What You Need to Know About Elgin Insurance
Located just 40 minutes from Chicago, Elgin, Illinois is a two-time winner of the All-American City Award. Residents of Elgin enjoy low crime, well-maintained city parks and streets, and low crime. Elgin has attracted the attention of outsiders as well; as a result, it is now one of the fastest-growing cities in Illinois.
But a growing population–particularly in a commuter city like Elgin, where many residents work in Chicago, means more traffic, more crime, and unfortunately, rising auto insurance rates.
If you are one of the many people moving to Elgin, or if you already live there and want to save on your Elgin insurance quotes, knowing the basics of being insured in Elgin will help you save money and get the coverage you need.
Elgin Insurance Basics
Requirements for Illinois residents include $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident for bodily injury liability and $15,000 in property damage liability. Bodily injury covers medical costs for those involved in the accident if you are at fault. Property damage repairs any property you damage, including vehicles.
But these amounts are bare minimums and only cover medical costs and repairs for the other vehicle and not your own. Not only that, if an accident occurs and bills are more than the minimums (not hard to do in a serious accident), if you are at fault you will be held liable for any other expenses. Consider the following for more complete coverage:
- Bodily injury: $100,000/$300,000
- Property damage: $50,000
- Uninsured/underinsured coverage. This pays your bills and repair costs if you are hit by an uninsured driver.
- Collision. This covers repair costs to your own vehicle, minus your deductible.
- Comprehensive. This coverage takes care of costs not associated with a crash; for example, if your car was vandalized or damaged by flood waters.
While adding coverage to your insurance ensures you are adequately covered, it also raises your overall rates. But don’t think you have to skimp on coverage just to afford your car insurance. There are many different ways you can lower your Elgin insurance quotes. Some of these include:
- Combine insurance. Many companies will automatically lower your rates if you combine different types of insurance. So if you need homeowners or renters insurance, consider going with the same company for a decrease in rates.
- Look for discounts. There are so many discounts for drivers available, no one should have to pay full price. A few discounts include good student discounts for high school and college students, occupational discounts for members of the armed forces or teachers, and multiple policy discounts if you need to insure more than one car.
- Raise your deductible. The higher your out of pocket costs, the less your monthly payments will be. Just make sure your deductible isn’t more than you can comfortably afford if you ever need to file a claim.
- Shop around. Getting multiple Elgin insurance quotes and then comparing them is a surefire way to make sure you are getting the best rates. Netquote.com makes this easy. Here, you can research insurance and quickly get multiple quotes for free.
With a little information, you can make sure you’re getting the lowest rates possible for your Elgin insurance.
