Shopping for low-cost insurance on the internet can be difficult for consumers not familiar with online price comaprisons. With a ridiculous number of insurers to choose from, how can anyone possibly compare every one to find the cheapest rates?
Consumers should take time to compare rates before your policy renews since insurance rates change quite often. Even if you think you had the lowest rates on Stratus insurance a year ago you may be paying too much now. You’ll find quite a bit of inaccurate information about insurance on the web, but we’re going to give you a lot of great tips on how to find affordable insurance.
Auto insurance companies don’t list every discount very well, so the following is a list of some of the more common and also the lesser-known discounts you could be receiving.
As a disclaimer on discounts, most credits do not apply to the entire policy premium. Some only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as comprehensive or collision. So even though they make it sound like all those discounts means the company will pay you, you’re out of luck.
For a list of insurers offering car insurance discounts, click here.
There are a lot of ways you can shop for insurance coverage but one way is less time-consuming than others. You can waste hours driving to insurance agencies in your area, or you could save time and use online quoting to get rates in a matter of minutes.
Most major companies participate in an industry program where prospective buyers send in one quote, and each company then gives them pricing. This eliminates the need for repetitive form submissions to each company. To access this free quoting program, click here (opens in new window).
The one downside to doing it this way is you are unable to specify which companies to get quotes from. If you wish to select from a list of companies for rate comparison, we have a page of the cheapest insurance coverage companies in your area. Click here to view list.
Whichever way you use, make absolute certain that you use apples-to-apples coverage limits and deductibles with every price quote. If you compare different deductibles it’s impossible to truly determine the lowest rate. Having just a slight variation in insurance coverages can mean a large discrepancy in price. And when quoting insurance coverage, remember that having more price comparisons provides better odds of finding lower pricing.
When buying coverage for your vehicles, there isn’t really a one size fits all plan. Everyone’s needs are different.
These are some specific questions might point out if your insurance needs might need an agent’s assistance.
If you’re not sure about those questions but you know they apply to you, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, complete this form.
Knowing the specifics of your policy can be of help when determining appropriate coverage for your vehicles. Policy terminology can be confusing and nobody wants to actually read their policy.
Coverage for medical expenses – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for expenses for EMT expenses, X-ray expenses, dental work and doctor visits. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if you do not have health coverage. Coverage applies to both the driver and occupants and also covers getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not an option in every state but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Coverage for uninsured or underinsured drivers – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle from other motorists when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include injuries to you and your family as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since a lot of drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is important protection for you and your family.
Collision – This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. A deductible applies and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision insurance covers things like driving through your garage door, crashing into a building and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. You can also increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Comprehensive insurance – This will pay to fix damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things like hitting a bird, damage from flooding and damage from getting keyed. The maximum payout your insurance company will pay 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.
Auto liability insurance – Liability coverage will cover damage or injury you incur to a person or their property that is your fault. This coverage protects you against claims from other people. 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. As an example, you may have policy limits of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a limit of $100,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability insurance covers claims like emergency aid, repair costs for stationary objects, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, pain and suffering and structural damage. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford.
When trying to cut insurance costs, it’s not a good idea to skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There are many occasions where someone dropped liability limits or collision coverage and learned later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your goal should be to purchase plenty of coverage at an affordable rate, not the least amount of coverage.
Cheaper 2002 Dodge Stratus insurance is available both online and also from your neighborhood agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best selection. There are still a few companies who may not provide you the ability to get quotes online and these small insurance companies work with independent agents.
Drivers change insurance companies for a number of reasons such as extreme rates for teen drivers, unfair underwriting practices, being labeled a high risk driver and even high prices. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, choosing a new company can be easier than you think.
More tips and info about auto insurance can be found at these sites: