How to Compare Bakersfield Jeep Commander Insurance

How long has it been since the last time you looked for low-cost Jeep Commander insurance in Bakersfield? Buying the most affordable Bakersfield Jeep Commander insurance quotes over the internet is somewhat difficult for drivers new to quoting and comparing rates on the internet. With so many insurance agents and companies in the marketplace, how can drivers have time to compare each option to find better car insurance prices?

How to find discount Jeep Commander insurance in Bakersfield

To save the most money, the best way to get the cheapest car insurance rates in Bakersfield is to start comparing prices regularly from companies who sell auto insurance in California.

First, get an understanding of how companies price auto insurance and the measures you can take to prevent rate increases. Many things that cause rate increases such as speeding tickets, accidents and an imperfect credit rating can be controlled by being financially responsible and driving safely. Read the full article for additional ideas to get lower rates and get discounts that may be overlooked.

Second, compare rates from exclusive agents, independent agents, and direct providers. Exclusive and direct companies can only give rate quotes from one company like GEICO or State Farm, while independent agencies can quote rates from multiple insurance companies.

Third, compare the price quotes to the price on your current policy to determine if you can save on Commander insurance in Bakersfield. If you find a better price and change companies, make sure there is no lapse between the expiration of your current policy and the new one.

One key aspect of rate comparisons is to make sure you’re comparing the same coverage limits and deductibles on every price quote and and to compare as many different companies as possible. This enables the most accurate price comparison and a complete price analysis.

Shocking but true, the vast majority of California car insurance customers kept buying from the same company for at least the last four years, and practically 40% of car insurance customers have never even shopped around for cheaper coverage. Drivers in America could save an average of about 47% each year, but most undervalue how much savings they would realize if they switched to a more affordable policy.

You need to compare prices yearly because insurance prices fluctuate regularly. Even if you got the best deal on Jeep Commander insurance in Bakersfield last year other companies may now be cheaper. Ignore everything you know about car insurance because it’s time to teach you one of the easiest ways to find better rates and still maintain coverage.

Insurance Price Influencing Factors

Many things are used in the calculation when quoting car insurance. Most are fairly basic like an MVR report, but other factors are more transparent such as your marital status or your commute time. An important part of buying insurance is that you know a few of the rating criteria that help calculate your premiums. If you have a feel for what determines base rates, this empowers consumers to make smart changes that can help you get lower premium levels.

The factors shown below are some of the things auto insurance companies consider when setting your prices.

• Safer cars cost less to insure – Cars with high safety ratings tend to have better insurance rates. Vehicles engineered for safety protect occupants better and fewer serious injuries means less money paid by your insurance company passed on to you as lower rates.
• Prevent theft and save – Driving a car that has a built-in theft deterrent system can save you a little every year. Anti-theft features such as vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems can help prevent vehicle theft.
• Raising coverage deductibles lowers prices – Your deductibles represent how much money you are willing to pay if a claim is determined to be covered. Coverage for physical damage, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your car. A few examples of covered claims are rear-ending another vehicle, animal collisions, and damage from wind. The more expense the insured is willing to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.
• Poor credit can mean higher prices – Having a bad credit history is a large factor in your rate calculation. Insureds with excellent credit scores tend to be better risks to insure as compared to drivers with worse credit. So if your credit rating is lower than you’d like, you could pay less to insure your Jeep Commander by improving your rating.
• Big city or small town – Having an address in less populated areas of the country has it’s advantages when trying to find low car insurance rates. Lower population means a lower chance of having an accident and lower theft and vandalism rates. Residents of big cities have to deal with traffic congestion and longer commutes to work. More time commuting means higher likelihood of an accident.
• Your occupation may affect premiums – Did you know that where you work can have an impact on rates? Occupations like military generals, architects, and dentists are shown to have higher premiums than the average policyholder due to high stress and extremely grueling work hours. On the other hand, occupations such as scientists, historians and retirees receive lower rates.

• More performance means more cost – The performance of the vehicle you are insuring makes a big difference in your rates. Economy passenger cars usually have the lowest premiums, but the final cost of insurance is determined by many other factors.

  The following chart uses these variables: single female driver age 20, full coverage with $100 deductibles, and no discounts or violations. The data compares Jeep Commander insurance rates compared to other models of vehicles that have a range of performance risks.

• Careless drivers pay higher premiums – Attentive drivers pay less for auto insurance than their less careful counterparts. Even one ticket may cause rates to rise twenty percent or more. Drivers who get serious tickets such as DUI, reckless driving or excessive speeding may find that they have to to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) with their state motor vehicle department in order to prevent their license from being revoked.

  The illustration below illustrates how violations and at-fault fender-benders can drive up Jeep Commander premium costs for different age groups. The premiums are based on a married male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $500 deductibles, and no discounts are taken into consideration.

Coverage analysis

The data table shown below highlights estimates of insurance policy prices for Jeep Commander models. Being aware of how rate quotes are established is important to be able to make informed decisions when comparing rates.

Table data assumes single male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, homeowner, multi-vehicle, safe-driver, and claim-free. Price estimates do not factor in specific garaging location which can revise premiums greatly.

The illustration below demonstrates how choosing different deductibles and can influence Jeep Commander insurance premiums for each age group. The premiums assume a single male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no discounts are applied.

Rate comparison of full coverage and liability-only

The example below illustrates the difference between Jeep Commander auto insurance costs with liability coverage only compared to full coverage. The premium estimates are based on no accidents or driving violations, $500 deductibles, drivers are single, and no discounts are applied.

When to drop comprehensive and collision

There is no specific rule that works best for making the decision to drop physical damage coverage, but there is a general guideline. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is more than about 10% of the replacement cost of your vehicle minus the policy deductible, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.

For example, let’s say your Jeep Commander claim settlement value is $7,000 and you have $1,000 policy deductibles. If your vehicle is damaged in an accident, you would only receive $6,000 after the policy deductible has been paid. If you are currently paying more than $600 annually for full coverage, then you may want to consider only buying liability coverage.

There are some scenarios where removing full coverage is not a good idea. If you still have a lienholder on your title, you have to carry full coverage in order to keep the loan. Also, if your finances do not allow you to purchase a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should not drop full coverage.

Save a ton by receiving discounts

Some companies don’t always advertise every discount available in an easy-to-find place, so we researched a few of the more common and also the more inconspicuous credits available to you. If you do not check that you are getting every discount available, you could be saving more on your insurance.

• No Accidents – Bakersfield drivers who stay claim-free get the best insurance rates as opposed to drivers with a long claim history.
• Government Employee Discount – Active or retired federal employment may qualify for a discount when you quote Bakersfield car insurance depending on your company.
• Paper-free Discount – Some of the larger companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying your policy on the internet.
• Drive Less and Save – Maintaining low annual mileage may allow you to get cheaper rates.
• Professional Organizations – Participating in specific professional or occupational memberships or organizations could earn you a nice discount on your next renewal.
• Payment Discounts – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time rather than spreading payments over time you could save up to 5%.
• Discount for Multiple Policies – If you combine your auto and homeowners policies and place coverage with the same company they may give you a discount of at least 10 to 15 percent or more.
• Telematics Devices – Drivers who elect to allow their insurance company to track driving patterns through the use of a telematics system such as In-Drive from State Farm or Allstate’s Drivewise system may see discounts if they are good drivers.
• Distant Student Discount – Children who are attending college and won’t have access to an insured vehicle may be insured at a cheaper rate.
• Safety Course Discount – Taking a course that instructs on driving safety could cut 5% off your bill and easily pay for the cost of the class.

Discounts save money, but please remember that many deductions do not apply to all coverage premiums. A few only apply to individual premiums such as liability and collision coverage. Even though it may seem like you can get free auto insurance, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy.

The example below illustrates the difference between Jeep Commander insurance costs with and without discounts being applied to the rates. The costs are based on a male driver, a clean driving record, no at-fault accidents, California state minimum liability limits, full physical damage coverage, and $500 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with safe-driver, multi-car, marriage, homeowner, multi-policy, and claim-free discounts applied.

A list of companies and some of the premium reductions they offer are shown below.

• GEICO has discounts for membership and employees, driver training, anti-theft, air bags, and multi-policy.
• Mercury Insurance offers premium reductions for multi-car, type of vehicle, age of vehicle, good driver, annual mileage, and ease of repair.
• Farmers Insurance has savings for distant student, bundle discounts, alternative fuel, business and professional, switch companies, electronic funds transfer, and multi-car.
• Auto-Owners Insurance offers discounts for paperless, air bags, mature driver, anti-lock brakes, multi-policy, and safe driver.
• Liberty Mutual includes discounts for good student, safety features, preferred payment discount, multi-policy, exclusive group savings, and new vehicle discount.
• SAFECO offers discounts including teen safety rewards, bundle discounts, drive less, safe driver, accident prevention training, and anti-lock brakes.
• Progressive policyholders can earn discounts including multi-vehicle, online signing, online quote discount, multi-policy, and good student.
• USAA may offer discounts for family discount, multi-policy, vehicle storage, multi-vehicle, safe driver, and military installation.

Before purchasing a policy, check with all companies you are considering which discounts you may be entitled to. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts might not be offered in your area.

How to find a good California auto insurance company

Picking the highest-rated car insurance company can be rather challenging considering how many companies there are in Bakersfield. The company rank data displayed below may help you decide which car insurance providers to look at purchasing coverage from.

Top 10 Bakersfield Car Insurance Companies Ranked by Claims Service

1. AAA of Southern California
2. State Farm
3. Esurance
4. AAA Insurance
5. Progressive
6. Liberty Mutual
7. GEICO
8. Allstate
9. Titan Insurance
10. The Hartford

Cheap insurance rates are available

As you prepare to switch companies, make sure you don’t buy less coverage just to save a little money. In too many instances, drivers have reduced liability limits or collision coverage and found out when filing a claim that the savings was not a smart move. Your strategy should be to buy enough coverage at the lowest possible cost while still protecting your assets.

Affordable Jeep Commander insurance in Bakersfield can be sourced from both online companies as well as from insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best selection. Some companies don’t offer the ability to get quotes online and many times these small insurance companies only sell through independent insurance agents.

Throughout this article, we presented quite a bit of information on how to shop for Jeep Commander insurance online. The key concept to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher your chance of finding affordable Bakersfield car insurance quotes. Drivers may even discover the most savings is with the smaller companies.

Steps to finding discount Jeep Commander insurance in Bakersfield

The recommended way to save money on car insurance rates in Bakersfield is to start comparing prices regularly from insurers who provide auto insurance in California. Drivers can shop around by completing these steps.

• Step 1: Read and learn about how your policy works and the measures you can take to prevent expensive coverage. Many rating factors that result in higher rates such as at-fault accidents, careless driving, and a not-so-good credit score can be amended by making minor changes in your lifestyle.
• Step 2: Compare price quotes from independent agents, exclusive agents, and direct companies. Exclusive and direct companies can only quote rates from a single company like GEICO or Farmers Insurance, while agents who are independent can quote prices for a wide range of companies.
• Step 3: Compare the new rate quotes to your existing policy to see if you can save by switching companies. If you find a lower rate quote and decide to switch, ensure there is no coverage lapse between policies.

One bit of advice is that you use identical coverage information on each price quote and to quote with as many different insurance providers as possible. This guarantees a fair rate comparison and the best price selection.

Much more information about insurance in California can be read below:

• Automakers compete to add autobraking (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
• Who Has Affordable Auto Insurance for Electric Cars in Bakersfield? (FAQ)
• Who Has Cheap Bakersfield Car Insurance for Good Students? (FAQ)
• How Much are Bakersfield Auto Insurance Rates for Drivers with Good Credit? (FAQ)
• Understanding Your Insurance Deductible (Insurance Information Institute)
• Vehicle Insurance in the U.S. (Wikipedia)
• Prepare your Teens for Safe Driving (InsureUonline.org)