2012 Toyota Prius Insurance Rates – 5 Tips for Cheaper Quotes

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an overpriced insurance coverage policy? Trust us, you’re not alone.

There is such a variety of auto insurance companies to purchase coverage from, and although it’s nice to have a choice, too many choices makes it more difficult to compare rates.

Don’t pay full price with these five discounts

Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but discounts can save money and there are some available to help offset the cost. Certain discounts will be applied when you purchase, but some may not be applied and must be asked about prior to getting the savings.

  • Multi-car Discount – Buying insurance for more than one vehicle on one policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
  • Good Students Pay Less – Performing well in school can earn a discount of 20% or more. The discount lasts well after school through age 25.
  • Low Mileage Discounts – Driving fewer miles can earn a substantially lower rate.
  • Theft Prevention System – Anti-theft and alarm systems prevent vehicle theft and earn discounts up to 10%.
  • Anti-lock Brake System – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes can avoid accidents and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.

It’s important to note that some credits don’t apply the the whole policy. Some only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. So when the math indicates you can get free auto insurance, companies don’t profit that way. Any qualifying discounts will bring down your premiums.

Companies who might offer some of the above discounts include:

Check with each company which discounts they offer. Some discounts may not be available everywhere.

How to Get Cheap Auto Insurance

Most companies such as Allstate and Progressive quote prices for coverage on the web. Obtaining pricing is quite simple as you just type in the coverage amounts you desire into the quote form. After you complete the form, their rating system automatically retrieves credit information and your driving record and gives you a price quote based on many factors. This simplifies rate comparisons, but the work required to visit multiple sites and type in the same information can get tiresome after awhile. But it’s absolutely necessary to do this in order to find better auto insurance pricing.

Quote rates the easy way

The quickest way to lower your rates is to use a quote form to obtain quotes from a lot of companies. This type of form saves time, requires less work, and makes online price comparison much easier. Once the form is submitted, it is quoted with multiple companies and you can pick your choice of the quote results.

If the quotes result in lower rates, you can simply submit the application and buy the policy. It only takes a few minutes and can result in significant savings.

To fill out one form to compare multiple rates now, click here and submit your coverage information. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you replicate the coverage information exactly as shown on your declarations page. Doing this guarantees you will be getting a rate comparison using the same coverage and limits.

Your personal situation dictates your coverage

When it comes to buying adequate coverage, there isn’t really a “best” method to buy coverage. Everyone’s needs are different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For instance, these questions may help you determine if your situation would benefit from professional advice.

  • Am I covered when driving in Canada or Mexico?
  • Should I buy only the required minimum liability coverage?
  • Do I need replacement cost coverage?
  • Do I need medical payments coverage since I have good health insurance?
  • Should I have a commercial auto policy?
  • Do I benefit by insuring my home with the same company?
  • Why am I be forced to buy a membership to get insurance from some companies?
  • What is covered by UM/UIM coverage?

If you can’t answer these questions but a few of them apply, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, simply complete this short form or go to this page to view a list of companies.

Car insurance policy specifics

Understanding the coverages of a car insurance policy aids in choosing appropriate coverage for your vehicles. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Listed below are the normal coverages found on the average car insurance policy.

Collision coverage protection

Collision insurance pays for damage to your Prius resulting from colliding with another car or object. You have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision insurance covers things such as sustaining damage from a pot hole, hitting a parking meter, driving through your garage door, rolling your car and scraping a guard rail. This coverage can be expensive, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are older. You can also raise the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage

This protects you and your vehicle when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered claims include medical payments for you and your occupants and damage to your Toyota Prius.

Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. So UM/UIM coverage is very important. Frequently your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are similar to your liability insurance amounts.

Medical payments coverage and PIP

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage kick in for immediate expenses like prosthetic devices, hospital visits, dental work, surgery and funeral costs. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. They cover you and your occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP coverage is not universally available and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Comprehensive coverage

This coverage covers damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. A deductible will apply and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive can pay for claims such as hail damage, damage from a tornado or hurricane and hitting a bird. The maximum payout a car insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider dropping full coverage.

Liability insurance

This will cover damage that occurs to other people or property in an accident. It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see liability limits of 50/100/50 that translate to $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Another option is one number which is a combined single limit which provides one coverage limit and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.

Liability coverage pays for things like bail bonds, loss of income, structural damage, funeral expenses and medical expenses. How much coverage you buy is your choice, but buy as high a limit as you can afford.

Make a quick buck

When shopping online for insurance, don’t be tempted to buy poor coverage just to save money. There are a lot of situations where someone dropped uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your focus should be to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate.

We just covered many ways to save on 2012 Toyota Prius insurance. The key thing to remember is the more quotes you get, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may even find the most savings is with some of the smallest insurance companies. These smaller insurers may only write in your state and offer lower rates than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm or Progressive.

Cheap insurance is definitely available online and also from your neighborhood agents, and you should be comparing both to have the best selection. Some insurance companies may not provide online quoting and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.

More tips and info about insurance is available in the articles below: