No one in their right mind looks forward to buying insurance coverage, particularly when they are paying too much.
Drivers have multiple insurance companies to pick from, and although it’s a good thing to have a choice, lots of choices makes it harder to find the best rates.
Companies that sell car insurance don’t always publicize all available discounts very clearly, so the following is a list of some of the more common as well as the least known savings tricks you should be using.
Drivers should understand that some credits don’t apply the the whole policy. Some only reduce specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. So when it seems like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, you won’t be that lucky.
Car insurance companies that possibly offer some of the above discounts may include but are not limited to:
Check with every prospective company how you can save money. All car insurance discounts might not apply everywhere.
Effectively comparing car insurance prices can be a daunting task if you don’t understand the most efficient way. You can waste hours talking to insurance agencies in your area, or you could use online quoting to accomplish the same thing much quicker.
Many of the larger companies belong to an insurance system that enables customers to submit one quote, and at least one company can give them a price based on that information. This system prevents you from having to do quote forms to every company. To participate in this free quote system, click here to open in new window.
The one downside to doing it this way is buyers cannot specifically choose which carriers you want pricing from. So if you want to choose individual companies for rate comparison, we have a page of low cost car insurance companies in your area. Click here for list of insurance companies.
It’s up to you which method you use, but compare identical coverage information for every company. If you enter different liability limits you will not be able to determine which rate is truly the best. Having just a slight variation in limits could mean much higher rates. And when comparison shopping, comparing a large number of companies will improve the odds of getting the best rates.
Smart consumers have a good feel for the rating factors that go into determining your auto insurance rates. Knowing what influences your rates enables informed choices that will entitle you to lower auto insurance prices.
When choosing coverage, there isn’t really a cookie cutter policy. Every situation is different so your insurance needs to address that. For instance, these questions can help discover if you would benefit from professional advice.
If you’re not sure about those questions but a few of them apply, you may need to chat with an agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, simply complete this short form or click here for a list of auto insurance companies in your area.
Learning about specific coverages of your policy can help you determine which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. Car insurance terms can be confusing and reading a policy is terribly boring. These are the usual coverages available from car insurance companies.
Liability auto insurance
Liability coverage will cover damages or injuries you inflict on other people or property by causing an accident. This coverage protects you against claims from other people. Liability doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have policy limits of 100/300/100 that means you have a limit of $100,000 per injured person, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a limit of $100,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability coverage protects against things such as court costs, legal defense fees, pain and suffering, structural damage and repair bills for other people’s vehicles. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible.
Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Med pay and PIP coverage provide coverage for short-term medical expenses like EMT expenses, doctor visits, rehabilitation expenses and pain medications. They can be utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is not available in all states and may carry a deductible
Collision coverage protection
This pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision insurance covers claims like hitting a mailbox, driving through your garage door, colliding with another moving vehicle, hitting a parking meter and crashing into a ditch. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from lower value vehicles. You can also bump up the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)
This protects you and your vehicle from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your Lincoln Continental.
Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law, their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is important protection for you and your family.
Comprehensive insurance
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for things such as hail damage, vandalism, damage from flooding and fire damage. The maximum amount a car insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
While you’re price shopping online, never buy poor coverage just to save money. There are too many instances where consumers will sacrifice physical damage coverage only to discover later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. The aim is to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest price while still protecting your assets.
You just read a lot of ways to get a better price on 1991 Lincoln Continental 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. Consumers could even find that the lowest rates come from the least-expected company. These companies can often provide lower rates in certain areas as compared to the big name companies such as Allstate and Progressive.
Low-cost insurance can be bought from both online companies and also from your neighborhood agents, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance providers may not provide online quoting and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.
More detailed insurance coverage information can be found in these articles: