How To Find The Most Affordable Car Insurance in Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, the average car insurance premium is about $1,433, which is just 4 percent more than the national average. But who wants to be average when you can land lower car insurance rates? There are tips and strategies for saving money on car insurance and we’ll get to those a bit later after we take a closer look at car insurance in Pennsylvania.

State Minimum Liability Requirements

If you ever cause a car crash, liability insurance pays for other people’s injuries and property damage, up to your liability limit. Each state has minimum liability requirements for the drivers in their state.

In Pennsylvania, the state minimum liability requirements are $15,000 bodily injury liability coverage per person, $30,000 bodily injury liability coverage per accident and $5,000 property damage liability coverage per accident.

This minimum liability coverage costs an average of $630 per year. Pennsylvania also accepts that some insurance companies offer a single limit policy of $35,000, which meets the bodily injury liability and property damage liability minimum requirements in the state.

Pennsylvania Is a No-fault State

If you happen to get into a car accident, no-fault insurance will reimburse you for any hospital or medical expenses and lost wages from an inability to work. No-fault insurance will cover these expenses regardless of who is responsible for the accident.

In Pennsylvania, medical benefits pay medical bills for you regardless of fault. The minimum limit for medical benefits coverage is $5,000.

Choosing Between Limited Tort and Full Tort Coverage

In Pennsylvania, drivers must choose between limited tort and full tort coverage. Tort is a legal word for injury. Limited tort limits your right to get financial compensation for injuries and losses when another driver causes an accident.

Full tort coverage gives you unlimited rights when it comes to getting financial compensation for injuries and losses when another driver causes an accident. Not surprisingly, full tort coverage is more expensive than limited tort coverage.

A More Robust Policy Costs More

In Pennsylvania, a more comprehensive policy with collision coverage and comprehensive coverage with $1,000 deductibles costs around $1,247.

Collision car insurance is coverage that helps to replace or repair your car if it is damaged in an accident with another vehicle or object such as a tree or a fence. Comprehensive car insurance covers events that aren’t covered by collision coverage. These events include fire, theft, vandalism and damages from weather such as a windstorm, a hailstorm, a tornado and a hurricane.

If you have a loan on a car, your lender may require you to carry collision coverage and comprehensive coverage.

A deductible is the amount you need to pay before your auto insurance company begins to pay for damages to your car or losses. Both collision insurance and comprehensive insurance require deductibles. Choosing a high deductible is one way to save money on your auto insurance premium.

Check out rates in Pennslyvania

Cheapest and Most Expensive Cities

In Pennsylvania, the city with the cheapest car insurance is Lebanon. The city with the most expensive car insurance is Philadelphia.

How to Save Money on Car Insurance

Ready to get those car insurance premiums better than average? Here are some tips and strategies for saving money on car insurance. Use as many as you can to get that auto insurance premium lower.

Have the best credit. Insurance companies use consumer credit data for assigning risk pools and setting insurance rates. Drivers with excellent credit get the best rates and drivers with no or bad credit pay more for their auto insurance. In Pennsylvania, a driver with excellent credit saves around $1,379 per year on car insurance compared with a driver who has bad credit. But there are credit restrictions in Pennsylvania. Insurance companies are prohibited from using consumer credit information when renewing policies but they may use the information for underwriting.

Be a safe motorist. If you are a safe and responsible driver who follows the rules of the road you will save money on your car insurance. Pennsylvania drivers with no recent traffic violations save 10 percent on their car insurance premiums. But break some rules and premiums start to go up. In Pennsylvania, insurance premiums increase by 44 percent after a DUI, 35 percent after an at-fault accident and 10 percent after a speeding ticket. A DUI is particularly costly. In Pennsylvania, a DUI can raise your car insurance rates by as much as $1,082 or more. So be a safe driver and follow the rules of the road. Let your car insurance company know about your good driving behavior and you will earn a good driver discount. You deserve it.

Be a married motorist. If you are married, you will pay less for car insurance. There is a correlation between being married and exhibiting safe driving behavior. Because of this, married motorists pay less for auto insurance than singles. In Pennsylvania, married motorists save around $52 per year on car insurance.

Pay once or twice a year. Rather than pay monthly auto insurance bills, pay the entire annual amount or six-months amount. Your premium is lower when you pay just once or twice a year.

Use a multi-car discount. Insure more than one car with the same auto insurance company and enjoy a multi-car discount.

Try bundling your policy. Bundle your auto policy with another insurance policy such as a homebuyers policy and save money.

Check safety features. Having certain anti-theft or safety features on your car will lower your car insurance premium. So check the features on your car. Are you due a discount?

Drop coverage on older cars. The maximum payout for collision coverage and comprehensive coverage is limited by the value of the car. So if your older car has a low market value, it may not make financial sense to carry collision and comprehensive coverages any longer.

Check out memberships. Members of some professional organizations and affiliates get discounts on car insurance. So check your memberships to see if you are eligible for a discount.

Your age matters. Drivers who are younger than 25 and older than 65 have more serious accidents and pay more for car insurance. Drivers of the ages in-between pay less.

Be a female driver. Women make fewer accident claims than men and are rewarded with lower auto insurance rates. Men make more accident claims and pay more.

Drive low miles. Being a low-mileage driver will save you money on your car insurance. Heavy commuters who rack up the miles pay more. So drive less and pay less for your car insurance.

Keep your coverage. You’ll pay higher insurance rates if you don’t maintain continuous coverage of your auto insurance. So stick with your auto insurance coverage and save money.

Opt for a higher deductible. As mentioned earlier, choosing a high deductible is one way to lower your auto insurance premium. Just be sure to put the deductible amount in a small emergency fund so the money will be there should you need to make an insurance claim.

Go for discounts. A good driver discount was mentioned. There also are discounts for veterans and students. So reach out to your auto insurance company if you qualify.

Be a homeowner. Statistics show that people who own homes drive more safely. So let your insurance company know that you own your home and enjoy the savings on your auto insurance premium.

Safety first. If you live in a neighborhood with high accident claims and auto theft, you will pay more for your car insurance. If you live in a neighborhood with low accident claims and low crime, you will pay less for your car insurance. So choose a safe neighborhood and save money on your car insurance.

Shop around. One of the best ways to save money on car insurance is to shop around. SmartFinancial makes this easy to do. Just input the type of insurance you are looking for and a zip code to get started. Next, answer a few, quick questions and you’ll be comparing auto insurance rates in Pennsylvania before you know it.

SmartFinancial has access to more than 200 insurance companies so you are bound to find the insurance coverage and the price that you want.

So shop smart for auto insurance and drive safely on the roadways of Pennsylvania.