Selecting a car insurance company in Altoona, Pennsylvania can be time consuming since you have many choices and picking a good Pennsylvania insurance agency is more difficult than just randomly choosing from the yellow pages. It’s highly likely you’re looking for a competent insurance agent, but you also want to find great rates as well.
With companies like American Family, Allstate, State Farm and Farmers having offices in Altoona, it’s hard to tell which one will provide the cheapest rates and the best coverage. To begin, consumers can use online price quotes in order to build a list of agencies and price estimates.
Your local neighborhood insurance agent
Licensed agents can point out coverage gaps and help submit paperwork. One of the great benefits of comparing rates online is you can get lower rates but still work with a licensed agent. Supporting local businesses is definitely important in Altoona.
To find an agent, once you fill out this short form, your coverage information is instantly submitted to local insurance agents in Altoona who will return price quotes for your coverage. There is no reason to leave your computer since price quotes are sent directly to your email. How cool is that?!
The following are agents in Altoona who can help you get price quote information.
Hometown Insurance Agency – 9 Logan Blvd, Altoona, PA 16602 – (814) 949-9171
Tsikalas Insurance – 104 58th St, Altoona, PA 16602 – (814) 944-8295
Allstate Insurance – 104 E Pleasant Valley Blvd, Altoona, PA 16602 – (814) 942-7346
Nationwide Insurance – 702 18th St, Altoona, PA 16602 – (814) 944-4651
State Farm Insurance – 200 Frankstown Rd, Altoona, PA 16602 – (814) 942-2615
Deciding on a car insurance agent should depend on more than just a low price. These are valid questions to ask:
- Are they able to influence company decisions when a claim is filed?
- Can glass repairs be made at your home?
- How many years of experience in personal lines insurance coverages do they have?
- Will their companies depreciate repairs to your car based on the mileage?
- Is working in the agency their full-time job?
- What insurance companies do they recommend if they are an independent agent?
- What insurance companies do they work with?
- If your car is in the repair shop, do you have coverage for a rental car?
After getting reasonable responses to all your questions and a low price estimate, it’s possible that you found an insurance agency that is a good match to insure your vehicles.
Can you find lower rates by buying online?
Insurance agents are important to many people, but Pennsylvania drivers can also buy direct over the internet. Some companies like State Farm and Allstate that are more known for using agents, also permit you to buy online, and consumers should do that.
If you’re concerned about not getting advice from an agent when buying online, this is normal but is quickly overcome. Companies provide access to licensed agents for getting questions answered.
Will you save money buying auto insurance online? It’s difficult to say for sure because of the fact that insurance companies use many factors that impact your rate calculation. It’s a common assumption that buying directly from the company saves money because there is no agent involvement. But in reality, getting their brand in front of customers is expensive so rates may not be all that different from traditional agents.
The only method to determine if the best rates are online or from local agents is getting rates for as many of both types of providers as possible. It’s even possible to receive different pricing from the same company when they use both methods.
Additional car insurance information is located on the website for the Pennsylvania Insurance Department located here. Pennsylvania consumers can get help finding coverage, find out which companies have the most complaints, find out industry alerts, and read industry bulletins.
In conclusion
People leave their current company for any number of reasons including poor customer service, high rates after DUI convictions, not issuing a premium refund and an unsatisfactory settlement offer. No matter why you want to switch, finding a new company can be pretty painless.
When trying to cut insurance costs, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. In many instances, an insured dropped uninsured motorist or liability limits and learned later that they should have had better coverage. The ultimate goal is to buy enough coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.
