
There are four simple steps to buying car insurance for the first time — or at any time, very :
- Gather the information you need to get car insurance.
- Decide whether you want to buy online, over the phone or in person.
- Get quotes from several car insurance companies based on your coverage needs.
- Compare quotes to get the best policy for you.
What do I need to get car insurance?
You should collect certain pieces of personal, driver and fomite information before you start gathering car insurance quotes :
| Type of information | Examples |
|---|---|
| Personal information |
|
| Driver information |
|
| Vehicle information |
|
Buy online, over the phone or in person?
There are three ways to get car insurance : on-line, over the phone or in person. All come with advantages and disadvantages .
Buying auto insurance online is a good option if you don’t want to deal with an agent, you want quotes fast or you want to get quotes on your own time, for exemplify. That said, if you buy insurance on-line, you won ’ t be able to ask questions about your unique situation and get the advice of an technical .
Getting car insurance over the earphone, on the other pass, is capital for people who want to talk with an agent, but don ’ t want to go through the harass of going into an agency agency .
Decide how much coverage you need, then gather quotes
Along with deciding how to buy car policy, you need to decide how much coverage to buy .
Most states have minimum car policy coverage requirements. These minimum requirements aren ’ t much enough to protect you if you get into a bad accident, though. At QuoteWizard, we recommend buying at least the follow :
- Bodily injury liability: $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident
- Property damage liability: $100,000
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist liability: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
If your express requires other coverages, like personal injury protection ( PIP ) or aesculapian payments ( MedPay ), adding it should be cheap enough .
If you drive a newer or expensive vehicle and you can afford it, by the way, consider getting full-coverage car insurance. A full-coverage policy normally includes liability, collision and comprehensive coverages .
once you ’ re done with all of the above, use the information to get quotes from a handful of car policy companies .
Compare quotes
The final step in getting car indemnity for the beginning prison term is to compare quotes. here are some tips for comparing quotes :
- When you look at the quoted rates, don’t forget to take coverage limits into account. Cheaper policies may provide less coverage.
- Pay attention to the deductible, too. This is how much you’ll have to pay out of pocket before your insurance kicks in after a claim.
- Make sure all discounts you think you should be eligible for are applied.
How much does first-time car insurance cost?
First-time buyers pay an average of $6,620 per year for car insurance, according to our data. That ’ s about $ 5,000 per year — or around 300 % — more than what drivers with an car indemnity history tend to pay for coverage.
You will credibly pay these higher rates for an car policy as a first-time buyer careless of your age. Although car policy rates normally go down at historic period 25, that ‘s not the case for our sample 30-year-old driver with no drive record or indemnity history. Both our 30-year-old and 16-year-old drivers got the same first-time car indemnity quotes, which averaged $ 6,620 per year .
Our 40-year-old driver, however, paid only $ 1,667 per year for car insurance, on median. The difference ? He has a uninfected drive read and a robust indemnity history .
| Age of driver | 16 years old | 30 years old | 40 years old (with insurance history) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual premium | $6,620 | $6,620 | $1,667 | |
| Monthly premium | $552 | $552 | $139 | |
| Note: Average rates are based on non-binding estimates provided by Quadrant Information Services. Your rates may vary. | ||||
You might pay more or less than $ 6,620 per year for a car indemnity policy as a first-time buyer, depending on respective factors. These rates are based on a full-coverage policy. Our research shows that a full-coverage policy can cost about twice arsenic much as minimum coverage. Besides your historic period, indemnity history and coverage horizontal surface, some of the factors that can impact how expensive or cheap car indemnity is for you are your :
- Driving history
- Vehicle make and model
- Location
- Marital status
Something else to keep in mind is that the longer you have a policy and a dependable drive record, the more your car insurance rates may decrease. Assuming you ‘re not involved in any major traffic violations, of course .
What is the best car insurance for first-time buyers?
The cheapest car policy company for a first-time buyer is State Farm, based on our research .
| Insurance company | Average annual premium | Average monthly premium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Farm | $3,842 | $320 | ||
| Travelers | $4,256 | $355 | ||
| Progressive | $4,896 | $408 | ||
| Note: Average rates are based on non-binding estimates provided by Quadrant Information Services. Your rates may vary. | ||||
State Farm offered our sample first-time driver an average pace quote of $ 3,842 per class. That ’ s more than $ 1,000 cheaper than what another major insurance company, Progressive, offered .
How to get cheap car insurance for the first time
The best ways to get cheap car insurance as a first-time buyer are to look for discounts and to compare quotes from a numeral of insurance providers .
Bundle your insurance policies
Bundling indemnity policies can be a bang-up room to save money and get cheap car policy as a first-time buyer. This is easiest if you are a tenant or homeowner, but many insurers will let you bundle other types of policies, besides. Talk with your agent to see if you qualify for a bundling dismiss .
See if you qualify for other discounts your insurance provider offers
car indemnity providers offer all kinds of discounts that may save you money and lower your policy premium. here are barely three examples :
- Defensive driving discount. You might earn a 5% to 20% discount from your insurance company for completing a defensive driving course. Not all insurers offer this discount, so check with your agent before you sign up for a particular course or school.
- Good driver discount. Many insurance companies offer discounts that reward safe driving with cheaper premiums.
- Good student discount. If you’re a student with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, you may qualify for a good student discount. You’ll have to show proof of your good grades, but it could decrease your rates by up to 25%.
Compare auto insurance quotes
Another easy way to get cheap car insurance as a first-time buyer is to compare rate quotes from respective insurers. This can be a good way to save money because companies weigh variables differently to monetary value your policy, so coverage may be significantly cheaper depending on where you buy it.
Get minimum coverage
The rates in this article are based on full-coverage policies, which typically include comprehensive and collision vitamin a well as liability coverage. To save money, you can drop full coverage to significantly lower your rate. Whether it ’ s a well idea for you depends on your car. If you have a newer car, you ’ ll credibly want to pay excess for full moon coverage. If you ’ rhenium lease or financing a car, you ’ ll probably need to have wax coverage .
Methodology
We compared rates from car policy companies throughout California for this article. Rates are based on the driving profile of a 16-year-old, a 30-year-old and a 40-year-old male driver. He drives a 2014 Honda Civic and has 100/300/50 indebtedness coverage, adenine well as $ 1,000 deductibles for comprehensive and collision coverages. Your rates may differ based on your personal factors .
QuoteWizard.com LLC has made every attempt to ensure that the information on this site is discipline, but we can not guarantee that it is exempt of inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. All content and services provided on or through this site are provided “ as is ” and “ as available ” for practice. QuoteWizard.com LLC makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation of this site or to the information, content, materials, or products included on this site. You expressly agree that your use of this web site is at your sole hazard .