Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy high-priced insurance coverage? Don’t feel bad because many consumers are feeling buyer’s remorse and feel like there’s no way out. Lots of auto insurance companies contend for your hard-earned dollar, and it can be difficult to compare rates and get the best coverage at the lowest cost out there.
Some providers don’t always publicize every disount available in a way that’s easy to find, so the list below contains a few of the more well known in addition to some of the lesser obvious savings tricks you should be using when you buy auto insurance online.
Discounts reduce rates, but you should keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. Most only cut individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. Even though it may seem like all the discounts add up to a free policy, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy.
Popular insurance companies and some of their more popular discounts are:
When getting free auto insurance quotes, it’s a good idea to all the companies which discounts they offer. Some of the discounts discussed earlier might not be offered in your area. For a list of insurers with the best insurance discounts, click here to view.
An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the things that help calculate the price you pay for insurance coverage. If you have some idea of what controls the rates you pay, this helps enable you to make changes that could help you find cheaper rates.
The itemized list below are a partial list of the pieces used by companies to determine your rate level.
When buying proper insurance coverage for your vehicles, there really is not a best way to insure your cars. Each situation is unique so your insurance needs to address that. These are some specific questions could help you determine if your situation could use an agent’s help.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but one or more may apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It’s fast, free and you can get the answers you need.
Consumers can’t get away from all the ads that promise big savings for switching from companies such as State Farm and Allstate. All the companies state the claim about savings if you move to their company.
Is it even possible that every company can give you a better price? This is the way they can do it.
Insurance providers have underwriting criteria for the type of customer that will be a good risk. For example, this type of driver might be described as over the age of 45, insures multiple vehicles, and drives less than 5,000 miles a year. A customer who matches that profile will most likely get cheap prices and as a result will probably save a lot if they switch.
Insureds who may not quite match these stringent criteria may be forced to pay higher premium rates with the end result being the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The wording the ads use say “people that switch” but not “everyone who gets a quote” can get the lowest rates when switching. That’s why companies can truthfully lure you into getting a quote.
Each company has different criteria, so it’s extremely important to do a rate comparison at every renewal. You cannot predict which insurance companies will have the best prices for your profile.
Having a good grasp of your auto insurance policy can help you determine the best coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Auto insurance terms can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. These are the usual coverages available from auto insurance companies.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision)
This covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive insurance covers things like a broken windshield, theft, damage from getting keyed, damage from flooding and hitting a bird. The maximum payout a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Liability car insurance
Liability coverage will cover injuries or damage you cause to other’s property or people by causing an accident. This coverage protects you against claims from other people, and doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show values of 50/100/50 that means you have a limit of $50,000 per injured person, $100,000 for the entire accident, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Alternatively, you may have one limit called combined single limit (CSL) that pays claims from the same limit rather than limiting it on a per person basis.
Liability coverage pays for claims like emergency aid, legal defense fees, medical services, bail bonds and loss of income. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as high a limit as you can afford.
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers
This coverage provides protection when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include injuries to you and your family as well as damage to your Ford Focus ST.
Since a lot of drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Normally your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.
Collision protection
This pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with an object or car. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision can pay for things such as sustaining damage from a pot hole, scraping a guard rail, colliding with another moving vehicle and driving through your garage door. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Medical expense insurance
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for expenses for things like prosthetic devices, rehabilitation expenses, chiropractic care, dental work and EMT expenses. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover you and your occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is only offered in select states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
When you buy auto insurance online, you should never skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There are a lot of situations where an insured cut comprehensive coverage or liability limits to discover at claim time that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your focus should be to find the BEST coverage at the best possible price, not the least amount of coverage.
Budget-conscious 2018 Ford Focus ST insurance is available online in addition to local insurance agencies, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best selection. Some companies may not offer the ability to get quotes online and these small insurance companies only sell coverage through independent agents.
We just covered quite a bit of information on how to get a better price on 2018 Ford Focus ST insurance. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the better your chances of lowering your prices. You may even discover the most savings is with the least-expected company. They can often provide lower prices in certain areas as compared to the big name companies such as Allstate or State Farm.
For more information, take a look at the following helpful articles: