How Much Does 2012 Dodge Caliber Insurance Cost?

Trying to find the cheapest insurance rates for your Dodge Caliber? Are you tired of robbing Peter to pay Paul each month for car insurance? You are no different than many other consumers.

Drivers have multiple car insurance companies to insure vehicles with, and although it’s nice to have a choice, it makes it harder to get the best deal.

The quickest method to get rate comparisons is to know most of the bigger providers allow for online access to compare rate quotes. To get started, all you need to do is take a few minutes to give details such as how you use your vehicles, the type of vehicles you drive, if you lease or own, and if you went to college. Those rating factors is then sent to insurance companies and you will get price comparisons almost instantly.

Be sure to get all your discounts

Insuring your fleet can be pricey, but discounts can save money and there are some available to reduce the price significantly. Some discounts apply automatically at the time you complete a quote, but some may not be applied and must be specially asked for before being credited.

  • Accident Forgiveness – Some insurance companies will allow you to have one accident without raising rates so long as you haven’t had any claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
  • Paperless Signup – Certain companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks just for signing your application over the internet.
  • Passive Restraint Discount – Vehicles with factory air bags or automatic seat belts can get savings up to 30%.
  • Multiple Policy Discount – When you have multiple policies with one insurance company you will save 10% to 20% off each policy.
  • Distant Student – Children who live away from home without a vehicle on campus can be insured at a reduced rate.
  • Auto/Life Discount – Companies who offer life insurance give a discount if you purchase a life insurance policy as well.
  • Anti-lock Brake Discount – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles are safer to drive and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.

Drivers should understand that most discount credits are not given to the entire policy premium. The majority will only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like collision or personal injury protection. So even though they make it sound like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, it doesn’t quite work that way. But all discounts will cut your premiums.

Companies that may offer these discounts may include but are not limited to:

Check with every prospective company how you can save money. All car insurance discounts might not be offered in your area.

Why you might be paying too much to insure your Dodge Caliber

It’s important that you understand the factors that help determine insurance coverage rates. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with lower insurance coverage prices.

The following are a few of the “ingredients” that factor into rates.

  • Your spouse saves you money – Being married helps lower the price on insurance coverage. Marriage is viewed as being more mature than a single person and statistics show married couples file fewer claims.
  • Do you know you’re credit rating? – Having a bad credit rating is a large factor in determining your rates. People with excellent credit tend to be more responsible than drivers with lower credit scores. If your credit score can use some improvement, you could potentially save money when insuring your 2012 Dodge Caliber by improving your rating.
  • Low deductibles can be expensive – Physical damage coverage, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, protects your Dodge from damage. Some examples of claims that would be covered are running into the backend of another car, collision with an animal, or theft. Deductibles for physical damage are the amount of money you are required to spend out-of-pocket in the event of a claim. The higher the amount the insured has to pay upfront, the less your insurance coverage will be for Caliber insurance.
  • Do you have enough liability coverage? – Your policy’s liability coverage will protect you if ever you are found to be at fault for damages caused by your negligence. Liability insurance provides for a legal defense which can be incredibly expensive. This coverage is very inexpensive as compared to coverage for physical damage, so do not cut corners here.
  • Don’t let your coverage lapse – Allowing your coverage to lapse will be a fast way to bump up your insurance coverage costs. And not only will insurance be more expensive, getting caught without coverage may earn you a steep fine or even jail time.

How do I know if I need professional advice?

When it comes to choosing coverage for your vehicles, there really is no perfect coverage plan. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs and your policy should reflect that. These are some specific questions can help discover whether or not you might need professional guidance.

  • Do I need special endorsements for business use of my vehicle?
  • Do I get a pro-rated refund if I cancel my policy early?
  • How high should my uninsured/underinsured coverage be in my state?
  • Does coverage extend to Mexico or Canada?
  • When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
  • Do I have coverage for damage caused while driving under the influence?
  • Am I covered if I crash into my own garage door?
  • Does my medical payments coverage pay my health insurance deductible?
  • Is business equipment covered while in my vehicle?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions 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.

Advertising myths

Auto insurance companies such as Progressive, Geico, Allstate and State Farm constantly bombard you with ads on television and other media. They all seem to make the same claim about savings if you switch your coverage to them. How does each company say the same thing? This is how they do it.

All companies can use profiling for the right customer that makes them money. For instance, a profitable customer could be between 30 and 50, has no tickets, and drives newer vehicles. Any new insured who fits that profile will get the preferred rates and therefore will save a lot of money.

Drivers who don’t meet this ideal profile will have to pay more money and this can result in business not being written. Company advertisements say “customers who switch” not “people who quote” save that kind of money. That’s the way companies can state the savings.

Because of the profiling, you need to get quotes from several different companies. It’s not possible to predict the company that will have the lowest Dodge Caliber insurance rates.

What insurance coverages do you need?

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

Comprehensive or Other Than Collision – This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You need to pay your deductible first then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like a tree branch falling on your vehicle, damage from getting keyed, damage from a tornado or hurricane and hail damage. The highest amount your insurance company will pay is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Coverage for liability – This can cover damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property by causing an accident. This coverage protects you against other people’s claims. Liability doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have liability limits of 100/300/100 which stand for a limit of $100,000 per injured person, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and a total limit of $100,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Occasionally you may see a combined limit which limits claims to one amount and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.

Liability can pay for things such as emergency aid, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, structural damage, repair costs for stationary objects and medical services. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible.

UM/UIM Coverage – Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your occupants and damage to your 2012 Dodge Caliber.

Since many drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Most of the time the UM/UIM limits are similar to your liability insurance amounts.

Collision coverages – Collision coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision coverage pays for things such as damaging your car on a curb, driving through your garage door, crashing into a ditch, hitting a parking meter and colliding with a tree. This coverage can be expensive, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Another option is to bump up the deductible to bring the cost down.

Medical costs insurance – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for expenses such as ambulance fees, EMT expenses, X-ray expenses, funeral costs and nursing services. The coverages can be used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. It covers all vehicle occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not an option in every state but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

The bottom line

You just learned many ways to shop for 2012 Dodge Caliber insurance online. The key thing to remember is the more rate quotes you have, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may be surprised to find that the lowest rates come from a lesser-known regional company. They may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments than their larger competitors like Allstate or State Farm.

As you shop your coverage around, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, an insured cut full coverage and discovered at claim time that the savings was not a smart move. The aim is to buy a smart amount of coverage at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.

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