Compare 2008 Dodge Ram Pickup 2500 Insurance Rates

Trying to find better car insurance rates for your Dodge Ram Pickup 2500? Being forced to pay for high-priced car insurance premiums can dwindle your accounts and put the squeeze on your family’s finances. Doing a price comparison is free and is an excellent way to make sure you’re not throwing money away.

You have multiple auto insurance companies to choose from, and although it’s a good thing to have multiple companies, too many choices makes it more difficult to find a good deal.

These discounts can slash car insurance rates

Auto insurance companies don’t necessarily list all disounts very well, so here is a list some of the best known and the more hidden credits that you can use to lower your rates.

  • Distant Student Discount – Children who are enrolled in a college that is more than 100 miles from home and don’t have a car can be insured at a reduced rate.
  • Drive Safe and Save – Drivers who don’t get into accidents can save up to 40% or more on their insurance quote for Ram pickup coverage as compared to drivers with claims.
  • Good Student – This discount may save you up to 25%. You can use this discount normally until age 25.
  • No Claims – Good drivers with no accidents are rewarded with significantly better rates on insurance quote as opposed to frequent claim filers.
  • Waiver for an Accident – This isn’t a discount exactly, but certain companies will let one accident slide before hitting you with a surcharge with the catch being you have to be claim-free prior to being involved in the accident.
  • Homeowners Discount – Owning a house can earn you a little savings because maintaining a house is proof of financial responsibility.
  • Mature Driver Discount – Older drivers may be able to get lower premium rates for Ram pickup coverage.
  • Discount for Multiple Policies – If you can combine your auto and home policy and insure them both with the same insurance company you may save up to 20% and get you inexpensive insurance.
  • Government Employees – Simply working for the federal government could provide a small rate reduction for Ram pickup coverage with select insurance companies.
  • Discounts for Seat Belt Usage – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use a seat belt could cut 10% or more off the personal injury premium cost.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most credits do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. So when the math indicates you could get a free car insurance policy, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy.

Companies and some of the premium reductions they offer are shown below.

  • American Family includes discounts for air bags, TimeAway discount, bundled insurance, accident-free, defensive driver, and mySafetyValet.
  • Farm Bureau offers premium reductions for safe driver, good student, youthful driver, multi-vehicle, 55 and retired, multi-policy, and driver training.
  • State Farm policyholders can earn discounts including passive restraint, defensive driving training, good driver, Drive Safe & Save, and driver’s education.
  • Travelers may include discounts for payment discounts, good student, home ownership, student away at school, multi-policy, new car, and save driver.
  • The Hartford has discounts for defensive driver, vehicle fuel type, bundle, anti-theft, good student, and air bag.
  • Geico offers discounts including multi-policy, military active duty, defensive driver, anti-theft, anti-lock brakes, and federal employee.
  • Progressive discounts include continuous coverage, multi-vehicle, online quote discount, online signing, and multi-policy.

When getting a coverage quote, ask each insurance company how many discounts you can get. Some credits may not be offered in every state. If you would like to see a list of car insurance companies offering car insurance discounts, follow this link.

Five factors that impact insurance rates

It’s important that you understand the rating factors that help calculate the price you pay for car insurance. If you understand what determines premiums, this helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with better car insurance rates. Multiple criteria are taken into consideration when you quote your car insurance policy. A few of the factors are predictable like your driving record, but other criteria are not quite as obvious like your continuous coverage or your financial responsibility.

The itemized list below are some of the major factors used by companies to determine premiums.

  • Premiums are high for teenagers – Drivers with little experience are statistically proven to be easily distracted when at the wheel of a vehicle so they pay higher car insurance rates. If you’ve ever had to add a inexperienced driver onto your car insurance can be very expensive. Older insureds tend to be more responsible, file fewer claims and tend to be get fewer driving tickets.
  • Being married pays dividends – Having a spouse may cut your premiums when shopping for car insurance. Marriage means you’re more responsible and insurance companies like that drivers who are married file infrequent claims.
  • Employer impacts car insurance rates – Careers such as military generals, social workers and stock brokers generally have the highest rates because of high stress levels and lots of time spent away from family. Other occupations such as farmers, students and the unemployed have the lowest average rates for Ram pickup coverage.
  • More policies can equal more savings – Many companies afford discounts for people that have more than one policy, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Discounts can add up to ten or even fifteen percent. If you currently are using one company, it’s always a smart idea to check prices from other companies to guarantee you are still saving the most.
  • Know your credit rating – Having a bad credit history is a big factor in determining what you pay for car insurance. If your credit rating is lower than you’d like, you could save money insuring your 2008 Dodge Ram Pickup 2500 by improving your rating. Insureds that have high credit scores tend to be more responsible and file fewer claims than those with bad credit.

When do I need an agent’s advice?

When buying coverage for your vehicles, there isn’t really a single plan that fits everyone. Each situation is unique so your insurance should reflect that These are some specific questions might help in determining whether or not you might need an agent’s assistance.

  • Are all vehicle passengers covered by medical payments coverage?
  • Is my dog or cat covered if injured in an accident?
  • Does my liability insurance cover pulling a trailer or camper?
  • Are my tools covered if they get stolen from my vehicle?
  • Is my state a no-fault state?
  • Is my teenager covered with friends in the car?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions but you think they might apply to your situation, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, take a second and complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.

Be skeptical of car insurance ads

Popular car insurance providers such as State Farm, Allstate and Geico endlessly run television and radio advertisements. All the ads state the claim about savings if you switch your car insurance policy to them. How does every car insurance company say the same thing? Here is how they do it.

Different companies are able to cherry pick for the type of driver that will add to their bottom line. For instance, a preferred risk might have to be between 30 and 50, owns a home, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. Anybody that matches those criteria will get the preferred prices as well as save a lot of money.

Drivers who don’t qualify for this stringent profile will probably have to pay higher prices and this can result in business going elsewhere. The wording the ads use say “customers that switch” not “everyone that quotes” save money. That is how companies can make the claims of big savings. This really illustrates why you really should quote coverage with many companies. It’s just too difficult to predict with any certainty which company will have the lowest auto insurance rates for your situation.

Insurance coverage specifics

Knowing the specifics of your policy helps when choosing appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. Insurance terms can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. These are the normal coverages offered by insurance companies.

Liability auto insurance – Liability insurance will cover damage that occurs to people or other property. This coverage protects you from legal claims by others, and doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You commonly see liability limits of 25/50/25 which means a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $50,000, and a total limit of $25,000 for damage to vehicles and property.

Liability coverage pays for claims like medical services, pain and suffering, attorney fees, medical expenses and structural damage. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but buy as high a limit as you can afford.

Collision – This pays for damage to your Ram Pickup 2500 resulting from a collision with another car or object. You have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision coverage pays for claims like sideswiping another vehicle, crashing into a ditch, damaging your car on a curb, rolling your car and colliding with a tree. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Comprehensive or Other Than Collision – Comprehensive insurance coverage covers damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first must pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for claims like a broken windshield, hail damage and damage from flooding. The maximum amount your insurance company will pay is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Medical costs insurance – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for bills like dental work, ambulance fees and EMT expenses. They are utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover both the driver and occupants and also covers being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is not an option in every state but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

UM/UIM Coverage – This gives you protection from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your occupants as well as damage to your Dodge Ram Pickup 2500.

Since a lot of drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, their limits can quickly be used up. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea.

Don’t break the bank

Throughout this article, we presented many ideas to compare 2008 Dodge Ram Pickup 2500 insurance premium rates online. The key thing to remember is the more you quote insurance, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers could even find that the lowest premium rates are with the smaller companies. Regional companies often have lower prices on specific markets than their larger competitors like Progressive and Geico.

More affordable insurance can be bought from both online companies and from local agencies, and you need to price shop both to have the best selection. Some insurance companies may not have price quotes online and most of the time these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agencies.

More detailed insurance information can be found in these articles: