Are you sick and tired of being strong-armed to pay your insurance bill each month? You have the same problem as millions of other consumers.
Companies like State Farm, Progressive and GEICO constantly blast consumers with catchy ads and it is challenging if not impossible to see past the geckos and flying pigs and take the time to shop coverage around.
Insurance coverage is easily one of your largest bills, but you may be missing some discounts that can dramatically reduce your bill. Some trigger automatically when you purchase, but once in a while a discount must be manually applied prior to receiving the credit.
Policy discounts save money, but most discount credits are not given to the overall cost of the policy. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. So even though you would think you could get a free insurance coverage policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
Popular insurance coverage companies and some of their more popular discounts can be read below.
Before buying, ask every insurance company which discounts you may be entitled to. Some credits may not apply to policyholders in your area. To view companies that offer many of these discounts, follow this link.
When buying proper insurance coverage, there really is not a cookie cutter policy. Everyone’s situation is unique so your insurance needs to address that. Here are some questions about coverages that may help highlight whether or not you may require specific advice.
If you can’t answer these questions but you know they apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to an agent. To find an agent in your area, complete this form or click here for a list of car insurance companies in your area.
Having a good grasp of a car insurance policy helps when choosing the right coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Listed below are the usual coverages available from car insurance companies.
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage
This protects you and your vehicle from other drivers when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since many drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is very important. Normally the UM/UIM limits are similar to your liability insurance amounts.
Collision protection
This covers damage to your Probe caused by collision with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision can pay for claims like hitting a parking meter, sideswiping another vehicle and crashing into a ditch. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. Another option is to bump up the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Liability insurance
Liability insurance can cover damage that occurs to people or other property in an accident. This coverage protects you from claims by other people, and doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You commonly see values of 50/100/50 which means a $50,000 limit per person for injuries, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a limit of $50,000 paid for damaged property. Alternatively, you may have a combined limit that pays claims from the same limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability can pay for things like repair bills for other people’s vehicles, attorney fees, medical expenses, medical services and structural damage. How much coverage you buy is your choice, but consider buying as large an amount as possible.
Medical payments and PIP coverage
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance provide coverage for bills such as hospital visits, doctor visits, surgery, prosthetic devices and dental work. They are utilized in addition to your health insurance program or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover you and your occupants as well as getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Comprehensive auto coverage
This will pay to fix 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 coverage pays for things like hail damage, vandalism, rock chips in glass, theft and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The highest amount your car insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Cheaper insurance coverage is attainable both online in addition to local insurance agencies, so you need to shop insurance coverage with both to have the best rate selection. There are still a few companies who may not provide price quotes online and these smaller companies sell through independent insurance agents.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, it’s not a good idea to buy less coverage just to save a little money. There are many occasions where an insured dropped liability coverage limits and discovered at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. The goal is to buy a smart amount of coverage at the best cost and still be able to protect your assets.
You just learned many ideas to get a better price on 1994 Ford Probe insurance. The key thing to remember is the more you quote insurance coverage, the better your comparison will be. You may even find the best car insurance rates are with some of the smallest insurance companies. These companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Nationwide.
Additional insurance coverage information can be read at the links below