Finding the best price on insurance may seem to be difficult if you’ve never received online quotes. Don’t let that bother you because finding lower prices is actually fairly simple.
It’s a great practice to do price comparisons quite often since insurance prices trend upward over time. If you had the lowest price for Ascender insurance a few years ago you may be paying too much now. Ignore everything you know about insurance because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to the things you must know in order to eliminate unnecessary coverages and save money.
When buying car insurance it’s important to understand the different types of things that are used to determine your policy premiums. If you have some idea of what determines base rates, this allows you to make good choices that could result in cheaper rates. Many factors are used when pricing auto insurance. Some are obvious such as traffic violations, but some are less obvious such as whether you are married or your commute time.
Effectively comparing insurance coverage prices can be a lot of work if you don’t know the easiest way. You can waste a lot of time discussing policy coverages with insurance agencies in your area, or you could use the web to get pricing more quickly.
Most of the larger companies enroll in a system where prospective buyers send in one quote, and each company can provide price quotes. This system prevents you from having to do quotation requests for each company.
To use this form to compare rates click here (opens in new window).
One minor caviat to using this type of system is buyers cannot specifically choose which companies to get pricing from. If you prefer to choose specific providers to compare prices, we have a page of companies who write insurance coverage in your area. Click here for list of insurance companies.
Take whichever approach you prefer, but try to use nearly identical quote data for each price quote. If the quotes have different limits and deductibles on each one it’s not possible to determine which company has the best rates. Just a small difference in coverages could throw off the whole comparison. It’s important to know that having more price comparisons provides better odds of finding lower pricing. Some insurance companies are not set up to provide rate quotes online, so it’s important to also get price estimates from the smaller companies as well.
Companies like State Farm, Allstate and Geico consistently run ads on TV and radio. All the ads say the same thing that drivers will save a bundle after switching your insurance coverage to their company. It sounds good, but how can they all offer you a better deal? It’s all in the wording.
Companies look for specific characteristics for the driver that makes them money. One example of a desirable risk may need to be between the ages of 40 and 55, has no tickets, and has a high credit rating. Anyone that matches those criteria will most likely get cheap rates and is almost guaranteed to save when switching.
Drivers who don’t qualify for those criteria will be quoted more expensive rates with the end result being business going elsewhere. If you listen to the ad wording, they say “customers who switch” but not “everyone who gets a quote” save that kind of money. That’s the way insurance companies can confidently advertise the savings. That is why you really should compare many company’s prices. It’s not possible to predict with any certainty which company will give you the biggest savings.
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but you may find discounts that you may not even be aware of. Some discounts will apply when you get a quote, but a few need to be specifically requested before they will apply.
Discounts save money, but please remember that some credits don’t apply to the overall cost of the policy. Some only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as medical payments or collision. So even though you would think you would end up receiving a 100% discount, it’s just not the way it works.
A list of insurance coverage companies and a partial list of their discounts include:
When comparing rates, check with every insurance company to apply every possible discount. Some discounts may not be offered in your area. To choose insurance companies who offer online insurance coverage quotes, click here.
When choosing proper insurance coverage, there really is no “perfect” insurance plan. Everyone’s situation is a little different.
Here are some questions about coverages that could help you determine if your insurance needs would benefit from an agent’s advice.
If you’re not sure about those questions but you know they apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, simply complete this short form.
Having a good grasp of your auto insurance policy aids in choosing the best coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. Policy terminology can be confusing and nobody wants to actually read their policy.
Liability auto insurance
Liability coverage can cover injuries or damage you cause to other’s property or people. This insurance protects YOU against other people’s claims. It does not cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have values of 50/100/50 that translate to $50,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and property.
Liability coverage protects against things like repair bills for other people’s vehicles, pain and suffering, legal defense fees and medical services. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is your choice, but buy as high a limit as you can afford.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage
This provides protection when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since many drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked.
Medical payments coverage and PIP
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage pay for bills like ambulance fees, chiropractic care, X-ray expenses and rehabilitation expenses. They are often used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. They cover you and your occupants and also covers getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not an option in every state but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Comprehensive coverage
Comprehensive insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first must pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims like vandalism, a tree branch falling on your vehicle, hitting a deer and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Collision protection
Collision coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with an object or car. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision can pay for things like colliding with another moving vehicle, hitting a mailbox, driving through your garage door and scraping a guard rail. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible to bring the cost down.
Insureds who switch companies do it for a variety of reasons including denial of a claim, policy non-renewal, questionable increases in premium and extreme rates for teen drivers. No matter why you want to switch, finding a new company can be less work than you think.
We just showed you many ways to reduce 2008 Isuzu Ascender insurance rates online. It’s most important to understand that the more quotes you get, the better chance you’ll have of finding inexpensive insurance coverage. Consumers could even find that the lowest rates are with some of the lesser-known companies.
Lower-priced insurance coverage can be bought on the web in addition to many insurance agents, so you need to shop insurance coverage with both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance providers do not provide the ability to get quotes online and many times these small, regional companies work with independent agencies.