Are you regretting buying an underperforming, overpriced car insurance policy? It’s a common feeling and many drivers have buyer’s remorse. You have multiple auto insurance companies to pick from, and although it’s nice to have a choice, it makes it harder to compare rates and cut insurance costs.
It’s important to do rate comparisons as often as possible because car insurance prices are usually higher with each renewal. Just because you had the best price for GS 200t insurance two years ago other companies may now be cheaper. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about car insurance because you’re about to learn one of the quickest ways to properly buy coverages and cut your premium.
Buying car insurance is easy if you know what you’re doing. If you currently have car insurance, you should be able to cut costs considerably using this information. Vehicle owners only need to know the best way to compare prices over the internet.
Most companies allow consumers to get coverage price quotes from their websites. Doing online quotes is pretty painless as all you need to do is type in the coverage amounts you desire into the form. Once you submit the form, their quoting system makes automated requests for your driving and credit reports and generates a price based on these and other factors. Online price estimates makes comparing rates easy, but having to visit a lot of sites and enter the same data into a form can be a bit tiresome and repetitive. But it’s absolutely necessary to compare as many rates as possible if you want to get the best price on insurance.
A better way to compare insurance pricing uses just one form that gets price quotes from many companies. It saves time, eliminates form submissions, and makes quoting online a little more enjoyable. After sending your information, it is quoted and you can select your choice of the price quotes you receive. If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, it’s easy to complete the application and buy the new coverage. The entire process takes just a few minutes to complete and you’ll know if lower rates are available.
If you want to find out what other companies charge, click here to open in new window and input your coverage information. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you enter your coverages exactly as they are listed on your policy. This ensures you will receive a price comparison for similar coverage.
Consumers can’t avoid all the ads for cheaper insurance coverage from the likes of Progressive, Allstate and Geico. All the companies have a common claim of big savings if you change your policy.
But how can every company save you money? This is the way they can do it.
Insurance providers can use profiling for the driver they prefer to insure. A good example of this type of insured may need to be over age 30, has never had a claim, and does not commute to work. Someone who fits those characteristics receive the lowest rate quotes and will probably save when they switch companies.
People who fall outside this stringent profile will be quoted higher premiums and this results in the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads say “drivers that switch” not “everyone that quotes” can get the lowest rates when switching. This is how insurance companies can confidently make claims like that. Because of the profiling, it is so important to compare as many free insurance coverage quotes as you can. It’s just not possible to know with any certainty which company will fit you best based on your risk profile.
The best way to find cheaper car insurance is to take a look at some of the factors that help determine your premiums. When you understand what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this allows you to make educated decisions that may result in cheaper rates. Multiple criteria are part of the calculation when premium rates are determined. Some factors are common sense like a motor vehicle report, but some are less obvious like where you live or your financial responsibility.
Auto insurance is not cheap nor is it fun to buy but you can get discounts that you may not even know about. Some discounts will apply at the time of purchase, but a few must be manually applied prior to receiving the credit. If you do not double check each discount you qualify for, you could be saving more on your auto insurance.
A quick disclaimer, many deductions do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most cut individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So despite the fact that it appears all the discounts add up to a free policy, you won’t be that lucky.
Popular auto insurance companies and their offered discounts include:
When comparing rates, check with every prospective company how many discounts you can get. Some discounts might not be offered in your area.
When it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage, there really is not a perfect coverage plan. Each situation is unique so your insurance should reflect that For instance, these questions might help in determining whether your personal situation might need an agent’s assistance.
If you can’t answer these questions, then you may want to think about talking to an agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form or click here for a list of car insurance companies in your area. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and may give you better protection.
Having a good grasp of your policy helps when choosing appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. Policy terminology can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring. These are typical coverages found on most insurance policies.
Comprehensive coverage – Comprehensive insurance pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for claims such as fire damage, damage from a tornado or hurricane, theft and rock chips in glass. The maximum payout your insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider dropping full coverage.
Medical payments coverage and PIP – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance kick in for expenses for nursing services, hospital visits and funeral costs. They can be used in conjunction with a health insurance program or if you do not have health coverage. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and also covers being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is only offered in select states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Liability coverage – This can cover damage that occurs to people or other property by causing an accident. It protects YOU against other people’s claims. It does not cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You commonly see liability limits of 25/50/25 that means you have a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, $50,000 for the entire accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability coverage protects against things like structural damage, repair costs for stationary objects, pain and suffering, attorney fees and bail bonds. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but buy as much as you can afford.
Collision – This pays for damage to your GS 200t resulting from a collision with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision coverage protects against claims like backing into a parked car, scraping a guard rail, crashing into a building and rolling your car. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. Another option is to increase the deductible to bring the cost down.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage – Your UM/UIM coverage gives you protection when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include injuries to you and your family and damage to your Lexus GS 200t.
Since a lot of drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important.
When shopping online for auto insurance, do not buy less coverage just to save a little money. There are a lot of situations where someone dropped collision coverage only to regret that the savings was not a smart move. Your goal is to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford while still protecting your assets.
Some insurance companies do not offer rate quotes online and these smaller providers only sell coverage through independent agencies. Cheaper auto insurance can be bought on the web in addition to local insurance agencies, so you should compare both in order to have the best chance of saving money.
More information can be found on the following sites: