Auto Insurance Information
Car Insurance In Lynchburg, Virginia
What We Do
At Cothran Insurance, we don’t treat you like just another policyholder, we treat you like a friend. You get personalized customer service from our insurance agency. We go over all of the coverage options to tailor your car insurance coverages to make sure you have the coverage limits to fit your specific needs. We are a licensed Property and Casualty insurance agency which means that we offer many products and services to handle all of your insurance needs including affordable car insurance.
How We Help
Comparing car insurance quotes yourself can be time-consuming and confusing so why not let the experts at Cothran Insurance take that burden off of you? Our insurance agents are very knowledgeable and ready to help.
Cheap car insurance doesn’t have to mean cheap coverage. To make sure you save money, we provide auto insurance quotes through several car insurance companies. Since we have so many carriers, we can save you money without having to sacrifice on your car insurance coverage.
Whether you have a good driving record or a not so stellar driving record, we have a carrier just right for you. Also, all of the companies we write through have an insurance rating of “A” or better from AM Best so that you can feel comfortable knowing that your insurance carrier is financially stable.
There When You Need Us
If you get into a car accident, we want you to call us so that we can assist you while filing a claim because we know that you may have questions about the process such as where to get your vehicle repaired or what your limits and deductibles are to pay for damages.
How To Get A Free Car Insurance Quote
While we prefer that you call us so that we can tailor your auto insurance coverage for you, we do have an option available for anyone that would prefer a quote online. Simply click the button above to start your online car insurance quote to see what we have to offer. If our quote saves you money, which I think it will, call us afterwards and we will be happy to issue the policy for you.
Ease of Doing Business With Us
Our insurance agency wants your experience with us to be as easy as possible which is why we also provide our customers with a Mobile App called Cothran CSR24. Through this Mobile App you can see your auto insurance coverages, have your auto insurance ID card at your finger tips or even send a change request for your car insurance if you want to make a change to your insurance coverage.
Ways To Save Money
Part of our process when we quote your personal auto is to make sure you are aware of the discounts that you may be eligible for as well as other ways to save money. Some of those ways to save are as follows:
Telematics – provides anywhere from a 10% to 40% discount on your car insurance for safe driving habits. The insurance company monitors your driving habits through an app or a device plugged into your car for 6 months looking for hard brakes, rapid accelerations and driving between 12AM and 5AM. You keep the discount for as long as you have that same policy.
Paperless Discount – you can save $5 to $10 per month, depending on the carrier, by receiving all of your statements via email.
EFT or Automatic Payments – some carriers offer as much as a $10 per month savings for having your premiums automatically drafted from a checking or savings account each month.
Multi-Policy Discount – you can save as much as 40% on your auto policy by having your Home, Auto, RV, Motorcycle and Life insurance all with the same carrier.
Pay As You Drive – you estimate the number of miles driven on your vehicle and the insurance company monitors that vehicle for miles driven. At the end of each month they adjust your premiums depending on how many miles you drive. This is a great way to save if you don’t drive much.
Pay In Full – some carriers will reduce your premiums by as much as 10% when you pay in full for the entire 6 months
Higher Deductible – by increasing your deductibles on Comprehensive and Collision you can save money
Bundling – you can receive discounts for bundling your personal auto with the following insurance products:
· Homeowners Insurance
· Renters Insurance
· Life Insurance
The above bundling of discounts varies by state and insurance company. The percentage of discounts may be different from one insurance company to another per their terms and conditions.
Factors That Influence Your Car Insurance Rate
Each insurance company has their own unique algorithm to determine what your insurance premium will be. However, the following are the primary factors:
Age – The sweet spot for the lowest car insurance rate is between the ages of 40 and 60. However, any younger than 25 or older than 70 and typically the rates are higher due to inexperience or slower reflexes.
Gender – Statistically speaking, women are involved in fewer car accidents than men.
Marital Status – Insurance companies typically view married couples as being more responsible.
Location – Where you live affects your car insurance rate. You can live in the same city but just move to a different zip code and your insurance rate can change.
Driving Record – Clean driving records and years of driving experience all add up to lower car insurance premiums. However, less than 3 years driving experience or if you have a DUI or Reckless driving ticket and your premiums will be considerably higher.
Type of Vehicle – Contrary to popular belief, a red car does not affect your car insurance premiums. We don’t even ask what color your car is. However, if you prefer to drive a $50,000 sports car instead of a minivan, expect to pay a little more.
Coverages chosen – This one is obvious because the more coverage you add on the more coverages they are charging you for.
Limits and Deductibles – You may already know that having higher liability limits and lower deductibles increases your premium but did you know that having too low of liability limits may also increase your premium? If you have higher liability limits than required by the state, some insurance companies give you a discount for that when you switch insurance to them.
Prior Insurance – If you are just starting off out with insurance for the first time or if you had a lapse in insurance coverage, insurance companies apply a surcharge for at least 6 months and typically a year.
Miles Driven – Some insurance companies want to know how many miles you drive annually. The reason is that someone who drives 5,000 miles per year is less of an exposure than someone who drives 20,000 miles per year. However, since this is virtually impossible to verify on everyone, unless you sign up for a Telematics program, most insurance companies discontinued asking this question years ago.
Virginia Minimum Car Insurance Liability Requirements
The state of Virginia has minimum liability requirements that you must carry on your car insurance policy. Those are as follows:
$25,000 per person for Bodily Injury Liability
$50,000 per accident for Bodily Injury Liability
$20,000 per accident for Property Damage Liability
What this means is that the maximum amount that the insurance company will pay for people other than you and those in your household for medical bills, lost wages, final expenses and pain and suffering is $25,000 per person up to a maximum amount of $50,000 per accident for all bodily injuries regardless of how many people were injured as a result of an accident you were at fault for.
Also, the maximum amount they will pay for property damage to someone else’s property caused by your vehicle is $20,000.
Any damages that exceed these amounts would be out of your pocket.
With the value of new vehicles these days commonly exceeding $20,000 and medical costs rising, we strongly encourage all of our customers to increase their liability coverage to a minimum of $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident for Bodily Injury Liability and $50,000 for Property Damage Liability.
Coverages We will review with you
- Bodily Injury Liability
- Property Damage Liability
- Comprehensive
- Collision
- Uninsured Motorist Coverage
- Rental Reimbursement
- Towing and Labor
- Accident Forgiveness
- Minor Violation Forgiveness
- Medical Expense
- Loss of Income
Who we serve
Cothran Insurance has been serving the Lynchburg, Forest, Bedford, Appomattox and surrounding areas in Virginia since 1981.