1997 Ford Explorer Insurance Cost – 9 Ways to Save

Searching for better insurance coverage rates for your Ford Explorer? Scraping up a payment for pricey Ford Explorer insurance can bottom out your accounts and put the squeeze on your family’s finances. Comparing cost estimates can help to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket.

Insurance companies such as State Farm and GEICO constantly bombard you with advertising and it is difficult to see past the geckos and flying pigs and take the time to shop coverage around.

It’s a good habit to do rate comparisons before your policy renews because insurance rates change quite often. Even if you think you had the best premium rates for Explorer coverage a few years ago the chances are good that you can find a lower price today. Block out anything you think you know about insurance coverage because you’re about to find out the best methods to find better coverage at a better price.

Nine discounts for cheaper insurance rates

Companies that sell car insurance don’t necessarily list the entire discount list in an easy-to-find place, so we took the time to find a few of the more well known and also the lesser-known savings tricks you should be using when you buy car insurance online.

  • Include Life Insurance and Save – Insurance companies who offer life insurance give lower prices if you buy life insurance from them.
  • Driving Data Discount – Insureds who allow their insurance company to analyze driving habits by using a small device installed in their vehicle such as Progressive’s Snapshot could see a rate decrease as long as they are good drivers.
  • Good Student – Excelling in school could provide a savings of up to 20% or more. The discount lasts until age 25.
  • 55 and Retired – Drivers over the age of 55 may be able to get a slight reduction on a car insurance quote for Explorer coverage.
  • Early Renewal Discounts – Some larger companies provide a discount for renewing your policy early. You may see this discount when you get car insurance quotes online.
  • Student Driver Training – Require your teen driver to sucessfully take a drivers education course if offered at their school.
  • Cautious Drivers – Accident-free drivers may receive a discount up to 45% for Explorer coverage compared to rates paid by drivers with frequent claims.
  • No Charge for an Accident – Not really a discount, but a handful of insurance companies will allow you to have one accident without the usual rate increase if your claims history is clear for a specific time period.
  • Lower Rates for Military – Being on active duty in the military may lower your prices slightly.

Consumers should know that most credits do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. Even though it may seem like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, insurance companies wouldn’t stay in business.

Large insurance companies and a selection of discounts include:

  • GEICO offers discounts including five-year accident-free, seat belt use, federal employee, membership and employees, multi-vehicle, air bags, and driver training.
  • USAA has discounts for new vehicle, safe driver, multi-vehicle, annual mileage, vehicle storage, loyalty savings, and driver training.
  • Progressive includes discounts for online signing, homeowner, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, online quote discount, good student, and continuous coverage.
  • American Family may include discounts for early bird, TimeAway discount, air bags, multi-vehicle, good driver, and accident-free.
  • Esurance policyholders can earn discounts including renters, good driver, DriveSense, claim free, Switch & Save, and emergency road assistance.
  • Farmers Insurance has savings for pay in full, multi-car, mature driver, bundle discounts, and homeowner.
  • State Farm may have discounts that include passive restraint, defensive driving training, student away at school, good student, accident-free, Steer Clear safe driver discount, and safe vehicle.

It’s a good idea to ask every prospective company which discounts can lower your rates. Discounts might not be offered on policies in your area. For a list of companies that provide some of the discounts listed above, click here to view.

Compare insurance price quotes

Performing a rate comparison can take hours if you don’t understand the most efficient way. You can spend countless hours discussing policy coverages with insurance companies in your area, or you can utilize the internet to get rates in a matter of minutes.

Most car insurance companies participate in a marketplace where insurance shoppers enter their coverage request one time, and every company then gives them pricing. This system prevents you from having to do repetitive form submissions for each company you want a rate for.

To find out how much you’re overpaying now click here to start a free quote.

The one disadvantage to pricing coverage this way is you cannot specify which insurance companies to get quotes from. So if you want to choose from a list of companies for rate comparison, we put together a list of insurance companies in your area. Click to view list.

Whichever way you use, double check that you are using apples-to-apples coverage data on every quote. If you have higher or lower deductibles you can’t possibly make a fair comparison for your Ford Explorer.

You may need specialized insurance coverage

When choosing the best insurance coverage for your vehicles, there really is not a one size fits all plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. These are some specific questions may help highlight if your situation would benefit from professional advice.

  • What discounts do I qualify for?
  • How much underlying liability do I need for an umbrella policy?
  • Do I need added coverage for expensive stereo equipment?
  • Do I need rental car coverage?
  • Should I buy only the required minimum liability coverage?
  • Is my teenager covered with friends in the car?
  • Is business property covered if stolen from my car?
  • How can I get high-risk coverage after a DUI?

If you’re not sure about those questions but you know they apply to you, you might consider talking to a licensed agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, complete this form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier It only takes a few minutes and you can get the answers you need.

Car insurance 101

Having a good grasp of a insurance policy can help you determine which coverages you need at the best deductibles and correct limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Shown next are the normal coverages offered by insurance companies.

Comprehensive insurance – This pays for damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. A deductible will apply and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for claims like damage from flooding, fire damage, hitting a bird and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The maximum payout your insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP provide coverage for immediate expenses for things like pain medications, hospital visits, EMT expenses, funeral costs and rehabilitation expenses. They can be used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover you and your occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is not available in all states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Liability insurance – This coverage protects you from damage or injury you incur to a person or their property in an accident. It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see liability limits of 25/50/25 that means you have $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a total limit of $25,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Alternatively, you may have a combined limit which combines the three limits into one amount with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability coverage pays for things such as structural damage, medical services and pain and suffering. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but buy as high a limit as you can afford.

Collision coverage – Collision coverage pays for damage to your Explorer from colliding with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision coverage pays for claims such as sideswiping another vehicle, driving through your garage door, backing into a parked car, hitting a parking meter and colliding with another moving vehicle. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to bump up the deductible to bring the cost down.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage provides protection from other drivers when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. It can pay for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your Ford Explorer.

Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important. Frequently these limits are set the same as your liablity limits.

Do the work, save more money

Cheap 1997 Ford Explorer insurance is available from both online companies in addition to local insurance agencies, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers may not offer online rate quotes and most of the time these smaller providers only sell coverage through independent agents.

You just learned many ideas to lower your 1997 Ford Explorer insurance premium rates. The key concept to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the better your comparison will be. Consumers could even find that the lowest priced car insurance comes from a small mutual company. Regional companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate, GEICO and Progressive.

When you buy car insurance online, don’t be tempted to skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. In too many instances, an accident victim reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your aim should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the best price, but do not skimp to save money.

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