How Much Does 1996 Saturn S-Series Car Insurance Cost?

Looking for better auto insurance rates for your Saturn S-Series? Scraping up a payment for overpriced Saturn S-Series insurance can overdraw your personal savings and force you to prioritize other expenses. Comparing price quotes is a smart way to tighten up your finances.

Big companies like Progressive, Geico and Farmers Insurance all promote huge savings with ads and it can be hard to sift through the bull and find the best price available.

If you currently have a car insurance policy, you will most likely be able to cut costs considerably using this strategy. Choosing the best insurance company for you is quite easy. But consumers should learn the way insurance companies market insurance on the web.

Insurance Prices

All major insurance companies such as 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm quote price estimates on the web. Getting quotes is pretty painless as you simply type in your coverage preferences as requested by the quote form. When the form is submitted, the system obtains credit information and your driving record and quotes a price determined by many factors. Quoting online helps simplify price comparisons, but having to visit many different websites and type in the same information can be a bit repetitive. But it is imperative to get many rate quotes if you want to find better prices.

The preferred way to compare rates requires only one form to return rates from many companies. The form is fast, requires much less work on your part, and makes quoting online much easier to do. As soon as you send your information, it is rated with multiple companies and you can pick any of the resulting price quotes. If you find a better price you can click and sign and purchase the new policy. The whole process takes just a few minutes to complete and you will know how your current rates stack up.

In order to find out how much you’re overpaying now, click here to open in new window and enter your vehicle and coverage information. If you currently have coverage, we recommend that you enter coverages and limits exactly as they are listed on your policy. Using the same limits helps guarantee you will get a rate comparison based on identical coverages.

Save big with these discounts

Companies that sell car insurance don’t always advertise every discount in a way that’s easy to find, so we took the time to find both well-publicized and the harder-to-find discounts you could be receiving.

  • Student in College – Kids in college who live away from home and do not have a car may qualify for this discount.
  • Federal Employees – Active or retired federal employment can earn a discount up to 10% on S-Series insurance with a few auto insurance companies.
  • Bundle and Save – When you combine your home and auto insurance with one insurance company you will save 10% to 20% off each policy.
  • Good Student Discount – Getting good grades can earn a discount of 20% or more. This discount can apply well after school through age 25.
  • Braking Control Discount – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles can avoid accidents and will save you 10% or more.
  • Driver’s Ed – Have your child take driver’s ed class in school.
  • No Charge for an Accident – Certain companies allow you one accident before your rates go up if your claims history is clear for a set time period.

Consumers should know that most discounts do not apply to the entire cost. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. Just because you may think you could get a free auto insurance policy, it just doesn’t work that way.

Car insurance companies that may offer these discounts are:

It’s a good idea to ask all companies you are considering what discounts are available to you. Some discounts may not apply everywhere.

Pieces of the Saturn S-Series insurance rate puzzle

Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that play a part in calculating your insurance rates. Knowing what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that can help you get big savings.

Shown below are some of the factors insurance companies consider when setting your rates.

  • Your credit rating is important – Your credit score is a big factor in determining your rates. Therefore, if your credit rating is lower than you’d like, you could be paying less to insure your 1996 Saturn S-Series by repairing your credit. Consumers who have good credit tend to be less risk to insure than drivers who have poor credit.
  • Traffic violations increase rates – Your driving record has a big impact on rates. Even a single citation can bump up the cost by as much as thirty percent. Drivers who don’t get tickets have lower premiums compared to drivers with tickets. Drivers who get flagrant violations like DUI or reckless driving may be required to file a SR-22 with the DMV in their state in order to keep their license.
  • Never allow your policy to lapse – Driving without insurance is against the law and you will pay a penalty because you let your coverage lapse. And not only will insurance be more expensive, failure to provide proof of insurance may earn you a hefty fine and possibly a revoked license.You may have to provide proof of insurance in the form of an SR-22 filing with your state motor vehicle department to get your license reinstated.
  • Your age impacts your rates – Young drivers are statistically proven to be more careless behind the wheel so insurance rates are higher. If you’ve ever had to add a youthful driver onto a policy can be very expensive. Older drivers are viewed as being more responsible, statistically cause fewer accidents and tend to be better behind the wheel.
  • Don’t sacrifice liability coverage – The liability section of your policy will protect you when a court rules you are at fault for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. It provides legal defense up to the limits shown on your policy. Liability insurance is quite affordable compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so buy as much as you can afford.
  • Bundling policies can get discounts – Many insurers give discounts to insureds who carry more than one policy such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. Discounts can be five, ten or even twenty percent. Even if you’re getting this discount you still need to compare other company rates to ensure the best deal. You may still find better rates by insuring with multiple companies.

But I don’t know anything about car insurance

When it comes to buying the best insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no best way to insure your cars. Everyone’s situation is a little different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For example, these questions could help you determine whether you might need an agent’s assistance.

  • When should I not file a claim?
  • Are rental cars covered under my policy?
  • I have good health insurance, so how much medical payments coverage do I need?
  • Do I need special endorsements for business use of my vehicle?
  • Can my teen driver be rated on a liability-only vehicle?
  • Should I buy only the required minimum liability coverage?
  • Is pleasure use cheaper than using my 1996 Saturn S-Series to commute?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions but you think they might apply to your situation, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.

The auto insurance bait and switch

Companies like 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm continually stream ads on TV and radio. All the ads say the same thing about savings after switching your coverage to them. How do they all make the same claim? This is how they do it.

All companies have a preferred profile for the driver that is profitable for them. For instance, a profitable customer might be profiled as between 30 and 50, has no prior claims, and drives newer vehicles. Any driver that hits that “sweet spot” will get the preferred rates and is almost guaranteed to pay quite a bit less when switching companies.

Potential insureds who are not a match for these standards will be charged a more expensive rate and this can result in business going elsewhere. The ads state “people who switch” not “people who quote” save that much. That’s why companies can truthfully advertise the way they do. That is why it is so important to get as many comparisons as possible. You cannot predict which insurance companies will fit your personal profile best.

Educate yourself about insurance coverages

Knowing the specifics of a insurance policy can help you determine which coverages you need for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be confusing and coverage can change by endorsement. Below you’ll find typical coverages available from insurance companies.

Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)

This covers damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first must pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive can pay for things such as falling objects, fire damage, a broken windshield and damage from flooding. The maximum amount a insurance company will pay at claim time is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.

Insurance for medical payments

Med pay and PIP coverage reimburse you for immediate expenses for things like doctor visits, rehabilitation expenses, hospital visits and chiropractic care. They are utilized in addition to your health insurance program or if you do not have health coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Liability

Liability coverage provides protection from damage or injury you incur to people or other property by causing an accident. It protects you from legal claims by others, and does not provide coverage for your injuries or vehicle damage.

Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You commonly see policy limits of 25/50/25 that means you have 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.

Liability insurance covers claims like funeral expenses, bail bonds and emergency aid. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is your choice, but consider buying higher limits if possible.

Collision insurance

Collision coverage will pay to fix damage to your S-Series from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. A deductible applies and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision can pay for claims like colliding with a tree, colliding with another moving vehicle, sideswiping another vehicle and damaging your car on a curb. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance

This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important.

Knowledge is power

While you’re price shopping online, it’s very important that you do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many cases where drivers have reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits to discover at claim time that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your focus should be to get the best coverage possible for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.

Throughout this article, we presented many tips how you can get a better price on 1996 Saturn S-Series insurance. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. You may even find the most savings is with some of the smallest insurance companies. These smaller insurers can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than their larger competitors like Progressive or Geico.

Low-cost insurance can be purchased from both online companies and with local insurance agents, so you should compare both to have the best chance of lowering rates. A few companies do not offer online price quotes and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

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