If you are a novice to online auto insurance shopping, you can be baffled by the diversity of local and online companies vying for business.
It’s important to compare premium rates on a regular basis because insurance prices change regularly. Just because you had the best deal on Prius coverage six months ago there is a good chance you can find better rate quotes now. Block out anything you think you know about auto insurance because you’re going to get a crash course in the proper way to reduce your cost while increasing coverage.
Performing a rate comparison can take hours if you aren’t aware of the most efficient way to do it. You can spend your afternoon talking about coverages with insurance companies in your area, or you can utilize the web to quickly compare rates.
Most of the best insurance companies belong to an insurance system where prospective buyers enter their policy data once, and each company can provide price quotes based on the submitted data. This system prevents you from having to do quotation requests for each company you want a rate for. To find out how much you’re overpaying now click here (opens in new window).
The one disadvantage to using this type of system is buyers cannot specifically choose the providers you want to price. So if you prefer to choose specific insurance companies to compare, we have a listing of companies who write insurance in your area. Click to view list.
Which method you use is up to you, but make sure you compare exactly the same deductibles and coverage limits with each company. If you enter different values for each quote it will be very difficult to make a fair rate comparison. Just a small difference in coverage limits may cause a big price difference. Just remember that making a lot of price comparisons provides better odds of finding more affordable rates. Some regional insurers cannot provide rate quotes online, so you should also compare price estimates from the smaller companies as well.
Lots of things are used in the calculation when you get a price on insurance. Some are obvious such as traffic violations, but other factors are not quite as obvious such as your credit history or how safe your car is.Smart consumers have a good feel for a few of the rating criteria that aid in calculating your premiums. If you have a feel for what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this allows you to make educated decisions that may reward you with lower rates.
The following are some of the most rate-impacting factors used by insurance companies to determine prices.
Buying insurance is not cheap, but you may qualify for discounts to cut the cost considerably. Certain reductions will be credited at the time of quoting, but less common discounts must be asked for before they will apply. If they aren’t giving you every credit possible, you are not getting the best rate possible.
Discounts reduce rates, but you should keep in mind that many deductions do not apply to your bottom line cost. The majority will only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. Despite the fact that it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you won’t be that lucky.
To choose insurance companies that offer the discounts shown above, click this link.
When it comes to choosing coverage, there isn’t really a perfect coverage plan. Each situation is unique.
For instance, these questions could help you determine if your situation would benefit from an agent’s advice.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you think they might apply to your situation, you may need to chat with a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, take a second and complete this form.
Having a good grasp of a insurance policy aids in choosing the right coverages for your vehicles. Policy terminology can be confusing and nobody wants to actually read their policy.
Liability auto insurance
Liability insurance can cover damages or injuries you inflict on people or other property that is your fault. This coverage protects you from claims by other people, and does not provide coverage for your own vehicle damage or injuries.
Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have limits of 50/100/50 which means $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $50,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Occasionally you may see one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which provides one coverage limit rather than limiting it on a per person basis.
Liability insurance covers claims such as pain and suffering, medical services, funeral expenses and loss of income. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy higher limits if possible.
Medical payments coverage and PIP
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for expenses such as prosthetic devices, nursing services and funeral costs. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. Coverage applies to both the driver and occupants in addition to if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is only offered in select states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage
This coverage protects you and your vehicle from other motorists when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered claims include medical payments for you and your occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Because many people carry very low liability coverage limits, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked. Most of the time these limits are similar to your liability insurance amounts.
Comprehensive coverage
This coverage will pay to fix damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first have to pay a deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims such as fire damage, hail damage, a broken windshield and rock chips in glass. The highest amount a insurance company will pay at claim time is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Collision coverage protection
Collision coverage will pay to fix damage to your Prius caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You will need to pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage pays for things like sideswiping another vehicle, damaging your car on a curb and sustaining damage from a pot hole. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. Another option is to raise the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
We just presented many tips how you can reduce 2006 Toyota Prius insurance premium rates online. It’s most important to understand that the more times you quote, the higher your chance of finding cheaper insurance coverage. You may even discover the best price on auto insurance is with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising.
Drivers leave their current company for any number of reasons including extreme rates for teen drivers, high rates after DUI convictions, policy cancellation or even not issuing a premium refund. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, choosing a new company is not as difficult as it may seem.
When trying to cut insurance costs, it’s very important that you do not buy less coverage just to save a little money. There have been many cases where an insured cut full coverage and learned later that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your objective should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at the best possible price but still have enough coverage for asset protection.
Much more information about auto insurance is available at these links: