Decades ago, automotive insurance policyholders didn’t have many options for how to pay for their premiums. They usually sent a check or money order to the insurance company or their insurance agent when the bill arrived. Perhaps they dropped off the payment in person for their auto insurance in Lancaster, PA. Even back then, however, discounts were available for making payments in a certain manner. A customer who paid for his entire premium at once normally received a discount compared with an individual who made partial payments on a monthly basis, for example.
In 2014, more payment options are available than ever before, some of which carry substantial discounts. A customer can still make payments the old-fashioned way, of course, by mailing a check or money order. Depending on the insurance carrier and agency, he may be able to make a phone call and pay by providing his debit card or credit card number. As in decades past, if he pays the entire premium at once, he won’t be charged service fees associated with making quarterly or monthly payments.
Insurance carriers and agencies commonly offer discounts for paying in ways that are more convenient for the business. These methods also should be more convenient for the customer as well. Paying online for auto insurance in Lancaster, PA, for example, is likely to provide a discount on the total premium cost. If the customer pays monthly, his service fee will typically be lower than if he pays by check or money order, or with a phone payment by debit card. He may be able to pay online with a debit or credit card, an electronic funds transfer from his checking account, or through his Paypal account.
An even better option is to have an agency such as Susquehanna Insurance Management Ltd. schedule automatic withdrawals from the customer’s checking account. A policyholder or potential customer is likely to be quite surprised at how much money he can save by having automatic withdrawals scheduled compared with sending in a check by mail or paying online. Paying the entire premium amount at once is still generally less expensive than having monthly withdrawals, but not everybody is able to come up with the larger amount. The automatic withdrawal option is a convenient and affordable one.
