Tired of scraping nickels together to pay insurance coverage each month? Your situation is no different than many other drivers.
Companies like State Farm and Geico constantly bombard you with catchy ads and it can be hard to ignore the propoganda and find the best price available.
If you are paying for car insurance now, you will be able to reduce your rates substantially using these techniques. Choosing the best insurance company for you is quite easy. Nevertheless, drivers should learn the methods companies use to sell insurance online because it can help you find the best coverage.
There are a variety of methods to compare insurance prices but some are less labor-intensive and much quicker. You could spend your day talking to local insurance agents in your area, or you could save time and use the internet to get the quickest rates.
Most of the larger companies belong to a marketplace where insurance shoppers only type in their quote data once, and each participating company then gives them pricing. This eliminates the need for quote forms for each company. To find out how much you’re overpaying now click here to start a free quote.
The single downside to pricing coverage this way is that you can’t choose which insurance companies to receive prices from. If you prefer to choose from a list of companies for rate comparison, we have a page of low cost insurance companies in your area. Click here for list of insurance companies.
The method you choose is up to you, but try to use apples-to-apples coverages for every company. If you compare differing limits you will not be able to decipher which rate is best. Quoting even small variations in limits could mean much higher rates. And when comparison shopping, having more price comparisons will improve the odds of getting the best offered rates. Not every company provides quotes online, so you should also compare price estimates on coverage from those companies, too.
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but you may be missing some discounts to reduce the price significantly. Most are applied at the time you complete a quote, but some discounts are required to be asked for before you will receive the discount. If you are not receiving all the discounts you qualify for, you could be paying more than you need to.
Don’t be shocked that many deductions do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. A few only apply to individual premiums such as liability and collision coverage. Even though it appears all the discounts add up to a free policy, you aren’t that lucky.
The best car insurance companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts include:
Before buying, ask all companies you are considering how many discounts you can get. Discounts may not apply to policyholders in your area.
When it comes to buying the right insurance coverage for your vehicles, there isn’t really a single plan that fits everyone. Every insured’s situation is different and your policy should reflect that. These are some specific questions could help you determine whether you might need professional guidance.
If you’re not sure about those questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.
Learning about specific coverages of your insurance policy aids in choosing appropriate coverage and the correct deductibles and limits. Insurance terms can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. These are typical coverage types found on the average insurance policy.
Auto liability insurance
Liability insurance protects you from injuries or damage you cause to a person or their property that is your fault. This insurance protects YOU from legal claims by others. Liability doesn’t cover damage to your own property or vehicle.
Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You might see values of 50/100/50 which stand for a $50,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and $50,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Alternatively, you may have a combined single limit or CSL which limits claims to one amount and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.
Liability coverage protects against claims such as medical services, court costs, legal defense fees, loss of income and repair costs for stationary objects. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy as large an amount as possible.
Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance
This protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. It can pay for hospital bills for your injuries and also any damage incurred to your 2003 BMW X5.
Since a lot of drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important. Most of the time these limits are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.
Collision protection
This coverage covers damage to your X5 from colliding with an object or car. You have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision can pay for things like colliding with another moving vehicle, backing into a parked car and driving through your garage door. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are older. You can also choose a higher deductible to bring the cost down.
Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)
This coverage will pay to fix damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You need to pay your deductible first then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as hitting a bird, rock chips in glass and fire damage. The maximum amount a insurance company will pay at claim time is the actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Insurance for medical payments
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage provide coverage for expenses such as ambulance fees, EMT expenses, doctor visits and rehabilitation expenses. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or if you do not have health coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover you and your occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP coverage is not an option in every state but can be used in place of medical payments coverage