Confused by the dozens of auto insurance companies? You’re not the only one! There are so many companies to choose from that it can easily become more work than you anticipated to find the best price.
Car insurance can cost a lot, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not know about. Some trigger automatically when you purchase, but a few must be manually applied before being credited.
As a disclaimer on discounts, some of the credits will not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. Even though it may seem like it’s possible to get free car insurance, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any amount of discount will cut your overall premium however.
Companies who might offer these benefits include:
Double check with every prospective company how you can save money. Savings may not be available in your state.
To find the best car insurance prices, there are several ways to compare quotes from car insurance companies in your area. The easiest way by far to find competitive 1997 Ford Five Hundred insurance rates is simply to get online rate quotes. This is very easy and can be done in a couple of different ways.
It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just double check that you are using apples-to-apples coverages for every quote you compare. If you compare different values for each quote it will be impossible to make a fair comparison for your Ford Five Hundred. Quoting even small variations in limits can mean a large discrepancy in price. Keep in mind that comparing a large number of companies helps locate better pricing.
Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that play a part in calculating car insurance rates. Understanding what impacts premium levels empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with better car insurance rates.
When it comes to buying the best car insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no cookie cutter policy. Every insured’s situation is different.
For example, these questions could help you determine if your insurance needs would benefit from an agent’s advice.
If you’re not sure about those questions but a few of them apply, you might consider talking to a licensed agent. If you don’t have a local agent, take a second and complete this form.
Insurance coverage providers like State Farm, Allstate and Geico consistently run ads on TV and radio. They all make the same claim of big savings if you change your policy. How does each company make almost identical claims? It’s all in the numbers.
Insurance companies have a certain “appetite” for the right customer that earns them a profit. For instance, a driver they prefer could be a mature driver, is a homeowner, and chooses high deductibles. A customer getting a price quote that hits that “sweet spot” receives the best rates and is almost guaranteed to save when switching.
Drivers who fall outside the “perfect” profile will have to pay higher rates which leads to business not being written. The ads state “customers who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much money. That’s the way companies can truthfully advertise the savings.
Because of the profiling, drivers must quote coverage with many companies. You cannot predict which insurance coverage company will have the lowest Ford Five Hundred insurance rates.
Learning about specific coverages of auto insurance can be of help when determining the right coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The terms used in a policy can be ambiguous and coverage can change by endorsement.
Collision protection
This will pay to fix damage to your Five Hundred resulting from a collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision coverage pays for things like rolling your car, scraping a guard rail, colliding with another moving vehicle, crashing into a ditch and hitting a parking meter. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from lower value vehicles. Another option is to choose a higher deductible to bring the cost down.
Medical costs insurance
Med pay and PIP coverage kick in for short-term medical expenses like X-ray expenses, prosthetic devices, pain medications, hospital visits and nursing services. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP coverage is not available in all states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision
This coverage covers damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You need to pay your deductible first then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims like a broken windshield, damage from a tornado or hurricane, damage from flooding, vandalism and fire damage. The maximum amount a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
UM/UIM Coverage
This protects you and your vehicle when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
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. Frequently your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.
Liability coverages
This coverage can cover damage or injury you incur to a person or their property in an accident. This coverage protects you from legal claims by others, and doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
It consists of three limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You might see values of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Occasionally you may see a combined limit that pays claims from the same limit without having the split limit caps.
Liability insurance covers claims like funeral expenses, loss of income, medical expenses and legal defense fees. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but buy as high a limit as you can afford.
Affordable 1997 Ford Five Hundred insurance can be sourced online as well as from independent agents, and you should compare price quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. A few companies don’t offer the ability to get a quote online and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, it’s a bad idea to buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There are a lot of situations where an accident victim reduced collision coverage only to regret at claim time that they should have had better coverage. Your strategy should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage for the lowest price while still protecting your assets.
People change insurance companies for any number of reasons including high rates after DUI convictions, delays in paying claims, lack of trust in their agent or even not issuing a premium refund. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, switching companies is pretty simple and you could end up saving a buck or two.
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