Lower Your 2002 Mazda Protege Insurance Cost

Looking for cheaper car insurance rates for your Mazda Protege? Finding cheaper insurance for a Mazda Protege can normally be a painful process, but you can learn a few tricks to save time. There are both good and bad ways to find car insurance online and we’ll show you the proper way to quote coverages for a new or used Mazda and obtain the lowest possible price either online or from local insurance agents.

It’s a great practice to check car insurance prices before your policy renews because prices change quite often. Even if you got the best quotes on Protege coverage a couple years back you can probably find a better rate now. Forget all the misinformation about car insurance because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to the proper way to find the best coverage while lowering your premiums.

If you have a policy now or are just looking to switch companies, you can use this information to cut your premiums and possibly find even better coverage. Shopping for the cheapest protection is quite easy. Drivers just need to know the proper methods to compare rates on the web.

How to get insurance rate quotes

Finding a better price on insurance is not a difficult process. All that’s required is to spend a few minutes comparing price quotes to find out which insurance company has affordable insurance quotes. It is quite easy and can be accomplished by using one of the methods below.

  1. The most efficient method to find low rates is an all-inclusive rate comparison like this one (opens in new window). This easy form eliminates the need for separate quote forms for every prospective company. One form submission gets rate comparisons from insurance companies with the best prices. It’s the fastest way to compare.
  2. A slightly less efficient method to find more affordable insurance consists of visiting each company website and get a separate price quote. For sake of this example, let’s assume you want rates from Progressive, Liberty Mutual and Farmers. You would be required to navigate to each company’s site to enter the same coverage data repeatedly, which is why first method is reommended.

    For a list of links to insurance companies in your area, click here.

You can use whichever method you prefer to find lower rates, just be certain you are entering identical coverages on every price quote you get. If your comparisons have different deductibles it will be very difficult to make a fair comparison for your Mazda Protege.

These discounts can lower your auto insurance rates

Auto insurance is not inexpensive, but there’s a good chance there are discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Some of these disounts will be visible when you quote, but some may not be applied and must be asked for before you will receive the discount.

  • Military Discounts – Being on active deployment in the military could be rewarded with lower auto insurance rates.
  • Waiver for an Accident – Not really a discount, but certain companies permit an accident without getting socked with a rate hike so long as you haven’t had any claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
  • Safe Drivers – Insureds without accidents could pay up to 40% less on Protege coverage than drivers with accidents.
  • Save with a New Car – Insuring a vehicle that is new is cheaper because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
  • Club Memberships – Affiliation with a qualifying organization can get you a small discount on your next renewal.
  • Discount for Life Insurance – Not all insurance carriers offer life insurance, but some may give you lower auto insurancerates if you buy some life insurance in addition to your auto policy.
  • Driver’s Ed – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to complete a driver education course in school or through a local driver safety program.

Discounts lower rates, but most credits do not apply to the entire policy premium. Some only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as comprehensive or collision. Even though it appears adding up those discounts means a free policy, nobody gets a free ride.

To find companies with discount rates, follow this link.

Components of your Mazda Protege insurance costs

Lots of things are taken into consideration when you get a price on insurance. Some factors are common sense like a motor vehicle report, but some are more transparent like where you live or how financially stable you are.

The factors shown below are just a few of the factors utilized by car insurance companies to help set your rates.

  • Don’t cancel your coverage without a new one in place – Having a gap between insurance policy dates will be a fast way to increase your rates. Not only will you pay more, the inability to provide proof of insurance might get you a revoked license or a big fine. You may then be required to submit proof of financial responsibility or a SR-22 with your state department of motor vehicles.
  • See if your company offers a multi-policy discount – Most major insurers provide discounts to policyholders that buy multiple policies, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. The amount of the discounts can be five, ten or even twenty percent. Even if you qualify for this discount already, it’s always a smart idea to shop around to make sure you are getting the best deal.
  • Male rates may be higher – Over time, data shows that women are safer drivers than men. This data doesn’t prove that females are better at driving than males. Both genders are in fender benders in similar percentages, but the men get into accidents with more damage. Men also get cited for more serious violations such as driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving recklessly.
  • Be proud to be claim-free – If you file a lot of claims you shouldn’t be surprised to get higher premiums or even policy non-renewal. Auto insurance companies give the best rates to insureds who do not file claims often. Your insurance policy is designed for claims that pose a financial burden.
  • Little extras can really add up – There are many extra add-on coverages that you can get tricked into buying but may not be useful. Coverages like vanishing deductibles, accident forgiveness, and extra equipment coverage may be costing you every month. These coverages may sound good when buying your policy, but if you have no use for them remove them from your policy.

Different people need different insurance coverages

When buying the right insurance coverage, there really is no single plan that fits everyone. Everyone’s situation is a little different.

For instance, these questions can aid in determining if your insurance needs would benefit from an agent’s advice.

  • Am I covered by my employer’s commercial auto policy when driving my personal car for business?
  • Do I need more liability coverage?
  • Is my custom paint covered by insurance?
  • Is my camper covered by my car insurance policy?
  • Does my 2002 Mazda Protege qualify for pleasure use?
  • Am I covered if I hit a deer?
  • Is business equipment covered while in my vehicle?

If you can’t answer these questions but one or more may apply to you then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, complete this form. It is quick, free and may give you better protection.

Car insurance coverage basics

Having a good grasp of your car insurance policy helps when choosing the right coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The terms used in a policy can be difficult to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring.

Coverage for collisions

This coverage covers damage to your Protege from colliding with an object or car. A deductible applies and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision coverage pays for claims like backing into a parked car, crashing into a ditch, colliding with a tree and scraping a guard rail. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are older. Another option is to choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Coverage for liability

This coverage will cover damage that occurs to a person or their property by causing an accident. It protects YOU against claims from other people. It does not cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. Your policy might show limits of 50/100/50 which means a $50,000 limit per person for injuries, $100,000 for the entire accident, and a limit of $50,000 paid for damaged property.

Liability can pay for claims like medical services, loss of income, bail bonds, pain and suffering and repair costs for stationary objects. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but consider buying as large an amount as possible.

Comprehensive protection

Comprehensive insurance pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive insurance covers things like damage from flooding, damage from a tornado or hurricane, hitting a deer, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and a broken windshield. The maximum payout a car insurance company will pay at claim time is the actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider dropping full coverage.

Medical expense coverage

Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for bills for hospital visits, surgery, nursing services, doctor visits and prosthetic devices. They are utilized in addition to your health insurance program or if you are not covered by health insurance. They cover both the driver and occupants and will also cover getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is only offered in select states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Uninsured or underinsured coverage

This protects you and your vehicle from other motorists when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your Mazda Protege.

Since a lot of drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is very important.

Quote more, save more

While you’re price shopping online, you should never buy less coverage just to save a little money. There are too many instances where someone sacrificed full coverage and discovered at claim time that they should have had better coverage. The goal is to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest cost while not skimping on critical coverages.

Drivers who switch companies do it for a number of reasons such as delays in responding to claim requests, not issuing a premium refund, lack of trust in their agent and extreme rates for teen drivers. Whatever your reason, finding a new auto insurance company is easier than you think.

We just presented many ideas to shop for 2002 Mazda Protege insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more quotes you get, the better your comparison will be. Consumers may even find the lowest priced auto insurance comes from a small mutual company.

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