As an independent insurance agency, Ardent Insurance Inc is committed to saving our clients money. This happens by obtaining every discount available, which we call stacking.
The most advertised discount is perhaps the bundling discount. Companies offer a discount for having multiple policies with them.
Multiple vehicle discounts are available, so it may be beneficial to combine your insurance with others in the same household, so each of you receives the multiple car discount.
In the State of Nevada, insurance companies use an insurance scoring system, which uses your social security number to offer the most competitive rate. What does an insurance score consist of? Some of the generalized factors are paying bills on time, claim history, driving history, and property ownership (homeowners or condominium). Each insurance company also has its criteria they use. Insurance companies have a tremendous amount of actuarial data available to them to determine which risk exposures provide less risk and thus the risks they can offer better rates too. Insurance companies are judged by their financial viability, so actuarial statistics help them to do that. If an insurance company does not have good financials, then they have more difficulty paying the claims on the policies they have committed to. Thus, financial viability is important.
Automobile insurance companies also offer merit-based programs. On September 2, 2015, Progressive offered the Snapshot discount. If you agree to sign up for the program they utilize a non-tracking device, that you plug into your automobile. The device can evaluate your driving based on mileage driven, time of day you normally drive, acceleration, braking, and other factors that help Progressive determine a merit-based discount. Once you qualify for the discount, you normally receive the savings until you remove the qualifying vehicle from your policy.
Now many companies offer a similar merit-based discount. Some examples are Safeco offers RightTrack and Travelers offers IntelliDrive. Most of these programs monitor your driving habits for 90 days. Again, once you earn the discount on a certain vehicle, it stays with the vehicle as long as you own it.
When you purchase a vehicle, the vehicle has a unique vehicle identification number or VIN. Again using proprietary actuarial data, the vehicle VIN determines safety discounts such as an active alarm system and many other advanced safety features such as blind spot detection. Consumer reports and other consumer-related publications inform consumers of the safety rating of a vehicle they are planning to purchase. This should also, be a consideration if your goal is to save money on your automobile insurance.
There are many different discounts for homeowners’ and renters’ insurance. The age of the dwelling, the location of your dwelling to a fire hydrant, and the fire station. Central station alarms (actively monitored alarms) receive discounts for both theft and fire monitoring. Gated communities often allow you to receive a discount on your homeowners (including condominiums and townhomes).
Homeowner’s insurance also includes your personal liability insurance, which includes dog bite history and past lawsuits filed against you. Having a dog does not necessarily impact your insurance rates unless your dog has a bite history. In this case, certain companies may not even offer insurance for your particular risk exposure.
As detailed above there are many factors that determine your rate exposures, and that is one of the advantages of dealing with an independent insurance agency. Typically, they offer insurance quotes from a variety of highly rated insurance companies. An experienced independent agent can help you navigate all the various insurance company offers that are available to you.
At Ardent Insurance Inc we are proud to be a part of the Independent Agency Network since March 15, 2005. We are committed to the process, and we hope to serve you soon.
Post author: Kevin Brunson, insurance agent for Ardent Insurance Inc.