Wish you could get out of an overpriced car insurance policy? It’s quite common and there are lots of Seattle residents who feel the same.
It’s shocking but most car insurance customers kept their coverage with the same car insurance company for at least the last four years, and almost half have never compared rates with other companies. With the average car insurance premium being $1,200, Washington drivers could cut their rates by almost 40% a year just by getting comparison quotes, but most tend to underestimate the rate savings if they switched to a more affordable policy. Since you have so many insurance providers from which to choose, it is very difficult to choose the lowest price insurance company.
Discounts for lower-cost car insurance rates
The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but companies offer discounts that could drop your premiums quite a bit. Some trigger automatically when you complete an application, but a few must be specially asked for before you get the savings.
- Smart Student Discounts – A discount for being a good student may save you up to 25%. Earning this discount can benefit you up to age 25.
- No Charge for an Accident – This one is not really a discount per se, but a few companies such as Progressive, State Farm and GEICO will turn a blind eye to one accident before they charge you more for coverage with the catch being you have to be claim-free for a particular time prior to the accident.
- Home Ownership Discount – Just being a homeowner may trigger a policy discount on car insurance because it requires personal responsibility.
- Student Discount for Driver Training – It’s a good idea to have your young drivers successfully complete driver’s ed class in school.
- Service Members Pay Less – Having a deployed family member could mean lower rates.
- College Student Discount – Any of your kids who live away from home to go to college and leave their car at home may qualify for this discount.
- Defensive Driver Discount – Completing a class that teaches driver safety techniques could earn you a small percentage discount depending on where you live.
- Policy Bundle Discount – If you can bundle your home and auto insurance and insure them with the same company you could earn a discount of up to 20% off your total Explorer insurance premium.
- Paperless Signup – Some companies will provide an incentive get Seattle car insurance on the web.
- Claim-Free Discount – Drivers with accident-free driving histories can earn big discounts when compared with policyholders that have many claims.
Consumers should know that some of the credits will not apply to the whole policy. Most only cut the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. Despite the appearance that having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, insurance companies wouldn’t stay in business.
Popular car insurance companies and some of their more popular discounts are outlined below.
- Progressive offers discounts for multi-vehicle, good student, continuous coverage, homeowner, and multi-policy.
- MetLife policyholders can earn discounts including multi-policy, good student, good driver, defensive driver, and claim-free.
- Mercury Insurance may have discounts that include low natural disaster claims, multi-car, location of vehicle, annual mileage, professional/association, and good driver.
- Nationwide offers discounts including multi-policy, accident-free, anti-theft, easy pay, business or organization, good student, and Farm Bureau membership.
- GEICO has savings for air bags, anti-theft, anti-lock brakes, federal employee, emergency military deployment, and multi-vehicle.
- AAA discounts include multi-car, good driver, pay-in-full, multi-policy, anti-theft, and good student.
If you want inexpensive Seattle car insurance quotes, ask every prospective company how many discounts you can get. Savings may not apply to policies in your state. For a list of insurance companies that provide some of the discounts listed above in Seattle, click here.
Finding cheaper insurance rates is a fairly straight forward process. The only requirement is to take a couple of minutes comparing rate quotes online with multiple companies.
Getting free rates online is quite simple, and it takes the place of having to physically go to insurance agents’ offices. Quoting and buying Ford Explorer insurance online reduces the need to sit down with an agent unless you have a complicated situation and need the personal advice of a local agency. It is possible to price shop your coverage online and have a local agent actually service the policy.
The companies shown below can provide price quotes in Seattle, WA. If several companies are displayed, we recommend you visit as many as you can in order to get a fair rate comparison.
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explorer XLT 2WD | $244 | $426 | $384 | $22 | $114 | $1,190 | $99 |
| Explorer Eddie Bauer 2WD | $198 | $320 | $282 | $16 | $84 | $900 | $75 |
| Explorer XLT 4WD | $160 | $198 | $386 | $22 | $116 | $882 | $74 |
| Explorer XLT AWD | $290 | $376 | $386 | $22 | $116 | $1,190 | $99 |
| Explorer Eddie Bauer 4WD | $260 | $422 | $304 | $18 | $90 | $1,094 | $91 |
| Explorer Eddie Bauer AWD | $154 | $236 | $300 | $18 | $90 | $798 | $67 |
| Explorer Limited 2WD | $180 | $304 | $334 | $20 | $100 | $938 | $78 |
| Explorer Limited 4WD | $234 | $354 | $304 | $18 | $90 | $1,000 | $83 |
| Explorer Limited AWD | $136 | $236 | $334 | $20 | $100 | $826 | $69 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
Table data represents single female driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Washington minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, claim-free, and homeowner. Information does not factor in specific zip code location which can increase or decrease prices greatly.
Should you raise deductibles?
The diagram below illustrates how your choice of deductibles and can impact Ford Explorer insurance rates for different age groups. The data is based on a married female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no discounts are factored in.
Buying from auto insurance agents
A lot of people would prefer to go talk to an agent and doing so can bring peace of mind Most agents will help you protect your assets and help you file claims. The best thing about comparing rate quotes online is you can get better rates but also keep your business local. Putting coverage with local insurance agents is important particularly in Seattle.
After filling out this short form, your coverage information is submitted to local insurance agents in Seattle that give free quotes for your insurance coverage. You never need to find an agent since rate quotes are delivered directly to your email. If you want to compare rates from a specific company, feel free to visit that company’s website and submit a quote form there.
Exclusive agents vs. Independent agents
When finding a good Seattle insurance agent, you need to know there are two different agency structures and how they can quote your rates. Agents in Seattle are considered either independent (non-exclusive) or exclusive. Either type can sell car insurance policies, but it is a good idea to know the subtle differences since it may influence the type of agent you choose.
Independent Insurance Agents
These agents are not required to write business for one company and that allows them to write policies with lots of companies and help determine which has the cheapest rates. If prices rise, the agent simply finds a different carrier and you can keep the same agent. If you need cheaper car insurance rates, we recommend you compare quotes from several independent insurance agents to have the most options to choose from.
Listed below are Seattle independent agents that can give you free price quotes.
Northwest Insurance Group
6055 California Ave SW – Seattle, WA 98136 – (206) 932-2500 – View Map
Sound Insurance Agency, Inc.
9627 Aurora Ave N – Seattle, WA 98103 – (206) 527-0888 – View Map
Norwest Insurance Agency
5191 S Spencer St – Seattle, WA 98118 – (206) 965-8140 – View Map
Exclusive Insurance Agencies
Agents of this type write business for a single company such as Allstate, Farmers Insurance, State Farm, and AAA. These agents are unable to place coverage with different providers so they have no alternatives for high prices. Exclusive agencies receive a lot of sales training on their products and sales techniques which helps offset the inability to provide other markets.
Shown below are exclusive insurance agents in Seattle that are able to give comparison quotes.
Charles Cohen – State Farm Insurance Agent
9750 Greenwood Ave N #104 – Seattle, WA 98103 – (206) 784-5151 – View Map
Raymond Insurance-Pemco and Progressive
6011 California Ave SW – Seattle, WA 98136 – (206) 933-8812 – View Map
Thury Foster – State Farm Insurance Agent
444 NE Ravenna Blvd #104 – Seattle, WA 98115 – (206) 985-2528 – View Map
Deciding on an auto insurance agent requires you to look at more than just the bottom line cost. Any good agent in Seattle should know the answers to these questions.
- Which insurance company do they prefer to write with?
- Is the quote a firm price?
- Do they make recommendations based only on price?
- How many years of experience in personal auto insurance do they have?
- What will you get paid if your car is a total loss? How is that amount determined?
- What is the financial rating for the quoted company?
- What is their Better Business Bureau rating?
- Do they prorate repair cost based on vehicle mileage?
Cheaper insurance is a realistic goal
When searching for affordable Ford Explorer insurance quotes, it’s not a good idea to reduce needed coverages to save money. There are a lot of situations where drivers have reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits and found out when filing a claim they didn’t purchase enough coverage. The proper strategy is to purchase plenty of coverage at the best cost but still have enough coverage for asset protection.
We just showed you many ways to lower your Ford Explorer insurance car insurance rates in Seattle. The key concept to understand is the more times you quote, the higher the chance of saving money. You may even find the biggest savings come from a small mutual company. These smaller insurers can often insure niche markets at a lower cost as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm and Allstate.
Much more information about insurance in Washington is located on the following sites:
- No-Fault Auto Insurance Statistics (Insurance Information Institute)
- Who Has Cheap Car Insurance Rates for a Honda CR-V in Seattle? (FAQ)
- Who Has Affordable Auto Insurance for a Jeep Grand Cherokee in Seattle? (FAQ)
- Who Has Affordable Seattle Auto Insurance Quotes for Drivers Requiring a SR22? (FAQ)
- How Much are Seattle Car Insurance Quotes for a Ford Explorer? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes for a Chevrolet Silverado in Seattle? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Car Insurance for a GMC Sierra in Seattle? (FAQ)
- What Insurance is Cheapest for a Chevrolet Equinox in Seattle? (FAQ)
- Teen Driving and Texting (State Farm)
- Five Tips to Save on Auto Insurance (Insurance Information Institute)
- What is Covered by GAP Insurance? (Allstate)