View 2017 Toyota RAV4 Insurance Rates

Trying to find cheaper insurance coverage rates for your Toyota RAV4? No car owner likes paying for insurance coverage, especially knowing they could lower their rates if they shopped around.

Multiple auto insurance companies compete for your hard-earned dollar, and because of this it can be hard to compare car insurance companies to find the lowest price

If you have car insurance now, you should be able to cut costs considerably using these techniques. Buying car insurance is easy if you know what you’re doing. But consumers need to learn how big insurance companies sell insurance online and apply this information to your search.

How to compare auto insurance quotes

There are several ways of comparing price quotes from companies that offer auto insurance in your state. The easiest way by far to comparison shop is to get quotes online. It’s really quite simple and can be done in several different ways.

  1. The best way to find the lowest comparison rates is an all-inclusive rate comparison click here to open form in new window. This form saves time by eliminating separate forms for every auto insurance company. One quote request gets rate comparisons from many national carriers.
  2. A more difficult way to analyze rates requires visiting the website for each individual company and request a quote. For instance, we’ll assume you want to compare prices for Liberty Mutual, 21st Century and Farmers. In order to get each rate, you would have to spend time going to each site individually and enter your policy data, which is why the first method is more popular. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in your area, click here.

It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just be sure to compare equivalent coverages on every quote you get. If you use different values for each quote you will not be able to get a fair rate comparison. Quoting even small variations in limits could skew the results. And when comparison shopping, making a lot of price comparisons provides better odds of finding the best price. Some companies don’t provide quotes online, so you should also compare price estimates from the smaller companies as well.

Cheaper auto insurance rates with discounts

Companies offering auto insurance don’t always publicize every available discount in a way that’s easy to find, so we took the time to find both well-publicized as well as some of the hidden credits available to lower your premiums when you buy insurance online.

  • More Vehicles More Savings – Purchasing coverage when you have multiple cars on one policy could earn a price break for each car.
  • Buy New and Save – Adding a new car to your policy can get you a discount since newer models have better safety ratings.
  • ABS Brakes – Cars and trucks that have steering control and anti-lock brakes can stop better under adverse conditions so companies give up to a 10% discount.
  • Claim Free – Drivers who don’t have accidents have much lower rates when compared to insureds who have frequent claims or accidents.
  • Drivers Education – Have your child participate in a local driver’s education class in school.
  • Mature Driver Discount – Seniors are able to get a discount up to 10% for RAV4 insurance.
  • Use Seat Belts – Drivers who always wear seat belts and also require passengers to fasten their seat belts can save a little off the PIP or medical payment premium.

While discounts sound great, it’s important to understand that some of the credits will not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only cut individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. Even though the math looks like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, it’s just not the way it works.

A few of the larger companies and some of the premium reductions they offer can be read below.

  • State Farm policyholders can earn discounts including driver’s education, multiple autos, Drive Safe & Save, good student, defensive driving training, and good driver.
  • Geico may offer discounts for good student, membership and employees, five-year accident-free, daytime running lights, military active duty, emergency military deployment, and air bags.
  • SAFECO may have discounts that include teen safe driver, multi-car, bundle discounts, safe driver, and drive less.
  • Farmers Insurance offers premium reductions for multi-car, bundle discounts, pay in full, distant student, and electronic funds transfer.
  • AAA has discounts for multi-car, AAA membership discount, multi-policy, good driver, education and occupation, and pay-in-full.
  • USAA offers discounts for good student, military installation, annual mileage, loyalty savings, and driver training.

If you want the cheapest insurance quotes, ask each company or agent which discounts they offer. Some discounts may not apply to policyholders in your area. If you would like to choose from a list of insurers that offer multiple discounts, click this link.

How to lower your insurance rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the factors that go into determining your policy premiums. When you know what positively or negatively determines premiums, this enables informed choices that may reward you with lower auto insurance prices. Lots of things are part of the equation when you get a price on insurance. Some are obvious like an MVR report, but other factors are not quite as obvious such as whether you are married or your vehicle rating.

The itemized list below are some of the things utilized by car insurance companies to help set your prices.

  • Liability safeguards assets – Your policy’s liability coverage will protect you if ever you are found to be at fault for causing personal injury or damage in an accident. Liability provides legal defense up to the limits shown on your policy. This coverage is very inexpensive compared to other policy coverages, so do not skimp.
  • Minor frequent auto insurance claims are not good – Auto insurance companies give better rates to drivers who only file infrequent claims. If you file a lot of claims you can expect higher premiums or even policy non-renewal. Your insurance policy is meant to be used in the event of more catestrophic claims.
  • Allowing your auto insurance to lapse raises rates – Having a gap between insurance policy dates is a quick way to trigger a rate increase. In addition to paying higher premiums, the inability to provide proof of insurance could earn you fines and jail time.
  • Stressful occupation may mean higher auto insurance rates – Did you know that where you work can have an impact on rates? Occupational choices like fire fighters, architects and dentists tend to have higher premiums than the average policyholder in part from intense work requirements and extremely grueling work hours. On the other hand, careers such as actors, historians and retirees receive lower rates for RAV4 insurance.
  • Premiums are high for teenagers – Teenage drivers tend to be easily distracted when driving so auto insurance rates are higher. Older, more experienced drivers are shown to be more cautious, cost insurance companies less in claims and are safer drivers.
  • Increase physical damage deductibles to save – Insurance for physical damage to your car, also called comprehensive and collision insurance, is used to repair damage to your Toyota. Examples of some claims that would be covered could be a windshield shattered by a rock, vandalism, and damage caused by flying debris. Physical damage deductibles are how much you are required to pay before a claim is paid by your company. The more of the claim you have to pay, the bigger discount you will receive for RAV4 insurance.

Tailor your car insurance coverage to you

When buying proper insurance coverage, there is no “best” method to buy coverage. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s and your policy should reflect that. For instance, these questions can help discover if you could use an agent’s help.

  • Does my policy cover my teen driver if they drive my company car?
  • Should I buy additional glass protection?
  • Am I covered when renting a car or should I buy coverage from the car rental agency?
  • Am I covered when using my vehicle for business?
  • What if I don’t agree with a claim settlement offer?
  • Do I need motorclub coverage?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you think they might apply to your situation then you might want to talk 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.

Auto insurance coverage information

Having a good grasp of your insurance policy can help you determine the best coverages and proper limits and deductibles. Insurance terms can be impossible to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Shown next are typical coverages offered by insurance companies.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage – This coverage gives you protection from other drivers when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Because many people carry very low liability coverage limits, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea. Normally the UM/UIM limits do not exceed the liability coverage limits.

Collision coverage – Collision insurance pays for damage to your RAV4 resulting from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You have to pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision can pay for things like crashing into a ditch, hitting a mailbox, colliding with another moving vehicle, crashing into a building and damaging your car on a curb. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are older. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible to save money on collision insurance.

Liability auto insurance – Liability coverage provides protection from damages or injuries you inflict on other people or property by causing an accident. This insurance protects YOU against claims from other people. Liability doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You commonly see values of 25/50/25 that means you have a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, $50,000 for the entire accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Alternatively, you may have a combined single limit or CSL which limits claims to one amount with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability can pay for things like pain and suffering, structural damage and medical expenses. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but buy as much as you can afford.

Coverage for medical payments – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance kick in for bills like EMT expenses, X-ray expenses, ambulance fees and pain medications. They can be used in conjunction with a health insurance program or if there is no health insurance coverage. Coverage applies to all vehicle occupants and will also cover getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not available in all states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Comprehensive coverages – This coverage pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive insurance covers claims such as hail damage, damage from a tornado or hurricane, falling objects, a broken windshield and theft. The maximum payout a insurance company will pay at claim time is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Spend less. Save more.

More affordable car insurance is attainable from both online companies as well as from insurance agents, and you should compare rates from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some car insurance companies don’t offer online price quotes and many times these regional insurance providers work with local independent agencies.

As you shop your coverage around, never sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. In many instances, someone dropped comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to discover later that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The proper strategy is to buy the best coverage you can find at the best price, not the least amount of coverage.

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