Do you get frustrated by the number of car insurance choices in your area? Many other people are too. drivers have so many choices that it can really be a lot of work to find a more affordable company.
You should take the time to get comparison quotes before your next renewal since prices are rarely the same from one policy term to another. Just because you had the lowest rates on Focus insurance a couple years back you may be paying too much now. You’ll find quite a bit of inaccurate information about car insurance online, but in this article, you’re going to get some of the best techniques to lower your car insurance rates.
If you are paying for car insurance now, you will be able to save some money using this information. Pricing the lowest cost protection is not that difficult. But consumers need to learn how big insurance companies market on the web.
Shopping for lower car insurance rates can be a daunting task if you don’t understand the easiest way. You can waste a few hours (or days) discussing policy coverages with agents in your area, or you could save time and use the web to get rate comparisons in just a few minutes.
Many companies enroll in a system where prospective buyers enter their coverage request one time, and every company then gives them pricing. This prevents consumers from doing quote forms for each company you want a rate for. To compare rates now click here (opens in new window).
One minor caviat to getting quotes like this is that consumers can’t choose which providers you want pricing from. So if you prefer to choose from a list of companies to compare, we have a page of low cost car insurance companies in your area. Click here to view list.
Whichever method you choose, do your best to enter apples-to-apples coverage limits with every price quote. If you are comparing higher or lower deductibles it will be very difficult to make a fair rate comparison. Having just a slight variation in insurance coverages or limits may cause a big price difference. It’s important to know that comparing all the rates in your area provides better odds of finding the best offered rates. Not every company provides prices over the internet, so it’s important to compare prices on coverage from those companies, too.
Car insurance can cost a lot, but there could be significant discounts that may help make it more affordable. Certain discounts will be applied at quote time, but some must be inquired about before you get the savings.
A quick disclaimer, many deductions do not apply to the entire cost. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when the math indicates it’s possible to get free car insurance, insurance coverage companies aren’t that generous.
Large insurance coverage companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts include:
Double check with all companies you are considering how many discounts you can get. Some credits might not be offered everywhere.
Many different elements are used when you get your auto insurance bill. Some are obvious such as traffic violations, although some other factors are not as apparent such as whether you are married or your vehicle rating.
The items below are some of the major factors that factor into prices.
When choosing adequate coverage, there really is not a cookie cutter policy. Everyone’s situation is unique.
For instance, these questions may help highlight whether your personal situation would benefit from professional advice.
If you can’t answer these questions, you might consider talking to a licensed agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form.
Well-known auto insurance companies like Progressive, Allstate and Geico consistently run ads in print and on television. All the ads tend to make the same promise about saving some big amount if you switch your coverage to them. How do they all charge lower premium rates? It’s all in the wording.
Many companies quote their cheapest rates for the driver that will generate a profit. For instance, a preferred risk might be described as married and over the age of 30, has no tickets, and the vehicle is rated for pleasure use. A customer getting a price quote that matches those criteria is entitled to the best price and will probably save if they switch.
People who don’t meet these criteria will be charged higher premiums with the end result being the prospect going elsewhere. Company advertisements say “people that switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much when switching. That’s why insurance companies can state the savings. Because of this risk profiling, drivers must compare price quotes frequently. It’s just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will have the lowest rate quotes.
Learning about specific coverages of a car insurance policy helps when choosing appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision) – Comprehensive insurance coverage will pay to fix damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like fire damage, hitting a bird, damage from a tornado or hurricane, hail damage and theft. The maximum payout your car insurance company will pay is the cash value of the vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers – Your UM/UIM coverage provides protection from other motorists when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Because many people only carry the minimum required liability limits, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage should not be overlooked.
Liability – Liability insurance provides protection from damage that occurs to a person or their property. It protects YOU against other people’s claims, and does not provide coverage for your injuries or vehicle damage.
Coverage consists of three different limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. Your policy might show values of 100/300/100 which stand for $100,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $100,000.
Liability coverage protects against things like bail bonds, pain and suffering and repair bills for other people’s vehicles. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but buy as much as you can afford.
Collision coverage – Collision insurance will pay to fix damage to your Focus caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You first must pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision can pay for things such as scraping a guard rail, backing into a parked car, colliding with another moving vehicle, crashing into a ditch and hitting a parking meter. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so consider dropping it from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to bump up the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Medical expense insurance – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for expenses for things like prosthetic devices, pain medications, X-ray expenses, EMT expenses and ambulance fees. The coverages can be used in conjunction with a health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. It covers you and your occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
We just presented a lot of information how to save on 2011 Ford Focus insurance. The key concept to understand is the more times you quote, the better chance you’ll have of finding low cost insurance coverage. Consumers could even find that the best price on insurance is with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising.
People who switch companies do it for any number of reasons including policy cancellation, lack of trust in their agent, denial of a claim or unfair underwriting practices. Whatever your reason, finding a great new company is pretty easy and you might even save some money in the process.
As you quote insurance coverage, don’t be tempted to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many cases where someone sacrificed physical damage coverage only to find out that it was a big mistake. The proper strategy is to purchase plenty of coverage for the lowest cost while not skimping on critical coverages.
More detailed insurance information is available in these articles: