Trying to come up with a payment for high-priced auto insurance can drain your monthly budget and make it tough to pay other bills.
Big companies like State Farm, GEICO and Farmers Insurance persitently shower you with advertising and it is difficult to separate fact from fiction and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.
If you have car insurance now, you will be able to save some money using these methods. Choosing the best insurance company for you is easy if you know what you’re doing. But vehicle owners must know how companies sell online.
There are a variety of methods to shop for auto insurance, but there is one way that is more efficient than others. You can waste a lot of time talking to agents in your area, or you can utilize online quotes for quick rates.
Many insurance companies belong to an insurance system where insurance shoppers enter their coverage request one time, and each company provides a quote based on that data. This prevents consumers from doing repetitive form submissions to every company.
To submit your quote information now, click here to start a free quote.
One minor caviat to getting quotes like this is you cannot specify the companies to receive prices from. So if you want to select specific insurance companies to compare rates, we have assembled a list of the cheapest auto insurance companies in your area. Click here for list of insurance companies.
The method you choose is up to you, but be sure you’re using nearly identical coverage data on every quote. If you compare different deductibles you will not be able to make an equal comparison. Having just a slight variation in insurance coverages or limits can result in a big premium difference. And when comparing auto insurance rates, know that comparing more company’s prices helps locate better pricing.
Car insurance is expensive, but you might find some hidden discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Certain discounts will be applied at quote time, but a few must be requested specifically before you will receive the discount.
Policy discounts save money, but some credits don’t apply to all coverage premiums. Most only reduce individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. If you do the math and it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, insurance companies wouldn’t stay in business. Any qualifying discounts will definitely lower your premiums.
Popular car insurance companies and their offered discounts are included below.
When getting a coverage quote, ask every insurance company how many discounts you can get. All car insurance discounts might not be offered in your state. For a list of providers who offer online car insurance quotes, click here.
When buying adequate coverage for your vehicles, there really is not a “perfect” insurance plan. Each situation is unique and your policy should reflect that. These are some specific questions could help you determine if you would benefit from professional advice.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you know they apply to you, you may need to chat with an agent. If you don’t have a local agent, fill out this quick form or click here for a list of car insurance companies in your area.
Understanding the coverages of your auto insurance policy helps when choosing which coverages you need at the best deductibles and correct limits. Auto insurance terms can be impossible to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Shown next are typical coverages offered by auto insurance companies.
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance provide coverage for short-term medical expenses for things like hospital visits, ambulance fees, pain medications, prosthetic devices and chiropractic care. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. It covers all vehicle occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP coverage is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
This coverage protects you from damage or injury you incur to other’s property or people by causing an accident. This coverage protects you from claims by other people, and does not provide coverage for damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see liability limits of 100/300/100 that translate to a limit of $100,000 per injured person, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a total limit of $100,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Some companies may use a combined limit that pays claims from the same limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability coverage pays for claims like emergency aid, attorney fees, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, bail bonds and court costs. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy as much as you can afford.
This protects you and your vehicle when the “other guys” do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for hospital bills for your injuries and also any damage incurred to your Mercedes-Benz SL-Class.
Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked. Frequently these coverages are similar to your liability insurance amounts.
This pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first have to pay a deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers things such as a tree branch falling on your vehicle, hitting a bird and hitting a deer. The highest amount your auto insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Collision insurance will pay to fix damage to your SL-Class resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage pays for things such as colliding with another moving vehicle, crashing into a ditch, backing into a parked car and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider removing coverage from lower value vehicles. You can also bump up the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Some insurance providers do not provide the ability to get quotes online and many times these regional carriers work with independent agents. Discount 1994 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class insurance can be bought from both online companies as well as from independent agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best selection.
As you quote auto insurance, you should never skimp on coverage in order to save money. There are many occasions where someone sacrificed collision coverage and discovered at claim time that it was a big error on their part. Your strategy should be to buy enough coverage at the best cost, not the least amount of coverage.