Wish you could get a refund on high-priced car insurance? It’s quite common and many consumers are in the same pinch.
Many auto insurance companies vie for your insurance dollar, and it can be difficult to compare rates to get the lowest cost out there.
If you are paying for car insurance now, you will most likely be able to save some money using these methods. Finding affordable coverage is quite easy. But drivers can benefit by having an understanding of how the larger insurance companies price online insurance and use this information to your advantage.
Not many people think insurance is cheap, but you may be missing some discounts that you may not know about. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at the time you complete a quote, but once in a while a discount must be specifically requested prior to getting the savings.
Discounts reduce rates, but you should keep in mind that most discounts do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most only cut individual premiums such as comp or med pay. So even though you would think adding up those discounts means a free policy, you’re out of luck.
Popular insurance companies and a partial list of their discounts are detailed below.
It’s a good idea to ask each insurance company how you can save money. Some discounts listed above may not apply in your area. To view insurance companies who offer free insurance quotes, click here to view.
Most larger insurance companies give coverage price quotes on the web. Obtaining pricing is possible for anyone as all you need to do is type in your coverage preferences into a form. Behind the scenes, their rating system will obtain your credit score and driving record and generates pricing information based on the data you entered. This makes it a lot easier to compare rates but the process of having to visit each company’s website and repetitively type in the same information can get tiresome after awhile. But it is imperative to get many rate quotes in order to get a better rate.
There is a better way!
A quicker way to lower your auto insurance bill uses one form that analyzes rates from more than one company. This type of form saves time, eliminates form submissions, and makes comparison shopping much easier to do. As soon as the form is sent, it is quoted with multiple companies and you can pick your choice of the quotes returned.
If you find a better price you simply finish the application and buy the new coverage. This process takes 15 minutes at the most and may save quite a bit of money.
To quickly find out how much you can save on auto insurance, simply click here to open in new window and submit your coverage information. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you enter the limits and deductibles just like they are on your policy. This way, you’re receiving a fair comparison for similar insurance coverage.
When buying adequate coverage, there really is no cookie cutter policy. Each situation is unique so your insurance should reflect that For instance, these questions may help you determine if your situation would benefit from professional advice.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
Understanding the coverages of your auto insurance policy can help you determine the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring. Listed below are typical coverage types available from auto insurance companies.
Liability coverages
Liability coverage will cover damages or injuries you inflict on other people or property by causing an accident. This insurance protects YOU from legal claims by others. Liability doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
It consists of three limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. Your policy might show limits of 25/50/25 that means you have a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $50,000, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Some companies may use one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which provides one coverage limit rather than limiting it on a per person basis.
Liability coverage protects against claims such as bail bonds, emergency aid, pain and suffering and structural damage. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but consider buying as large an amount as possible.
Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP reimburse you for expenses for chiropractic care, surgery, ambulance fees and pain medications. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if you lack health insurance entirely. Medical payments and PIP cover all vehicle occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is not available in all states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)
This provides protection from other motorists when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered claims include injuries to you and your family and also any damage incurred to your 2003 Honda Element.
Due to the fact that many drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is important protection for you and your family. Most of the time your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Collision coverage protection
Collision insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision coverage protects against claims like hitting a parking meter, sustaining damage from a pot hole and damaging your car on a curb. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. Drivers also have the option to raise the deductible to bring the cost down.
Comprehensive insurance
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first have to pay a deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things like rock chips in glass, damage from getting keyed, hitting a deer and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The maximum payout a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.
Cheap 2003 Honda Element insurance can be sourced from both online companies in addition to many insurance agents, so get free insurance coverage quotes from both of them so you have a total pricing picture. A few companies don’t offer rates over the internet and most of the time these small, regional companies sell through independent insurance agencies.
We just showed you a lot of ways to lower your 2003 Honda Element insurance prices. It’s most important to understand that the more times you quote, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may even find the best prices are with the smaller companies. These companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm or Progressive.
When buying insurance coverage, make sure you don’t reduce needed coverages to save money. There have been many cases where someone sacrificed uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your objective should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the best cost and still be able to protect your assets.
More information is available at these links: