Purchasing cheap auto insurance on the internet can seem to be challenging for consumers new to online price comaprisons. When there are so many online companies, how can consumers effectively compare the different rates to find the best price?
It’s smart to do rate comparisons yearly due to the fact that insurance rates change regularly. Even if you got the best deal on B-Series insurance on your last policy you can probably find a lower rate today. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because we’re going to demonstrate the easiest way to save money, get proper deductibles and limits, all at the lowest rate.
The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, buy you may qualify for discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Some trigger automatically when you get a quote, but some must be requested specifically before they will apply.
It’s important to note that many deductions do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as medical payments or collision. So when it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any qualifying discounts will reduce the cost of coverage.
Companies that may offer these discounts include:
Double check with all companies you are considering which discounts you may be entitled to. Some discounts might not be offered everywhere.
When it comes to choosing proper insurance coverage, there isn’t really a cookie cutter policy. Everyone’s needs are different.
Here are some questions about coverages that could help you determine if you would benefit from an agent’s advice.
If you’re not sure about those questions, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form.
Having a good grasp of your insurance policy aids in choosing the best coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Uninsured and underinsured coverage
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage gives you protection from other drivers when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and also any damage incurred to your 2001 Mazda B-Series.
Since a lot of drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important. Usually these coverages do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Liability coverage
Liability insurance will cover damage or injury you incur to a person or their property that is your fault. It protects you from claims by other people, and does not provide coverage for damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
Coverage consists of three different limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have limits of 25/50/25 which means a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Alternatively, you may have one number which is a combined single limit that pays claims from the same limit rather than limiting it on a per person basis.
Liability coverage pays for claims like court costs, legal defense fees, repair costs for stationary objects, pain and suffering and medical services. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase higher limits if possible.
Coverage for medical payments
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for short-term medical expenses for things like dental work, funeral costs, ambulance fees and pain medications. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants and will also cover getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not available in all states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Comprehensive coverages
Comprehensive insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first have to pay a deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things such as a tree branch falling on your vehicle, vandalism, theft, hitting a bird and hitting a deer. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Collision protection
Collision insurance will pay to fix damage to your B-Series from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You will need to pay your deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision coverage pays for things like damaging your car on a curb, colliding with another moving vehicle and rolling your car. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Another option is to bump up the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
When trying to cut insurance costs, you should never buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. In many cases, someone dropped liability coverage limits only to regret at claim time they didn’t have enough coverage. The proper strategy is to buy enough coverage at the best price, not the least amount of coverage.
Consumers change insurance companies for a variety of reasons including delays in responding to claim requests, poor customer service, questionable increases in premium or denial of a claim. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch finding a great new company is pretty simple and you could end up saving a buck or two.
Cost effective 2001 Mazda B-Series insurance can be bought from both online companies and with local insurance agents, so compare prices from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. A few companies do not offer online price quotes and these small insurance companies work with independent agents.
Much more information about insurance coverage can be read at these links: