Lower Your 2017 Ford Focus RS Car Insurance Rates

Are you sick and tired of scraping nickels together to pay high insurance rates every month? You are no different than the majority of other people.

Due to the fact that there are so many insurance companies to choose from, it is very difficult to find a more affordable insurer.

This information will introduce you to the best way to quote coverages and some tricks to saving. If you are paying for car insurance now, you will be able to cut costs considerably using these methods. Nevertheless, vehicle owners benefit from understanding how the larger insurance companies market insurance on the web and take advantage of how the system works.

How to compare free car insurance price quotes

There are a lot of ways you can shop for car insurance but one way is less labor-intensive and much quicker. You can spend countless hours talking to local insurance agents in your area, or you can stay home and use online quoting to maximize your effort.

The majority of car insurance companies take part in a program that enables customers to enter their coverage request one time, and at least one company returns a rated price based on that information. This system prevents you from having to do quote requests for each company you want a rate for. To enter your information into the quoting system, click here to open in new window.

The only downside to using this type of system is you can’t choose which insurance companies you want pricing from. So if you want to select individual companies to receive pricing from, we put together a list of low cost car insurance companies in your area. Click here to view list.

It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but double check that you are using equivalent coverages on every price quote you get. If you enter different values for each quote you will not be able to truly determine the lowest rate. Having just a slight variation in insurance coverages could throw off the whole comparison. Just remember that having more price comparisons provides better odds of finding a better price.

Can you really save if you switch?

Insurance providers like State Farm, Allstate and Geico regularly use television, radio, and online ads. All the ads try to convey promises that people will save if you change your policy. It sounds good, but how can they all charge lower premium rates? This is how they do it.

Insurance providers quote their cheapest rates for the type of customer that earns them a profit. One example of this type of insured might have to be between 25 and 40, has no driving citations, and has excellent credit. A customer getting a price quote who meets those qualifications may get the lowest car insurance rates and most likely will cut their rates if they switch.

Potential insureds who don’t qualify for this stringent profile will see a higher premium which results in the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ad wording is “people who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much when switching. That’s why insurance companies can advertise the way they do.

This emphasizes why drivers must compare quotes as often as possible. It is impossible to guess which company will give you the biggest savings.

How insurance providers determine Ford Focus RS insurance premiums

The best way to find cheaper car insurance is to take a look at some of the things that are used to determine your premiums. If you know what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this allows you to make good choices that could result in lower premium levels. Multiple criteria are used in the calculation when you get a price on insurance. Some of the criteria are obvious such as traffic violations, although others are not quite as obvious like where you live or your financial responsibility.

  • Safer cars cost less to insure – Vehicles with good safety scores are cheaper to insure. Vehicles engineered for safety reduce the chance of injuries and reduced instances of injuries means less money paid by your insurance company passed on to you as lower rates. If your Ford Focus RS scored at minimum an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website you may qualify for a discount.
  • Teen drivers are expensive to insure – More mature drivers are shown to be more cautious, cause fewer claims and accidents and are safer drivers.Beginning drivers are proven to get distracted easily in a vehicle so they pay higher car insurance rates.
  • Low stress employer equals lower car insurance rates – Careers like military generalsair traffic controllers and miners tend to pay higher rates than the rest of us attributed to job stress and long work days. On the flip side, occupations such as farmers, athletes and performers pay the least on Focus RS coverage.
  • Always keep your policy in force – Having a gap between insurance policy dates will be a sure-fire way to increase your car insurance rates. Not only will you pay more, failure to provide proof of insurance will get you a revoked license or a big fine.
  • Know your credit history – Your credit rating can be a huge factor in determining what you pay. Drivers who have high credit ratings tend to file fewer claims as compared to drivers with worse credit. So if your credit rating can be improved, you may save money insuring your 2017 Ford Focus RS by improving your rating.
  • Small claims can cost you – Companies give the best rates to drivers who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. If you are a frequent claim filer, you can expect increased rates or even have your policy non-renewed. Your insurance policy is designed for claims that you cannot pay yourself.
  • Having a spouse is a good thing – Your spouse can get you a discount when shopping for car insurance. Marriage is viewed as being more mature and responsible and it’s statistically proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.
  • Careless drivers pay higher rates – How you drive impacts your car insurance rates tremendously. Careful drivers receive lower rates than their less careful counterparts. Having just one citation can bump up the cost to the point where it’s not affordable. Drivers who have received careless violations like DUI, reckless driving or excessive speeding may be required to submit a SR-22 form to the state department of motor vehicles in order to legally drive.

Insurance coverage companies offer many types of discounts

Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but there could be significant discounts to reduce the price significantly. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied when you get a quote, but some must be asked for before they will apply. If you are not receiving all the discounts you qualify for, you could be getting lower rates.

  • Student Driver Training – Cut your cost by having your teen driver sucessfully take a drivers education course in high school.
  • Theft Prevention System – Vehicles that have factory anti-theft systems are less likely to be stolen and earn discounts up to 10% off your insurance quote.
  • Employee of Federal Government – Active or retired federal employment could qualify for a slight premium decrease on Focus RS coverage with select insurance companies.
  • Accident Free – Drivers who stay claim-free have much lower rates when compared to frequent claim filers.
  • Save with More Vehicles Insured – Having multiple vehicles with one company could earn a price break for each car.
  • Lower Rates for Military – Being on active duty in the military could mean lower prices.
  • Discounts for New Vehicles – Putting insurance coverage on a new car is cheaper because newer models have to meet stringent safety requirements.
  • Pay Early and Save – If you can afford to pay the entire bill instead of monthly or quarterly installments you can avoid monthly service charges.

A quick disclaimer, most credits do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like medical payments or collision. Even though it may seem like all those discounts means the company will pay you, you won’t be that lucky.

Insurance companies that have most of these discounts include:

Before you buy a policy, ask every company what discounts are available to you. Discounts may not apply in your area.

Do I just need basic coverages?

When choosing proper insurance coverage, there isn’t really a one size fits all plan. Every situation is different so this has to be addressed. Here are some questions about coverages that may help highlight whether you would benefit from professional advice.

  • Are my friends covered when driving my car?
  • Are rental cars covered under my policy?
  • Why is insurance for a teen driver so high?
  • Should I carry comprehensive and collision coverage?
  • Do I need PIP coverage since I have good health insurance?
  • Does my insurance cover my expensive audio equipment?
  • I have good health insurance, so how much medical payments coverage do I need?
  • Do I need higher collision deductibles?

If you’re not sure about those questions, then you may want to think about talking to an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form or click here for a list of insurance companies in your area.

Information about specific coverages

Understanding the coverages of a insurance policy can be of help when determining the right coverages for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Listed below are typical coverages found on the average insurance policy.

Comprehensive coverages

Comprehensive insurance coverage will pay to fix damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like hitting a bird, rock chips in glass and a broken windshield. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage

This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered losses include medical payments for you and your occupants and damage to your Ford Focus RS.

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 very important. Most of the time these coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.

Collision coverage protection

This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. A deductible applies and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision can pay for claims like damaging your car on a curb, scraping a guard rail, driving through your garage door and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. It’s also possible to increase the deductible to save money on collision insurance.

Coverage for medical payments

Med pay and PIP coverage provide coverage for bills like nursing services, rehabilitation expenses, dental work, doctor visits and ambulance fees. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance program or if you lack health insurance entirely. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants and will also cover any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is only offered in select states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Liability coverage

Liability coverage will cover damage or injury you incur to other people or property in an accident. This insurance protects YOU from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.

It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show values of 100/300/100 that translate to a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and a limit of $100,000 paid for damaged property. Another option is a combined single limit or CSL which combines the three limits into one amount with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability coverage protects against claims such as medical expenses, funeral expenses and legal defense fees. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a personal decision, but you should buy higher limits if possible.

Don’t throw your cash in the trash

When getting insurance quotes online, make sure you don’t buy less coverage just to save a little money. Too many times, someone dropped uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your goal is to buy enough coverage at the best price while not skimping on critical coverages.

Lower-priced auto insurance is available from both online companies in addition to many insurance agents, so you need to quote insurance with both in order to have the best chance of saving money. There are still a few companies who may not have rates over the internet and many times these smaller providers work with independent agents.

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