Have you had enough of robbing Peter to pay Paul to pay your car insurance bill each month? You are no different than the majority of other car owners. Since consumers have many choices of insurance companies, it’s difficult to choose the most affordable insurance company.
Choosing the best insurance company for you is not rocket science. If you are paying for car insurance now, you will most likely be able to cut costs considerably using this strategy. Drivers just need to learn how to compare price quotes online.
Most major insurance companies such as State Farm and Allstate quote coverage prices directly from their websites. Getting online rates is fairly straightforward as you just enter your coverage preferences into a form. When the form is submitted, their system gets reports for credit and driving violations and returns a price quote based on these and other factors. Quoting online simplifies rate comparisons, but the time it takes to visit multiple sites and complete many quote forms can be a bit tiresome and repetitive. But it is imperative to get many rate quotes in order to find a better rate.
The smarter way to find cheaper rates requires only one form to get prices from several different companies. The form is fast, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes comparison shopping much easier. As soon as you send your information, your coverage is rated and you can choose any or none of the resulting price quotes. If a lower price is quoted, it’s easy to complete the application and purchase coverage. This process only takes a few minutes and can result in significant savings.
To find out what other companies charge, simply click here to open in new window and begin entering your coverage information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you type in coverages and limits identical to your current policy. Doing this guarantees you will have rate comparison quotes for similar insurance coverage.
When it comes to buying coverage for your personal vehicles, there is no one size fits all plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s and your policy should reflect that. For example, these questions can help discover if your insurance needs would benefit from professional advice.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions, you might consider talking to an agent. To find an agent in your area, simply complete this short form or click here for a list of insurance coverage companies in your area. It is quick, free and you can get the answers you need.
Knowing the specifics of a auto insurance policy can be of help when determining appropriate coverage and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be ambiguous and coverage can change by endorsement. Shown next are typical coverages offered by auto insurance companies.
Uninsured or underinsured coverage – Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. It can pay for hospital bills for your injuries and damage to your Chevy Malibu Maxx.
Since many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.
Collision – Collision coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. A deductible applies then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision insurance covers things such as scraping a guard rail, crashing into a building and damaging your car on a curb. This coverage can be expensive, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are older. You can also increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Medical expense coverage – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for expenses such as ambulance fees, surgery and chiropractic care. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. It covers all vehicle occupants in addition to being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Liability coverages – This coverage provides protection from damage or injury you incur to other people or property by causing an accident. This coverage protects you against claims from other people, and doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You commonly see values of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $300,000 in injury protection per accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability coverage protects against claims like structural damage, medical expenses, court costs and medical services. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but consider buying as high a limit as you can afford.
Comprehensive protection – Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first must pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for claims such as damage from getting keyed, hail damage, theft, fire damage and hitting a deer. The maximum payout your auto insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.