2009 Chevrolet Equinox Insurance Cost – 7 Policy Discounts

Scraping up a payment for overpriced Chevrolet Equinox insurance can eat up your checking account and put a big crunch on your finances. Comparison shopping can be a smart way to tighten up your finances.

You have multiple insurers to insure vehicles with, and even though it’s nice to have a selection, so many choices can make it hard to find a good deal.

Take advantage of these seven discounts

The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but you can get discounts that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at the time of quoting, but a few must be asked about before you get the savings.

  • Resident Student – Children who are enrolled in a college that is more than 100 miles from home and do not take a car to college may be able to be covered for less.
  • Passenger Safety Discount – Options like air bags or automatic seat belts may qualify for discounts of 20 to 30 percent.
  • Driver’s Education for Students – Have your child sucessfully take a drivers education course in school.
  • Drive Safe and Save – Drivers who avoid accidents can pay as much as 50% less on Equinox insurance than less cautious drivers.
  • Theft Deterent Discount – Cars with anti-theft systems prevent vehicle theft and will save you 10% or more.
  • Defensive Driving Course – Taking time to complete a defensive driver course could save 5% or more depending on where you live.
  • E-sign Discounts – Many companies give back up to $50 for buying your policy online.

Remember that some of the credits will not apply to the entire policy premium. Some only apply to individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. Even though it appears you could get a free insurance coverage policy, it just doesn’t work that way.

The best insurance coverage companies and some of their more popular discounts are detailed below.

  • State Farm has discounts for multiple autos, driver’s education, defensive driving training, student away at school, passive restraint, anti-theft, and safe vehicle.
  • Geico has savings for multi-policy, air bags, anti-lock brakes, five-year accident-free, anti-theft, and seat belt use.
  • Progressive includes discounts for homeowner, continuous coverage, online signing, multi-policy, good student, and multi-vehicle.
  • 21st Century policyholders can earn discounts including anti-lock brakes, homeowners, early bird, student driver, and driver training.
  • American Family may have discounts that include good student, TimeAway discount, accident-free, Steer into Savings, air bags, good driver, and multi-vehicle.
  • The Hartford may include discounts for air bag, anti-theft, driver training, defensive driver, and good student.
  • AAA offers premium reductions for AAA membership discount, pay-in-full, good driver, good student, multi-policy, education and occupation, and multi-car.

When getting free auto insurance quotes, it’s a good idea to each insurance company the best way to save money. All car insurance discounts may not be available in every state. To find insurers that offer the discounts shown above, click here.

How to shop auto insurance online

Reducing your 2009 Chevy Equinox insurance rates is not rocket science. All that’s required is to take the time comparing rates provided by online insurance companies. Price comparisons can be done by using one of the methods below.

The single most time-saving way to compare a lot of rates at once is to use a rate comparison form (click to open form in new window). This style of form keeps you from doing separate forms for every auto insurance company. One quote request will get you price quotes from many national carriers.

A more time consuming way to find lower rates requires a visit to the website for each individual company and get a separate price quote. For instance, let’s say you are doing a rate comparison from Liberty Mutual, State Farm and Travelers. In order to get each rate, you would have to go to each individual site to input your insurance information, which explains why we recommend starting with the first method. To view a list of companies in your area, click here.

Compare rates however you want, just make darn sure you compare nearly identical quote data on every quote you get. If the quotes have different coverage information then you won’t be able to determine which company has the best rates.

Special considerations

When choosing coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a “perfect” insurance plan. Each situation is unique so your insurance should reflect that For example, these questions might point out if your insurance needs would benefit from professional advice.

  • When should I buy a commercial auto policy?
  • Who is covered by my policy?
  • Do I need medical payments coverage since I have good health insurance?
  • Is my dog or cat covered if injured in an accident?
  • Does having multiple vehicles earn me a discount?
  • Is extra glass coverage worth it?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions but one or more may apply to you then you might want to talk to a licensed agent. To find an agent in your area, complete this form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier It is quick, free and can provide invaluable advice.

Insurance advertising tricks

Consumers can’t escape the ads that claim the cheapest premium rates by State Farm, Allstate and Geico. They all seem to try to convey promises about how much you will save if you get a free auto insurance quote and switch your auto insurance policy to them.

But how can every company save you money? Here is how they do it.

Many companies quote their best rates for the type of driver that earns them the highest profit. For instance, a driver they prefer might be described as a mature driver, owns their home, and drives newer vehicles. Anybody that meets those criteria receives the best prices and will save quite a bit of money when switching.

Potential customers who may not quite match these criteria will probably be forced to pay higher premiums which results in the customer not buying. The trick is to say “drivers that switch” but not “all drivers who get quotes” save that much when switching. That is how companies can make those claims.

This really drives home the point why it is so important to compare many company’s rates. Because you never know which auto insurance company will have the lowest rate quotes.

Car insurance 101

Having a good grasp of your car insurance policy can help you determine appropriate coverage for your vehicles. Car insurance terms can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Listed below are the normal coverages available from car insurance companies.

Comprehensive insurance – This coverage covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first have to pay a deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive can pay for things like a broken windshield, fire damage, theft, damage from a tornado or hurricane and hitting a bird. The most you’ll receive from a claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for immediate expenses for things like pain medications, ambulance fees, nursing services and doctor visits. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. Coverage applies to you and your occupants and also covers getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is only offered in select states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered claims include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and also any damage incurred to your Chevy Equinox.

Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. So UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family. Usually these limits are set the same as your liablity limits.

Collision – Collision coverage pays for damage to your Equinox caused by collision with an object or car. A deductible applies and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision can pay for claims such as colliding with another moving vehicle, scraping a guard rail, hitting a parking meter, rolling your car and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so consider removing coverage from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible to save money on collision insurance.

Liability insurance – Liability coverage provides protection from damage that occurs to people or other property in an accident. It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You might see liability limits of 25/50/25 which means a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and a total limit of $25,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Another option is one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which combines the three limits into one amount and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.

Liability insurance covers claims like structural damage, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, pain and suffering, loss of income and court costs. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is up to you, but buy higher limits if possible.

A penny earned…

We just covered some good ideas how to compare 2009 Chevy Equinox insurance car insurance rates online. The key thing to remember is the more companies you get premium rates for, the better chance you’ll have of finding low cost auto insurance. Consumers may even find the lowest car insurance rates are with a smaller regional carrier. They may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates as compared to the big name companies such as Allstate or State Farm.

While you’re price shopping online, don’t be tempted to reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, consumers will sacrifice liability coverage limits only to regret at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. The proper strategy is to get the best coverage possible at the best price, but do not skimp to save money.

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