2017 Toyota RAV4 Insurance Rates – 10 Ways to Save

Looking for lower car insurance rates for your Toyota RAV4? Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy overpriced car insurance? You’re in good company because you’re not alone. You have so many auto insurance companies to pick from, and although it’s a good thing to have a selection, more choices can make it harder to compare rates and cut insurance costs.

This article will introduce you to the most effective way to quote insurance and some money-saving tips. If you are paying for car insurance now, you should be able to cut costs considerably using these tips. Consumers just need to learn the tricks to compare rates on the web.

Compare quotes for insurance

There are several ways to compare insurance quotes, but some are more efficient than others. You could waste time discussing policy coverages with insurance agencies in your area, or you can stay home and use the internet to achieve your goal.

Most of the best insurance companies take part in a program where prospective buyers submit one quote, and each participating company can provide price quotes based on the submitted data. This saves time by eliminating quote requests to each individual insurance company.

To use this form to compare rates click here (opens in new window).

The one disadvantage to pricing coverage this way is you don’t know exactly the providers you will receive quotes from. So if you want to choose specific providers for rate comparison, we have a listing of low cost insurance companies in your area. View list of insurance companies.

It’s up to you which method you use, but ensure you’re using exactly the same coverage limits with every price quote. If you compare different coverage information it’s not possible to make an equal comparison.

Lower rates by qualifying for these ten discounts

Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but you may be missing some discounts that can dramatically reduce your bill. Some of these disounts will be visible at the time of quoting, but some discounts are required to be specifically requested prior to getting the savings.

  • Senior Citizens – Mature drivers could receive a discount up to 10% for RAV4 insurance.
  • New Car Discount – Buying coverage on a new vehicle can get you a discount because new model year vehicles keep occupants safer.
  • Early Renewal Discounts – Some insurance companies give discounts for switching policies before your current expiration date. You could save around 10% when you buy insurance coverage online.
  • Auto/Home Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles and place coverage with the same company you may save at least 10% off all policies.
  • Accident-Free Discounts – Claim-free drivers can save substantially when compared with drivers with a long claim history.
  • Seat Belts Save – Drivers who require all occupants to buckle up can save up to 10 percent (depending on the company) on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
  • Pay Early and Save – By paying your entire bill at once instead of monthly or quarterly installments you can actually save on your bill.
  • Drivers Education – Cut your cost by having your teen driver complete a driver education course if offered at their school.
  • Smart Student Discounts – A discount for being a good student could provide a savings of up to 20% or more. The discount lasts up until you turn 25.
  • Waiver for an Accident – This one is not really a discount per se, but some companies like Progressive, Allstate, and Liberty Mutual will turn a blind eye to one accident without getting socked with a rate hike as long as you don’t have any claims before the accident.

One last thing about discounts, some credits don’t apply the the whole policy. Most only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though it appears you can get free auto insurance, that’s just not realistic. Any amount of discount will definitely lower your policy premiums.

A few popular companies and some of their more popular discounts are detailed below.

  • State Farm may offer discounts for passive restraint, anti-theft, defensive driving training, student away at school, Drive Safe & Save, good student, and good driver.
  • Farmers Insurance offers discounts for homeowner, switch companies, mature driver, business and professional, pay in full, and teen driver.
  • Geico discounts include federal employee, multi-policy, anti-theft, military active duty, anti-lock brakes, air bags, and good student.
  • American Family has discounts for accident-free, good driver, air bags, defensive driver, TimeAway discount, and good student.
  • Nationwide includes discounts for good student, Farm Bureau membership, business or organization, anti-theft, accident-free, and easy pay.
  • Progressive offers premium reductions for good student, online signing, multi-vehicle, continuous coverage, and online quote discount.

Before buying, ask each insurance company to give you their best rates. Some credits might not apply in your area. To see a list of insurance coverage companies with the best discounts, follow this link.

Car insurance is unique, just like you

When it comes to buying the right insurance coverage, there is no best way to insure your cars. Every insured’s situation is different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. Here are some questions about coverages that can help discover whether you could use an agent’s help.

  • How can I get high-risk coverage after a DUI?
  • I have good health insurance, so how much medical payments coverage do I need?
  • Does my policy cover my teen driver if they drive my company car?
  • What is covered by UM/UIM coverage?
  • Am I covered when driving in Canada or Mexico?
  • Why am I required to buy liability insurance?
  • Can I make deliveries for my home business?
  • Should I buy additional glass protection?

If you can’t answer these questions, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, simply complete this short form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It’s fast, free and may give you better protection.

Advertising myths

Consumers can’t get away from all the ads that claim the lowest premium rates by companies like State Farm, Allstate and Geico. They all advertise claims that drivers can save some big amount if you get a free insurance coverage quote and switch to their company.

How does each company lower your premium rates? Here is how they do it.

Insurance providers have underwriting criteria for a prospective insured that will generate a profit. One example of this type of insured could be between 25 and 40, has no claims, and drives a lower-performance vehicle. Any driver who fits that profile will most likely get cheap premium rates and have a good chance to save if they switch.

Consumers who don’t meet these criteria will probably have to pay a higher premium which results in the prospect going elsewhere. Company advertisements say “people that switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. That is how companies can advertise the savings.

This really illustrates why you really should compare price quotes frequently. Because you cannot predict which company will fit your personal profile best.

Parts of your insurance policy

Learning about specific coverages of your insurance policy can help you determine which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. Insurance terms can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Shown next are typical coverages found on the average insurance policy.

Coverage for medical payments – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for expenses for EMT expenses, doctor visits and prosthetic devices. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance program or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover you and your occupants and will also cover being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is only offered in select states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Liability insurance – This protects you from damage or injury you incur to other’s property or people by causing an accident. It protects you against other people’s claims, and doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show liability limits of 100/300/100 which stand for a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $300,000 in injury protection per accident, and a limit of $100,000 paid for damaged property. Some companies may use a combined limit that pays claims from the same limit without having the split limit caps.

Liability coverage protects against things such as structural damage, emergency aid, court costs, bail bonds and pain and suffering. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford.

Comprehensive coverages – This coverage pays for damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive can pay for claims such as damage from flooding, fire damage and damage from getting keyed. The most a insurance company will pay at claim time is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage – This gives you protection when other motorists either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered losses include injuries to you and your family as well as damage to your Toyota RAV4.

Since many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is a good idea. Most of the time these limits are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.

Collision coverage – This pays for damage to your RAV4 caused by collision with another car or object. You have to pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision coverage pays for claims like scraping a guard rail, sideswiping another vehicle and hitting a mailbox. This coverage can be expensive, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are older. Drivers also have the option to raise the deductible to save money on collision insurance.

A little work can save a LOT of money

You just learned quite a bit of information on how to compare 2017 Toyota RAV4 insurance rates online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the better your chances of lowering your car insurance rates. You may even find the best rates are with a small mutual company. They may cover specific market segments cheaper as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive and Geico.

Budget-friendly insurance coverage can be found both online as well as from independent agents, so get free insurance coverage quotes from both of them in order to have the best price selection to choose from. A few companies may not have rate quotes online and usually these small insurance companies only sell through independent agencies.

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