No one in their right mind cherishes buying insurance coverage, in particular when the price is too high.
Insurance companies such as State Farm, Progressive and GEICO constantly blast consumers with TV and radio ads and it is challenging if not impossible to see through the cute green geckos and mayhem and take the time to shop coverage around.
You need to get comparison quotes occasionally because rates change quite often. Even if you think you had the lowest rates for Sunfire insurance on your last policy a different company probably has better rates today. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about insurance coverage because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to the easiest way to get good coverage at a lower rate.
If you are paying for car insurance now, you should be able to reduce your rates substantially using these tips. Choosing the best insurance company for you is not that difficult. But car owners must understand how the larger insurance companies price insurance differently and use this information to your advantage.
Shopping for lower car insurance rates can take hours if you don’t utilize the most efficient way to do it. You can spend your afternoon discussing policy coverages with agents in your area, or you could use online quotes to get the quickest rates.
Most of the best insurance companies enroll in a system where prospective buyers enter their policy data once, and at least one company provides a quote. This saves time by eliminating quote forms to each individual car insurance company.
To enter your information into the quoting system, click here (opens in new window).
The one disadvantage to comparing rates this way is that you can’t choose the insurers you want to price. So if you want to select specific providers to compare, we put together a list of companies who write car insurance in your area. View list of insurance companies.
However you get your quotes, compare apples-to-apples coverages and limits for each price quote. If you enter higher or lower deductibles it will be very difficult to determine the lowest rate for your Pontiac Sunfire. Having just a slight variation in insurance coverages can result in a big premium difference. And when quoting car insurance, remember that having more price comparisons gives you a better chance of getting the best rates.
Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but companies offer discounts to cut the cost considerably. A few discounts will automatically apply at the time of quoting, but some must be specifically requested before you get the savings.
As a disclaimer on discounts, most discounts do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most only apply to individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. So despite the fact that it appears you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you won’t be that lucky. Any amount of discount will cut your premiums.
Insurance companies that possibly offer some of the above discounts include:
Double check with each insurance company which discounts they offer. Discounts may not be available in every state.
When it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage for your vehicles, there really is no “perfect” insurance plan. Everyone’s situation is a little different so your insurance should reflect that These are some specific questions might point out whether you would benefit from professional advice.
If you’re not sure about those questions but you know they apply to you then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.
Understanding the coverages of your car insurance policy aids in choosing the best coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be impossible to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. Listed below are the normal coverages found on most car insurance policies.
Medical payments and PIP coverage – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for expenses like chiropractic care, ambulance fees, funeral costs, rehabilitation expenses and EMT expenses. The coverages can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance plan or if you do not have health coverage. They cover all vehicle occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Comprehensive auto coverage – This covers damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first must pay your deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims like hitting a bird, theft, falling objects and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The maximum amount you’ll receive from a claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider removing comprehensive coverage.
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage – Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. It can pay for injuries to you and your family and damage to your 2002 Pontiac Sunfire.
Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law, their limits can quickly be used up. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is very important. Most of the time your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are similar to your liability insurance amounts.
Collision coverages – Collision insurance covers damage to your Sunfire resulting from a collision with an object or car. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision coverage pays for things like crashing into a building, scraping a guard rail and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. Another option is to bump up the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Liability – Liability insurance will cover damage or injury you incur to people or other property. Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You commonly see limits of 25/50/25 that translate to $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Some companies may use one number which is a combined single limit that pays claims from the same limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability can pay for claims like emergency aid, court costs and bail bonds. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but consider buying as much as you can afford.
We just presented quite a bit of information on how to compare 2002 Pontiac Sunfire insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may even find the best price on car insurance is with some of the smallest insurance companies. These companies can often provide lower rates in certain areas than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate, GEICO and Progressive.
When shopping online for car insurance, make sure you don’t buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There have been many cases where an accident victim reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that they should have had better coverage. Your goal should be to buy enough coverage at the best price.
The cheapest insurance is possible both online and also from your neighborhood agents, so compare prices from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some insurance companies may not provide online price quotes and usually these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.
Even more information is available in these articles: