Have you had enough of scraping the payment together to pay your car insurance bill each month? Your situation is no different than many other drivers. Companies like State Farm and Geico all claim big savings, bombarding you with fancy advertisements and it can be hard to ignore the propoganda and find the best price available.
It’s a great practice to price shop coverage occasionally because insurance rates trend upward over time. Just because you found the lowest rates on Eighty-Eight coverage on your last policy a different company probably has better rates today. Starting right now, forget all the misinformation about insurance coverage because you’re about to learn the only way to find better rates and still maintain coverage.
If you have insurance now or are shopping for new coverage, you can use these tips to find the best rates while maximizing coverage. Choosing the best insurance company for you is not rocket science. Consumers only need to know the tricks to shop on the web.
There are a variety of methods to compare 1997 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight insurance quotes, but one way is less time-consuming than others. You could spend the better part of a day discussing policy coverages with insurance agencies in your area, or you could save time and use online quoting to maximize your effort.
All the larger companies participate in an industry program where prospective buyers complete one form, and each company provides a quote based on the submitted data. This saves time by eliminating quote requests for each company.
To get comparison pricing now click here (opens in new window).
The one disadvantage to getting quotes like this is you are unable to specify which providers to get quotes from. So if you want to select from a list of companies to compare, we have assembled a list of insurance companies in your area. Click here for list of insurance companies.
Whichever method you choose, make absolute certain that you use the exact same coverages and limits with every price quote. If you have mixed coverages it’s not possible to truly determine the lowest rate.
When it comes to buying adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no “best” method to buy coverage. Every situation is different and your policy should reflect that. For example, these questions can aid in determining whether or not you would benefit from an agent’s advice.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions, you might consider talking to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, simply complete this short form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It is quick, free and you can get the answers you need.
Understanding the coverages of car insurance can help you determine the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Shown next are the normal coverages found on most car insurance policies.
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage provides protection from other drivers when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered claims include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and damage to your 1997 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight.
Since many drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea. Usually these limits are similar to your liability insurance amounts.
Medical payments and PIP coverage – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance provide coverage for immediate expenses such as EMT expenses, hospital visits, prosthetic devices and X-ray expenses. They can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and also covers any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is not universally available and may carry a deductible
Liability coverage – This coverage will cover injuries or damage you cause to a person or their property in an accident. This coverage protects you against claims from other people, and doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You commonly see values of 100/300/100 that translate to $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Occasionally you may see one number which is a combined single limit which combines the three limits into one amount with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability insurance covers claims such as repair costs for stationary objects, legal defense fees, attorney fees, bail bonds and court costs. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but consider buying as high a limit as you can afford.
Comprehensive auto coverage – Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for claims such as fire damage, vandalism, hitting a deer and falling objects. The highest amount your car insurance company will pay is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Collision – Collision insurance pays for damage to your Eighty-Eight from colliding with another car or object. A deductible applies then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision can pay for things like colliding with another moving vehicle, damaging your car on a curb, crashing into a ditch and hitting a mailbox. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. It’s also possible to increase the deductible to bring the cost down.