Feel like you’re a prisoner to an overpriced auto insurance policy? Trust us, you’re not alone.
There are many auto insurance companies to purchase coverage from, and though it is a good thing to be able to choose, it makes it harder to compare rates and find the lowest cost auto insurance.
Finding affordable coverage is easy if you know what you’re doing. If you currently have a car insurance policy, you stand a good chance to be able to reduce your rates substantially using these techniques. Nevertheless, consumers can benefit by having an understanding of how the larger insurance companies market on the web because it can help you find the best coverage.
All major car insurance companies quote prices online. Getting quotes doesn’t take a lot of time as you just type in your required coverages into a form. Behind the scenes, the company’s rating system orders your credit score and driving record and returns a price quote based on these factors. This helps simplify price comparisons, but the work required to visit each company’s website and repetitively complete many quote forms can get tiresome after awhile. But it’s absolutely necessary to get many rate quotes if you want to find a lower rate.
The easiest way to lower your rates utilizes a single form that gets price quotes from several different companies. This type of form saves time, requires much less work on your part, and makes online price comparison much simpler. Once the form is submitted, your coverage is rated and you can choose any of the quote results. If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, you can click and sign and purchase coverage. This process can be completed in less than 10 minutes and can result in significant savings.
To find out if lower rates are available, click here to open in a new tab and fill out the form. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you copy deductibles and limits identical to your current policy. This ensures you’re receiving a fair comparison for exact coverage.
When it comes to choosing proper insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is not a single plan that fits everyone. Every insured’s situation is different so your insurance should reflect that For example, these questions might help in determining if your situation might need professional guidance.
If you can’t answer these questions but a few of them apply, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
Knowing the specifics of a car insurance policy can be of help when determining the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Shown next are typical coverages available from car insurance companies.
Collision coverage protection
This will pay to fix damage to your Cirrus from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You have to pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision insurance covers things like crashing into a ditch, scraping a guard rail, backing into a parked car and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. You can also raise the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)
This pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for claims like rock chips in glass, damage from a tornado or hurricane, hitting a deer and hail damage. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider dropping full coverage.
Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance
This provides protection from other motorists when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include hospital bills for your injuries as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Because many people carry very low liability coverage limits, their limits can quickly be used up. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is a good idea.
Auto liability insurance
This coverage provides protection from injuries or damage you cause to people or other property in an accident. This coverage protects you against other people’s claims, and doesn’t cover damage to your own property or vehicle.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You commonly see values of 50/100/50 that means you have $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and $50,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability coverage pays for claims such as medical services, court costs, medical expenses and structural damage. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but consider buying as high a limit as you can afford.
Insurance for medical payments
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance reimburse you for expenses like X-ray expenses, funeral costs and prosthetic devices. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance program or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover both the driver and occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay