Sadly, most consumers have remained with the same auto insurance company for at least the last four years, and nearly half have never compared rates to find cheap insurance. The average driver in New Jersey can save hundreds of dollars each year, but they just assume it takes a lot of time to compare rates online.
The recommended way to get cheaper Dodge Stratus insurance is to compare prices at least once a year from different companies who provide car insurance in Jersey City.
Step 1: Read and learn about policy coverages and the measures you can control to prevent expensive coverage. Many rating criteria that result in higher rates like traffic tickets, fender benders, and poor credit history can be amended by making small lifestyle or driving habit changes.
Step 2: Request rate estimates from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Exclusive and direct companies can provide rates from a single company like GEICO and Allstate, while agents who are independent can provide rate quotes from many different companies. Compare rates
Step 3: Compare the new rate quotes to your current policy premium and determine if there is any savings. If you find a lower rate, make sure there is no coverage gap between policies.
Step 4: Notify your company or agent to cancel your existing policy. Submit a signed application and payment for the new policy. As soon as you can, keep your new certificate of insurance in an easily accessible location in your vehicle.
One thing to point out is to use similar deductibles and liability limits on every quote and to quote with as many carriers as you can. This helps ensure the most accurate price comparison and a complete rate analysis.
Choices You Make Can Impact Your Insurance Premiums
It’s important that you understand some of the elements that go into determining your policy premiums. If you have some idea of what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this allows you to make educated decisions that could result in lower car insurance prices.
Listed below are a few of the “ingredients” utilized by car insurance companies to help set premiums.
- High credit rating translates to low costs – Having a bad credit history is likely to be a major factor in determining what you pay. If your credit rating can be improved, you could save money insuring your Dodge Stratus by taking the time to improve your credit score. People that have high credit ratings tend to file fewer claims than drivers who have lower ratings.
- High physical damage deductibles equal low rates – The deductibles you choose are how much you are willing to pay before a claim is paid by your company. Coverage for physical damage, aka comp and collision, covers damage that occurs to your car. Some coverage claims are colliding with a stationary object, damage from fire, or theft of your vehicle. The more expense the insured is willing to pay, the less your car insurance will be.
- Optional features that lower prices – Choosing to buy a car with a theft deterrent system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft features like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar can help prevent auto theft.
- Impacts performance impacts auto insurance rates – The type of car or truck you are insuring makes a huge difference in your premium level. The cheapest insurance rates tend to be for lower performance four cylinder passenger models, but the final cost of insurance is determined by many other factors.
- Gals pay lower prices – Over time, data shows women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, don’t assume that men are WORSE drivers than women. Men and women cause accidents in similar percentages, but males have costlier accidents. Men also receive more costly citations such as DWI and reckless driving. Male teenagers tend to get in the most accidents and therefore pay the highest rates.
Affordable Jersey City Dodge Stratus insurance
When looking for affordable Dodge Stratus insurance quotes, there are a couple ways of comparing rates from auto insurance companies in your area. The best way to find affordable Dodge Stratus insurance rates is to get quotes online.
When price shopping your coverage, having more price comparisons increases the chance that you will find more affordable rates. Not every company allows you to get Jersey City Stratus insurance quotes online, so it’s necessary to compare price quotes from the smaller companies as well.
The providers in the list below can provide comparison quotes in Jersey City, NJ. If multiple companies are listed, we recommend you click on several of them to get the lowest price.
Why you need insurance for your Dodge Stratus
Despite the potentially high cost of Dodge Stratus insurance, buying auto insurance is not optional due to several reasons.
- Almost all states have mandatory insurance requirements which means it is punishable by state law to not carry a specific level of liability protection if you drive a vehicle. In New Jersey these limits are 15/30/5 which means you must have $15,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $5,000 of property damage coverage.
- If your Stratus has a lienholder, more than likely the lender will require you to have comprehensive coverage to ensure loan repayment if the vehicle is totaled. If you cancel or allow the policy to lapse, the bank may insure your Dodge for a much higher rate and require you to fork over the higher premium.
- Auto insurance preserves both your assets and your Dodge Stratus. Insurance will also pay for medical transport and hospital expenses for you, your passengers, and anyone else injured in an accident. One of the most valuable coverages, liability insurance, will also pay to defend you in the event you are sued. If you have damage to your Dodge as the result of the weather or an accident, comprehensive and/or collision insurance will pay to repair the damage minus the deductible amount.
The benefits of having auto insurance definitely exceed the price paid, especially for larger claims. But the average American driver is overpaying more than $865 each year so it’s very important to do a rate comparison each time the policy renews to save money.
Jersey City insurance discounts for a Dodge Stratus
Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but there may be some discounts that many consumers don’t even know exist. Certain discounts will be applied when you get a quote, but some must be asked about prior to receiving the credit.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Keeping the miles down on your Dodge could qualify for cheaper rates.
- Anti-theft System – Anti-theft and alarm system equipped vehicles are stolen with less frequency and will qualify for a discount on a Jersey City car insurance quote.
- Senior Citizens – Seniors can get reduced rates.
- Policy Bundle Discount – If you can combine your home and auto policy and place coverage with the same company they may give you a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
- Club Memberships – Affiliation with certain professional organizations could trigger savings on your policy.
- Passive Restraint Discount – Vehicles equipped with air bags can qualify for discounts of 20 to 30 percent.
- Sign Online – Some of the larger companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks get Jersey City car insurance digitally online.
- Multi-line Discount – If the company offers life insurance, you could get a break if you buy auto and life insurance together.
Don’t be surprised that most of the big mark downs will not be given to all coverage premiums. The majority will only reduce individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. Despite the fact that it seems like you can get free auto insurance, that’s just not realistic.
Companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts can be found below.
- GEICO policyholders can earn discounts including military active duty, multi-vehicle, good student, multi-policy, daytime running lights, and anti-theft.
- USAA has savings for family discount, annual mileage, multi-vehicle, good student, military installation, safe driver, and driver training.
- Progressive may have discounts that include continuous coverage, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, online signing, good student, online quote discount, and homeowner.
- American Family may include discounts for mySafetyValet, TimeAway discount, air bags, defensive driver, early bird, good driver, and good student.
- Esurance includes discounts for homeowner, online quote, multi-car, DriveSense, claim free, and Switch & Save.
- Farmers Insurance offers discounts including distant student, switch companies, good student, alternative fuel, homeowner, and teen driver.
- State Farm may offer discounts for good student, good driver, safe vehicle, anti-theft, defensive driving training, and multiple policy.
Double check with all companies you are considering which discounts you may be entitled to. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts may not apply to policyholders in Jersey City. To locate providers that offer discounts in Jersey City, click this link.
Insurance agent or online?
Some consumers would prefer to get professional advice from a licensed agent. A nice benefit of price shopping on the web is that drivers can save money and get lower prices and still choose a local agent. And supporting neighborhood insurance agencies is still important in Jersey City.
By using this form (opens in new window), your coverage information is transmitted to local insurance agents in Jersey City who can give free rate quotes for your business. There is no need to do any legwork because quoted prices will be sent immediately to your email address. You can get cheaper auto insurance rates and a licensed agent to work with. If you have a need to get a comparison quote from a specific auto insurance provider, you would need to jump over to their website to submit a rate quote request.
Auto insurance agents in Jersey City come in two varieties
If you prefer to buy auto insurance from an insurance agent, it can be helpful to understand the different types of agencies and how they are slightly different. Jersey City agents are categorized either exclusive or independent agents depending on their company appointments.
Independent Auto Insurance Agents (or Brokers)
Agents in the independent channel do not write with just one company and that allows them to write policies with multiple insurance companies and potentially find a lower price. If you are not satisfied with one company, your policy is moved internally and that require little work on your part. When comparison shopping, you will definitely want to get some free quotes from a few independent agents for maximum quote selection. Many independent agencies also insure through companies that do not advertise much which could offer lower prices.
Featured below are Jersey City independent insurance agencies who may provide competitive price quotes.
- GG Insurance – Independent Insurance Agent
270 Marin Boulevard, Metropolis Towers Suite #14D – Jersey City, NJ 07302 – (800) 801-0394 – View Map - MHM Insurance
243 Central Ave # 1 – Jersey City, NJ 07307 – (201) 721-6081 – View Map - Arch Insurance
300 Exchange Pl – Jersey City, NJ 07311 – (201) 743-4000 – View Map
Exclusive Agencies
Agents that choose to be exclusive work for only one company such as State Farm, AAA, and Liberty Mutual. These agents are not able to compare rates from other companies so it’s a take it or leave it situation. They are well trained on their company’s products and that can be a competitive advantage. Consumers sometimes choose to use an exclusive agent partially due to loyalty to the company instead of buying on price only.
The following are Jersey City exclusive agencies willing to provide price quotes.
- Allstate Insurance: Emad Soliman
844 Bergen Ave – Jersey City, NJ 07306 – (201) 332-6999 – View Map - Joe Nachbaur – State Farm Insurance Agent
505 Central Ave – Jersey City, NJ 07307 – (201) 222-8866 – View Map - Farmers Insurance – Karima Panjwani
591 Summit Ave – Jersey City, NJ 07306 – (201) 793-7525 – View Map
Finding the right car insurance agent requires you to look at more than just the premium amount. These are some questions you should get answers to.
- Do they get paid more for recommending certain coverages?
- Does the company allow you to choose your own collision repair facility?
- Is auto insurance their primary focus in Jersey City?
- Do they feel the quoted coverages are adequate?
- Is working in the agency their full-time job?
Smart shoppers get results
When trying to cut insurance costs, do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are a lot of situations where someone sacrificed full coverage and discovered at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. The goal is to buy enough coverage at the best cost.
In this article, we covered quite a bit of information on how to lower your Dodge Stratus insurance auto insurance rates in Jersey City. The most important thing to understand is the more providers you compare, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers could even find that the lowest auto insurance rates are with some of the smallest insurance companies.
Drivers change insurance companies for any number of reasons including an unsatisfactory settlement offer, questionable increases in premium, lack of trust in their agent or even high prices. No matter why you want to switch, finding a new company is pretty simple and you could end up saving a buck or two.
Additional resources
- Distracted Driving Statistics (Insurance Information Institute)
- Who Has Cheap Car Insurance for Homeowners in Jersey City? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance for Low Credit Scores in Jersey City? (FAQ)
- Bodily Injury Coverage (Liberty Mutual)
- Driving in Bad Weather (Insurance Information Institute)
- Side Impact Crash Tests (iihs.org)