Lower Your 2012 Nissan Maxima Car Insurance Rates

Consumers who are new to the process of buying insurance online can find purchasing low-cost auto insurance is not as easy as it seems.

This article will familiarize you with how car insurance quotes work and some tips to save money. If you currently have a car insurance policy, you should be able to reduce your rates substantially using this information. But vehicle owners must know how insurance companies price online insurance and take advantage of how the system works.

Comprehensive Insurance Coverage Comparison Quotes

There are several ways of comparing price quotes from insurance coverage companies in your area. One of the best ways to find the lowest 2012 Nissan Maxima rates is to use the internet to compare rates. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in just a few minutes using one of these methods.

  1. The fastest way to get quotes for comparison is to use a rate comparison form (click to open form in new window). This form saves time by eliminating multiple quote forms for each company. One form compares rates from insurance coverage companies with the best prices. This is by far the quickest method.
  2. A more time consuming way to compare prices requires you to visit each company’s website and complete a new quote form. For example, let’s assume you want comparison quotes from Farmers, Esurance and American Family. To get each rate you have to take the time to go to each site and enter your policy data, which is why the first method is quicker. To view a list of companies in your area, click here.

Whichever way you use, compare exactly the same information for every quote you compare. If you have different values for each quote you will not be able to decipher which rate is best. Just a small difference in insurance coverages can mean a large discrepancy in price. It’s important to know that comparing more company’s prices helps you find lower pricing.

Discounts are available to cut your rates

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but you can get discounts that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of quoting, but less common discounts must be asked for before you get the savings.

  • Save over 55 – If you’re over the age of 55, you can possibly qualify for a small decrease in premiums for Maxima insurance.
  • Low Mileage – Fewer annual miles on your Nissan could qualify for a substantially lower rate.
  • Accident Waiver – A few companies allow you one accident before hitting you with a surcharge as long as you don’t have any claims for a set time period.
  • Life Insurance – Select insurance companies reward you with better rates if you take out life insurance from them.
  • Anti-lock Brake Discount – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems are safer to drive and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
  • Drivers Ed for Students – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to complete a driver education course in school.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. The majority will only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. So even though they make it sound like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you won’t be that lucky. Any amount of discount will bring down the cost of coverage.

For a list of providers with the best auto insurance discounts, click this link.

These factors can influence Nissan Maxima insurance rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that go into determining the price you pay for insurance coverage. Having a good understanding of what controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.

Listed below are a partial list of the pieces used by your company to calculate premiums.

  • Battle of the sexes – The statistics show that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. However, don’t assume that women are BETTER drivers than men. Both sexes are in accidents at about the same rate, but the male of the species cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Men also tend to get cited for more serious violations like DUI and reckless driving.
  • Your job and insurance rates – Jobs such as doctors, social workers and stock brokers are shown to have the highest rates attributed to high stress levels and long work days. On the other hand, occupations such as pilots, students and the unemployed pay the least for Maxima insurance.
  • Lower deductibles cost more – Coverage for physical damage, also known as collision and other-than-collision, protects your Nissan from damage. A few examples of covered claims could be a windshield shattered by a rock, collision with an animal, and rolling your vehicle. Deductibles for physical damage are the amount of money you are willing to pay if you file a covered claim. The more you have to pay, the lower your rates will be for Maxima insurance.
  • Do you need the policy add-ons? – There are quite a few additional coverages that you can buy when buying insurance coverage. Insurance for vanishing deductibles, towing coverage and membership fees may be wasting your money. They may seem like a good idea when talking to your agent, but your needs may have changed so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
  • Better credit scores mean better rates – Credit score is a large factor in calculating your insurance coverage rates. Consumers who have high credit scores tend to be less risk to insure as compared to drivers with lower credit scores. If your credit rating is low, you could potentially save money when insuring your 2012 Nissan Maxima by repairing your credit.
  • Tickets mean higher rates – A bad driving record impacts your car insurance rates tremendously. Drivers with clean records tend to pay less for car insurance than people who have multiple driving citations. Even one moving violation may increase your cost by twenty percent. If you have severe violations such as hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions may find they need to submit a SR-22 form to the state department of motor vehicles in order to drive a vehicle legally.
  • Never allow your policy to lapse – Not having insurance is a misdemeanor and you will pay a penalty because you let your insurance expire. And not only will insurance be more expensive, failure to provide proof of insurance might get you a license revocation or jail time.Then you may be required to prove you have insurance by filing a SR-22 with your state motor vehicle department to get your license reinstated.
  • Being married can save on insurance coverage – Being married can actually save you money on your insurance coverage policy. It translates into being more mature and responsible and it’s proven that married drivers get in fewer accidents.

Everyone needs different coverages

When it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage, there really is not a one size fits all plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s.

For instance, these questions may help highlight whether you might need an agent’s assistance.

  • What can I do if my company won’t pay a claim?
  • Are my friends covered when driving my car?
  • Do I need medical payments coverage since I have good health insurance?
  • What are the best liability limits?
  • Am I covered by my employer’s commercial auto policy when driving my personal car for business?
  • Does my policy cover me when driving someone else’s vehicle?

If you can’t answer these questions but a few of them apply, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, take a second and complete this form.

Car insurance coverages and their meanings

Understanding the coverages of car insurance can be of help when determining the right coverages for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.

Collision coverages – Collision coverage covers damage to your Maxima from colliding with an object or car. A deductible applies then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision can pay for things such as backing into a parked car, crashing into a ditch, crashing into a building and hitting a parking meter. This coverage can be expensive, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. It’s also possible to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

UM/UIM Coverage – This protects you and your vehicle when other motorists are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. It can pay for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and damage to your Nissan Maxima.

Since many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is important protection for you and your family. Frequently your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are similar to your liability insurance amounts.

Comprehensive or Other Than Collision – Comprehensive insurance coverage will pay to fix damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first have to pay a deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive coverage protects against things such as a broken windshield, rock chips in glass, falling objects and fire damage. The maximum payout your car insurance company will pay is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Liability coverages – Liability coverage protects you from damage or injury you incur to other’s property or people. It protects you from legal claims by others. Liability doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You might see policy limits of 25/50/25 which stand for a limit of $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 for the entire accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property. Alternatively, you may have one limit called combined single limit (CSL) that pays claims from the same limit without having the split limit caps.

Liability can pay for claims like attorney fees, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, funeral expenses and medical services. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is up to you, but buy as large an amount as possible.

Medical costs insurance – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance reimburse you for immediate expenses for EMT expenses, dental work, rehabilitation expenses, prosthetic devices and chiropractic care. The coverages can be used in conjunction with a health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. Coverage applies to you and your occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Shop. Compare. Save.

In this article, we presented a lot of techniques to save on 2012 Nissan Maxima insurance. The key concept to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the better your comparison will be. Consumers could even find that the lowest premiums are with a small local company.

Drivers who switch companies do it for many reasons like extreme rates for teen drivers, not issuing a premium refund, policy non-renewal or unfair underwriting practices. Whatever your reason, switching companies is less work than it seems.

As you shop your coverage around, it’s not a good idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. Too many times, someone dropped liability limits or collision coverage and learned later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. The ultimate goal is to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate while still protecting your assets.

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