Lower Your 2005 Pontiac Aztek Insurance Cost

Trying to find the cheapest insurance coverage rates for your Pontiac Aztek? Are you tired of being strong-armed to insure your Pontiac every month? You’re in the same situation as many other consumers. With consumers having so many insurance providers from which to choose, it is hard for the average consumer to locate the right company.

Consumers need to do rate comparisons periodically because rates fluctuate regularly. Just because you found the lowest rates for Aztek insurance a few years ago you can probably find a better price now. There is a lot of wrong information about insurance coverage on the web, but with this article, you’re going to get some guaranteed methods to put money back in your pocket.

This article will let you in on the most effective way to quote insurance and some money-saving tips. If you currently have a car insurance policy, you will be able to cut costs considerably using this strategy. Drivers only need to know the best way to find the lowest price online.

Compare the Market for Car Insurance

Lowering your 2005 Pontiac Aztek car insurance rates is actually quite simple. Just spend a few minutes to get quotes provided by online insurance companies. This can be done in several different ways.

One of the best ways to find the lowest comparison rates would be an industry-wide quote request form like this one (opens in new window). This type of form saves time by eliminating separate quotes to each individual car insurance company. Completing one form will get you price quotes from many national carriers.

A slightly less efficient method to analyze rates requires a visit to each company website and fill out their own quote form. For instance, let’s say you want to compare rates from State Farm, Allstate and Geico. You would have to spend time on each company’s site to input your insurance information, which is why the first method is more popular. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in your area, click here.

The least recommended way to get comparison rates is to waste gas driving to different agent offices. The ability to buy insurance online has reduced the need for local agents unless you have a need for the personal advice only provided by licensed agents. However, consumers can price shop your coverage online but still have the advice of a local agent and you’ll learn how to do that later.

It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but ensure you are comparing exactly the same coverages and limits with every price quote. If each company quotes differing limits you can’t possibly determine the best price for your Pontiac Aztek.

Save big with these discounts

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but companies offer discounts that you may not know about. Most are applied when you complete an application, but some may not be applied and must be asked for prior to getting the savings. If you don’t get every credit you qualify for, you’re just leaving money on the table.

  • Own a Home – Owning a home may earn you a small savings because of the fact that having a home shows financial diligence.
  • Discount for Swiching Early – Select companies give a discount for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiration. The savings is around 10%.
  • Low Mileage – Driving fewer miles can earn a substantially lower rate.
  • Seat Belt Usage – Drivers who require all occupants to buckle their seat belts could save 15% off your medical payments premium.
  • New Vehicle Savings – Insuring a new car is cheaper since new cars are generally safer.
  • Anti-lock Brakes – Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control can reduce accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
  • Senior Discount – Mature drivers may qualify for better auto insurance rates for Aztek insurance.
  • Air Bag Discount – Vehicles equipped with air bags can receive discounts of more than 20%.
  • Driver’s Ed – Cut your cost by having your teen driver successfully complete driver’s ed class in school.
  • Driver Safety – Taking part in a driver safety course could possibly earn you a 5% discount and easily recoup the cost of the course.

It’s important to understand that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire policy premium. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. Even though it may seem like it’s possible to get free car insurance, auto insurance companies aren’t that generous. But all discounts will bring down your premiums.

For a list of companies with the best auto insurance discounts, click this link.

But I don’t know anything about car insurance

When it comes to buying adequate coverage for your vehicles, there really is not a cookie cutter policy. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs so your insurance needs to address that. These are some specific questions may help you determine whether your personal situation would benefit from an agent’s advice.

  • Does my medical payments coverage pay my health insurance deductible?
  • Is my ex-spouse still covered by my policy?
  • Should I have a commercial auto policy?
  • Do all my vehicles need collision coverage?
  • What is the difference between comprehensive and collision coverage?
  • Do I pay less if my vehicle is kept in my garage?
  • Do I have coverage for damage caused while driving under the influence?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions but one or more may apply to you then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, simply complete this short form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It only takes a few minutes and can help protect your family.

Why your Pontiac Aztek might be costing you more

An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that help determine auto insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay enables informed choices that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.

The following are a few of the “ingredients” auto insurance companies consider when setting premiums.

  • Better crash test results mean better rates – Vehicles with good safety scores can get you lower premiums. Safer cars protect occupants better and lower injury rates translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and more competitive rates for policyholders. If your Pontiac Aztek earned at least an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website you are probably receiving a discount.
  • Sex matters – Statistics show that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. However, don’t assume that women are better drivers. Both sexes tend to get into accidents at about the same rate, but the men cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Men also statistically get more serious tickets like DUI and reckless driving.
  • Rates may be higher depending on your occupation – Occupations like judges, social workers and financial analysts have higher average rates because of stressful work requirements and long work days. Conversely, jobs such as actors, engineers and retirees get better rates for Aztek insurance.
  • With age comes lower rates – More mature drivers are more cautious drivers, tend to cause fewer accidents and receive fewer citations. Youthful drivers are known to be less responsible when driving and because of this, their auto insurance rates are much higher.
  • Poor credit can mean higher rates – A driver’s credit rating is a large factor in calculating your auto insurance rates. People with good credit tend to be more responsible than drivers with poor credit. Therefore, if your credit rating can use some improvement, you could potentially save money when insuring your 2005 Pontiac Aztek by spending a little time repairing your credit.

Buyer beware of insurance advertising tricks

Drivers get pounded daily by advertisements for the lowest price auto insurance from companies such as 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. All the companies make an identical promise about savings if you switch your policy.

How do they all say the same thing? It’s all in the numbers.

Different companies have a certain “appetite” for the type of customer that earns them a profit. An example of a driver they prefer might be over the age of 50, is a homeowner, and drives newer vehicles. Any new insured that hits that “sweet spot” receives the best rates and is almost guaranteed to save when they switch companies.

Potential insureds who don’t meet this ideal profile must pay a higher premium which usually ends up with business not being written. Company advertisements say “drivers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that much. That’s why companies can advertise the way they do.

This illustrates why drivers must get as many comparisons as possible. It is impossible to predict which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest Pontiac Aztek insurance rates.

Auto insurance policy specifics

Learning about specific coverages of your policy helps when choosing which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Below you’ll find the usual coverages offered by auto insurance companies.

Comprehensive protection

Comprehensive insurance pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive can pay for claims like theft, damage from a tornado or hurricane, hitting a deer and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The maximum payout you’ll receive from a claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Collision insurance

Collision coverage will pay to fix damage to your Aztek caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You have to pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision can pay for claims such as hitting a mailbox, colliding with a tree, colliding with another moving vehicle, driving through your garage door and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so you might think about dropping it from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to raise the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Liability auto insurance

This coverage provides protection from damage that occurs to people or other property that is your fault. It protects YOU against claims from other people, and doesn’t cover damage to your own property or vehicle.

Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. Your policy might show values of 50/100/50 which stand for $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and $50,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Some companies may use a combined single limit or CSL which provides one coverage limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability can pay for things like legal defense fees, medical expenses, funeral expenses and pain and suffering. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy as high a limit as you can afford.

Medical expense coverage

Med pay and PIP coverage kick in for bills for things like surgery, dental work, EMT expenses, hospital visits and ambulance fees. They are often used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. Medical payments and PIP cover all vehicle occupants as well as if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP coverage is only offered in select states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Uninsured or underinsured coverage

This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. This coverage pays for injuries to you and your family as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Since many drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is a good idea. Normally the UM/UIM limits are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.

Quote more. Save more.

Lower-priced 2005 Pontiac Aztek insurance can be found from both online companies as well as from independent agents, and you need to comparison shop both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some companies don’t offer you the ability to get quotes online and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

We just presented some good ideas how to save on insurance. The key concept to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers could even find that the lowest rates come from a small mutual company. These smaller insurers can often insure niche markets at a lower cost compared to the large companies like Progressive and Geico.

As you prepare to switch companies, make sure you don’t reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many situations where drivers have reduced liability limits or collision coverage and discovered at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your focus should be to find the BEST coverage at a price you can afford.

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