Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an underperforming, overpriced auto insurance policy? Trust us, you are not the only one feeling buyer’s remorse.
You have so many car insurance companies to pick from, and although it’s nice to have multiple companies, having more car insurance companies makes it harder to find the lowest cost provider.
Shopping for affordable protection is simple if you know the tricks. Essentially everyone who has to buy insurance coverage will more than likely be able to reduce their rates. But vehicle owners do need to understand how companies sell online and apply this information to your search.
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that go into determining insurance coverage rates. Knowing what impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that can help you get big savings.
Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but discounts can save money and there are some available that you may not even be aware of. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at the time of purchase, but less common discounts must be specifically requested prior to receiving the credit.
As a disclaimer on discounts, most credits do not apply to your bottom line cost. Most only reduce individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when it seems like you can get free auto insurance, companies don’t profit that way. Any qualifying discounts will reduce the cost of coverage.
Insurance companies that possibly offer these benefits may include but are not limited to:
Check with all companies you are considering which discounts they offer. Savings might not apply in your area.
GEICO, State Farm and Progressive regularly use ads in print and on television. All the companies say the same thing that you’ll save big if you move to them. How do they all make the same claim?
All companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer that earns them a profit. For example, a preferred risk could possibly be a mature driver, insures multiple vehicles, and has excellent credit. A customer getting a price quote who matches those parameters will get the preferred rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.
Drivers who do not match these standards will be charged higher rates and ends up with business not being written. The ads say “customers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that kind of money. That’s the way companies can truthfully make the claims of big savings.
That is why drivers must get a wide range of price quotes. It’s just too difficult to predict the company that will have the lowest Dodge Stratus insurance rates.
When it comes to choosing the best insurance coverage coverage, there really is no perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s situation is a little different so this has to be addressed. For instance, these questions could help you determine whether you will benefit from professional help.
If you can’t answer these questions but a few of them apply, you might consider talking to a licensed agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, complete this form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier
Learning about specific coverages of a insurance policy helps when choosing which coverages you need for your vehicles. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. These are the usual coverages offered by insurance companies.
Collision coverage – Collision coverage will pay to fix damage to your Stratus resulting from a collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. A deductible applies and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision can pay for claims such as scraping a guard rail, backing into a parked car, colliding with another moving vehicle, sustaining damage from a pot hole and crashing into a building. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider dropping it from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to increase the deductible to bring the cost down.
Medical expense insurance – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP provide coverage for expenses for things like nursing services, chiropractic care, pain medications, ambulance fees and X-ray expenses. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Comprehensive (Other than Collision) – This covers damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You need to pay your deductible first then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for things such as hitting a bird, a broken windshield, damage from getting keyed, rock chips in glass and hitting a deer. The maximum payout you’ll receive from a claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Liability – Liability insurance will cover injuries or damage you cause to other’s property or people. It protects you against claims from other people, and doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. Your policy might show limits of 50/100/50 which stand for $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $50,000. Alternatively, you may have one number which is a combined single limit which combines the three limits into one amount with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability insurance covers claims such as attorney fees, structural damage, funeral expenses and medical expenses. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is your choice, but you should buy as high a limit as you can afford.
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage provides protection from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your Dodge Stratus.
Since a lot of drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is important protection for you and your family. Usually these limits are set the same as your liablity limits.
As you prepare to switch companies, you should never buy poor coverage just to save money. In many instances, someone dropped physical damage coverage and learned later that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your strategy should be to find the BEST coverage at an affordable rate while still protecting your assets.
In this article, we presented many tips how you can reduce 2002 Dodge Stratus insurance prices online. It’s most important to understand that the more price quotes you have, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may be surprised to find that the best prices are with some of the lesser-known companies. Smaller companies often have lower prices on specific markets compared to the large companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive.
For more information, feel free to browse the resources below: