Trying to find cheaper insurance coverage rates for your GMC Sonoma? If you’ve never shopped for insurance coverage quotes online, by this point your are probably overwhelmed by the diversity of insurance providers offering insurance.
It is always a good idea to get comparison quotes before your policy renews because insurance coverage prices trend upward over time. Just because you had the best deal on Sonoma coverage a few years ago you will most likely find a better rate today. Ignore everything you know about insurance coverage because you’re about to learn the fastest and easiest way to properly buy coverages while reducing your premium.
Not many people think insurance is cheap, but you can get discounts that could help you make your next renewal payment. Many discounts should be triggered when you quote, but some discounts are required to be specially asked for before they will apply.
Remember that most credits do not apply the the whole policy. Some only reduce specific coverage prices like liability, collision or medical payments. Even though the math looks like all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies don’t profit that way.
Car insurance companies who might offer most of the discounts above include:
Before you buy a policy, ask every insurance company which discounts they offer. All car insurance discounts may not be available in your area.
Shopping for lower auto insurance rates can be challenging if you aren’t aware of the most efficient way to do it. You can waste hours discussing policy coverages with agents in your area, or you can utilize the web to maximize your effort.
Many of the larger companies are enrolled in a marketplace that allows shoppers to enter their policy data once, and each participating company can give them a price based on that information. This system prevents you from having to do quote forms to each individual auto insurance company. To enter your information into the quoting system, click to open in new window.
The only drawback to pricing coverage this way is that you can’t choose the insurers you want pricing from. So if you prefer to pick from a list of companies to compare prices, we put together a list of companies who write auto insurance in your area. Click to view list.
Whichever method you choose, compare nearly identical quote information for each comparison quote. If the quotes have differing limits then you won’t be able to get a fair rate comparison. Having just a slight variation in limits could mean much higher rates. Just keep in mind that comparing a wide range of rates increases the change that you will find the best offered rates.
When buying the best insurance coverage, there really is no one size fits all plan. Every situation is different.
Here are some questions about coverages that could help you determine if your insurance needs would benefit from professional advice.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but a few of them apply, you might consider talking to an agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, take a second and complete this form.
Having a good grasp of your policy can help you determine the right coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. Insurance terms can be difficult to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Comprehensive coverages – This pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims such as a tree branch falling on your vehicle, rock chips in glass, damage from getting keyed, hitting a deer and damage from flooding. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Collision – Collision coverage will pay to fix damage to your Sonoma 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 can pay for claims such as hitting a mailbox, backing into a parked car, crashing into a ditch and colliding with another moving vehicle. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are older. Another option is to increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Liability coverages – Liability coverage protects you from damages or injuries you inflict on people or other property in an accident. This coverage protects you from legal claims by others. Liability doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You commonly see values of 50/100/50 which means a limit of $50,000 per injured person, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and a limit of $50,000 paid for damaged property. Occasionally you may see one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which limits claims to one amount and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.
Liability coverage pays for claims like repair costs for stationary objects, structural damage and medical expenses. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy as large an amount as possible.
Coverage for medical payments – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance kick in for bills such as surgery, nursing services and funeral costs. They can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is only offered in select states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Uninsured and underinsured coverage – This coverage gives you protection from other motorists when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered claims include injuries to you and your family and damage to your GMC Sonoma.
Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, their limits can quickly be used up. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage should not be overlooked. Frequently your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are similar to your liability insurance amounts.
In this article, we covered a lot of ways to get a better price on 2003 GMC Sonoma insurance. It’s most important to understand that the more rate quotes you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even discover the lowest prices come from some of the smallest insurance companies.
Drivers leave their current company for any number of reasons including unfair underwriting practices, questionable increases in premium, poor customer service or even being labeled a high risk driver. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, switching companies is less work than it seems.
When shopping online for auto insurance, it’s a bad idea to buy poor coverage just to save money. There are too many instances where drivers have reduced liability coverage limits only to regret that they should have had better coverage. Your focus should be to buy enough coverage for the lowest cost and still be able to protect your assets.