Have you finally had enough of sacrificing other expenses to keep your car insured? You are no different than the majority of other drivers.
With so many online and local companies to choose from, it’s difficult to pick the lowest cost insurer.
To find the best insurance quotes, there are several ways of comparing rate quotes from many available insurance companies in your state. By far the easiest way to comparison shop is simply to get online rate quotes. This can be accomplished by using one of the methods below.
If you are pressed for time, the simplest way to get the best comparison quotes would be an industry-wide quote request form (click to open form in new window). This form keeps you from doing separate quote forms for every company. One simple form compares rates direct from many companies.
A less efficient way to find better pricing is to take the time to go to the website for every company you want to comare to complete a price quote. For examples sake, we’ll assume you want to view quotes from Liberty Mutual, Progressive and Geico. In order to get each rate, you would have to take the time to go to each site to input your insurance information, which is why the first method is quicker. For a handy list of car insurance company links in your area, click here.
If you have time to kill, the last way to find and compare rates is to waste gas driving to different agent offices. The internet has reduced the need for local agents unless your situation requires the professional guidance that only an agent can give. If you prefer, some companies allow you to get prices online and have a local agent actually service the policy.
Whichever way you use, ensure you are comparing exactly the same coverage data on every price quote you get. If each company quotes higher or lower deductibles it will be nearly impossible to truly determine the lowest rate. Just a small difference in insurance coverages or limits could skew the results. Just keep in mind that more quotes will improve the odds of getting better pricing. Some regional insurers cannot provide price estimates online, so it’s important to compare quotes from the smaller companies as well.
When buying the best insurance coverage coverage for your vehicles, there isn’t really a single plan that fits everyone. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s so your insurance needs to address that. These are some specific questions can aid in determining whether or not you could use an agent’s help.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but one or more may apply to you, you might consider talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.
Knowing the specifics of your policy helps when choosing which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Shown next are the usual coverages found on most car insurance policies.
Auto liability
This will cover damage or injury you incur to people or other property in an accident. It protects you against claims from other people, and does not provide coverage for your own vehicle damage or injuries.
Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. As an example, you may have values of 50/100/50 which means $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $100,000, and $50,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Occasionally you may see one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which limits claims to one amount and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.
Liability coverage pays for claims like funeral expenses, structural damage and medical services. How much coverage you buy is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy as large an amount as possible.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision)
Comprehensive insurance coverage covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive coverage pays for claims like falling objects, theft, hail damage, vandalism and a broken windshield. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers
This coverage gives you protection when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered claims include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your Mercedes-Benz G-Class.
Because many people only carry the minimum required liability limits, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Most of the time the UM/UIM limits are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.
Medical expense insurance
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for short-term medical expenses such as funeral costs, dental work, X-ray expenses, hospital visits and prosthetic devices. They are used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. They cover both the driver and occupants and will also cover getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Collision protection
This will pay to fix damage to your G-Class resulting from colliding with an object or car. A deductible applies and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision can pay for claims such as sideswiping another vehicle, colliding with another moving vehicle, hitting a mailbox and colliding with a tree. This coverage can be expensive, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible to bring the cost down.