2012 Nissan Leaf Insurance Quotes

Trying to find better auto insurance rates for your Nissan Leaf? Shopping for cheap auto insurance on the internet can be intimidating for people who are new to comparing rates online. With so many choices of insurers to choose from, how can consumers possibly compare every one to find the best price?

It’s a great practice to shop coverage around at least once a year because prices are variable and change quite frequently. Even if you got the lowest rates on Leaf insurance a few years ago there may be better deals available now. There is a lot of bad information regarding auto insurance online, so with this article, you’re going to get some good information on how to save money.

If you are paying for car insurance now, you should be able to cut costs considerably using these methods. This article will help educate you on the most effective way to quote insurance and some tricks to saving. But drivers should learn the methods companies use to sell insurance online and take advantage of how the system works.

Insurance Coverage Quote Comparison

When shopping for insurance coverage there are multiple ways to compare quotes and find the best price. By far the easiest way to find competitive 2012 Nissan Leaf insurance rates consists of obtaining rate quotes online. This can be accomplished in several different ways.

  1. The most efficient way consumers can analyze rates is a comparison rater form (click to open form in new window). This type of form saves time by eliminating a different quote for each company you want a rate for. One simple form gets rate comparisons from many national carriers. This is by far the quickest method.
  2. A different way to shop for insurance coverage online is to take the time to go to the website for every company you want to comare to complete a price quote. For sake of this example, let’s assume you want rates from Liberty Mutual, Allstate and Farmers. To get rate quotes you would need to visit each site to input your insurance information, and that’s why the first method is more popular.

    For a list of links to companies insuring cars in your area, click here.

It’s up to you how you get prices quotes, just compare apples-to-apples coverage limits for each comparison quote. If each company quotes different deductibles it will be very difficult to make an equal comparison. Having just a slight variation in limits can mean a large discrepancy in price. And when price shopping your coverage, obtaining a wide range of quotes will enable you to find lower pricing.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Companies don’t always list all available discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we break down some of the more common and also the lesser-known ways to save on insurance.

  • Federal Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job may qualify you for a discount on Leaf insurance with a few insurance companies.
  • Claim Free – Claim-free drivers pay less compared to accident-prone drivers.
  • Seat Belt Usage – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use a seat belt could save 15% off the personal injury premium cost.
  • Defensive Driving Course – Taking a driver safety course can save you 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
  • Lower Rates for Military – Having a deployed family member may qualify for rate reductions.
  • Passive Restraint Discount – Factory air bags or automatic seat belts can qualify for discounts up to 30%.
  • Multiple Vehicles – Buying coverage for multiple vehicles on the same insurance policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
  • Multiple Policy Discount – If you have multiple policies with one insurance company you could get a discount of at least 10% off all policies.
  • Drivers Education – Require your teen driver to take driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
  • No Charge for an Accident – A few companies will allow you to have one accident before hitting you with a surcharge so long as you haven’t had any claims for a certain period of time.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discounts do not apply the the whole policy. Some only reduce individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So even though it sounds like adding up those discounts means a free policy, it doesn’t quite work that way.

Companies that may have these benefits are:

Check with every prospective company how you can save money. Savings might not apply in your state.

Nissan Leaf insurance rates can be determined by these details

Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that come into play when calculating the rates you pay for insurance. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates enables informed choices that will entitle you to much lower annual insurance costs.

The list below includes a partial list of the pieces insurance companies consider when setting prices.

  • Safer cars are cheaper to insure – Vehicles with good safety scores are cheaper to insure. Safer cars reduce injuries and better occupant protection translates into savings for insurance companies passed on to you as lower rates. If your Nissan Leaf has ratings of a minimum four stars on Safercar.gov or an “acceptable” rating on iihs.org it is probably cheaper to insure.
  • Pleasure use saves money – Driving more miles every year the more you’ll pay to insure your vehicle. Most companies rate vehicles based on how the vehicle is used. Vehicles left parked in the garage get more affordable rates as compared to vehicles used primarily for driving to work. Make sure your insurance coverage is showing the proper vehicle usage. Incorrect usage on your Leaf can result in significantly higher rates.
  • Always keep insurance in force – Allowing your coverage to lapse will be a fast way to pay more for insurance. Not only will rates go up, failure to provide proof of insurance can result in a steep fine or even jail time.
  • Men pay higher rates – Statistics demonstrate that women are safer drivers than men. That doesn’t necessarily mean that men are worse drivers. Men and women are in accidents in similar percentages, but the male of the species cause more damage. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations such as DWI and reckless driving. Male drivers age 16 to 19 are several times more likely to be in an accident and therefore have the most expensive insurance rates.
  • Your location affects your rates – Being located in a small town is a positive aspect when talking about insurance. Fewer people means a lower chance of having an accident and a lower car theft rate. Drivers who live in large cities have more traffic problems and longer commutes to work. More time commuting means more change of being in an accident.
  • Little extras can really add up – There are a ton of add-on coverages that you can get tricked into buying if you aren’t careful. Coverages for roadside assistance, accidental death and additional equipment coverage may be costing you every month. These coverages may sound good when talking to your agent, but now you might not need them so eliminate them to save money.
  • How credit affects insurance rates – Credit score is a important factor in determining your rates. Drivers with high credit ratings tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than drivers who have poor credit. Therefore, if your credit is low, you could save money insuring your 2012 Nissan Leaf by improving your rating.

Tailor your coverage to you

When choosing coverage, there really is not a single plan that fits everyone. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs.

For instance, these questions can help discover whether you would benefit from an agent’s advice.

  • Are rental cars covered under my policy?
  • Does my personal policy cover me when driving out-of-state?
  • Do I need PIP (personal injury protection) coverage in my state?
  • Where can I find DUI or SR-22 insurance?
  • Am I covered if I break a side mirror?
  • Should I have combined single limit or split liability limits?
  • Am I covered when delivering products for my home-based business?
  • Do I need roadside assistance coverage?
  • Why am I be forced to buy a membership to get insurance from some companies?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions but you know they apply to you, you may need to chat with a licensed agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form.

Do auto insurance companies bend the truth?

Auto insurance providers like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly bombard you with ads on TV and radio. They all make the same claim about savings if you switch to them. How does each company make the same claim? This is how they do it.

Insurance companies have a certain “appetite” for the right customer that is profitable for them. A good example of a driver they prefer might be between 25 and 40, has no tickets, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A driver who fits that profile gets the lowest rates and most likely will cut their rates substantially.

Potential insureds who don’t measure up to this ideal profile will be quoted higher prices which usually ends up with the customer not buying. The ad wording is “people who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much. That’s why insurance companies can confidently state the savings. This emphasizes why you need to get quotes from several different companies. It’s not possible to predict which insurance companies will fit your personal profile best.

Insurance policy specifics

Learning about specific coverages of a insurance policy aids in choosing the right coverages for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be impossible to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy.

Collision insurance

This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You have to pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision coverage protects against claims such as crashing into a building, sideswiping another vehicle, crashing into a ditch and driving through your garage door. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Drivers also have the option to raise the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Insurance for medical payments

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for immediate expenses like chiropractic care, ambulance fees and surgery. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover both the driver and occupants and will also cover any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance

This coverage protects you and your vehicle when the “other guys” do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for medical payments for you and your occupants as well as damage to your Nissan Leaf.

Due to the fact that many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, their limits can quickly be used up. So UM/UIM coverage is very important.

Liability car insurance

This protects you from damage that occurs to other people or property. It protects YOU from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t cover damage to your own property or vehicle.

Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have liability limits of 25/50/25 which means a limit of $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 for the entire accident, and a total limit of $25,000 for damage to vehicles and property.

Liability can pay for things like funeral expenses, repair costs for stationary objects, court costs and pain and suffering. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible.

Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)

Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from 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 insurance covers claims such as fire damage, falling objects and hitting a deer. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

One last thing

Drivers change insurance companies for any number of reasons including high prices, an unsatisfactory settlement offer, denial of a claim and poor customer service. Whatever your reason, finding a new company is not as hard as you think.

As you shop your coverage around, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many cases where someone dropped full coverage and found out when filing a claim that it was a big error on their part. Your strategy should be to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford.

Budget-conscious 2012 Nissan Leaf insurance is possible online as well as from independent agents, and you should compare price quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. There are still a few companies who don’t offer online quoting and many times these small, regional companies only sell through independent insurance agents.

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