"It's really amazing and disappointing that most people don't shop around for auto insurance," said Robert Krughoff with Delaware Valley Consumers' Checkbook. "Because most people will probably save hundreds of dollars and many people will save a thousand dollars or more by switching auto insurance companies.
Consumers' Checkbook recently compared insurance companies in terms of rates for a variety of policies.
"We found dramatic differences in price and real opportunities for people to save," Krughoff said.
For example, a Lansdale couple looking for basic coverage could pay as little as $1,054 with Travelers but as much as $2,643 for the same type of policy with Nationwide.
The price range for a policy on a Wilmington couple with one accident and a teenage son was $2,776 with Liberty Mutual and $4,528 with Progressive.
No matter which carrier you choose, you can lower you rates by raising your deductible on your collision and comprehensive to $1,000 dollars.
"That will save you a lot of money each year on average. It will save you a lot more money than you're ever going to collect from the company," said Krughoff.
Discounts are offered for a variety of reasons. Some include:
- Insuring multiple cars.
- Insure your car and home with the same carrier.
- Have student drivers with good grades.
- low mileage.
Along with prices, Checkbook also researched complaints filed with state insurance departments.
"And a third thing was that we actually surveyed body shop owners and asked them which companies would you want to be insured by because they know whether policy holders run into trouble getting coverage for certain types of repairs," said Krughoff.
Most often body shop owners gave Chubb, Erie and USAA the highest marks.
If you'd like to see how your insurance company stacked up against others and to see the rates that drivers like you are paying, you can look at the entire Consumers' Checkbook survey for free for one week.
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