If price shopping insurance quotes online is new to you, you can easily be overwhelmed by the confusing number of local and online companies all offering big savings.
Buying car insurance is not that difficult. If you currently have car insurance, you stand a good chance to be able to reduce your rates substantially using these methods. Although car owners can benefit from knowing how big insurance companies compete online and take advantage of how the system works.
Most of the larger companies such as Allstate, GEICO and Progressive allow you to get insurance quotes on their websites. Doing online quotes is pretty easy as you simply type in your required coverages as detailed in the form. After you submit the form their rating system sends out for information on your driving record and credit history and quotes a price based on the data you entered.
Online price quotes streamlines rate comparisons, but the time it takes to visit each company’s website and repetitively enter the same data into a form is not the best way to spend an afternoon. Unfortunately, it is important to have as many quotes as possible if you are searching for a better rate.
An easier way to lower your rates uses one form to get prices from more than one company. It’s a real time-saver, reduces the work, and makes online quotes much easier to do. After sending the form, it gets priced with multiple companies and you can pick any of the resulting price quotes. If the quotes result in lower rates, you simply finish the application and purchase coverage. The whole process takes just a few minutes to complete and could lower your rates considerably.
To save time and find out what other companies charge, simply click here to open in new window and enter your vehicle and coverage information. If you have coverage now, it’s recommended you replicate coverages and limits as shown on your current policy. This makes sure you will have a price comparison using the exact same coverages.
Allstate, GEICO and Progressive regularly use ads in print and on television. They all seem to make the point about savings just by switching your coverage to them. Is it even possible that every company can make the same claim? Just pay attention to how they say it.
All the different companies give the cheapest rates for the type of customer that earns them a profit. An example of a profitable insured may need to be between the ages of 30 and 50, owns a home, and the vehicle is rated for pleasure use. Any new insured who fits those characteristics receive the lowest rate quotes and have a good chance to save when switching.
Consumers who don’t qualify for the ideal profile must pay a higher premium and ends up with the customer not purchasing. If you pay close attention to the ads, they say “customers who switch” not “everyone who quotes” save that much money. This is how insurance companies can make claims like that. Because every company is different, you absolutely need to get a wide range of price quotes. It is just not possible to predict with any certainty which company will give you lower premium rates than your current company.
A large part of saving on insurance is knowing some of the elements that help determine your policy premiums. When consumers understand what determines base rates, this enables you to make decisions that can earn you lower insurance prices.
Some insurance providers don’t always list every available discount very clearly, so the list below gives a summary of a few of the more well known and the harder-to-find credits available to bring down your rates.
Drivers should understand that most discount credits are not given the the whole policy. Most only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though you would think you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you aren’t that lucky. Any amount of discount will bring down the amount you have to pay.
A list of car insurance companies and a partial list of their discounts can be read below.
Check with each company or agent which credits you are entitled to. Discounts might not be offered on policies in your area. For a list of insurers that offer discounts, click here.
When it comes to buying the best car insurance coverage, there really is no one size fits all plan. Everyone’s situation is a little different.
For instance, these questions may help you determine whether or not you might need an agent’s assistance.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you know they apply to you then you might want to talk to an insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form.
Having a good grasp of insurance can be of help when determining which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)
This coverage protects you and your vehicle when other motorists either have no liability insurance or not enough. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Due to the fact that many drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is a good idea.
Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage pay for expenses for things like pain medications, rehabilitation expenses and nursing services. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants in addition to if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is only offered in select states and may carry a deductible
Auto liability insurance
This coverage protects you from damage that occurs to people or other property by causing an accident. It protects YOU from legal claims by others, and doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have values of 25/50/25 that means you have a limit of $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 for the entire accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability coverage pays for claims such as funeral expenses, medical expenses, pain and suffering and legal defense fees. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford.
Collision coverage protection
Collision coverage covers damage to your S-10 Blazer caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You will need to pay your deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision coverage protects against things like hitting a parking meter, sustaining damage from a pot hole, crashing into a ditch, colliding with a tree and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. You can also bump up the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Comprehensive insurance
Comprehensive insurance will pay to fix damage from a wide range of events other than collision. A deductible will apply and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for things such as hail damage, hitting a deer, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and damage from flooding. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Cheap 2003 Chevy S-10 Blazer insurance can be found from both online companies as well as from insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best selection. Some insurance providers don’t offer rate quotes online and these regional insurance providers prefer to sell through local independent agencies.
As you quote insurance, never reduce needed coverages to save money. In too many instances, consumers will sacrifice physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your goal is to find the BEST coverage for the lowest price while still protecting your assets.
People who switch companies do it for many reasons like high rates after DUI convictions, being labeled a high risk driver, policy cancellation and extreme rates for teen drivers. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, finding the right car insurance provider is not as difficult as it may seem.
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