Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an expensive insurance coverage policy? It’s a common feeling and many consumers are in the same pinch.
Since people have many options, it can be hard to locate the lowest price insurer.
The purpose of this post is to familiarize you with how car insurance quotes work. If you have car insurance now, you will be able to cut costs considerably using these tips. But car owners benefit from understanding how the larger insurance companies determine prices because it can help you find the best coverage.
Lots of factors are used in the calculation when quoting car insurance. Some are obvious such as traffic violations, although others are not quite as obvious like where you live or how financially stable you are.
There are a variety of methods to compare auto insurance quotes, but there is one way that is more efficient than others. You can spend your afternoon talking about coverages with insurance companies in your area, or you can stay home and use online quotes to quickly compare rates.
Most car insurance companies belong to a marketplace that allows shoppers to complete one form, and every company returns a rated price for coverage. This eliminates the need for quote requests for each company you want a rate for.
To submit your quote information now, click to open in new window.
One minor caviat to using this type of form is you don’t know exactly which carriers to get quotes from. If you prefer to choose specific providers for rate comparison, we have assembled a list of companies who write auto insurance in your area. Click here to view list.
You can choose any of those ways to find more affodable coverage, but make sure you use the same coverages on every quote you get. If the quotes have different liability limits it will be impossible to make a fair rate comparison. Slightly different limits can mean a large discrepancy in price. And when comparison shopping, having more price comparisons increases your odds of finding a better price. Some regional insurers cannot provide online rate quotes, so you also need to get price quotes from the smaller companies as well.
Popular car insurance providers such as 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm continually stream ads on TV and radio. They all seem to have a common claim about saving some big amount if you switch your car insurance policy to them. How is it possible that every company can lower your auto insurance rates?
All the different companies give the cheapest rates for the type of insured that will most likely be profitable. An example of a profitable customer may be over the age of 50, has no driving citations, and drives a lower-performance vehicle. A customer getting a price quote who meets those qualifications will get very good prices and will also save a lot if they switch.
Potential insureds who don’t meet the “perfect” profile may receive higher premiums and ends up with the customer buying from someone else. The ads say “drivers that switch” but not “all drivers who get quotes” save that much when switching. This is how companies can make it sound like they have such great auto insurance rates.
Because of these techniques, it’s extremely important to get price quotes at each policy renewal. Because without a comparison, you cannot know which company will provide the lowest rates.
Car insurance can cost a lot, but there could be available discounts that could drop your premiums quite a bit. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically when you complete an application, but less common discounts must be inquired about before you will receive the discount.
Discounts reduce rates, but you should keep in mind that some of the credits will not apply to the entire cost. The majority will only reduce individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. Just because it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, nobody gets a free ride.
A list of car insurance companies and some of the discounts are detailed below.
Before you buy a policy, ask each company or agent what discounts are available to you. Savings might not apply in your area. To see a list of providers that offer some of these discounts, click this link.
When buying proper insurance coverage for your vehicles, there really is no best way to insure your cars. Everyone’s situation is a little different so your insurance should reflect that These are some specific questions might help in determining whether you may require specific advice.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but a few of them apply, you may need to chat with a licensed insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, take a second and complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.
Understanding the coverages of your policy aids in choosing which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. Policy terminology can be difficult to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. These are typical coverages offered by auto insurance companies.
Collision protection
Collision coverage pays for damage to your Outlander Sport resulting from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision can pay for things such as colliding with another moving vehicle, rolling your car, scraping a guard rail and damaging your car on a curb. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. You can also choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first have to pay a deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as hitting a bird, damage from a tornado or hurricane, falling objects, theft and damage from flooding. The maximum amount your auto insurance company will pay is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider dropping full coverage.
Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance
This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other motorists when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered losses include hospital bills for your injuries and damage to your 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport.
Since many drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is very important. Usually these coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.
Insurance for medical payments
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance provide coverage for short-term medical expenses like X-ray expenses, EMT expenses and funeral costs. They can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. Coverage applies to you and your occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP coverage is only offered in select states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Liability auto insurance
This can cover damage or injury you incur to other’s property or people. This coverage protects you from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
It consists of three limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You commonly see liability limits of 25/50/25 that translate to $25,000 bodily injury coverage, $50,000 for the entire accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Some companies may use a combined limit which limits claims to one amount without having the split limit caps.
Liability can pay for claims such as funeral expenses, structural damage, medical services, loss of income and pain and suffering. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford.
Budget-friendly insurance coverage is definitely available both online as well as from independent agents, and you should compare price quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. A few companies may not offer the ability to get quotes online and these smaller providers only sell coverage through independent agents.
As you restructure your insurance plan, don’t be tempted to skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. In many instances, an insured dropped uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your strategy should be to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate, but do not skimp to save money.
More detailed insurance coverage information can be read by following these links: