No one cherishes buying insurance, in particular when they are paying too much.
Consumers have many insurers to buy insurance from, and even though it’s nice to be able to choose, lots of choices makes it harder to find the lowest cost provider.
Effectively comparing auto insurance prices can be a lot of work if you don’t know the easiest way. You can waste a few hours (or days) talking about coverages with insurance agencies in your area, or you can utilize online quotes to achieve your goal.
Most of the larger companies enroll in a system that allows shoppers to complete one form, and every company can give them a price based on the submitted data. This saves time by eliminating quotation requests for every auto insurance company.
To submit your quote information now, click to open in new window.
The only downside to comparing rates this way is you are unable to specify the companies you want pricing from. So if you prefer to pick from a list of companies to compare prices, we have a page of low cost auto insurance companies in your area. Click to view list.
Whichever way you use, make absolute certain that you use identical coverage limits and deductibles with each company. If you use differing limits it’s impossible to make an equal comparison. Having just a slight variation in insurance coverages may result in a large different in cost. Just keep in mind that obtaining a wide range of quotes helps locate the best offered rates.
Companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive continually stream television and radio advertisements. All the ads have a common claim that you’ll save big after switching your coverage to them. But how can every company make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.
Different companies have a certain “appetite” for the driver that makes them money. For example, a profitable customer might be a mature driver, is a homeowner, and has excellent credit. A customer that hits that “sweet spot” will qualify for the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to save a lot of money.
Drivers who don’t qualify for the requirements must pay higher premiums and this can result in business going elsewhere. The ads say “customers that switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. That’s the way companies can make the claims of big savings. This illustrates why you absolutely need to get a wide range of price quotes. It’s not possible to predict which insurance coverage company will give you the biggest savings on Kia Optima insurance.
Companies don’t list all available discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we break down some of the best known and the harder-to-find discounts you could be receiving.
It’s important to note that most discounts do not apply to the entire cost. The majority will only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. So even though they make it sound like adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
For a list of providers with discount car insurance rates, click this link.
When it comes to buying proper insurance coverage, there really is no perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s needs are different and your policy should reflect that. For instance, these questions might help in determining whether you could use an agent’s help.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but a few of them apply, you might consider talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.
Knowing the specifics of a insurance policy can help you determine which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. These are typical coverages offered by insurance companies.
Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Med pay and PIP coverage provide coverage for bills for things like pain medications, doctor visits and prosthetic devices. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover you and your occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is only offered in select states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)
This coverage protects you and your vehicle when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and damage to your Kia Optima.
Since many 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 should not be overlooked.
Liability
Liability coverage protects you from injuries or damage you cause to other people or property in an accident. This coverage protects you against other people’s claims. It does not cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. Your policy might show policy limits of 50/100/50 which means $50,000 bodily injury coverage, $100,000 for the entire accident, and a limit of $50,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability can pay for claims such as medical services, pain and suffering, loss of income, bail bonds and legal defense fees. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but you should buy as much as you can afford.
Comprehensive insurance
This coverage will pay to fix damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims such as damage from getting keyed, falling objects, theft and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The maximum amount your insurance company will pay is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider dropping full coverage.
Collision protection
This will pay to fix damage to your Optima caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. A deductible applies then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision can pay for things like sustaining damage from a pot hole, crashing into a building and scraping a guard rail. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. It’s also possible to increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Lower-priced 2005 Kia Optima insurance is possible on the web and with local insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to get a complete price analysis. Some insurance companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.
As you prepare to switch companies, it’s a bad idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, an accident victim reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits and found out when filing a claim that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your goal should be to buy a smart amount of coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.
You just read a lot of ways to lower your insurance rates. The most important thing to understand is the more quotes you get, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Drivers may discover the lowest premiums are with a lesser-known regional company. These smaller insurers may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm or Progressive.
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