Compare 1996 GMC Sierra 1500 Car Insurance Quotes

Searching for cheaper insurance rates for your GMC Sierra 1500? If you are a novice to online insurance shopping, chances are good that you are confused by the vast assortment of local and online companies offering coverage.

The purpose of this post is to help you learn how to get online quotes and some tricks to saving. If you have car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to lower your premiums substantially using this information. Although drivers must know how the larger insurance companies sell online and apply this information to your search.

What determines GMC Sierra 1500 insurance premiums?

Lots of things are used when you get a price on insurance. Some are pretty understandable such as your driving history, although some other factors are not quite as obvious like your continuous coverage and annual miles driven.

  • Your credit history is important – Having a bad credit score is a big factor in determining your rates. If your credit rating is low, you may save money insuring your 1996 GMC Sierra 1500 by taking the time to improve your credit score. People with high credit scores tend to be less risk to insure than those with bad credit.
  • Compare rates if you bundle your policies – The majority of companies provide better rates for people that purchase more than one policy. It’s known as a multi-policy discount. The discount can be five, ten or even twenty percent. Even though this discount sounds good, drivers will still want to shop around to help guarantee you have the best rates. You may still save even more by buying insurance from a different company.
  • Vehicle options that cut premiums – Purchasing a vehicle with a theft deterrent system can save you some money. Theft prevention features like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all hinder car theft and help bring rates down.
  • Battle of the sexes – Statistics demonstrate females are less aggressive when driving. That doesn’t necessarily mean that women are better drivers. Males and females are responsible for accidents in similar numbers, but guys have costlier accidents. Men also statistically get higher numbers of serious violations like driving under the influence (DUI). Teenage male drivers are several times more likely to be in an accident so they pay the highest premiums.
  • Policy add-ons may be wasting money – Insurance companies have many extra coverages that you can buy on your Sierra 1500 policy. Coverages for roadside assistance, towing coverage, and additional equipment coverage may be costing you every month. They may sound like good ideas when deciding what coverages you need, but if you’ve never needed them in the past eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
  • Higher rates for insurance lapses – Driving your car without having proper coverage is a big no-no and as a result your rates will increase for letting your insurance lapse for non-payment. And not only will insurance be more expensive, not being able to provide proof of insurance will get you a fine, jail time, or a revoked license. You could then be forced to submit proof of financial responsibility or a SR-22 with your state motor vehicle department.

How much is auto insurance?

There are several ways to compare auto insurance prices but one way is less labor-intensive and much quicker. You can waste hours talking to insurance companies in your area, or you can utilize online quoting to get prices fast.

Many popular insurance companies are enrolled in a marketplace where insurance shoppers enter their policy data once, and each company can provide price quotes. This eliminates the need for quote forms for every auto insurance company.

To enter your information into the quoting system, click here to start a free quote.

The only drawback to using this type of form is you don’t know exactly which providers to get pricing from. If you prefer to choose specific insurance companies for rate comparison, we put together a list of companies who write auto insurance in your area. Click to view list.

You can use whichever method you prefer to find lower rates, just make sure you use apples-to-apples deductibles and coverage limits for each quote you get. If you are comparing different values for each quote it will be impossible to determine which rate is truly the best. Having just a slight variation in insurance coverages or limits can result in a big premium difference. Just keep in mind that quoting more helps improve the odds of finding better pricing. Some companies don’t provide rate quotes online, so you should also compare quotes from them, too.

Save money by applying discounts

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but there could be available discounts that can dramatically reduce your bill. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied when you get a quote, but some may not be applied and must be specifically requested before they will apply.

  • Discounts for Government Workers – Having worked for a branch of the government could qualify for a slight premium decrease on Sierra coverage with a few insurance coverage companies.
  • College Student Discount – Youth drivers living away from home attending college and do not take a car to college may be insured at a cheaper rate.
  • Paperwork-free – A handful of companies give back up to $50 just for signing your application on the web.
  • Include Life Insurance and Save – Insurance carriers who offer life insurance give a discount if you purchase some life insurance too.
  • New Vehicle Savings – Buying a new car instead of a used car can save you some money since newer models have better safety ratings.
  • Discounts for Responsible Drivers – Drivers without accidents can save as much as half off their rates on Sierra coverage than drivers with accident claims.
  • Service Members Pay Less – Having a deployed family member may lower your prices slightly.
  • Defensive Driver Discounts – Taking a class that teaches safe driver techniques can save you 5% or more depending on where you live.
  • Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Drivers who always wear seat belts and also require passengers to use a seat belt could save 15% off the medical payments premium.
  • Theft Prevention Discount – Cars, trucks, and SUVs that have factory anti-theft systems prevent vehicle theft and will qualify for a discount on a auto insurance quote.

Consumers should know that some credits don’t apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most cut individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. So even though it sounds like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, nobody gets a free ride.

Companies and some of the premium reductions they offer are:

  • 21st Century may offer discounts for student driver, air bags, anti-lock brakes, 55 and older, defensive driver, and driver training.
  • Progressive policyholders can earn discounts including homeowner, multi-vehicle, online signing, good student, and multi-policy.
  • State Farm has discounts for good driver, multiple autos, good student, driver’s education, multiple policy, and accident-free.
  • Nationwide offers discounts for family plan, Farm Bureau membership, defensive driving, accident-free, multi-policy, and easy pay.
  • Esurance includes discounts for defensive driver, multi-car, claim free, renters, and anti-lock brakes.
  • The Hartford may include discounts for driver training, good student, vehicle fuel type, air bag, bundle, defensive driver, and anti-theft.

It’s a good idea to ask each company the best way to save money. A few discounts may not apply in your area.

Your auto insurance coverage should be tailored to you

When choosing the right insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no cookie cutter policy. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs.

For example, these questions can aid in determining whether your personal situation will benefit from professional help.

  • Do I need rental car coverage?
  • Which is better, split liability limits or combined limits?
  • Who is covered by my policy?
  • Does coverage extend to Mexico or Canada?
  • Why does it cost so much to insure a teen driver?
  • Do I have coverage when using my vehicle for my home business?
  • Do I need PIP coverage since I have good health insurance?

If you can’t answer these questions but one or more may apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed agent. To find an agent in your area, simply complete this short form.

Car insurance policy specifics

Having a good grasp of a car insurance policy can be of help when determining appropriate coverage at the best deductibles and correct limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring.

Liability coverage

Liability coverage protects you from damage that occurs to a person or their property by causing an accident. It protects you against claims from other people. Liability doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.

Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. Your policy might show liability limits of 25/50/25 that means you have $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, $50,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. 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 can pay for claims like structural damage, court costs, emergency aid, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and funeral expenses. How much liability coverage do you need? That is your choice, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as high a limit as you can afford.

Auto collision coverage

This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision coverage protects against things like hitting a parking meter, colliding with a tree, colliding with another moving vehicle and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are older. Another option is to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Insurance for medical payments

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance kick in for immediate expenses like nursing services, X-ray expenses and chiropractic care. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover all vehicle occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal Injury Protection is not an option in every state but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)

This coverage pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive can pay for things like damage from getting keyed, vandalism, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and hail damage. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage gives you protection when other motorists either have no liability insurance or not enough. It can pay for hospital bills for your injuries and also any damage incurred to your 1996 GMC Sierra 1500.

Since many drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family. Most of the time your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.

Cheaper insurance is a realistic goal

Drivers switch companies for a number of reasons such as policy cancellation, being labeled a high risk driver, extreme rates for teen drivers or even delays in paying claims. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch finding a great new company can be pretty painless.

Throughout this article, we presented a lot of information how to save on 1996 GMC Sierra 1500 insurance. It’s most important to understand that the more companies you get premium rates for, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even discover the lowest auto insurance rates are with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising.

When buying insurance coverage, do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where an insured dropped physical damage coverage and found out when filing a claim that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. The ultimate goal is to buy the best coverage you can find at the best cost and still be able to protect your assets.

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