Have you fallen victim to an underperforming, overpriced auto insurance policy? Believe me, you are not the only one feeling buyer’s remorse.
There are many insurers to insure vehicles with, and even though it’s nice to have a choice, too many choices makes it more difficult to compare rates and cut insurance costs.
There are a variety of methods to compare insurance quotes, but one way is less labor-intensive and much quicker. You can spend countless hours discussing policy coverages with insurance agencies in your area, or you can stay home and use online quoting to accomplish the same thing much quicker.
Most of the best insurance companies participate in a marketplace where prospective buyers enter their coverage request one time, and each participating company can provide price quotes based on the submitted data. This system prevents you from having to do quote forms for every insurance company.
To access this free quoting program, click here (opens in new window).
The one downside to comparing rates this way is you don’t know exactly the insurers to get pricing from. So if you want to select individual companies to compare prices, we put together a list of companies who write insurance in your area. View list of insurance companies.
The approach you take is up to you, just make sure you compare exactly the same deductibles and coverage limits for each price quote. If you are comparing different values for each quote it will be nearly impossible to make a fair rate comparison. Just a small difference in insurance coverages could skew the results. It’s important to know that comparing more company’s prices provides better odds of finding a lower rate than you’re paying now.
Some insurers do not list all available discounts in an easy-to-find place, so the next list breaks down some of the more common in addition to some of the lesser obvious savings tricks you should be using when you buy insurance online.
Remember that some of the credits will not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Some only apply to individual premiums such as collision or personal injury protection. Even though the math looks like you can get free auto insurance, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
To find insurers that offer many of these discounts, click here to view.
When buying the best insurance coverage, there is no best way to insure your cars. Everyone’s situation is a little different so your insurance needs to address that. Here are some questions about coverages that could help you determine if your insurance needs would benefit from professional advice.
If you can’t answer these questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to a licensed agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, simply complete this short form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier
Learning about specific coverages of your auto insurance policy can be of help when determining which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be difficult to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Shown next are the usual coverages found on the average auto insurance policy.
Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage provide coverage for expenses for things like funeral costs, chiropractic care, nursing services, rehabilitation expenses and pain medications. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. Coverage applies to not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal Injury Protection is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Liability car insurance – This can cover damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property that is your fault. It protects YOU against claims from other people, and does not provide coverage for your own vehicle damage or injuries.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You might see limits of 25/50/25 which stand for a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, $50,000 for the entire accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability can pay for things like medical services, funeral expenses and structural damage. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as high a limit as you can afford.
Comprehensive insurance – This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. A deductible will apply and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like hail damage, a tree branch falling on your vehicle, vandalism, a broken windshield and rock chips in glass. The maximum payout your auto insurance company will pay is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) – This coverage gives you protection when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include injuries to you and your family and damage to your Nissan NV Passenger.
Since a lot of drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is important protection for you and your family.
Collision coverage – This coverage pays for damage to your NV Passenger caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. A deductible applies then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision coverage protects against claims such as rolling your car, sustaining damage from a pot hole, hitting a mailbox, backing into a parked car and sideswiping another vehicle. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to bump up the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.