Cheap 1998 Nissan Maxima Insurance Cost

Price shopping your insurance coverage is always challenging for consumers new to comparing rates online. Consumers have so many options that it can easily become a real challenge to find the best price.

How to Compare Insurance Coverage Costs

Performing a rate comparison can take time and effort if you don’t understand the best way to get rate quotes. You can spend your afternoon discussing policy coverages with insurance companies in your area, or you can stay home and use online quoting to achieve your goal.

Most of the larger companies are enrolled in a marketplace that allows shoppers to submit one quote, and every company can give them a price based on that data. This saves time by eliminating quotation requests to every company. To get comparison pricing now click to open in new window.

The one disadvantage to using this type of form is that consumers can’t choose which providers to receive prices from. So if you prefer to choose from a list of companies to receive pricing from, we have a listing of companies who write insurance coverage in your area. View list of insurance companies.

It’s up to you which method you use, but compare the exact same coverages and limits with every price quote. If each company quotes differing limits it’s impossible to make an equal comparison. Quoting even small variations in insurance coverages could mean much higher rates. Just remember that comparing more company’s prices will enable you to find a lower rate.

Lots of discounts mean lots of savings

The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but there are discounts available that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of quoting, but lesser-known reductions have to be asked about before being credited.

  • New Vehicle Savings – Putting insurance coverage on a new car is cheaper due to better safety requirements for new cars.
  • Sign Online – Certain companies will give a small break for buying a policy and signing up over the internet.
  • Good Students Pay Less – A discount for being a good student can save 20 to 25%. The good student discount can last up until you turn 25.
  • Drivers Ed for Students – Have your child successfully complete driver’s ed class in high school.
  • Fewer Miles Equal More Savings – Fewer annual miles on your Nissan can qualify you for a substantially lower rate.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. The majority will only reduce specific coverage prices like collision or personal injury protection. So even though they make it sound like you can get free auto insurance, it doesn’t quite work that way. Any amount of discount will help reduce the cost of coverage.

Car insurance companies that possibly offer these money-saving discounts include:

It’s a good idea to ask every prospective company what discounts are available to you. Some discounts might not apply everywhere.

Why your Nissan Maxima might be costing you more

Smart consumers have a good feel for the rating factors that come into play when calculating the rates you pay for auto insurance. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in lower auto insurance prices.

  • Safer occupants lowers premiums – Safer cars can get you lower premiums. The safest vehicles have better occupant injury protection and lower injury rates translates into savings for insurance companies and lower rates for you. If the Nissan Maxima has ratings of a minimum four stars on Safercar.gov it may be receiving lower rates.
  • Allowing your policy to lapse raises rates – Driving without insurance is against the law and as a result your rates will increase for letting your insurance lapse. Not only will you pay more, but not being able to provide proof of insurance will get you a steep fine or even jail time.Then you may be required to provide proof of insurance in the form of an SR-22 filing with your state motor vehicle department.
  • Adjust deductibles and save – Physical damage coverage, also known as collision and other-than-collision, is used to repair damage to your Nissan. A few examples of covered claims are a windshield shattered by a rock, vandalism, and windstorm damage. Physical damage deductibles are how much you are required to spend in the event of a claim. The more you have to pay, the lower your rates will be for Maxima insurance.
  • You might want pay the small claims yourself – Car insurance companies generally give discounts to people who are claim-free. If you frequently file small claims, you can pretty much guarantee either higher rates or even cancellation. Your insurance policy is intended to be relied upon for the bigger claims that can’t be paid out-of-pocket.

Situations that might require an agent

When choosing proper insurance coverage, there is no best way to insure your cars. Each situation is unique.

Here are some questions about coverages that may help you determine if your situation would benefit from professional advice.

  • Do I have coverage when pulling a U-Haul trailer?
  • Where can I find DUI or SR-22 insurance?
  • Are all vehicle passengers covered by medical payments coverage?
  • Do I pay less for low miles?
  • If my pet gets injured in an accident are they covered?
  • I have a DUI can I still get coverage?
  • Am I covered if I crash into my own garage door?
  • Am I covered if hit by an uninsured driver?

If you can’t answer these questions, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, simply complete this short form.

Ads can be misleading

Insurance companies such as State Farm, Allstate and Geico constantly bombard you with ads on television and other media. They all seem to have a common claim about savings if you switch your policy. How do they all make almost identical claims? It’s all in the numbers.

All the different companies have a certain “appetite” for the type of driver that is profitable for them. For instance, a preferred risk could be between the ages of 40 and 55, owns a home, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A customer who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Drivers who don’t qualify for this ideal profile must pay higher rates which leads to the customer not buying. The ad wording is “drivers who switch” not “people who quote” save that much money. That’s the way companies can claim big savings.

This illustrates why it’s extremely important to get as many quotes as possible. It’s just too difficult to predict which insurance company will provide you with the cheapest Nissan Maxima insurance rates.

Coverage specifics

Having a good grasp of insurance can be of help when determining which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy.

Liability car insurance

This coverage will cover damage that occurs to other people or property that is your fault. This coverage protects you against other people’s claims. It does not 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. You might see values of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Occasionally you may see one number which is a combined single limit which provides one coverage limit and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.

Liability insurance covers things like pain and suffering, court costs, loss of income and structural damage. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but buy as much as you can afford.

Comprehensive insurance

Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage from a wide range of events other than collision. A deductible will apply then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as hitting a deer, hitting a bird, damage from flooding and a broken windshield. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)

This protects you and your vehicle when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. This coverage pays for injuries to you and your family as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Due to the fact that many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, their limits can quickly be used up. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is important protection for you and your family. Frequently your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.

Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for immediate expenses for prosthetic devices, doctor visits, ambulance fees and pain medications. The coverages can be used in conjunction with a health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. Coverage applies to both the driver and occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Collision coverage protection

This pays for damage to your Maxima resulting from a collision with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision insurance covers things like damaging your car on a curb, driving through your garage door, crashing into a building and backing into a parked car. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. You can also choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Feed the piggy bank

When trying to cut insurance costs, it’s not a good idea to skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There have been many situations where drivers have reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits and discovered at claim time that it was a big error on their part. Your goal should be to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate while still protecting your assets.

Insureds leave their current company for many reasons like poor customer service, delays in responding to claim requests, unfair underwriting practices and denial of a claim. It doesn’t matter what your reason, switching companies is not as hard as you think.

Cheaper 1998 Nissan Maxima insurance can be bought from both online companies and with local insurance agents, so compare prices from both to have the best rate selection. Some companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

Much more information about auto insurance can be found at these links: