Lower Your 1993 Chevrolet S-10 Insurance Cost

Trying to find the cheapest auto insurance rates for your Chevrolet S-10? Are you at wits end from sacrificing other expenses each month for auto insurance? Your situation is no different than most other drivers. Drivers have many car insurance companies to buy insurance from, and although it’s nice to be able to choose, it can be more difficult to compare rates.

Buying car insurance is easy if you know what you’re doing. If you have a policy now or are shopping for new coverage, you can use these techniques to find the best rates while maintaining coverages. Vehicle owners only need an understanding of the most efficient way to get comparison rates over the internet.

Learn how to lower your insurance costs

Lots of things are part of the calculation when you quote your car insurance policy. Some are obvious such as your driving history, but other factors are not quite as obvious such as whether you are married or your commute time.

The following are most of the major factors used by companies to determine prices.

  • Never let your car insurance policy lapse – Having a lapse in insurance coverage is a guaranteed way to trigger a rate increase. Not only will you pay higher rates, not being able to provide proof of insurance may earn you a license revocation or jail time. You may have to file a SR-22 with your state motor vehicle department to get your license reinstated.
  • Poor credit decisions can cost you – Having a good credit score is a large factor in determining premium rates. So if your credit rating leaves room for improvement, you may save money insuring your 1993 Chevrolet S-10 if you improve your credit rating. Drivers with very high credit ratings tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than those with poor credit scores.
  • Little extras can really add up – There are a ton of extra bells and whistles that you can buy but may not be useful. Insurance for coverage for rental cars, better glass coverage, and Farm Bureau memberships could be just wasting money. These coverages may sound good when buying your policy, but your needs may have changed so eliminate them to save money.
  • Raise deductibles and save – Physical damage insurance, also called ‘full coverage’, insures against damage to your Chevy. Examples of some claims that would be covered are a broken side mirror, hail damage, and windstorm damage. The deductibles you choose are how much you are required to pay if the claim is covered. The higher the amount you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the less your car insurance will be for S-10 coverage.
  • Alarms and GPS tracking lower rates – Purchasing a vehicle with a theft deterrent system can help lower your rates. Theft deterrent systems like OnStar, LoJack tracking, and tamper alarms all help prevent vehicle theft.
  • Lower rates with a multi-policy discount – Most major insurance companies will award better rates to customers that purchase more than one policy in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even if you’re getting this discount you still need to get quotes from other companies to verify if the discount is saving money.
  • Annual mileage and car insurance rates – The more you drive your Chevy in a year the more you’ll pay to insure your vehicle. A lot of companies calculate rates based on how the vehicle is used. Cars that have low annual miles can get a lower rate than those that get driven frequently. It’s a smart idea to ensure your car insurance policy is showing annual mileage, because improper ratings can cost you money. An improperly rated S-10 may be wasting your money.

More discounts mean cheaper premiums

Some providers don’t always publicize every disount available very well, so the following is a list of some of the best known and the harder-to-find credits that you can use to lower your rates.

  • Multiple Cars – Having all your vehicles on the same insurance policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
  • Low Mileage Discounts – Driving less could be rewarded with lower prices on the low mileage vehicles.
  • Military Discounts – Being on active duty in the military may qualify for rate reductions.
  • Discount for Multiple Policies – If you have multiple policies with the same company you may save at least 10% off all policies.
  • Anti-lock Brake Discount – Cars, trucks, and SUVs with anti-lock braking systems are safer to drive and will save you 10% or more.
  • Telematics Devices – Policyholders that allow driving data collection to look at their driving habits remotely such as Snapshot from Progressive or Drivewise from Allstate might see lower rates if they have good driving habits.
  • Discount for Life Insurance – Not all insurance carriers offer life insurance, but some may give you lower premium rates if you buy a life insurance policy as well.
  • Drive Safe and Save – Drivers who avoid accidents could pay up to 40% less for S-10 coverage than drivers with accident claims.
  • Anti-theft Discount – Vehicles that have factory alarm systems and tracking devices are less likely to be stolen so companies will give you a small discount.
  • Waiver for an Accident – Not really a discount, but some insurance companies will let one accident slide before your rates go up as long as you don’t have any claims for a specific time period.

Just know that many deductions do not apply to the entire cost. Most only apply to individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though the math looks like all the discounts add up to a free policy, it’s just not the way it works.

Car insurance companies that may offer these money-saving discounts include:

Double check with every company which credits you are entitled to. Depending on the company, some discounts might not be offered on policies in your area. To find providers with significant discounts, click here to view.

Buyer beware of auto insurance advertising tricks

Consumers can’t ignore all the ads that promise big savings for switching by Progressive, Allstate and GEICO. They all seem to make the point about savings if you get a free car insurance quote and switch your auto insurance policy to them.

Is it even possible that every company can offer drivers better rates? It’s all in how they say it.

Most companies can use profiling for the type of customer that makes them money. For instance, a profitable customer could possibly be a married female, carries high limits, and drives a car with an anti-theft system. Any person who matches that profile will probably get the lowest prices and will most likely save when switching.

Insureds who don’t qualify for these criteria will probably be forced to pay higher prices and this results in the customer not purchasing. If you pay attention, the ads say “customers that switch” not “all people who quote” save that much money. That’s the way companies can claim big savings. Because of the profiling, drivers should compare many company’s car insurance rates. You cannot predict which company will be your best fit.

It’s not one size fits all

When it comes to choosing adequate coverage for your vehicles, there really is no perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s situation is a little different so this has to be addressed. These are some specific questions might point out if your insurance needs might need an agent’s assistance.

  • Am I insured when driving a different vehicle?
  • Am I covered if I hit my neighbor’s mailbox?
  • Does medical payments coverage apply to all occupants?
  • Do I have coverage when making deliveries for my home business?
  • Does having multiple vehicles earn me a discount?
  • Is my 1993 Chevy S-10 covered for flood damage?
  • When would I need rental car insurance?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions but one or more may apply to you then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and can help protect your family.

Car insurance coverages explained

Understanding the coverages of a car insurance policy helps when choosing the right coverages for your vehicles. Car insurance terms can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Listed below are the usual coverages found on most car insurance policies.

Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for bills such as surgery, X-ray expenses, pain medications and hospital visits. They are utilized in addition to your health insurance program or if there is no health insurance coverage. Coverage applies to you and your occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not available in all states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Comprehensive insurance – This covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive insurance covers things such as a tree branch falling on your vehicle, falling objects, hail damage, hitting a bird and damage from flooding. The most a car insurance company will pay at claim time is the ACV or actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Liability car insurance – Liability insurance will cover damage or injury you incur to other people or property in an accident. It protects YOU from legal claims by others. It does not cover your injuries or vehicle damage.

Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. Your policy might show policy limits of 25/50/25 that translate to a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery.

Liability coverage protects against things like medical services, attorney fees, loss of income and emergency aid. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase higher limits if possible.

Collision coverage – This coverage covers damage to your S-10 caused by collision with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision insurance covers things like damaging your car on a curb, driving through your garage door, sustaining damage from a pot hole, scraping a guard rail and rolling your car. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) – This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when the “other guys” do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered claims include medical payments for you and your occupants and also any damage incurred to your 1993 Chevy S-10.

Since many drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. So UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked.

Save for a rainy day

Budget-friendly insurance can be purchased from both online companies and from local insurance agents, so you need to shop car insurance with both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance companies may not offer rate quotes online and usually these regional carriers only sell through independent agents.

In this article, we covered many ways to save on 1993 Chevy S-10 insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more times you quote, the better your comparison will be. You may even find the best price on insurance is with the least-expected company. These companies may cover specific market segments cheaper than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate and Progressive.

As you shop your coverage around, make sure you don’t reduce needed coverages to save money. There are too many instances where an accident victim reduced full coverage only to find out that they should have had better coverage. The proper strategy is to buy a smart amount of coverage at a price you can afford while still protecting your assets.

Additional insurance information is located on the following sites: