Are you confused by the wide range of insurance coverage options? You’re not alone. Consumers have so many options that it can quickly become a big hassle to find the perfect company for you.
If you are paying for car insurance now, you should be able to reduce your rates substantially using these tips. Locating the lowest cost insurance is easy if you know what you’re doing. But drivers can benefit from knowing the methods companies use to price online insurance.
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but you may find discounts that you may not know about. Most are applied when you get a quote, but a few need to be asked about before you get the savings.
Consumers should know that most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. Most only cut specific coverage prices like collision or personal injury protection. So when it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies wouldn’t make money that way. But all discounts will help reduce your premiums.
For a list of insurers offering auto insurance discounts, click this link.
The easiest way to get rate comparisons is to understand auto insurance companies actually pay money for the chance to quote your coverage. To start a quote, the only thing you need to do is give them some information including the type of vehicles you drive, coverage limits, whether the vehicles are used for commuting, and driver ages. That rating information is then submitted to many different companies and you should receive rate quotes very quickly.
It’s important that you understand the rating factors that go into determining the rates you pay for insurance coverage. Knowing what controls the rates you pay allows you to make educated decisions that could result in big savings.
When it comes to choosing the best insurance coverage for your vehicles, there is no single plan that fits everyone. Every situation is different.
These are some specific questions can help discover if your situation may require specific advice.
If you’re not sure about those questions but you know they apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to an agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form.
Companies like Progressive, Allstate and Geico continually stream ads in print and on television. All the ads say the same thing that you’ll save big after switching your coverage to them. How does each company say the same thing?
All companies have a certain “appetite” for the type of customer that is profitable for them. A good example of a desirable insured could be over the age of 50, is a homeowner, and has a high credit rating. A customer getting a price quote that hits that “sweet spot” is entitled to the best price and is almost guaranteed to pay quite a bit less when switching companies.
Potential insureds who don’t qualify for these standards must pay a higher premium which leads to the customer not buying. The ads say “people who switch” not “people who quote” save money. That’s why companies can make the claims of big savings.
This illustrates why it is so important to compare many company’s rates. You cannot predict which company will fit your personal profile best.
Understanding the coverages of insurance aids in choosing appropriate coverage for your vehicles. The terms used in a policy can be confusing and coverage can change by endorsement.
Auto liability insurance
Liability coverage provides protection from damage or injury you incur to people or other property. This coverage protects you from legal claims by others, and does not provide coverage for your injuries or vehicle damage.
Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. Your policy might show policy limits of 25/50/25 which stand for a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property. Occasionally you may see a combined single limit or CSL that pays claims from the same limit without having the split limit caps.
Liability insurance covers claims like medical expenses, legal defense fees, emergency aid, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and loss of income. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but you should buy higher limits if possible.
Coverage for medical expenses
Med pay and PIP coverage pay for immediate expenses like hospital visits, doctor visits and dental work. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal Injury Protection is not universally available and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Coverage for uninsured or underinsured drivers
This coverage gives you protection when other motorists either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered losses include medical payments for you and your occupants and also any damage incurred to your 1990 Oldsmobile Silhouette.
Since a lot of drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. So UM/UIM coverage is very important. Normally these coverages do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Collision coverage protection
This coverage pays for damage to your Silhouette resulting from a collision with another car or object. A deductible applies and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage protects against things like scraping a guard rail, sideswiping another vehicle, damaging your car on a curb, rolling your car and driving through your garage door. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Comprehensive insurance
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like theft, a broken windshield and rock chips in glass. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
The cheapest 1990 Oldsmobile Silhouette insurance is definitely available online and with local insurance agents, so compare prices from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some car insurance companies do not offer you the ability to get quotes online and many times these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.
People who switch companies do it for a variety of reasons including high prices, lack of trust in their agent, denial of a claim and even questionable increases in premium. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, finding a new company can be pretty painless.
We just covered a lot of tips how to lower your insurance rates. The key concept to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the best price on car insurance is with an unexpected company.
More tips and info about car insurance can be read in these articles: