Having to pay for overpriced auto insurance can empty your personal savings and put the squeeze on your family’s finances. Shopping your coverage around is a smart way to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket.
Insurance companies such as Allstate, Progressive and Geico continually hit you with advertising and it can be hard to ignore the flying pigs and cute green geckos and do the work needed to find the best deal.
Smart consumers take time to shop coverage around yearly because prices are adjusted regularly by insurance companies. Despite the fact that you may have had the best deal for Park Avenue coverage on your last policy there may be better deals available now. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about auto insurance because we’re going to demonstrate the fastest and easiest way to eliminate unnecessary coverages and save money.
If you are paying for car insurance now, you should be able to cut costs considerably using these tips. Finding affordable coverage is quite easy. Nevertheless, car owners must understand how big insurance companies compete online and apply this information to your search.
It’s important that you understand the different types of things that play a part in calculating your insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay helps enable you to make changes that will entitle you to lower insurance prices.
Effectively comparing insurance coverage prices can take time and effort if you don’t know the best way to get rate quotes. You could waste time discussing policy coverages with insurance agencies in your area, or you could use online quoting to quickly compare rates.
Many insurance companies participate in an industry program that enables customers to submit one quote, and at least one company provides a quote based on that data. This system prevents you from having to do form submissions for each company you want a rate for.
To participate in this free quote system, click here to open in new window.
The one disadvantage to pricing coverage this way is you can’t choose which insurance companies you want pricing from. If you prefer to choose specific insurance companies to compare, we have assembled a list of insurance coverage companies in your area. Click here to view list.
However you get your quotes, ensure you are comparing apples-to-apples coverages for each price quote. If you have different deductibles you will not be able to find the best deal for your Buick Park Avenue. Quoting even small variations in insurance coverages may cause a big price difference. And when comparing insurance coverage rates, know that having more price comparisons provides better odds of finding lower pricing.
Car insurance is not cheap, but companies offer discounts to help offset the cost. Certain discounts will be applied at quote time, but less common discounts must be asked about in order for you to get them.
A little note about advertised discounts, some of the credits will not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Some only apply to individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. So when the math indicates adding up those discounts means a free policy, you won’t be that lucky. But any discount will reduce your premiums.
Insurance companies that may offer these money-saving discounts include:
It’s a good idea to ask every prospective company what discounts are available to you. Discounts might not be offered in your area.
When buying coverage, there is no perfect coverage plan. Each situation is unique so your insurance needs to address that. Here are some questions about coverages that could help you determine if your situation could use an agent’s help.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions, you might consider talking to an insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
Having a good grasp of your auto insurance policy can help you determine the best coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. These are typical coverage types found on most auto insurance policies.
Comprehensive protection
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive can pay for things such as rock chips in glass, hitting a deer, damage from getting keyed and damage from flooding. The maximum amount your auto insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.
Uninsured or underinsured coverage
Your UM/UIM coverage gives you protection from other drivers when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. It can pay for medical payments for you and your occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. So UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked. Most of the time these coverages are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.
Medical expense coverage
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage provide coverage for expenses like nursing services, dental work and prosthetic devices. They are often used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. They cover all vehicle occupants in addition to being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Coverage for liability
This coverage protects you from injuries or damage you cause to people or other property in an accident. It protects you from legal claims by others, and 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 values of 25/50/25 that translate to $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, $50,000 for the entire accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Alternatively, you may have one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which combines the three limits into one amount without having the split limit caps.
Liability can pay for claims such as bail bonds, attorney fees and medical services. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a personal decision, but buy as high a limit as you can afford.
Collision insurance
This covers damage to your Park Avenue from colliding with an object or car. A deductible applies then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision coverage pays for claims such as colliding with another moving vehicle, crashing into a building, crashing into a ditch, backing into a parked car and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider removing coverage from lower value vehicles. Another option is to increase the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Low-cost 2003 Buick Park Avenue insurance is possible from both online companies and also from your neighborhood agents, and you should be comparing both so you have a total pricing picture. A few companies may not provide online quoting and these smaller companies work with independent agents.
We covered many ideas to compare insurance prices online. It’s most important to understand that the more rate quotes you have, the better your chances of lowering your rates. Drivers may discover the best prices are with a smaller regional carrier. They can often provide lower rates in certain areas as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive or Geico.
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