Did you come to the realization that you have an overpriced car insurance policy? Trust us when we tell you there are many people just like you.
Because there are so many companies and agents to choose from, it’s nearly impossible to locate the most cost effective car insurance company.
Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that aid in calculating your premiums. If you understand what controls the rates you pay, this helps enable you to make changes that can help you get lower insurance prices.
Listed below are a partial list of the pieces utilized by car insurance companies to help set rates.
To get affordable insurance quotes, there a variety of ways of comparing price quotes from local insurance companies. The easiest way to comparison shop consists of obtaining rate quotes online. It is quite easy and can be accomplished using a couple different methods.
If you don’t have a lot of time, the easiest way to get quotes for comparison is an all-inclusive rate comparison (click to open form in new window). This type of form keeps you from doing separate quotation requests to each individual insurance company. One quote request gets insurance cost estimates from insurance companies with the best prices.
A more difficult way to get quotes online consists of visiting each company website and repeat the quote process again and again. For example, we’ll pretend you want to view quotes from Auto-Owners, Allstate and American Family. To get each rate you have to navigate to each company’s site and enter your policy data, which can be really labor intensive. For a list of links to insurance companies in your area, click here.
Take whichever approach you prefer, but ensure you’re using apples-to-apples deductibles and coverage limits on every quote. If your comparisons have different limits and deductibles on each one it will be nearly impossible to make a fair comparison for your Chevy Lumina Minivan. Just a small difference in coverages can result in a big premium difference. It’s important to know that quoting more helps you find the best offered rates.
Not many people think insurance is cheap, but there are discounts available that many people don’t even know exist. A few discounts will be applied when you complete an application, but lesser-known reductions have to be specially asked for in order for you to get them.
As a sidenote, some credits don’t apply to your bottom line cost. Most cut individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. Even though the math looks like all those discounts means the company will pay you, you’re out of luck.
To choose insurers that offer discounts, click this link.
When choosing the right insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a single plan that fits everyone. Every situation is different so your insurance needs to address that. For example, these questions may help highlight whether you might need an agent’s assistance.
If you’re not sure about those questions but you know they apply to you, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
Knowing the specifics of your policy helps when choosing the best coverages for your vehicles. Insurance terms can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Below you’ll find the usual coverages found on most insurance policies.
Collision insurance
Collision insurance covers damage to your Lumina Minivan resulting from a collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision can pay for things such as rolling your car, damaging your car on a curb, backing into a parked car, crashing into a building and scraping a guard rail. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to bump up the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Medical payments coverage and PIP
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP reimburse you for expenses like prosthetic devices, dental work, chiropractic care, ambulance fees and hospital visits. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. Coverage applies to not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and will also cover being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal Injury Protection is only offered in select states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage
Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for hospital bills for your injuries as well as your vehicle’s damage.
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. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Frequently these coverages are similar to your liability insurance amounts.
Comprehensive coverage
This coverage covers damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You need to pay your deductible first then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like damage from getting keyed, a tree branch falling on your vehicle, falling objects and hitting a deer. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Liability insurance
Liability coverage provides protection from damage that occurs to other’s property or people that is your fault. This insurance protects YOU against other people’s claims. It does not cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
It consists of three limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You might see limits of 50/100/50 that translate to $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, $100,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $50,000. Some companies may use a combined single limit or CSL that pays claims from the same limit without having the split limit caps.
Liability can pay for things such as medical expenses, emergency aid and repair costs for stationary objects. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible.
Cheaper 1994 Chevy Lumina Minivan insurance is available from both online companies and from local agencies, and you need to comparison shop both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some companies may not have price quotes online and many times these regional insurance providers work with independent agents.
As you quote insurance, it’s a bad idea to skimp on coverage in order to save money. There are many occasions where an insured dropped collision coverage to discover at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. The ultimate goal is to buy the best coverage you can find at the best possible price, not the least amount of coverage.
Additional auto insurance information can be found on the following sites: