Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an underperforming, overpriced auto insurance policy? Believe me, there are lots of people in the same boat. Having so many companies to choose from, it is hard for the average consumer to choose the best company.
It’s a great practice to compare prices before your policy renews since insurance rates go up and down regularly. Despite the fact that you may have had the best deal on Model S coverage a year ago you can probably find a lower rate today. Block out anything you think you know about auto insurance because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to one of the quickest ways to properly buy coverages while reducing your premium.
Shopping for lower insurance rates can take hours if you don’t utilize the most efficient way. You can spend your afternoon talking about coverages with agents in your area, or you can utilize online quoting to get rate comparisons in just a few minutes.
Many companies participate in an industry program that enables customers to submit their information once, and at least one company can give them a price for coverage. This system prevents you from having to do quote forms for each company you want a rate for.
To compare 2012 Tesla Model S rates using this form now click here to open in new window.
One minor caviat to comparing rates this way is buyers cannot specifically choose the insurers you want to price. If you wish to select from a list of companies for rate comparison, we have a page of the cheapest insurance companies in your area. View list of insurance companies.
Which method you use is up to you, but compare apples-to-apples coverages with every price quote. If you enter mixed coverages you can’t possibly truly determine the lowest rate.
Car insurance is not cheap, but there could be available discounts to help offset the cost. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically when you quote, but less common discounts must be manually applied before being credited. If you’re not getting every credit possible, you are throwing money away.
It’s important to understand that some of the credits will not apply to the entire policy premium. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like collision or personal injury protection. Just because it seems like you can get free auto insurance, it doesn’t quite work that way. But any discount will bring down the amount you have to pay.
Insurance companies that may have these discounts are:
Double check with every prospective company what discounts are available to you. Savings might not apply in every state.
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that help determine the price you pay for insurance. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.
When buying the right insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a “perfect” insurance plan. Everyone’s situation is a little different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For example, these questions can aid in determining whether or not you might need professional guidance.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions then you might want to talk to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, fill out this quick form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It only takes a few minutes and can help protect your family.
Understanding the coverages of your insurance policy helps when choosing the best coverages and proper limits and deductibles. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Shown next are the normal coverages found on most insurance policies.
Collision insurance
This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision insurance covers claims such as hitting a mailbox, rolling your car and driving through your garage door. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. You can also bump up the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage
Your UM/UIM coverage provides protection from other motorists when they do not carry enough liability coverage. This coverage pays for hospital bills for your injuries as well as damage to your Tesla Model S.
Due to the fact that many drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, their limits can quickly be used up. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is very important. Most of the time these limits are set the same as your liablity limits.
Medical payments coverage and PIP
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for immediate expenses such as prosthetic devices, nursing services, funeral costs and pain medications. They are utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and also covers being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Liability coverages
This coverage protects you from injuries or damage you cause to people or other property. This coverage protects you against claims from other people, and does not provide coverage for 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. As an example, you may have values of 50/100/50 that translate to a $50,000 limit per person for injuries, $100,000 for the entire accident, and $50,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Occasionally you may see one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which combines the three limits into one amount with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability coverage protects against claims such as repair bills for other people’s vehicles, bail bonds and pain and suffering. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase higher limits if possible.
Comprehensive coverage
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first must pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things such as a tree branch falling on your vehicle, hitting a bird, hail damage and vandalism. The most you’ll receive from a claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.
When shopping online for insurance coverage, it’s very important that you do not sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. In too many instances, an accident victim reduced full coverage and found out when filing a claim that they should have had better coverage. Your strategy should be to buy the best coverage you can find at a price you can afford.
Cheaper 2012 Tesla Model S insurance is possible from both online companies as well as from independent agents, and you should compare price quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. There are still a few companies who don’t offer online price quotes and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.
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