2006 Volvo S40 Car Insurance Rates

Are you confused by the sheer number of car insurance sources in your area? consumers have so many options that it can easily turn into a challenge to find the lowest price.

It’s a good idea to price shop coverage quite often because car insurance rates are variable and change quite frequently. Just because you found the best premium rates for S40 insurance two years ago there may be better deals available now. There are lots of tips to save on car insurance out there, but I’m going to show you some solid techniques on how to lower your car insurance bill.

How to buy car insurance online

When looking for low cost insurance coverage quotes, there are a couple ways of comparing price quotes from many different insurance companies. The simplest method to lower the rate you pay for 2006 Volvo S40 insurance is to jump online and get quotes. It’s really quite simple and can be done using a couple different methods.

  • Probably the best way consumers can make multiple comparisons is a comparison rater form click here to open form in new window. This type of form saves time by eliminating a different quote for each price estimate. In just a few minutes this one form gets rate comparisons from several companies. It’s definitely the quickest method.
  • A different way to compare prices requires a trip to the website of each company to complete a price quote. For examples sake, let’s assume you want to see prices from Farmers, Esurance and Liberty Mutual. To do that, you would have to go to each individual site and type in your information over and over, which is why most consumers use the first method. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in your area, click here.

It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but make sure you use equivalent coverage information for every company. If you enter different data then you won’t be able to find the best deal for your Volvo S40. Even a minor difference in limits could skew the results. And when comparing car insurance rates, know that having more price comparisons increases your odds of finding better pricing. Some regional insurers cannot provide prices over the internet, so you should also compare rates from them, too.

How to lower your insurance costs

Lots of factors are taken into consideration when quoting car insurance. Some are obvious such as your driving record, but others are not as apparent like your vehicle usage or your vehicle rating.

  • Teen vs. older drivers – Older drivers tend to be more responsible, file fewer claims and receive fewer citations.Teenage drivers have a tendency to be easily distracted with other occupants in the car and because of this, their car insurance rates are much higher.
  • Lower rates for cars with good safety ratings – Cars with high safety ratings tend to have lower insurance rates. The safest vehicles reduce injuries and lower rates of occupant injuries translates directly to fewer claims and cheaper rates on your policy. If your Volvo S40 has at least four stars on Safercar.gov you may qualify for a discount.
  • Marriage discount – Having a spouse can actually save you money on your car insurance bill. It generally demonstrates drivers are more mature and insurance companies reward insureds because married couples file fewer claims.
  • Discounts for GPS tracking and theft deterrents – Buying a car with advanced anti-theft systems can earn a premium discount. Theft deterrent systems like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar help track and prevent your vehicle from being stolen.
  • Responsible drivers pay less – Being a careful driver has a big impact on rates. Only having one speeding ticket or other violation can bump up the cost by as much as thirty percent. Careful drivers tend to pay less for car insurance compared to drivers with tickets. Drivers who have gotten careless citations like DUI or willful reckless driving may need to maintain a SR-22 with their state in order to legally drive.
  • Cheaper to insure gals? – Over the last 30 years, statistics show that women are safer drivers than men. However, don’t assume that women are better drivers. Both sexes cause at-fault accidents in similar numbers, but the men cause more damage. In addition to higher claims, males also get more serious tickets like driving under the influence (DUI). Young men ages 16 to 20 are most likely to cause an accident and therefore are the most expensive to insure.

Do you qualify for discounts?

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you can get discounts that many consumers don’t even know exist. Many discounts should be triggered when you quote, but once in a while a discount must be inquired about prior to getting the savings.

  • Payment Method – If you can afford to pay the entire bill as opposed to paying monthly you can avoid monthly service charges.
  • Passive Restraint Discount – Cars that have air bags can get savings of 25 to 30%.
  • No Claims – Good drivers with no accidents pay much less when compared to frequent claim filers.
  • New Car Discount – Insuring a vehicle that is new can save up to 30% compared to insuring an older model.
  • Student Driver Training – It’s a good idea to have your young drivers successfully complete driver’s ed class as it can save substantially.
  • Defensive Driver Discount – Taking time to complete a course in safe driver could earn you a small percentage discount if your company offers it.

Just know that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the overall cost of the policy. Most only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like all the discounts add up to a free policy, that’s just not realistic. But any discount will definitely reduce your policy premium.

A few popular companies and a selection of discounts are:

  • State Farm includes discounts for safe vehicle, driver’s education, student away at school, multiple policy, and multiple autos.
  • Progressive has discounts for online quote discount, good student, continuous coverage, homeowner, online signing, multi-vehicle, and multi-policy.
  • Travelers may have discounts that include driver training, continuous insurance, student away at school, hybrid/electric vehicle, and save driver.
  • American Family discounts include mySafetyValet, air bags, early bird, multi-vehicle, Steer into Savings, TimeAway discount, and bundled insurance.
  • Liberty Mutual policyholders can earn discounts including good student, teen driver discount, multi-car, newly retired, safety features, new vehicle discount, and new graduate.

Double check with every company to apply every possible discount. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts might not apply in your area.

Don’t assume everyone needs the same insurance coverage

When it comes to buying the best insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is not a “best” method to buy coverage. Everyone’s needs are different.

For example, these questions may help you determine if your situation might need an agent’s assistance.

  • Does my liability insurance cover pulling a trailer or camper?
  • Is business property covered if stolen from my car?
  • Which is better, split liability limits or combined limits?
  • Am I getting all the discounts available?
  • Can I afford to pay high deductible claims out of pocket?
  • How much liability coverage do I need in my state?
  • Am I insured when driving a different vehicle?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you might consider talking to an agent. If you don’t have a local agent, complete this form.

Auto insurance coverages

Understanding the coverages of your policy aids in choosing the right coverages and proper limits and deductibles. Policy terminology can be ambiguous and coverage can change by endorsement.

UM/UIM Coverage – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage gives you protection from other motorists when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered claims include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your 2006 Volvo S40.

Due to the fact that 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 very important. Normally these coverages are similar to your liability insurance amounts.

Collision – This coverage pays for damage to your S40 resulting from a collision with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision coverage protects against things like sideswiping another vehicle, sustaining damage from a pot hole, rolling your car, crashing into a building and hitting a mailbox. This coverage can be expensive, so consider dropping it from lower value vehicles. You can also choose a higher deductible to save money on collision insurance.

Liability coverages – This coverage will cover damage that occurs to a person or their property that is your fault. This coverage protects you from claims by other people. 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, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. As an example, you may have limits of 50/100/50 that translate to $50,000 bodily injury coverage, a per accident bodily injury limit of $100,000, and property damage coverage for $50,000. Alternatively, you may have a combined limit which provides one coverage limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability insurance covers claims such as attorney fees, emergency aid, court costs, funeral expenses and repair costs for stationary objects. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but consider buying as high a limit as you can afford.

Medical costs insurance – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage kick in for expenses such as doctor visits, EMT expenses and ambulance fees. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not available in all states and may carry a deductible

Comprehensive or Other Than Collision – Comprehensive insurance pays for damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first must pay your deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like rock chips in glass, damage from flooding, hitting a bird, damage from a tornado or hurricane and vandalism. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Don’t throw your cash in the trash

Throughout this article, we presented some good ideas how to lower your 2006 Volvo S40 insurance car insurance rates. The key concept to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. You may be surprised to find that the best price on insurance is with a small local company.

When you buy insurance coverage online, it’s very important that you do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, consumers will sacrifice liability coverage limits and learned later that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your objective should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the best cost.

People change insurance companies for a number of reasons such as policy non-renewal, high rates after DUI convictions, high prices and even questionable increases in premium. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch switching companies can be less work than you think.

To read more, link through to the articles below: