Nobody is fond of buying auto insurance, especially when they are aware that they could find lower prices if they just compared rates.
Everyone knows that auto insurance companies want to prevent you from shopping around. Drivers who shop around once a year are likely to move their business because of the high probability of finding a cheaper policy. A study discovered that drivers who shopped around every year saved approximately $70 a month compared to those who never shopped around for cheaper prices.
If finding the lowest price for car insurance is your ultimate target, then having an understanding of the best way to shop and compare insurance can make it easier to find better rates. Multiple insurance companies compete to insure your vehicles, so it can be very hard to choose a insurer to find the absolute lowest cost out there.
Which Kia Optima Hybrid insurance is cheapest in Jacksonville, FL?
Most major insurance companies make it easy to get insurance quotes directly from their websites. The process is fairly straightforward as you simply type in the coverage amounts you desire on the page. When complete, the company’s rating system automatically orders your driving record and credit report and returns pricing information based on the data you entered. Using the web to get rate quotes for Kia Optima Hybrid insurance in Jacksonville streamlines rate comparisons, and it is important to get many rate quotes if you are searching for cheaper rates.
To find out how much you can save on car insurance, visit the companies below or click here to submit a quote request to multiple companies at once. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you duplicate the insurance coverages as close as possible to your current policy. This way, you will receive a price comparison for similar coverage.
The companies shown below offer comparison quotes in Jacksonville, FL. If multiple providers are shown, we suggest you get rates from several of them in order to get a fair rate comparison.
Auto insurance is not optional
Even though it can be expensive, maintaining insurance serves several important purposes.
- The majority of states have compulsory liability insurance requirements which means state laws require a specific minimum amount of liability if you drive a vehicle. In Florida these limits are 10/20/10 which means you must have $10,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $20,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $10,000 of property damage coverage.
- If your vehicle has a lienholder, most lenders will make it a condition of the loan that you have full coverage to protect their interest in the vehicle. If you do not keep the policy in force, the bank may buy a policy for your Kia for a much higher rate and require you to reimburse them for it.
- Auto insurance protects both your Kia and your assets. It will also cover medical bills for you, your passengers, and anyone else injured in an accident. Liability coverage, the one required by state law, will also pay attorney fees in the event you are sued. If your Kia gets damaged, collision and comprehensive (also known as other-than-collision) coverage will pay to repair the damage.
The benefits of insuring your Optima Hybrid definitely exceed the price paid, particularly when you have a large claim. The average driver in Florida is overpaying over $825 a year so compare quotes from several companies once a year at a minimum to save money.
Informed Drivers Can Save Money
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that are used to determine your policy premiums. If you know what determines base rates, this allows you to make educated decisions that can earn you lower premium levels.
The following are some of the most rate-impacting factors used by your company to calculate rates.
Where do you drive? – The more you drive your Kia each year the more you’ll pay to insure it. Most companies calculate rates based upon how you use the vehicle. Cars and trucks that do not get driven very much receive better premium rates than those that get driven frequently. An incorrectly rated Optima Hybrid may be wasting your money. It’s a smart idea to ensure your car insurance coverage properly reflects the proper vehicle usage, because it can save money.
Save money with good credit – Having a good credit history is a large factor in calculating your premium rate. If your credit history is lower than you’d like, you could save money insuring your Kia Optima Hybrid if you clean up your credit. Drivers with very good credit scores tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than those with worse credit.
More performance means more cost – The make and model of the vehicle you need to insure makes a substantial difference in your auto insurance rates. The lowest rates are usually for low performance passenger models, but many other things help determine your insurance rates.
Getting married can lower premiums – Getting married may earn you lower rates on your car insurance policy. Having a spouse is viewed as being more responsible and statistics show being married results in fewer claims.
Men drivers tend to cost more – Over the last 50 years, statistics have shown that females take fewer risks when driving. However, don’t assume that men are worse drivers. Both sexes have at-fault accidents at about the same rate, but the males tend to have higher claims. In addition to higher claims, males also get more serious tickets like DWI (DUI) or reckless driving. Males from age 16 to 21 are the most expensive to insure and therefore pay the highest rates.
Qualify for multi-policy discounts – Lots of insurance companies give discounts to customers that have more than one policy in the form of a multi-policy discount. If you currently are using one company, it’s still a good idea to shop around to confirm you are receiving the best rates possible. You may still save more without the discount by buying insurance from more than one company.
If you don’t need it don’t buy it – There are quite a few additional extra coverages that may not really be needed on your Optima Hybrid policy. Coverage for things like vanishing deductibles, high-cost glass coverage, and motor club memberships may not be needed and are just wasting money. They may seem like a good idea at first, but if you’ve never needed them in the past think about removing them and cutting costs.
Never let your policy lapse – Driving without insurance coverage in place is not a good idea and car insurance companies will penalize you for letting your coverage lapse. And not only will insurance be more expensive, not being able to provide proof of insurance might get you a hefty fine and possibly a revoked license.
Loss statistics for a Kia Optima Hybrid – Companies include the past claim history for a vehicle when setting premium costs. Vehicles that tend to have a trend towards higher claim severity or frequency will have increased rates.
The table below outlines the insurance loss data for Kia Optima Hybrid vehicles. For each coverage category, the claim amount for all vehicles combined as an average is represented as 100. Percentages below 100 mean the vehicle has better than average losses, while values that are above 100 point to more frequent losses or larger claims.
Make and Model | Collision | Property Damage | Comp | Personal Injury | Medical Payment | Bodily Injury |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kia Optima Hybrid | 143 | 115 | 116 | 139 | 158 | 151 |
Statistics Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for 2013-2015 Model Years
Lower rates by qualifying for discounts
Car insurance is neither fun to buy or cheap, but there may be some discounts that may help make it more affordable. Certain credits will be shown at the time of quoting, but once in a while a discount must be manually applied before you get the savings.
- Multi-line Discount – If the company offers life insurance, you could get a break if you buy a life policy as well.
- Braking Control Discount – Cars with ABS braking systems or traction control can stop better under adverse conditions so companies give up to a 10% discount.
- Waiver for an Accident – This isn’t a discount exactly, but a handful of insurance companies allow you one accident without the usual rate increase so long as you haven’t had any claims for a set time period.
- Accident Free – Insureds with no claims or accidents get the best car insurance rates when compared with policyholders that have many claims.
- Paperless Signup – Some of the larger companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks simply for signing over the internet.
- Telematics Data – Policyholders that allow driving data collection to monitor driving manner by using a telematic data system such as Progressive’s Snapshot may see discounts if they show good driving skills.
- Defensive Driver – Participating in a course that instructs on driving safety could save 5% or more and make you a better driver.
- Driver Education Discount – Have your child successfully take a driver’s education course in school.
- Buy New and Save – Buying a new car instead of a used Optima Hybrid can save up to 30% because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
Please keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to the entire policy premium. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. If you do the math and it seems like you can get free auto insurance, you’re out of luck.
To see a list of companies with discount rates in Florida, follow this link.
Which policy gives me the best coverage?
Always keep in mind that when comparing a policy, there isn’t really a one-size-fits-all type of policy. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s and your insurance should unique, too.
For example, these questions might help in determining if your situation might need an agent’s assistance.
- Is my teen driver covered when they drive my company car?
- Should I rate my Kia Optima Hybrid as pleasure use or commute?
- Is my Kia Optima Hybrid covered for flood damage?
- Is my state a no-fault state?
- Do I really need UM/UIM coverage?
- Is my camper covered for physical damage?
- Am I covered if I back into my garage door?
- Will my rates increase for filing one claim?
- When can I cancel my policy?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you might consider talking to a licensed agent. To find an agent in your area, complete this form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier It is quick, free and you can get the answers you need.
Auto insurance agents can help
Certain consumers just want to have an agent’s advice and that is recommended in a lot of cases Professional agents will help you protect your assets and help file insurance claims. One of the benefits of comparing rates online is that you can obtain cheap car insurance rates and still buy from a local agent.
To help locate an agent, after submitting this short form, the quote information is instantly submitted to participating agents in Jacksonville who can give free rate quotes to get your business. You never need to find an agent on your own because quoted prices will be sent directly to your email. If for some reason you want to get a rate quote from one company in particular, you would need to go to their quote page and fill out their quote form.
Choosing the best insurer is decision based upon more than just a low price. Below are some questions you should ask.
- How are claims handled?
- Are you getting all the discounts the company offers?
- Do the companies they represent have a solid financial rating?
- Is every driver in your family covered?
- Do they have designations such as AIC, CPCU, or CIC?
If you want a reliable agent, it helps to know the two types of insurance agents and how they can write your policy. Agents can be classified as either independent or exclusive depending on the company they work for. Both types of agents can write car insurance policies, but it’s important to know how they differ since it may influence the type of agent you choose.
Exclusive Agencies
Agents in the exclusive channel generally can only insure with one company and examples are Allstate, State Farm and Farm Bureau. They are unable to provide rate quotes from other companies so it’s a take it or leave it situation. These agents are well schooled on sales techniques which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums.
Listed below are exclusive agents in Jacksonville that are able to give comparison quotes.
Parvez Sahotra – State Farm Insurance Agent
3267 Hodges Blvd #14 – Jacksonville, FL 32224 – (904) 221-1161 – View Map
Homer St Clair – State Farm Insurance Agent
7305 Merrill Rd – Jacksonville, FL 32277 – (904) 743-7422 – View Map
Sam Maimone – State Farm Insurance Agent
12620 Beach Blvd #8 – Jacksonville, FL 32246 – (904) 641-6844 – View Map
Independent Insurance Agents
Agents of this type can quote rates with many companies and that enables them to quote your coverage with any number of different companies depending on which coverage is best. If they find a lower price, your policy is moved internally which is easy for the insured.
If you are trying to find cheaper rates, you need to contact multiple independent agents to get the most accurate price comparison.
The following is a list of independent insurance agents in Jacksonville willing to provide price quote information.
Zellner Insurance Agency
4114 Sunbeam Rd #101 – Jacksonville, FL 32257 – (904) 356-1492 – View Map
Frye Insurance Agency, Inc.
1851 University Blvd S – Jacksonville, FL 32216 – (888) 812-2985 – View Map
A and B Insurance Agency, Inc
2153 Blanding Blvd – Jacksonville, FL 32210 – (904) 388-6446 – View Map
Quote more and you will save more
Some companies do not provide rate quotes online and usually these regional insurance providers only sell coverage through independent insurance agents. The cheapest Kia Optima Hybrid insurance in Jacksonville is definitely available both online and also from your neighborhood Jacksonville agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best rate selection.
When getting Jacksonville auto insurance quotes online, do not buy poor coverage just to save money. In many cases, drivers have reduced full coverage and discovered at claim time they didn’t purchase enough coverage. Your aim should be to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest cost while not skimping on critical coverages.
In this article, we presented a lot of ways to find lower-cost Kia Optima Hybrid insurance in Jacksonville. The key concept to understand is the more quotes you get, the higher your chance of finding affordable Jacksonville auto insurance quotes. You may even discover the lowest prices are with an unexpected company. Smaller companies may often insure only within specific states and give better rates compared to the large companies like Allstate or State Farm.
How to buy cheaper Kia Optima Hybrid insurance in Jacksonville
The easiest way to find better pricing on car insurance rates is to compare prices regularly from providers that sell auto insurance in Jacksonville. Rates can be compared by completing these steps.
Step 1: It will benefit you to learn about how your policy works and the measures you can take to keep rates down. Many policy risk factors that increase rates such as careless driving and poor credit rating can be improved by making lifestyle changes or driving safer.
Step 2: Obtain price quotes from exclusive agents, independent agents, and direct providers. Direct companies and exclusive agencies can provide rates from a single company like GEICO or State Farm, while independent agents can quote rates for a wide range of companies. Start a quote
Step 3: Compare the new rates to your current policy premium to see if switching to a new carrier will save money. If you can save money and decide to switch, make sure there is no lapse in coverage.
Step 4: Give proper notification to your current agent or company of your decision to cancel your current policy and submit payment and a completed application to your new insurance company. When you receive it, put the certificate verifying coverage somewhere easily accessible.
The key thing to know about shopping around is that you use identical coverage information on every quote request and and to get price estimates from every company you can. This enables an accurate price comparison and a complete selection of prices.
More detailed insurance information can be read at these sites:
- Side airbags reduce rollover fatalities (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- What is the Best Cheap Auto Insurance in Jacksonville, Florida? (FAQ)
- Medical Payments Coverage (Liberty Mutual)
- How to shop for a safer car (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- Rental Car Insurance Tips (Insurance Information Institute)