1997 Mercury Cougar Car Insurance Cost

Buying budget-priced insurance coverage may seem to be somewhat difficult for people not familiar with comparing rates online. When there are so many online companies available, how can you effectively compare every insurance coverage company to find the best available rates?

Finding the best rates is not that difficult. If you are paying for car insurance now, you will be able to cut costs considerably using this strategy. But vehicle owners can benefit by having an understanding of the way companies market on the web and use this information to your advantage.

Seven things that influence your insurance premiums

Many factors are considered when quoting car insurance. Some factors are common sense like an MVR report, although others are less obvious like where you live and annual miles driven.

Listed below are a partial list of the pieces auto insurance companies consider when setting your rate level.

  • Safer the car lower the rate – Vehicles with high crash test scores tend to be cheaper to insure. These vehicles help reduce the chance of injuries in an accident and lower injury rates translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and lower rates for you. If the Mercury Cougar has at least four stars on Safercar.gov you may be receiving a better rate.
  • Costs also based on gender – Over time, data shows that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. The data does not necessarily mean that men are worse drivers. They both get in fender benders in similar percentages, but guys get into accidents with more damage. In addition to higher claims, males also get cited for more serious violations such as driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving recklessly.
  • Credit rating impacts costs – Your credit rating is a large factor in calculating your premium rate. If your credit leaves room for improvement, you could potentially save money when insuring your 1997 Mercury Cougar if you improve your credit rating. Insureds that have high credit scores tend to be better risks to insure than those with poor credit scores.
  • Be proud to be claim-free – If you are a frequent claim filer, you can look forward to either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Companies generally give discounts to policyholders who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. Insurance coverage is meant to be used in the event of larger claims.
  • A lpolicy lapse is a bad thing – Having a lapse in insurance coverage is a guaranteed way to increase your auto insurance rates. And not only will insurance be more expensive, not being able to provide proof of insurance could result in fines or a revoked license.
  • Higher auto insurance rates for specific vocations – Occupations such as judges, social workers and emergency personnel usually pay the highest average rates because of stressful work requirements and lots of time spent at work. On the flip side, careers such as actors, historians and retirees have the lowest average rates on Cougar insurance.
  • Rates impacted by vehicle usage – Driving a lot of miles every year the more it will cost to insure it. Most companies charge to insure your cars based on their usage. Autos left parked in the garage get more affordable rates than those used for commuting. Make sure your policy states how each vehicle is driven. Having the wrong rating on your Cougar is throwing money out the window.

The fastest way that we advise to compare rate quotes is to know the fact almost all companies have advanced systems to quote your coverage. To get started, all you need to do is take a few minutes to give details like daily mileage, if it has an alarm system, if you require a SR-22, and driver ages. That information is submitted instantly to many different companies and you will get price comparisons almost instantly.

To check car insurance prices now, click here and complete the quick form.

Big brands don’t always mean big savings

Car insurance providers like Progressive, Allstate and Geico endlessly run ads on television and other media. All the companies say the same thing that you can save just by switching your policy. How do they all make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.

Insurance companies provide the lowest rates for the type of insured that is profitable for them. For example, this type of driver might be described as a married male, insures multiple vehicles, and has a high credit rating. A propective insured who matches that profile will get the preferred premium rates and will probably save quite a bit of money when switching.

Insureds who do not match this ideal profile will get higher premium rates which leads to the prospect going elsewhere. If you listen to the ad wording, they say “people who switch” not “everyone who quotes” save that much. That is how companies can make those claims. This really illustrates why you need to do a rate comparison at every renewal. It’s impossible to know which insurance companies will fit you best based on your risk profile.

Car insurance rates and discounts

Companies don’t list every available discount in an easy-to-find place, so the following is a list of some of the best known and the more hidden credits available to lower your premiums when you buy insurance coverage online.

  • Good Driver Discounts – Safe drivers can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates on Cougar insurance compared to accident prone drivers.
  • Pay Early and Save – If you pay your bill all at once as opposed to paying monthly you can avoid the installment charge.
  • Homeowners Pay Less – Owning your own home or condo can save you money because of the fact that having a home requires a higher level of personal finance.
  • Use Seat Belts – Drivers who require all vehicle occupants to use a seat belt can save a little on the premium charged for medical payments and/or PIP.
  • Defensive Driver Discounts – Taking time to complete a defensive driver class could save 5% or more depending on where you live.
  • E-sign – Certain larger companies may give you up to $50 simply for signing on your computer.
  • Active Military Service – Having a family member in the military may qualify for rate reductions.
  • Discounts for Federal Employees – Simply working for the federal government can earn a discount up to 10% on Cougar insurance with select insurance companies.
  • Policy Bundle Discount – If you can combine your homeowners and auto policy with one company you may save as much as 10 to 15 percent.
  • Multi-Vehicle Discounts – Buying coverage for several vehicles on the same car insurance policy can reduce the rates for all insured vehicles.

It’s important to understand that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire cost. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like collision or personal injury protection. Even though the math looks like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, you won’t be that lucky. But all discounts will help lower your overall premium however.

Some of the insurance companies who might offer these discounts possibly include:

When getting free insurance coverage quotes, it’s a good idea to each company the best way to save money. Some of the discounts discussed earlier might not be available to policyholders in your area. If you would like to view car insurance companies with significant discounts, click here.

Situations that may require an agent’s advice

When buying the right insurance coverage for your vehicles, there really is no best way to insure your cars. Everyone’s needs are different.

These are some specific questions might point out if your situation could use an agent’s help.

  • When can my company non-renew my policy?
  • Am I covered when driving in Canada or Mexico?
  • Do all my vehicles need collision coverage?
  • Can I get a multi-policy discount?
  • How can I force my company to pay a claim?
  • What is no-fault insurance?

If you’re not sure about those questions but you know they apply to you, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, take a second and complete this form.

Insurance coverage considerations

Knowing the specifics of your policy can be of help when determining the right coverages and proper limits and deductibles. Insurance terms can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy.

Liability – This protects you from damage that occurs to people or other property. This insurance protects YOU against other people’s claims, and 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. You might see limits of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $300,000 in injury protection per accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.

Liability insurance covers claims such as loss of income, medical expenses, legal defense fees and bail bonds. How much liability coverage do you need? That is your choice, but you should buy as high a limit as you can afford.

Uninsured or underinsured coverage – Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for medical payments for you and your occupants as well as damage to your Mercury Cougar.

Because many people only carry the minimum required liability 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.

Medical expense coverage – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage pay for expenses for chiropractic care, EMT expenses, rehabilitation expenses and pain medications. The coverages can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if you do not have health coverage. Coverage applies to you and your occupants and also covers any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Collision coverages – This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision insurance covers things like colliding with another moving vehicle, crashing into a building, backing into a parked car and rolling your car. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider dropping it from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to bump up the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Comprehensive protection – This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first have to pay a deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive can pay for things such as damage from flooding, a broken windshield, rock chips in glass, hitting a bird and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The maximum amount your insurance company will pay is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.

Have money to burn

Insureds who switch companies do it for many reasons like delays in paying claims, poor customer service, extreme rates for teen drivers and even unfair underwriting practices. It doesn’t matter what your reason, choosing a new company is actually quite simple.

In this article, we covered a lot of information how to lower your 1997 Mercury Cougar insurance premium rates. The key concept to understand is the more you quote insurance coverage, the better your chances of lowering your prices. Drivers may discover the biggest savings come from some of the smallest insurance companies.

Discount 1997 Mercury Cougar insurance can be bought both online and from local insurance agents, so you should compare both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some insurance providers do not provide online price quotes and many times these small, regional companies provide coverage only through independent agents.

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