Scraping up a payment for overpriced Honda Civic insurance can take a big chunk out of your personal savings, especially in this economy. Comparison shopping is free and is an excellent way to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket.
Companies like Allstate, Progressive and Geico constantly bombard you with TV and radio ads and consumers find it hard to see past the corporate glitz and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.
It’s a great practice to do rate comparisons occasionally because rates are variable and change quite frequently. If you had the best deal on Civic insurance a few years ago you can probably find a better price now. Forget all the misinformation about car insurance because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to one of the best ways to find the best coverage while lowering your premiums.
If you are paying for car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to lower your premiums substantially using this strategy. Buying car insurance is not rocket science. But consumers do need to understand the way insurance companies price insurance differently and apply this information to your search.
Smart consumers have a good feel for the factors that help determine the rates you pay for car insurance. Understanding what impacts premium levels allows you to make educated decisions that can help you get lower car insurance prices.
Car insurance is not cheap, buy you may qualify for discounts to reduce the price significantly. Most are applied at the time of purchase, but some must be specifically requested before they will apply.
A little note about advertised discounts, most discounts do not apply to your bottom line cost. Most cut specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. So when it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, companies don’t profit that way. But any discount will reduce the cost of coverage.
Insurance companies that may have these discounts are:
It’s a good idea to ask each company which discounts you may be entitled to. Discounts may not be available in your area.
When it comes to choosing coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no perfect coverage plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For example, these questions could help you determine if your situation might need professional guidance.
If you can’t answer these questions, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
Knowing the specifics of your policy helps when choosing the best coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. The terms used in a policy can be impossible to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Below you’ll find typical coverages offered by insurance companies.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision) – Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things like a broken windshield, hitting a deer, theft, hitting a bird and hail damage. The maximum amount a insurance company will pay at claim time is the ACV or actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Liability – Liability insurance protects you from injuries or damage you cause to other people or property in an accident. This insurance protects YOU from legal claims by others. Liability doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You might see limits of 50/100/50 which stand for a limit of $50,000 per injured person, $100,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $50,000. Another option is one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which combines the three limits into one amount without having the split limit caps.
Liability coverage pays for claims such as emergency aid, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and funeral expenses. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but buy as large an amount as possible.
Collision coverage – This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision coverage protects against claims such as backing into a parked car, driving through your garage door and scraping a guard rail. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so you might think about dropping it from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to raise the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Medical expense insurance – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for expenses for things like funeral costs, ambulance fees and pain medications. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. Medical payments and PIP cover you and your occupants in addition to being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers – This protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other motorists when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered losses include hospital bills for your injuries as well as damage to your Honda Civic.
Because many people only carry the minimum required liability limits, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Frequently the UM/UIM limits are set the same as your liablity limits.
When buying insurance coverage, don’t be tempted to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There have been many cases where an insured dropped physical damage coverage only to regret they didn’t have enough coverage. The proper strategy is to find the BEST coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
Affordable 1998 Honda Civic insurance is possible from both online companies and with local insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance providers do not offer online quoting and these small insurance companies work with independent agents.
You just learned some good ideas how to lower your insurance rates. The most important thing to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the better your comparison will be. Consumers could even find that the lowest premiums are with a small local company. These smaller insurers may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments than their larger competitors like State Farm, Geico and Nationwide.
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