It’s an obvious conclusion that car insurance companies don’t want their policyholders to compare prices. Drivers who shop around for the cheapest price are highly likely to buy a new policy because there is a good probability of finding coverage at a cheaper rate. A recent auto insurance study discovered that consumers who compared prices regularly saved about $850 each year as compared to drivers who don’t regularly compare prices.
If saving the most money on BMW M3 insurance in Raleigh is your intention, understanding how to get price quotes and compare coverage rates can save time and make the process easier.
If you want to save money, the best way to find discount BMW M3 insurance is to start comparing prices yearly from insurers who sell insurance in Raleigh.
- Spend some time learning about how auto insurance works and the measures you can control to keep rates in check. Many risk factors that result in higher rates such as traffic violations, accidents, and an imperfect credit rating can be remedied by being financially responsible and driving safely. Later in this article we will cover additional tips to help prevent expensive coverage and find more discounts that you may not know about.
- Request price quotes from independent agents, exclusive agents, and direct companies. Direct and exclusive agents can only give rate quotes from one company like GEICO and Allstate, while independent agents can provide price quotes from multiple insurance companies. View prices
- Compare the new rate quotes to your current policy premium to see if you can save by switching companies. If you can save money and make a switch, make sure there is no lapse between the expiration of your current policy and the new one.
- Provide notification to your current company to cancel your current car insurance policy. Submit the application along with any required down payment for the new policy. As soon as you can, keep your new certificate verifying coverage in an easily accessible location.
The key thing to remember is to compare the same liability limits and deductibles on every quote request and and to get price quotes from every insurance company. Doing this helps ensure a fair price comparison and the best price selection.
Locating the best rates in Raleigh is quite easy if you know the best way to do it. Practically everyone who is overpaying for auto insurance will most likely find a lower price. Although North Carolina consumers do need to know how insurance companies determine what you pay because it varies considerably.
Four Tips to Get Cheaper Raleigh Insurance Premiums
A large part of saving on car insurance is knowing the different types of things that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels, this allows you to make educated decisions that could result in lower car insurance prices. Many factors are part of the calculation when you get your auto insurance bill. Most are fairly basic like an MVR report, but other factors are less apparent such as your marital status or how safe your car is.
Gender impacts prices – Statistics have proven women tend to be less risk to insure than men. That doesn’t necessarily mean that men are WORSE drivers than women. Women and men cause at-fault accidents at about the same rate, but men have costlier accidents. They also receive more costly citations such as DWI and reckless driving.
The information below shows the difference between BMW M3 car insurance rates for male and female drivers. The data assumes no accidents or driving violations, full physical damage coverage, $100 deductibles, single status, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
High comp and collision deductibles reduce premiums – Physical damage insurance, also called ‘full coverage’, is used to repair damage to your BMW. Examples of covered claims are running into the backend of another car, flood damage, and having your car stolen. The deductibles you choose state the amount of money you are required to spend if the claim is covered. The more you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the lower your rates will be.
Credit score impacts premium rates – Credit history is likely to be a major factor in calculating your premium rate. Drivers with excellent credit scores tend to be better risks to insure than drivers with lower ratings. Therefore, if your credit is low, you may save money insuring your BMW M3 by repairing your credit.
Premiums can change based on your address – Choosing to live in less populated areas of the country is a good thing when shopping for auto insurance. Urban drivers have more road rage incidents and longer commutes to work. Fewer people translates into fewer accidents in addition to fewer liability claims.
Insurance loss data for BMW M3 vehicles – Companies analyze past claim statistics as a way to help calculate a profitable premium price. Models that the statistics show to have higher loss trends will have higher premium rates. The table shown below demonstrates the insurance loss data used by companies for BMW M3 vehicles.
For each insurance policy coverage type, the claim amount for all vehicles, regardless of make, model or trim level, is considered to be 100. Percentages below 100 suggest losses that are better than average, while values over 100 indicate more frequent losses or a tendency for claims to be larger.
| Make and Model | Collision | Property Damage | Comp | Personal Injury | Medical Payment | Bodily Injury |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMW M3 4dr | 302 | 186 |
Empty fields indicate not enough data collected
Data Source: iihs.org (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) for 2013-2015 Model Years
Insurance statistics and figures
The premium table shown below covers a range of coverage prices for BMW M3 models. Having a better understanding of how rates are established can be useful when making smart choices when selecting a coverage provider.
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M3 4-Dr Sedan | $150 | $288 | $256 | $16 | $76 | $786 | $66 |
| M3 CI 2-Dr Coupe | $164 | $322 | $256 | $16 | $76 | $834 | $70 |
| M3 2-Dr Convertible | $164 | $322 | $256 | $16 | $76 | $834 | $70 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
Data based on married male driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1000 deductibles, and North Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, claim-free, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, and safe-driver. Prices do not factor in your specific Raleigh location which can decrease or increase premiums substantially.
Policy deductible comparison
One of the hardest decisions when shopping for insurance is how high should your deductibles be. The comparison tables below highlight the price difference between high and low coverage deductibles. The first set of rates uses a $100 deductible for physical damage and the second rate table uses a $500 deductible.
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M3 4-Dr Sedan | $298 | $594 | $250 | $14 | $74 | $1,255 | $105 |
| M3 CI 2-Dr Coupe | $324 | $662 | $250 | $14 | $74 | $1,349 | $112 |
| M3 2-Dr Convertible | $324 | $662 | $250 | $14 | $74 | $1,349 | $112 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M3 4-Dr Sedan | $216 | $402 | $250 | $14 | $74 | $956 | $80 |
| M3 CI 2-Dr Coupe | $236 | $448 | $250 | $14 | $74 | $1,022 | $85 |
| M3 2-Dr Convertible | $236 | $448 | $250 | $14 | $74 | $1,022 | $85 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
Data variables include married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and North Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, multi-policy, homeowner, safe-driver, and multi-vehicle. Price estimates do not factor in specific Raleigh garaging location which can decrease or increase auto insurance rates noticeably.
Based on these figures, using a $100 deductible costs an average of $27 more each month or $324 each year than choosing the higher $500 deductible. Because you would pay $400 more if you turn in a claim with a $500 deductible as compared to a $100 deductible, if you usually have at a minimum 15 months between claims, you would more than likely save some money by selecting a higher deductible.
Calculate deductible break even point
| Average monthly premium for $100 deductibles: | $110 |
| Average monthly premium for $500 deductibles (subtract): | – $83 |
| Monthly savings from raising deductible: | $27 |
| Difference between deductibles ($500 – $100): | $400 |
| Divide difference by monthly savings: | $400 / $27 |
| Number of months required between physical damage coverage claims in order to save money by choosing the higher deductible | 15 months |
One thing to note is that a higher deductible level results in having to pay to pay more out-of-pocket when you do file a claim. You will want to have a higher level of savings in the event you need to pay the higher deductible.
Should you buy full coverage?
The illustration below visualizes the comparison of BMW M3 insurance prices when comparing full coverage to liability only. The premiums are based on no driving violations, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, single status, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
When to switch to liability coverage only
There is no set guideline of when to drop physical damage coverage, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the annual cost of coverage is more than around 10% of the settlement you would receive from your company, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.
For example, let’s pretend your BMW M3 settlement value is $6,000 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is destroyed, the most you would receive is $5,000 after you pay the deductible. If you are paying more than $500 annually for your policy with full coverage, then it might be time to buy liability only.
There are some situations where dropping full coverage is not a good idea. If you haven’t paid off your loan, you have to keep full coverage in order to prevent the bank from purchasing higher-priced coverage. Also, if your finances do not allow you to purchase a different vehicle in the even your car is totaled, you should not remove full coverage.
Get cheaper rates on BMW M3 insurance in Raleigh with these car insurance discounts
Car insurance is neither fun to buy or cheap, but there’s a good chance there are discounts that could help you make your next renewal payment. A few discounts will be applied at quote time, but lesser-known reductions have to be asked for prior to receiving the credit.
- Accident Waiver – Not really a discount, but a few companies such as Allstate and GEICO may permit one accident before they charge you more for coverage if you have no claims prior to being involved in the accident.
- Discount for Swiching Early – A few insurance companies give discounts for renewing your policy early. It could save around 10% when you buy Raleigh auto insurance online.
- Student Driver Training – Cut your cost by having your teen driver complete a driver education course in school or through a local driver safety program.
- Safety Restraint Discount – Drivers who require all occupants to use a seat belt can save 10% or more on the premium charged for medical payments and/or PIP.
- Student Discounts – A discount for being a good student can save 20 to 25%. Earning this discount can benefit you up until you turn 25.
- Bundle and Save – When you combine your home and auto insurance and place coverage with the same company you will save as much as 10 to 15 percent.
- Discount for Home Ownership – Just being a homeowner can save a few bucks since owning and maintaining a home demonstrates responsibility.
- Military Discounts – Having a deployed family member could qualify you for better car insurance rates.
A little disclaimer on discounts, most discounts do not apply to the entire policy premium. A few only apply to individual premiums such as liability and collision coverage. Even though it appears all the discounts add up to a free policy, you aren’t that lucky.
The chart below illustrates the difference between BMW M3 insurance costs with and without discounts being applied to the rates. Data assumes a female driver, no claims or violations, North Carolina state minimum liability limits, full physical damage coverage, and $500 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with multi-policy, marriage, claim-free, homeowner, safe-driver, and multi-car discounts applied.
A list of companies and some of the discounts can be read below.
- Mercury Insurance has discounts for accident-free, type of vehicle, professional/association, age of vehicle, ease of repair, multi-car, and low natural disaster claims.
- Farmers Insurance has savings for multi-car, teen driver, youthful driver, switch companies, alternative fuel, and distant student.
- Farm Bureau offers discounts including safe driver, renewal discount, 55 and retired, youthful driver, and multi-vehicle.
- State Farm includes discounts for safe vehicle, Drive Safe & Save, good driver, multiple autos, defensive driving training, accident-free, and passive restraint.
- Allstate discounts include anti-lock brakes, auto/life discount, 55 and retired, anti-theft, defensive driver, multi-policy, and passive restraint.
- GEICO offers discounts for daytime running lights, good student, emergency military deployment, seat belt use, anti-theft, air bags, and five-year accident-free.
When quoting, ask each company to apply every possible discount. Savings may not apply to policyholders in your area.
Quote more and you will save more
When searching for low cost Raleigh auto insurance quotes, do not sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. In too many instances, an insured dropped full coverage only to discover later they didn’t have enough coverage. Your objective should be to buy enough coverage at a price you can afford and still be able to protect your assets.
We just covered a lot of information how to get a better price on BMW M3 insurance in Raleigh. The key concept to understand is the more companies you get car insurance rates for, the better your comparison will be. You may even be surprised to find that the lowest rates are with the smaller companies. These companies often have lower car insurance rates on specific markets than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate and Progressive.
To read more, feel free to visit the articles below:
- How to shop for a safer car (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- Who Has the Cheapest Auto Insurance for Low Credit Scores in Raleigh? (FAQ)
- What Insurance is Cheapest for Drivers Over Age 60 in Raleigh? (FAQ)
- Who Has Affordable Auto Insurance Rates for Drivers Over Age 70 in Raleigh? (FAQ)
- Child Safety FAQ (iihs.org)
- Automakers compete to add autobraking (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- Parking Tips to Reduce Door Dings (State Farm)