1996 Suzuki Esteem Insurance Cost

Scraping up a payment for overpriced Suzuki Esteem insurance can empty your savings account and put the squeeze on your family’s finances. Doing a price comparison is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to lower your monthly bill.

Drivers have multiple insurers to pick from, and although it’s nice to have a choice, it makes it harder to find the lowest cost provider.

Do you qualify for a discount?

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but discounts can save money and there are some available that can drop the cost substantially. A few discounts will automatically apply when you get a quote, but some must be manually applied before you will receive the discount.

  • Student in College – Any of your kids who attend school more than 100 miles from home without a vehicle on campus may be able to be covered for less.
  • Military Discounts – Being on active duty in the military could be rewarded with lower premiums.
  • Early Switch Discount – Select companies give a discount for switching to them prior to your current policy expiring. It’s a savings of about 10%.
  • Homeowners Savings – Being a homeowner can help you save on insurance because of the fact that having a home requires personal responsibility.
  • Seat Belt Usage – Requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts can save up to 15% off your medical payments premium.
  • Theft Prevention Discount – Vehicles with anti-theft systems prevent vehicle theft and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
  • No Accidents – Claim-free drivers can save substantially when compared with drivers who are more careless.
  • Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Factory air bags may earn rate discounts of up to 25% or more.
  • Accident Forgiveness – A few companies will forgive one accident without raising rates as long as you don’t have any claims prior to the accident.
  • Defensive Driving Course – Successfully completing a driver safety course could cut 5% off your bill if you qualify.

A little note about advertised discounts, many deductions do not apply to your bottom line cost. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. So when it seems like you could get a free insurance policy, you won’t be that lucky. But all discounts will help reduce your premiums.

To see a list of insurance companies who offer insurance discounts, click here.

Why you might be paying too much to insure your Suzuki Esteem

Smart consumers have a good feel for the rating factors that go into determining the rates you pay for insurance. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates allows you to make educated decisions that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.

Listed below are some of the items companies use to determine premiums.

  • Battle of the sexes – Statistics demonstrate women are more cautious behind the wheel. Now that doesn’t mean men are WORSE drivers than women. Women and men tend to get into accidents at about the same rate, but the males tend to have more serious accidents. They also get more serious tickets like DUI and reckless driving.
  • Careful drivers pay lower rates – Your driving record has a huge affect on how much you pay. Drivers who don’t get tickets tend to pay less for car insurance than people who have multiple driving citations. Even a single ticket can bump up the cost forty percent or more. Drivers who get severe violations like DUI or reckless driving may be required to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) to the state department of motor vehicles in order to drive a vehicle legally.
  • Lower rates come with age – Young drivers are statistically proven to be less responsible behind the wheel so they pay higher insurance rates. If you’ve ever had to add a young driver onto a policy can really hurt. Older drivers tend to be more responsible, tend to cause fewer accidents and are safer drivers.
  • Higher deductibles cost less – Insurance for physical damage to your car, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, is used to repair damage to your Suzuki. Some instances where coverage would apply are colliding with a building, collision with an animal, or theft. Physical damage deductibles are how much you are required to spend before your insurance pays a claim. The more money you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the less your insurance will be on Esteem coverage.
  • More claims means more premium – Insurance companies award discounts to drivers who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. If you frequently file small claims, you can look forward to either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Insurance coverage is intended to be relied upon for larger claims.

What coverages do I need?

When buying the right insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there is no “best” method to buy coverage. Every situation is different so your insurance needs to address that. For example, these questions may help highlight whether or not you might need an agent’s assistance.

  • Should I file a claim if it’s only slightly more than my deductible?
  • Why do I need rental car insurance?
  • Am I covered if I hit a deer?
  • Where can I find high-risk insurance?
  • Do I have coverage if my license is suspended?
  • Is business equipment covered while in my vehicle?
  • Can my teen driver be rated on a liability-only vehicle?

If you can’t answer these questions, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, take a second and complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies.

Save 15 percent in 15 minutes? Is it for real?

Auto insurance providers like State Farm and Allstate continually stream ads on TV and radio. They all make the same claim about savings after switching to them. How do they all make the same claim?

All companies can use profiling for the type of driver they prefer to insure. For example, a profitable customer could be between 30 and 50, has no driving citations, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A customer who meets those qualifications is entitled to the best price and therefore will save a lot of money.

Potential customers who don’t meet this ideal profile must pay more money which leads to the customer not buying. The ads say “drivers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save money. This is how insurance companies can confidently claim big savings.

This illustrates why it’s extremely important to quote coverage with many companies. It’s just too difficult to predict which company will provide you with the cheapest Suzuki Esteem insurance rates.

Insurance specifics

Understanding the coverages of your policy helps when choosing the best coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. The terms used in a policy can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Shown next are the normal coverages found on most insurance policies.

Liability insurance – Liability insurance will cover damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property that is your fault. This coverage protects you from claims by other people, and doesn’t cover damage to your own property or vehicle.

Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have limits of 25/50/25 that translate to $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Occasionally you may see one number which is a combined single limit which limits claims to one amount rather than limiting it on a per person basis.

Liability can pay for things such as medical services, court costs, medical expenses and loss of income. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as high a limit as you can afford.

Comprehensive insurance – Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive coverage protects against claims such as damage from a tornado or hurricane, hail damage and hitting a bird. The maximum amount your insurance company will pay is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Collision – This coverage pays for damage to your Esteem resulting from colliding with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision insurance covers things such as colliding with another moving vehicle, scraping a guard rail, hitting a mailbox and rolling your car. This coverage can be expensive, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. You can also bump up the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage gives you protection when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for injuries to you and your family as well as damage to your 1996 Suzuki Esteem.

Since a lot of drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, their limits can quickly be used up. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage should not be overlooked. Usually these coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.

Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP provide coverage for short-term medical expenses for hospital visits, rehabilitation expenses, EMT expenses, dental work and surgery. They are often used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. Coverage applies to both the driver and occupants and will also cover getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not available in all states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

One last thing about your coverage

As you prepare to switch companies, don’t be tempted to skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. In too many instances, an insured dropped comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to find out that it was a big error on their part. The ultimate goal is to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.

You just read some good ideas how to save on 1996 Suzuki Esteem insurance. The key concept to understand is the more you quote, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Drivers may discover the biggest savings come from the least-expected company. These smaller insurers may cover specific market segments cheaper compared to the large companies like Allstate and Progressive.

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