Expensive auto insurance can drain your personal savings and force you to make sacrifices. Comparing price quotes is a smart way to tighten up your finances. Big companies like GEICO, Farmers Insurance and State Farm promote their brand names with TV and radio ads and it is difficult to ignore the promise of big savings and do the work needed to find the best deal.
If you have insurance now or need a new policy, you can use these tips to shop for the lowest rates and possibly find even better coverage. Finding the best rates is easy if you know what you’re doing. Vehicle owners just need to understand the tricks to get comparison rates online.
The best way to compare insurance rates from multiple companies is to take advantage of the fact auto insurance companies have advanced systems to give rate comparisons. To begin a comparison, all you need to do is provide information including if you have a valid license, types of safety features, your job, and level of coverage desired. Your details gets transmitted to all major companies and you should receive rate quotes quickly.
Companies that sell car insurance do not advertise all available discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we break down both the well known and the more hidden insurance savings. If they aren’t giving you every credit you qualify for, you’re just leaving money on the table.
A little note about advertised discounts, most discounts do not apply the the whole policy. Most only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like medical payments or collision. So when the math indicates adding up those discounts means a free policy, insurance companies aren’t that generous.
A partial list of companies that may have these money-saving discounts may include but are not limited to:
Before buying, ask every prospective company which discounts you may be entitled to. Discounts might not be offered everywhere.
When buying the right insurance coverage, there really is not a “best” method to buy coverage. Every insured’s situation is different and your policy should reflect that. Here are some questions about coverages that can help discover whether your personal situation would benefit from an agent’s advice.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you might consider talking to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, simply complete this short form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It is quick, free and may give you better protection.
Understanding the coverages of a auto insurance policy aids in choosing appropriate coverage for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Listed below are the normal coverages found on most auto insurance policies.
Comprehensive auto coverage
This pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for things like vandalism, theft and hail damage. The highest amount a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the ACV or actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Auto liability insurance
This will cover injuries or damage you cause to people or other property. This coverage protects you against other people’s claims. 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. As an example, you may have liability limits of 50/100/50 which stand for $50,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and property.
Liability can pay for claims such as repair costs for stationary objects, legal defense fees, pain and suffering and structural damage. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford.
Collision insurance
This coverage covers damage to your Cougar resulting from a collision with an object or car. A deductible applies and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision insurance covers things such as backing into a parked car, hitting a parking meter, hitting a mailbox, sustaining damage from a pot hole and driving through your garage door. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. You can also increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Medical payments and PIP coverage
Med pay and PIP coverage reimburse you for expenses such as X-ray expenses, ambulance fees, prosthetic devices and rehabilitation expenses. They are utilized in addition to your health insurance program or if there is no health insurance coverage. It covers all vehicle occupants as well as if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage
Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle when the “other guys” either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered claims include hospital bills for your injuries and also any damage incurred to your 1997 Mercury Cougar.
Since many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked.
When buying insurance coverage, make sure you don’t skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There are a lot of situations where someone dropped full coverage only to discover later that it was a big error on their part. The proper strategy is to buy enough coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.
We just covered a lot of techniques to reduce 1997 Mercury Cougar insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers could even find that the lowest priced insurance coverage comes from a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. Regional companies may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm and Allstate.