Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an underperforming, overpriced insurance policy? Believe me when I say you’re not the only one.
Many car insurance companies vie for your hard-earned dollar, so it can be very hard to choose a company and uncover the absolute lowest cost out there.
It’s a good habit to do rate comparisons at least once a year because insurance rates fluctuate regularly. Despite the fact that you may have had the best rates on Tahoe insurance on your last policy you can probably find a lower rate today. So block out anything you think you know about insurance because it’s time to teach you one of the quickest ways to reduce your cost while increasing coverage.
Shopping for lower car insurance rates can be a daunting task if you don’t understand the best way to get rate quotes. You can spend your afternoon driving to agents in your area, or you can utilize online quotes to achieve your goal.
The majority of car insurance companies participate in an industry program where prospective buyers enter their policy data once, and each participating company returns a competitive quote based on that data. This prevents consumers from doing repetitive form submissions for each company you want a rate for. To compare 1996 Chevy Tahoe rates now click here (opens in new window).
One minor caviat to comparing rates this way is you don’t know exactly which insurance companies to receive prices from. So if you prefer to pick individual companies to compare, we have a listing of the cheapest car insurance companies in your area. Click to view list.
It’s up to you which method you use, but ensure you’re using identical coverages and limits for each comparison quote. If you compare unequal deductibles or liability limits it will be very difficult to make a fair comparison for your Chevy Tahoe. Quoting even small variations in limits can mean a large discrepancy in price. And when quoting car insurance, remember that more quotes gives you a better chance of getting better pricing.
When it comes to choosing adequate coverage, there really is no one size fits all plan. Each situation is unique and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. Here are some questions about coverages that may help highlight if your situation would benefit from professional advice.
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. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier
Learning about specific coverages of insurance can help you determine appropriate coverage for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. These are the usual coverages available from insurance companies.
Liability coverage can cover damage that occurs to a person or their property in an accident. This insurance protects YOU from legal claims by others, and doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see policy limits of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and a limit of $100,000 paid for damaged property. Another option is a combined limit which provides one coverage limit without having the split limit caps.
Liability can pay for things like pain and suffering, loss of income, repair costs for stationary objects, emergency aid and medical expenses. How much coverage you buy is your choice, but buy as high a limit as you can afford.
This covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for things such as hitting a bird, damage from getting keyed, vandalism and a broken windshield. The most your insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Collision insurance covers damage to your Tahoe from colliding with an object or car. You have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision can pay for claims like crashing into a ditch, hitting a parking meter, rolling your car, driving through your garage door and damaging your car on a curb. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. It’s also possible to raise the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage provides protection when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since a lot of drivers 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 should not be overlooked. Usually these limits are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.
Med pay and PIP coverage reimburse you for immediate expenses like rehabilitation expenses, surgery and prosthetic devices. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants in addition to if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay