Nobody that owns a car likes paying for auto insurance, especially when they could lower their rates if they shopped around. Insurance companies such as State Farm, Progressive and Geico continually hit you with catchy ads and it is difficult to ignore the promise of big savings and find the best price available.
If you are insured now or are shopping for new coverage, you can follow these tips to get lower rates while maximizing coverage. Finding the best rates is not rocket science. Drivers only need an understanding of the best way to shop for insurance on the web.
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but you may find discounts that may help make it more affordable. Some discounts apply automatically at the time you complete a quote, but occassionally some discounts must be inquired about prior to receiving the credit.
Please keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to the entire cost. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. Even though the math looks like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, you’re out of luck.
Some companies that may offer many of the previously listed discounts include:
When getting a coverage quote, ask every insurance company which discounts you may be entitled to. Some of the discounts discussed earlier might not be available to policyholders in your area. If you would like to choose from a list of insurers that offer the discounts shown above, click here.
There are a lot of ways to shop for auto insurance, and some are less time-consuming than others. You can spend your afternoon driving to agents in your area, or you could save time and use the web to get rates in a matter of minutes.
Many of the larger companies belong to a marketplace where prospective buyers submit one quote, and each participating company can give them a price for coverage. This eliminates the need for quote requests to every company.
To compare pricing click here (opens in new window).
The one downside to doing it this way is that you can’t choose the insurers you will receive quotes from. So if you prefer to choose specific insurance companies to compare prices, we have a listing of the cheapest auto insurance companies in your area. Click here to view list.
Compare rates however you want, just make absolute certain that you use equivalent quote data for each price quote. If you use different values for each quote it will be next to impossible to determine the best price for your Honda Civic.
When choosing the right insurance coverage, there really is not a single plan that fits everyone. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs and your policy should reflect that. For instance, these questions might help in determining whether your personal situation could use an agent’s help.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you might consider talking 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. It only takes a few minutes and can help protect your family.
Knowing the specifics of a auto insurance policy can help you determine the right coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be confusing and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Below you’ll find typical coverages offered by auto insurance companies.
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage
Your UM/UIM coverage gives you protection when other motorists either have no liability insurance or not enough. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea.
Comprehensive auto coverage
This coverage pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. A deductible will apply and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims such as hitting a deer, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and damage from getting keyed. The maximum 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.
Medical payments and PIP coverage
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance provide coverage for expenses for things like pain medications, X-ray expenses and chiropractic care. They can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and will also cover any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is only offered in select states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Liability car insurance
Liability insurance provides protection from damages or injuries you inflict on other’s property or people that is your fault. This coverage protects you against other people’s claims. Liability doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show policy limits of 100/300/100 that translate to a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, $300,000 for the entire accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability can pay for claims like funeral expenses, medical expenses, loss of income and repair bills for other people’s vehicles. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as high a limit as you can afford.
Collision protection
This pays for damage to your Civic resulting from a collision with another car or object. You have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision insurance covers things such as damaging your car on a curb, crashing into a ditch, backing into a parked car, rolling your car and driving through your garage door. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are older. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible to bring the cost down.
You just learned quite a bit of information on how to shop for 2004 Honda Civic insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more quotes you get, the better likelihood of getting affordable car insurance. You may even find the lowest priced auto insurance comes from a lesser-known regional company. Smaller companies may only write in your state and offer lower premium rates than the large multi-state companies such as Geico and State Farm.
When getting car insurance quotes online, you should never skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. In many instances, someone sacrificed full coverage only to regret that it was a big error on their part. The ultimate goal is to purchase plenty of coverage for the lowest price, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.
The cheapest 2004 Honda Civic insurance can be sourced online in addition to many insurance agents, and you should compare rates from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance companies don’t offer internet price quotes and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through local independent agents.