Smart shoppers know that auto insurance companies don’t want their customers to go rate shopping. Consumers who shop around at least once a year will presumably buy a different policy because they stand a good chance of finding lower prices. A recent study showed that consumers who routinely compared quotes saved $865 a year as compared to drivers who don’t make a habit of comparing rates.
If finding the lowest price for insurance in Virginia Beach is your objective, then learning a little about how to shop for insurance coverage can make shopping around easier.
The best way to get affordable auto insurance rates is to compare prices once a year from providers who provide auto insurance in Virginia Beach. You can compare prices by following these steps.
Step 1: Take a few minutes and learn about individual coverages and the measures you can control to prevent expensive coverage. Many rating factors that increase rates like your driving record and poor credit rating can be controlled by making minor driving habit or lifestyle changes. Continue reading for more details to get cheaper rates and get bigger discounts.
Step 2: Compare rates from exclusive agents, independent agents, and direct providers. Direct companies and exclusive agencies can only give rate quotes from one company like GEICO or Allstate, while independent agencies can provide price quotes from multiple insurance companies.
Step 3: Compare the quotes to your current policy premium to determine if you can save on PT Cruiser insurance. If you find a lower rate and make a switch, make sure there is no coverage gap between policies.
Step 4: Provide proper notification to your current company to cancel your current car insurance policy and submit a completed policy application and payment to the new insurer. As soon as you can, put the new proof of insurance paperwork along with the vehicle’s registration papers.
A tip to remember is that you’ll want to compare the same deductibles and limits on every quote and and to get quotes from as many different insurance providers as possible. This ensures an accurate price comparison and a thorough price selection.
This article will instruct you on the best way to buy inexpensive insurance and some money-saving tips. If you currently have insurance, you will most likely be able to shop for the lowest rates using these tips. Nevertheless, Virginia car owners do need to learn how big insurance companies determine what you pay because rates fluctuate considerably.
Verify you’re applying every discount
The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but you may qualify for discounts to cut the cost considerably. Some discounts apply automatically when you quote, but less common discounts must be asked for before they will apply.
- Sign Early and Save – Some insurance companies provide a discount for switching policies prior to your current PT Cruiser insurance policy expiring. This discount can save up to 10%.
- Virginia Beach Homeowners Discount – Simply owning a home can earn you a little savings since owning and maintaining a home is proof of financial responsibility.
- No Accidents – Drivers who don’t have accidents pay less when compared with drivers with a long claim history.
- Telematics Discount – Policyholders that allow their auto insurance company to study vehicle usage by installing a telematics device like In-Drive from State Farm and Progressive’s Snapshot may see discounts if they are good drivers.
- Theft Deterrent System – Cars and trucks that have factory anti-theft systems prevent vehicle theft and earn discounts up to 10% off your Virginia Beach car insurance quote.
Just know that most credits do not apply to the whole policy. Some only reduce specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. Just because it seems like you can get free auto insurance, insurance companies wouldn’t stay in business.
The example below shows the difference between Chrysler PT Cruiser yearly insurance costs with and without discounts applied. The data assumes a male driver, no claims or driving citations, Virginia state minimum liability limits, full physical damage coverage, and $250 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with multi-policy, marriage, multi-car, safe-driver, claim-free, and homeowner discounts applied.
Popular auto insurance companies and their possible discounts are included below.
- State Farm may offer discounts for passive restraint, good student, student away at school, safe vehicle, multiple autos, and Steer Clear safe driver discount.
- GEICO offers discounts for air bags, multi-policy, military active duty, emergency military deployment, and daytime running lights.
- Progressive discounts include good student, online signing, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, continuous coverage, and online quote discount.
- 21st Century has discounts for defensive driver, teen driver, automatic seat belts, student driver, air bags, and driver training.
- American Family policyholders can earn discounts including defensive driver, good driver, TimeAway discount, mySafetyValet, bundled insurance, and early bird.
- The Hartford offers premium reductions for anti-theft, defensive driver, good student, air bag, and vehicle fuel type.
- AAA may include discounts for good student, pay-in-full, good driver, anti-theft, AAA membership discount, and multi-policy.
Before you buy a policy, ask every company to give you their best rates. Some of the discounts discussed earlier might not be available to policyholders in your area. For a list of providers offering auto insurance discounts in Virginia, click here to view.
The majority of larger companies provide prices for coverage on their websites. Doing online price comparisons for Chrysler PT Cruiser insurance in Virginia Beach is pretty painless because it’s just a matter of typing in your coverage preferences as requested by the quote form. When complete, their system requests reports for credit and driving violations and returns a price quote based on the information you submitted.
Being able to quote online for Chrysler PT Cruiser insurance in Virginia Beach makes comparing rates easy, and it’s also necessary to compare as many rates as possible if you are searching for the best rate on insurance.
In order to find out what other companies charge, compare rate quotes from the providers shown below. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you enter coverages and limits as shown on your current policy. Doing this guarantees you will have an apples-to-apples comparison for the exact same coverage.
The providers in the list below offer free quotes in Virginia. To locate cheap car insurance in Virginia Beach, VA, it’s highly recommended you visit two to three different companies to find the most competitive auto insurance rates.
Rates and detailed analysis
The premium information shown below showcases detailed analysis of coverage prices for Chrysler PT Cruiser models. Learning how auto insurance policy rates are formulated can be of help when making decisions when shopping your coverage around.
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PT Cruiser 2WD 4-Dr | $118 | $214 | $296 | $18 | $88 | $734 | $61 |
| PT Cruiser 2WD 4-Dr | $118 | $214 | $296 | $18 | $88 | $734 | $61 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
Prices above based on single female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1000 deductibles, and Virginia minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, multi-vehicle, homeowner, safe-driver, and multi-policy. Table data does not factor in specific zip code location which can revise premium rates considerably.
Physical damage deductibles: Should you raise them?
One frequently asked question is where to set your physical damage deductibles. The rates below can help you understand the rate differences between low and high policy deductibles. The first set of rates uses a $100 comprehensive and collision deductible and the second rate table uses a $500 deductible.
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PT Cruiser 2WD 4-Dr | $192 | $328 | $218 | $12 | $66 | $841 | $70 |
| PT Cruiser 2WD 4-Dr | $192 | $328 | $218 | $12 | $66 | $841 | $70 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PT Cruiser 2WD 4-Dr | $140 | $222 | $218 | $12 | $66 | $658 | $55 |
| PT Cruiser 2WD 4-Dr | $140 | $222 | $218 | $12 | $66 | $658 | $55 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
Data assumes married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and Virginia minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, safe-driver, multi-policy, homeowner, and multi-vehicle. Rate quotes do not factor in Virginia Beach location which can modify coverage rates significantly.
We can derive from the above data that using a $100 deductible costs about $15 more each month or $180 a year across all Chrysler PT Cruiser models than buying the higher $500 deductible. Because you would pay $400 more to settle a claim with a $500 deductible as compared to a $100 deductible, if you tend to average at least 27 months between claims, you would probably save some money if you choose the higher deductible.
How to calculate if higher deductibles make sense
| Average monthly premium for $100 deductibles: | $70 |
| Average monthly premium for $500 deductibles (subtract): | – $55 |
| Monthly savings from raising deductible: | $15 |
| Difference between deductibles ($500 – $100): | $400 |
| Divide difference by monthly savings: | $400 / $15 |
| Number of months required between physical damage coverage claims in order to save money by choosing the higher deductible | 27 months |
One big caveat is that raising deductibles to get cheaper rates means you will have to pay more of your own money if you have a claim. You must have some extra funds in the event you need to pay the deductible.
You Can Change Your Insurance Rates
When buying auto insurance it’s important to understand some of the factors that come into play when calculating your policy premiums. If you have some idea of what impacts premium levels, this helps enable you to make changes that can help you get lower auto insurance prices.
- Annual mileage impacts prices – The more miles you rack up on your Chrysler in a year’s time the more you’ll pay to insure your vehicle. A lot of insurance companies charge rates partially by how you use the vehicle. Autos that sit idle most of the time can be on a lower rate level compared to those used for work or business. Make sure your policy correctly shows annual mileage. An incorrectly rated PT Cruiser may be costing you higher rates.
- Liability protection claims can be big – A critical coverage on your policy, liability insurance kicks in when you are found to be at fault for personal injury or accident damage. It will provide legal defense coverage to attempt to prove you were not liable. Liability insurance is pretty cheap compared to physical damage coverage, so drivers should carry high limits.
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Insurance costs and driver gender – The statistics show that women are safer drivers than men. However, this does not mean women are better drivers. Women and men are in accidents in similar percentages, but men cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Not only are claims higher, but men receive more costly citations like DWI (DUI) or reckless driving.
The diagram below visualizes the comparison of Chrysler PT Cruiser car insurance costs for male and female drivers. The costs are based on no tickets, no at-fault accidents, comp and collision included, $500 deductibles, marital status is single, and no discounts are applied.
- GPS tracking and theft deterrents lowers prices – Selecting a car model with an alarm system can save you a little every year. Anti-theft features like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar can thwart car theft.
- Extra policy coverages can waste money – There are quite a few extra bells and whistles you can purchase if you aren’t diligent. Things like rental car reimbursement, high-cost glass coverage, and extra equipment coverage are probably not needed. They may sound like good ideas when discussing your needs, but if you have no use for them get rid of them and save.
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Influences performance influences auto insurance prices – The type of vehicle you are buying insurance for makes a huge difference in your auto insurance rates. Lower performance four cylinder passenger cars usually have the lowest premiums, but your final cost has many other factors.
The chart below uses these assumptions: married female driver age 50, full coverage with $100 deductibles, and no discounts or violations. The chart compares Chrysler PT Cruiser policy rates compared to other vehicles that have a range of performance risks.
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Bad driving means higher premiums – Only having one moving violation can boost insurance rates forty percent or more. Drivers who don’t get tickets pay lower auto insurance prices than people who have multiple driving citations. People who have serious violations such as reckless driving or DUI may find they need to file a SR-22 with their state DMV in order to legally drive.
The chart below illustrates how traffic citations and fender-benders impact Chrysler PT Cruiser annual premium costs for different insured age categories. The rates are based on a single male driver, full physical damage coverage, $1,000 deductibles, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
- Too many auto insurance claims and you’ll pay more – If you file claims often, you can look forward to much higher rates or policy non-renewal. Insurance companies in Virginia award the lowest premiums to drivers who file claims infrequently. Your insurance policy is designed for more catastrophic claims.
Get rate quotes but buy from a local Virginia Beach insurance agency
Many people would rather sit down and talk to an agent and we recommend doing that A nice benefit of comparing rate quotes online is that you can obtain cheap insurance quotes but also keep your business local. Buying insurance from local insurance agents is important especially in Virginia Beach.
By using this quick form, your information is transmitted to companies in Virginia Beach who will return price quotes for your business. It makes it easy because there is no need to visit any agencies because quoted prices will be sent immediately to your email address. You’ll get the best rates AND a local agent. In the event you want to get a comparison quote from a specific insurance provider, feel free to jump over to their website to submit a rate quote request.
If you are wanting to find local Virginia Beach agents, there are two types of insurance agents and how they can service your needs differently. Agents are considered either exclusive or independent.
Independent Insurance Agencies
Agents in the independent channel are not restricted to one company so they have the ability to put coverage through lots of different companies depending on which coverage is best. If they find a lower price, the agent simply finds a different carrier and you won’t have to switch agencies.
When comparing insurance rates, we highly recommend that you compare prices from independent agents so that you have a good selection of quotes to compare. They often place coverage with small regional insurance companies that may provide cheaper insurance rates.
Shown below are Virginia Beach independent agents that may be able to give competitive price quotes.
- Wilson Insurance Agency, Inc
1127 Crystal Lake Dr – Virginia Beach, VA 23451 – (757) 491-8953 – View Map - Cheeks Insurance Agency
4968 Euclid Rd e – Virginia Beach, VA 23462 – (757) 309-1850 – View Map - Bordeaux Insurance Agency
4654 Haygood Rd – Virginia Beach, VA 23455 – (757) 460-6220 – View Map
Exclusive Insurance Agents
Agents in the exclusive channel can only quote rates from one company such as Farmers Insurance and State Farm. Exclusive agents cannot compare rates from other companies so you need to shop around if the rates are high. Exclusive agents are usually well trained in insurance sales which helps them sell on service rather than price. Some people will only buy from exclusive agents partially due to high brand loyalty rather than low rates.
The following is a short list of exclusive insurance agents in Virginia Beach that are able to give price quote information.
- Matt Abbott – State Farm Insurance Agent
4646 Princess Anne Rd #103 – Virginia Beach, VA 23462 – (757) 497-1999 – View Map - Ed Barnhart – State Farm Insurance Agent
5660 Indian River Rd #126 – Virginia Beach, VA 23464 – (757) 366-0322 – View Map - Al Taxter – State Farm Insurance Agent
6070 Indian River Rd #104 – Virginia Beach, VA 23464 – (757) 420-2575 – View Map
Selecting an insurance agent shouldn’t rely on just a cheap price. Before buying a policy in Virginia Beach, get answers to these questions.
- Do they have any clout with companies to ensure a fair claim settlement?
- What insurance companies do they recommend if they are an independent agent?
- Is the agency involved in supporting local community causes?
- Is there a local claims center in Virginia Beach?
- Will the company cover a rental car if your car is getting fixed?
Upon receiving good feedback to these questions in addition to an acceptable price estimate, you may have found an insurance agent that can provide insurance coverage.
Best reasons to buy auto insurance in Virginia
Despite the potentially high cost of Chrysler PT Cruiser insurance, maintaining insurance is a good idea for several reasons.
- The majority of states have minimum mandated liability insurance limits which means state laws require a minimum amount of liability insurance coverage if you don’t want to risk a ticket. In Virginia these limits are 25/50/20 which means you must have $25,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $20,000 of property damage coverage.
- If you have a loan on your Chrysler, more than likely the lender will have a requirement that you have physical damage coverage to ensure loan repayment if the vehicle is totaled. If you cancel or allow the policy to lapse, the lender may insure your Chrysler at a significantly higher premium and force you to pay for the much more expensive policy.
- Insurance protects both your car and your personal assets. It also can pay for medical expenses for you, your passengers, and anyone else injured in an accident. Liability insurance, one of your policy coverages, will also pay for a defense attorney if you cause an accident and are sued. If your Chrysler gets damaged, collision and comprehensive coverages will pay to repair the damage minus the deductible amount.
The benefits of having auto insurance outweigh the cost, especially when you need to use it. The average driver in America is currently overpaying as much as $850 per year so it’s very important to do a rate comparison at every renewal to ensure rates are competitive.
One last thing to lower rates
Consumers who switch companies do it for any number of reasons including extreme rates for teen drivers, being labeled a high risk driver, an unsatisfactory settlement offer or even questionable increases in premium. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch finding the right auto insurance provider is not as difficult as it may seem.
Cheaper auto insurance in Virginia Beach can be bought from both online companies in addition to many Virginia Beach insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both to get a complete price analysis. A few companies do not provide internet price quotes and many times these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agencies.
You just read a lot of tips how to find cheap Chrysler PT Cruiser insurance in Virginia Beach. It’s most important to understand that the more companies you get rates for, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even find the best price on auto insurance is with an unexpected company.
To read more, feel free to browse the resources below:
- Understanding Limits and Deductibles (Allstate)
- Who Has Affordable Auto Insurance for a Ford F-150 in Virginia Beach? (FAQ)
- How Much is Auto Insurance for Good Drivers in Virginia Beach? (FAQ)
- How Much is Car Insurance for a Ford Fusion in Virginia Beach? (FAQ)
- Who Has Affordable Auto Insurance for Drivers Over Age 60 in Virginia Beach? (FAQ)
- Reducing Your Risks in a Car Crash Video (iihs.org)
- What Does No-Fault Insurance Cover? (Allstate)
- Property Damage Coverage (Liberty Mutual)