Compare 1998 Pontiac Trans Sport Car Insurance Rates

Are you a victim of an underperforming, overpriced insurance policy? Believe me when I say there are many people just like you. Numerous auto insurance companies battle to insure your vehicles, so it can be very hard to choose a insurer and get the best coverage at the lowest rate possible.

If you have a policy now or are shopping for new coverage, you will benefit by learning to find better prices and still get good coverage. Finding affordable coverage is not that difficult. Drivers just need to know the proper way to find the lowest price online.

Lesser-known factors impacting Pontiac Trans Sport insurance rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that help determine the rates you pay for insurance coverage. Knowing what determines base rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.

  • Battle of the sexes – The statistics show that women are safer drivers than men. That doesn’t necessarily mean that men are worse drivers. Women and men have accidents in similar numbers, but men cause more damage. Men also get more serious tickets like reckless driving and DUI. Male drivers age 16 to 19 are the most expensive to insure and therefore are the most expensive to insure.
  • Better credit means lower rates – A driver’s credit history is a big factor in your rate calculation. If your credit history is not that good, you could save money insuring your 1998 Pontiac Trans Sport by improving your rating. Consumers who have good credit tend to be less risk to insure than drivers who have lower credit scores.
  • Where you live is a factor – Residing in small towns and rural areas can be a good thing when it comes to insurance coverage. Less people living in that area translates into fewer accidents. City drivers have to deal with much more traffic to deal with and much longer commute distances. More time on the road can result in more accidents.
  • Older drivers save more – Teen drivers are statistically proven to be careless and easily distracted behind the wheel so insurance coverage rates are higher. Adding a young driver onto a policy can break the bank. Older drivers are more cautious drivers, tend to file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel.
  • Where do you drive? – The more miles you rack up on your Pontiac in a year’s time the more you will pay for insurance coverage. The majority of insurers charge to insure your cars based on their usage. Cars not used for work or commuting receive lower rates as compared to vehicles used primarily for driving to work. Improper usage on your Trans Sport may be costing you. Ask your agent if your insurance coverage policy shows how each vehicle is driven, because improper ratings can cost you money.

Low Cost Insurance

Finding a better price on insurance is surprisingly easy. Consumers just need to invest a little time to compare quotes from different insurance companies. This can be done in several different ways.

  1. Probably the best way to get quotes is a comparison rater form click here to open form in new window. This form keeps you from doing separate quotation requests to each individual insurance company. In just a few minutes this one form gets rate comparisons from all major companies.
  2. A harder way to compare prices is spending the time to visit the website for each individual company to complete a price quote. For example, we’ll pretend you want to compare Geico, Progressive and GMAC. To get rate quotes you would need to visit each site to input your insurance information, which is why the first method is quicker. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in your area, click here.
  3. The least recommended method of comparing rate quotes is to waste gas driving to local insurance agencies. Shopping for insurance online makes this process obsolete unless you require the professional advice of a licensed agent. Drivers can comparison shop online but still have the advice of a local agent and we’ll cover that in a bit.

It’s up to you how you get prices quotes, just ensure you are comparing exactly the same coverage limits with each company. If the quotes have different deductibles it’s impossible to determine which rate is truly the best.

Switch companies and save? Really?

Consumers can’t get away from ads for the lowest price auto insurance from companies such as Progressive, Allstate and Geico. All the companies say the same thing that you’ll save big after switching your policy.

How does each company claim to save you money? It’s all in the numbers.

All companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer that earns them a profit. For instance, a profitable customer might be between 25 and 40, is a homeowner, and drives newer vehicles. Any driver who fits that profile gets the lowest rates and as a result will probably save when switching.

Consumers who don’t measure up to these standards will have to pay higher rates and this can result in the customer not buying. Company advertisements say “people who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that much money. That is how insurance companies can confidently claim big savings.

Because of the profiling, you absolutely need to get as many comparisons as possible. It’s not possible to predict which insurance coverage company will fit your personal profile best.

Do you qualify for discounts?

The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, but companies offer discounts that you may not even be aware of. Most are applied when you purchase, but lesser-known reductions have to be requested specifically before you will receive the discount. If you don’t get every credit you qualify for, you’re paying more than you need to.

  • Paperless Signup – Certain companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying a policy and signing up digitally online.
  • Drive Safe and Save – Insureds without accidents can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates for Trans Sport insurance than their less cautious counterparts.
  • Early Switch Discount – Some companies give discounts for signing up before your current expiration date. It’s a savings of about 10%.
  • Theft Prevention Discount – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems prevent vehicle theft and earn discounts up to 10%.
  • Drivers Ed for Students – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to successfully complete driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
  • Service Members Pay Less – Having a family member in the military can result in better rates.
  • Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Factory air bags or automatic seat belts may earn rate discounts up to 30%.

As a disclaimer on discounts, many deductions do not apply to your bottom line cost. A few only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. Even though it may seem like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it doesn’t quite work that way. But all discounts will cut the amount you have to pay.

To see a list of companies with the best insurance discounts, follow this link.

Don’t assume everyone needs the same coverage

When it comes to buying the best auto insurance coverage, there really is no “perfect” insurance plan. Every situation is different and your policy should reflect that. For instance, these questions may help you determine if your insurance needs might need an agent’s assistance.

  • Are my friends covered when driving my 1998 Pontiac Trans Sport?
  • Is a new car covered when I drive it off the dealer lot?
  • What is medical payments coverage?
  • I have a DUI can I still get coverage?
  • Why am I required to buy liability insurance?
  • Do I need an umbrella policy?
  • Do I need PIP (personal injury protection) coverage in my state?
  • How can I find cheaper teen driver insurance?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you know they apply to you, you might consider talking to an agent. If you don’t have a local agent, complete this form or click here for a list of auto insurance companies in your area. It is quick, free and can provide invaluable advice.

Auto insurance coverage breakdown

Learning about specific coverages of a auto insurance policy can help you determine the best coverages for your vehicles. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. These are the usual coverages available from auto insurance companies.

Comprehensive or Other Than Collision

This coverage covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive can pay for claims such as falling objects, hitting a deer and theft. The maximum amount you’ll receive from a claim is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Medical costs insurance

Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP provide coverage for immediate expenses like rehabilitation expenses, hospital visits, prosthetic devices and surgery. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover you and your occupants as well as getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not universally available and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Liability

Liability coverage protects you from damage or injury you incur to a person or their property that is your fault. This coverage protects you against claims from other people, and does not provide coverage for damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

Coverage consists of three different limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You commonly see policy limits of 100/300/100 that translate to a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, $300,000 for the entire accident, and a limit of $100,000 paid for damaged property. Occasionally you may see one limit called combined single limit (CSL) that pays claims from the same limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability insurance covers claims like funeral expenses, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and structural damage. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but consider buying higher limits if possible.

Auto collision coverage

This coverage pays for damage to your Trans Sport caused by collision with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision can pay for things such as crashing into a building, colliding with a tree, sideswiping another vehicle and crashing into a ditch. This coverage can be expensive, so you might think about dropping it from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

UM/UIM Coverage

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage provides protection when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include injuries to you and your family and damage to your Pontiac Trans Sport.

Since many drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, their limits can quickly be used up. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is important protection for you and your family. Usually these limits are similar to your liability insurance amounts.

Final thoughts

As you prepare to switch companies, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many situations where an insured dropped physical damage coverage to discover at claim time that it was a big error on their part. Your focus should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at a price you can afford while still protecting your assets.

Throughout this article, we presented a lot of ways to shop for 1998 Pontiac Trans Sport insurance online. 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 even discover the most savings is with a smaller regional carrier. These companies may only write in your state and offer lower rates as compared to the big name companies such as Allstate, Geico and Progressive.

The cheapest insurance can be purchased from both online companies and with local insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both to get a complete price analysis. There are still a few companies who do not offer online price quotes and most of the time these smaller companies sell through independent agents.

More information is available at the links below