Tired of trying to scrape together enough money each month for car insurance? You are no different than many other vehicle owners.
Popular companies such as State Farm, Geico and Farmers Insurance persitently shower you with advertising and consumers find it hard to ignore the flying pigs and cute green geckos and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.
If you have car insurance now, you should be able to cut costs considerably using these techniques. Buying car insurance is not rocket science. Although vehicle owners need to have an understanding of the way companies price online insurance and take advantage of how the system works.
The best way we recommend to compare policy rates is to know the fact most of the bigger providers provide online access to give free rates quotes. To begin a comparison, all you need to do is give them rating details like level of coverage desired, what you do for a living, if you have an active license, and whether you are married. That rating information is then sent to multiple different insurance companies and you will receive price estimates very quickly.
Companies like 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm endlessly run ads on television and other media. They all seem to make the promise that drivers will save a bundle just by moving to them. That’s great but how can every company claim to save you money? It’s all in how they say it.
All companies quote their cheapest rates for the type of driver they prefer to insure. A good example of this type of risk profile should be between the ages of 40 and 55, has few claims, and drives a lower-performance vehicle. Any person who fits that profile gets the lowest car insurance rates and will save money with a new company.
Drivers who don’t meet those standards will be charged higher premium rates and ends up with the customer buying from a different company. The ad wording is “people who switch” not “all people who quote” will save that much if they switch. That’s the way companies can truthfully make it sound like they have such great car insurance rates.
Because of these techniques, you really need to get price quotes at each policy renewal. Because without a comparison, you cannot know the company that will fit your personal profile best.
Smart consumers have a good feel for the different types of things that play a part in calculating your car insurance rates. If you have a feel for what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this allows you to make educated decisions that may result in lower rates.
The list below includes some of the major factors used by your company to calculate premiums.
Auto insurance companies do not advertise all possible discounts in a way that’s easy to find, so the following list contains both the well known and also the more inconspicuous credits available to you. If you don’t get every credit possible, you’re paying more than you need to.
A little disclaimer on discounts, some of the credits will not apply to the entire cost. Some only reduce individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy.
Popular insurance companies and their possible discounts are shown below.
If you need lower rates, check with each company which discounts they offer. Some credits may not apply to policyholders in your area. To see insurance companies with discount rates, follow this link.
When it comes to choosing coverage, there really is no “best” method to buy coverage. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs so this has to be addressed. For instance, these questions can aid in determining whether your personal situation may require specific advice.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but you know they apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed agent. If you don’t have a local agent, simply complete this short form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier
Knowing the specifics of your policy aids in choosing the best coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. The terms used in a policy can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy. These are the usual coverages found on most car insurance policies.
Collision coverages – Collision coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You have to pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision can pay for claims such as hitting a parking meter, sideswiping another vehicle, crashing into a building and crashing into a ditch. This coverage can be expensive, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are older. Another option is to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision) – This covers damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first must pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive insurance covers things such as vandalism, hitting a bird, fire damage, falling objects and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers – Your UM/UIM coverage provides protection when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your occupants and damage to your 2001 Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea. Normally these limits are set the same as your liablity limits.
Liability coverages – This provides protection from damage or injury you incur to other people or property in an accident. This coverage protects you from legal claims by others, and does not provide coverage for damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You commonly see policy limits of 50/100/50 which stand for $50,000 bodily injury coverage, a per accident bodily injury limit of $100,000, and property damage coverage for $50,000. Another option is a combined single limit or CSL which provides one coverage limit and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.
Liability can pay for things like court costs, attorney fees and repair bills for other people’s vehicles. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a personal decision, but you should buy as large an amount as possible.
Medical expense insurance – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for immediate expenses such as chiropractic care, prosthetic devices, ambulance fees and doctor visits. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. They cover you and your occupants in addition to any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
We just presented some good ideas how you can lower your 2001 Mercedes-Benz E-Class insurance rates. It’s most important to understand that the more times you quote, the better chance you’ll have of finding inexpensive car insurance. You may even discover the lowest rates are with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. These smaller insurers may only write in your state and offer lower car insurance rates as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm, Geico and Nationwide.
Some companies don’t offer the ability to get quotes online smaller companies work with independent agencies. Lower-priced 2001 Mercedes-Benz E-Class insurance can be sourced online as well as from insurance agents, and you should compare rates from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from.
More information is located at the links below