Cheaper 1996 Toyota RAV4 Insurance Quotes

Finding the best price on insurance coverage can be difficult if you are a beginner to online quoting. But don’t be discouraged because there is an easy way to compare rates.

It’s a great practice to price shop coverage every six months since rates are adjusted regularly by insurance companies. Even if you got the best price on RAV4 coverage a year ago the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. Forget all the misinformation about insurance coverage because you’re about to learn the tricks you need to know to get good coverage at a lower rate.

Choosing the best insurance company for you is quite easy. Basically, every vehicle owner who has to buy insurance coverage will more than likely be able to reduce their rates. But vehicle owners must know how companies compete online.

Compare Car Insurance Costs

Most companies allow you to get price estimates on the web. Obtaining pricing is fairly straightforward as you just enter your personal and coverage information as requested by the quote form. After you complete the form, their rating system makes automated requests for credit information and your driving record and quotes a price determined by many factors.

This streamlines rate comparisons, but the time it takes to visit several different sites and enter the same data into a form can be a bit repetitive. Unfortunately, it is important to get many rate quotes in order to get the lowest car insurance rates.

There is a better way!

The preferred way to find lower prices uses one simple form to get prices from a bunch of companies at once. The form is fast, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes online shopping a lot less work. As soon as the form is sent, it gets priced and you can select any of the resulting price quotes. If the quotes result in lower rates, it’s easy to complete the application and purchase coverage. The entire process takes just a few minutes to complete and can result in significant savings.

If you want to compare rates using this form now, click here to open in new window and submit your coverage information. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you enter your coverages exactly as shown on your declarations page. This makes sure you will have an apples-to-apples comparison for similar insurance coverage.

Save big with these discounts

Car insurance companies don’t always list all available discounts in an easy-to-find place, so the following is a list of some of the more common and also the lesser-known discounts you could be receiving.

  • Federal Government Employee – Active or retired federal employment could cut as much as 10% off on RAV4 coverage with a few auto insurance companies.
  • Discount for Life Insurance – Larger companies have a break if you buy a life insurance policy as well.
  • Multiple Cars – Buying insurance for all your vehicles with the same company can get a discount on all vehicles.
  • Anti-lock Brakes – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles can avoid accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
  • Claim Free – Good drivers with no accidents pay less when compared to accident-prone drivers.
  • Military Discounts – Having a family member in the military could mean lower rates.
  • Pay Now and Pay Less – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time rather than paying monthly you could save up to 5%.

As a disclaimer on discounts, some of the credits will not apply to all coverage premiums. The majority will only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. So despite the fact that it appears you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies don’t profit that way.

To see a list of insurers offering auto insurance discounts, follow this link.

Factors influencing Toyota RAV4 insurance rates

Smart consumers have a good feel for the rating factors that help determine the rates you pay for insurance. Having a good understanding of what determines base rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in better insurance rates.

  • Keep rates low by being claim-free – If you tend to file frequent claims, you can expect either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Companies provide cheaper rates to people who do not file claims often. Auto insurance is intended for the bigger claims that can’t be paid out-of-pocket.
  • Traffic violations increase rates – Your driving citation history has a big impact on rates. Just one ticket can bump up the cost by as much as thirty percent. Drivers who don’t get tickets tend to pay less for car insurance compared to drivers with tickets. Drivers who have flagrant citations such as DUI or reckless driving may need to submit a SR-22 form with the DMV in their state in order to keep their license.
  • Safer cars cost less to insure – Vehicles with high crash test scores are cheaper to insure. The safest vehicles reduce injuries and any reduction in injury severity means lower claim amounts passed on to you as lower rates. If your Toyota scored better than four stars on Safercar.gov or an “acceptable” rating on iihs.org it is probably cheaper to insure.
  • Consolidate policies to earn discounts – The majority of insurers give discounts to insureds who have multiple policies with them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even with this discount, it’s in your best interest to comparison shop to make sure you are getting the best deal.
  • Add-on coverages can add up – There are many extra coverages that you can get tricked into buying if you aren’t careful. Coverages like vanishing deductibles, accidental death and membership fees are examples of these. They may seem like a good idea initially, but your needs may have changed so get rid of them and save.

But I don’t know anything about car insurance

When it comes to choosing adequate coverage, there really is not a perfect coverage plan. Each situation is unique.

For instance, these questions can aid in determining whether you will benefit from professional help.

  • How do I buy GAP insurance?
  • Am I covered if hit by an uninsured driver?
  • Do I need to file an SR-22 for a DUI in my state?
  • Do I need added coverage for expensive stereo equipment?
  • Is upholstery damage covered by car insurance?
  • Do I get a pro-rated refund if I cancel my policy early?
  • What is no-fault insurance?
  • When should I not file a claim?
  • How much liability do I need to cover my assets?
  • Do I need PIP coverage since I have good health insurance?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions, you might consider talking to a licensed agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form.

Auto insurance myths debunked

Companies like 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm consistently run ads in print and on television. All the ads make the same claim about savings if you change to their company. But how can every company make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.

Different companies have a certain “appetite” for the right customer that makes them money. A good example of a driver they prefer could possibly be between 25 and 40, is a homeowner, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A customer getting a price quote who meets those qualifications will qualify for the lowest rates and therefore will pay quite a bit less when switching companies.

Potential insureds who don’t qualify for the requirements must pay higher prices which leads to the customer not buying. Company advertisements say “customers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that much money. That’s why insurance companies can confidently advertise the way they do. This illustrates why drivers must compare many company’s rates. Because you never know which auto insurance company will have the lowest Toyota RAV4 insurance rates.

What auto insurance coverages do you need?

Knowing the specifics of your auto insurance policy aids in choosing appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. Policy terminology can be difficult to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.

Comprehensive auto coverage

Comprehensive insurance pays for damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for claims such as damage from getting keyed, rock chips in glass, hitting a bird, theft and falling objects. The most your auto insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage

This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. This coverage pays for injuries to you and your family as well as damage to your Toyota RAV4.

Since many drivers 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 is important protection for you and your family.

Auto liability insurance

This provides protection from damage that occurs to a person or their property. This coverage protects you from claims by other people. It does not cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show liability limits of 25/50/25 which stand for $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and a total limit of $25,000 for damage to vehicles and property.

Liability can pay for things like structural damage, attorney fees, medical expenses and pain and suffering. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but you should buy as much as you can afford.

Medical payments and PIP coverage

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for short-term medical expenses such as pain medications, hospital visits, rehabilitation expenses, ambulance fees and doctor visits. They can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not available in all states and may carry a deductible

Collision coverage

This pays for damage to your RAV4 resulting from a collision with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision can pay for things like hitting a parking meter, damaging your car on a curb, hitting a mailbox and colliding with a tree. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are older. It’s also possible to bump up the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

In the end, you save

You just read a lot of techniques to save on 1996 Toyota RAV4 insurance. The key concept to understand is the more quotes you get, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may even find the lowest priced car insurance comes from a smaller regional carrier.

Consumers who switch companies do it for many reasons like questionable increases in premium, policy cancellation, lack of trust in their agent and even poor customer service. It doesn’t matter what your reason, finding the right car insurance provider is pretty easy and you might even save some money in the process.

The cheapest insurance is available on the web and also from your neighborhood agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some insurance providers may not provide the ability to get a quote online and many times these small, regional companies only sell through independent insurance agents.

Even more information can be found by following these links: