Perplexed by the number of auto insurance companies? You have a lot of company. Drivers have so many companies to choose from that it can turn into a real challenge to find the lowest price.
Performing a rate comparison can take time and effort if you don’t know the best way to get rate quotes. You could spend the better part of a day talking about coverages with insurance companies in your area, or you can utilize online quotes to get the quickest rates.
All the larger companies belong to an insurance system where prospective buyers enter their coverage request one time, and at least one company returns a rated price based on that information. This eliminates the need for quotation requests to each individual insurance company.
To get comparison pricing now click here (opens in new window).
The one downside to using this type of form is that you can’t choose which providers you want pricing from. So if you want to select from a list of companies to compare prices, we have a listing of low cost insurance companies in your area. Click to view list.
It’s up to you how you get prices quotes, just compare apples-to-apples quote information for each price quote. If you have different values for each quote then you won’t be able to determine which rate is truly the best. Slightly different coverage limits can make a big difference in price. Keep in mind that having more price comparisons will improve the odds of getting the best offered rates.
When it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage, there really is no perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s needs are different.
Here are some questions about coverages that might point out whether you would benefit from professional advice.
If you can’t answer these questions but one or more may apply to you then you might want to talk to a licensed agent. If you don’t have a local agent, fill out this quick form.
Learning about specific coverages of your auto insurance policy can be of help when determining the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Auto insurance terms can be ambiguous and coverage can change by endorsement.
Liability coverage – This can cover damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property that is your fault. It protects YOU from claims by other people, and doesn’t cover damage to your own property or vehicle.
Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You commonly see liability limits of 25/50/25 which means $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $50,000, and a total limit of $25,000 for damage to vehicles and property.
Liability can pay for things such as repair costs for stationary objects, court costs, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, medical services and legal defense fees. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but consider buying as high a limit as you can afford.
Medical expense insurance – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for short-term medical expenses like surgery, ambulance fees, doctor visits and nursing services. The coverages can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover both the driver and occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers – This provides protection from other motorists when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and damage to your Bentley Azure.
Since many drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important.
Collision coverage – Collision insurance will pay to fix damage to your Azure caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. A deductible applies and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision insurance covers things like colliding with a tree, crashing into a building, scraping a guard rail and backing into a parked car. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are older. You can also increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision) – This coverage will pay to fix damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims like hitting a deer, fire damage, falling objects, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and damage from flooding. The most you’ll receive from a claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.