Paying for high-priced Ford Escape insurance can take a big chunk out of your bank account and force you to prioritize other expenses. Shopping your coverage around is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to make sure you’re not throwing money away. With consumers having so many choices, it can be impossible to pick the most affordable insurer.
Smart consumers take time to check auto insurance prices occasionally because insurance rates are constantly changing. If you had the best price for Escape coverage a year ago other companies may now be cheaper. So forget anything you know (or think you know) about auto insurance because you’re going to get a crash course in how to quote online to save money, get proper coverage and the best rates.
Performing a rate comparison can be a daunting task if you don’t know the fastest way to get free quotes. You could spend the better part of a day discussing policy coverages with insurance companies in your area, or you can utilize online quoting to get rates in a matter of minutes.
Most car insurance companies participate in an industry program where prospective buyers complete one form, and at least one company returns a rated price based on that information. This system prevents you from having to do form submissions to every company.
To participate in this free quote system, click here (opens in new window).
The single downside to pricing coverage this way is that consumers can’t choose which insurance companies you want pricing from. So if you prefer to choose specific insurance companies for rate comparison, we have assembled a list of the cheapest auto insurance companies in your area. View list of insurance companies.
Which method you use is up to you, but make darn sure you compare the exact same coverages with each company. If you use unequal deductibles or liability limits you will not be able to determine the lowest rate for your Ford Escape.
Car insurance can cost a lot, but there could be available discounts to help bring down the price. Some discounts apply automatically when you get a quote, but a few must be specially asked for in order for you to get them. If you’re not getting every credit you qualify for, you are throwing money away.
It’s important to understand that most discount credits are not given to the entire policy premium. The majority will only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. So even though it sounds like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, auto insurance companies aren’t that generous. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce your premiums.
To see a list of companies with the best auto insurance discounts, click here to view.
Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that come into play when calculating the rates you pay for auto insurance. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates enables informed choices that may reward you with better auto insurance rates.
When choosing coverage, there really is no one size fits all plan. Every situation is different and your policy should reflect that. For instance, these questions can help discover whether you will benefit from professional help.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but you know they apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, take a second and complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It is quick, free and can provide invaluable advice.
Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements for the lowest price auto insurance by companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive. They all seem to have a common claim that you can save if you switch to them.
How does each company make the same claim?
Different companies can use profiling for the type of driver they prefer to insure. An example of a preferred risk might be over the age of 50, a clean driving record, and drives newer vehicles. A customer who meets those qualifications gets the lowest rates and therefore will save a lot of money.
Consumers who are not a match for this ideal profile will have to pay a higher premium which leads to the customer not buying. The ad wording is “customers that switch” not “people who quote” save that much. That is how insurance companies can confidently state the savings.
Because of the profiling, you should get as many quotes as possible. It’s not possible to predict which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings on Ford Escape insurance.
Learning about specific coverages of your insurance policy can be of help when determining appropriate coverage at the best deductibles and correct limits. The terms used in a policy can be difficult to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Listed below are the usual coverages found on most insurance policies.
Medical expense insurance – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for short-term medical expenses for things like X-ray expenses, rehabilitation expenses, dental work and surgery. They can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not available in all states and may carry a deductible
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered claims include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your Ford Escape.
Due to the fact that many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important. Usually your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.
Collision coverages – Collision insurance covers damage to your Escape resulting from a collision with an object or car. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision can pay for things like crashing into a ditch, crashing into a building, colliding with a tree, backing into a parked car and damaging your car on a curb. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision) – This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first must pay your deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims such as hitting a bird, hitting a deer and hail damage. The maximum amount your insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Auto liability insurance – This coverage will cover damage or injury you incur to a person or their property in an accident. It protects you against other people’s claims. Liability doesn’t cover damage to your own property or vehicle.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have values of 25/50/25 which stand for a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Alternatively, you may have one number which is a combined single limit that pays claims from the same limit and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.
Liability insurance covers claims like bail bonds, medical services, pain and suffering, structural damage and loss of income. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible.
You just read a lot of ways to save on 2016 Ford Escape insurance. The key concept to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may be surprised to find that the most savings is with some of the smallest insurance companies. Smaller companies can often provide lower rates in certain areas compared to the large companies like State Farm, GEICO and Nationwide.
While you’re price shopping online, it’s very important that you do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many situations where drivers have reduced collision coverage and learned later that the savings was not a smart move. The proper strategy is to buy a smart amount of coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.
Cost effective insurance is definitely available online and with local insurance agents, and you should be comparing both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.
Much more information about insurance can be read on the following sites: