Trying to find lower insurance rates for your Nissan Altima? Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy overpriced insurance? Trust us, there are lots of people in the same boat. You have so many insurers to insure vehicles with, and although it’s nice to have a selection, it can be more difficult to compare rates and find the lowest cost insurance.
Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but there could be available discounts that can drop the cost substantially. A few discounts will automatically apply at the time you complete a quote, but some must be asked for prior to receiving the credit. If you’re not getting every credit you qualify for, you’re paying more than you need to.
It’s important to understand that most credits do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. A few only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. Just because it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, insurance coverage companies aren’t that generous. Any qualifying discounts will cut your premiums.
Insurance companies that possibly offer some of the above discounts include:
Double check with every prospective company what discounts are available to you. Discounts might not be offered everywhere.
When it comes to choosing coverage, there really is no best way to insure your cars. Every situation is different and your policy should reflect that. For instance, these questions might point out if you could use an agent’s help.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, then you may want to think about talking to an agent. If you don’t have a local agent, fill out this quick form or click here for a list of insurance coverage companies in your area. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and can provide invaluable advice.
Learning about specific coverages of your policy can be of help when determining which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. Insurance terms can be impossible to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. These are the usual coverages available from insurance companies.
Collision coverages – Collision insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage protects against things such as hitting a parking meter, rolling your car, driving through your garage door and crashing into a ditch. This coverage can be expensive, so consider removing coverage from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to bump up the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Medical payments coverage and PIP – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP provide coverage for immediate expenses for nursing services, dental work, prosthetic devices and doctor visits. They are often used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. Coverage applies to both the driver and occupants and also covers getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not universally available and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Comprehensive coverage – Comprehensive insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You need to pay your deductible first then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive can pay for claims such as hitting a bird, falling objects and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The most a insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Liability auto insurance – This provides protection from damage or injury you incur to other’s property or people. It protects you from legal claims by others, and doesn’t 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. You might see liability limits of 50/100/50 that translate to $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Alternatively, you may have a combined single limit or CSL that pays claims from the same limit without having the split limit caps.
Liability insurance covers claims like attorney fees, medical expenses, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, emergency aid and repair costs for stationary objects. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a personal decision, but buy as high a limit as you can afford.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your 2004 Nissan Altima.
Since a lot of drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea. Usually your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.
When buying insurance coverage, never reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where an accident victim reduced collision coverage only to regret that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your strategy should be to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest price, not the least amount of coverage.
We just presented a lot of techniques to compare 2004 Nissan Altima insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more price quotes you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may be surprised to find that the biggest savings come from a small mutual company. Some small companies often have lower prices on specific markets compared to the large companies like State Farm, GEICO and Nationwide.
Additional detailed information is available in these articles: