Lower Your 1998 Buick Park Avenue Insurance Rates

Perplexed by the dozens of car insurance providers? Many other drivers are too. There are so many providers to choose from that it can be a burden to find the perfect company for you.

You should make it a habit to compare rates as often as possible because prices go up and down regularly. Just because you had the best deal for Park Avenue coverage at your last renewal there may be better deals available now. Ignore everything you know about car insurance because it’s time to teach you one of the easiest ways to find better rates and still maintain coverage.

Car insurance rates and discounts

Some providers don’t necessarily list every disount available in a way that’s easy to find, so the below list has both the well known and the harder-to-find credits available to bring down your rates.

  • Multi-car Discount – Drivers who insure multiple cars or trucks on the same car insurance policy could earn a price break for each car.
  • Active Service Discounts – Having a deployed family member could qualify you for better rates.
  • Discount for New Cars – Insuring a vehicle that is new is cheaper due to better safety requirements for new vehicles.
  • Early Switch Discount – A few companies allow discounts for switching to them early. You could save around 10% when you buy insurance online.
  • Theft Deterent Discount – Cars, trucks, and SUVs equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems can help prevent theft and will qualify for a discount on a insurance quote.
  • Life Insurance – Not all insurance companies offer life insurance, but some may give you a lower rate if you buy some life insurance too.
  • Discounts for Seat Belt Usage – Requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts may be able to save a few bucks on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
  • Accident Forgiveness Coverage – Not a discount per se, but some companies like Libery Mutual, GEICO and Allstate will forgive one accident before raising your premiums if you are claim-free for a set time period.

We need to note that most discounts do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most cut the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though it sounds like it’s possible to get free car insurance, that’s just not realistic. Any qualifying discounts will definitely lower your premiums.

A list of car insurance companies and a selection of discounts are:

  • Farmers Insurance has savings for mature driver, homeowner, pay in full, good student, teen driver, early shopping, and distant student.
  • Esurance offers discounts including online quote, safety device, renters, Pac-12 alumni, and homeowner.
  • State Farm has discounts for Drive Safe & Save, passive restraint, multiple policy, defensive driving training, student away at school, anti-theft, and safe vehicle.
  • GEICO policyholders can earn discounts including military active duty, multi-vehicle, good student, multi-policy, emergency military deployment, daytime running lights, and federal employee.
  • Allstate may have discounts that include utility vehicle, eSmart discount, senior citizen, defensive driver, and anti-lock brakes.

When comparing rates, check with every company what discounts are available to you. Depending on the company, some discounts might not be offered in your area. To view insurers with discount rates, follow this link.

Eight things that influence your insurance prices

Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that aid in calculating your premiums. If you understand what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this empowers consumers to make smart changes that could help you find cheaper rates.

Listed below are some of the most rate-impacting factors used by your company to calculate your rate level.

  • Married drivers pay lower premiums – Your spouse may save some money on your policy. Having a significant other is viewed as being more mature than a single person and statistics show married drivers tend to have fewer serious accidents.
  • Teenage drivers cost more – Teen drivers are statistically shown to be easily distracted in a vehicle so they pay higher insurance coverage rates. Parents adding a beginning driver onto a policy can really hurt. Older insureds have been proven to be more responsible, statistically cause fewer accidents , and usually have better credit.
  • Extra policy coverages that aren’t used – Policies have add-on coverages that you can buy on your 1998 Park Avenue policy. Add-on coverages like rental car reimbursement, towing, and Farm Bureau memberships may be costing you every month. These may sound like a good investment when you first buy your policy, but if you’ve never needed them in the past consider taking them off your policy.
  • High credit means lower costs – Having a bad credit rating will be a significant factor in calculating your insurance coverage rates. Consumers who have high credit ratings tend to be more responsible and file fewer claims than those with lower credit ratings. Therefore, if your credit is not that good, you could be paying less to insure your 1998 Buick Park Avenue by improving your credit score.
  • Minor frequent insurance coverage claims are not good – Auto insurance companies generally give the lowest premiums to policyholders who only file infrequent claims. If you frequently file small claims, you can pretty much guarantee much higher rates or policy non-renewal. Insurance coverage is designed for claims that you cannot pay yourself.
  • Guys are more aggressive – Statistics have proven women are more cautious behind the wheel. However, don’t assume that males are worse at driving than females. Males and females cause at-fault accidents in similar percentages, but the male of the species get into accidents with more damage. Men also tend to get cited for more serious violations like driving under the influence (DUI).
  • Don’t skimp on liability coverage – Your insurance coverage policy’s liability coverage will afford coverage if ever a jury decides you are liable for damages caused by your negligence. This coverage provides legal defense to attempt to prove you were not liable. Liability insurance is quite affordable compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so drivers should make sure they buy enough to cover all assets.
  • Insurance coverage rates and your job – Occupational choices like judgespolice officers and financial analysts generally have the highest average rates due to stressful work requirements and lengthy work days. On the other hand, professions such as scientists, engineers and retirees have the lowest average rates for Park Avenue coverage.

Situations that may require an agent’s advice

When buying coverage, there really is not a one size fits all plan. Every insured’s situation is different.

Here are some questions about coverages that may help you determine whether your personal situation will benefit from professional help.

  • Why do I only qualify for high-risk insurance?
  • Do I need PIP (personal injury protection) coverage in my state?
  • Is my trailer covered?
  • How do I buy GAP insurance?
  • Can my teen drive my company car?
  • If my pet gets injured in an accident are they covered?
  • Is motorclub coverage worth it?
  • Do I pay less for low miles?

If you’re not sure about those questions but you know they apply to you, you might consider talking to an insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form.

Do car insurance companies bend the truth?

Well-known car insurance companies like Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm constantly bombard you with ads on TV and radio. They all seem to advertise claims about how much you will save if you move your car insurance policy to them. How does every company give you a lower rate? Just pay attention to how they say it.

Insurance companies have a preferred profile for the type of driver that will not have excessive claims. For instance, a driver they prefer should be between the ages of 30 and 50, insures multiple vehicles, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. Any customer that matches those criteria receives the best auto insurance rates and as a result will probably pay quite a bit less when switching companies.

Potential insureds who may not quite match those criteria will be quoted higher rates and the driver buying from a lower-cost company. Company advertisements say “customers that switch” but not “all drivers who get quotes” save the amount stated. This is how companies can truthfully make the claims of big savings.

This emphasizes why drivers should compare rate quotes every year. You cannot predict which company will have the lowest rates.

Insurance coverages 101

Having a good grasp of your insurance policy helps when choosing which coverages you need at the best deductibles and correct limits. Insurance terms can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.

UM/UIM Coverage

Your UM/UIM coverage gives you protection from other motorists when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered claims include injuries to you and your family as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea. Usually the UM/UIM limits are set the same as your liablity limits.

Medical costs insurance

Med pay and PIP coverage pay for short-term medical expenses like rehabilitation expenses, chiropractic care, EMT expenses and prosthetic devices. They are utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Comprehensive or Other Than Collision

Comprehensive insurance will pay to fix damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive insurance covers claims such as vandalism, damage from flooding and hitting a deer. The highest amount your insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Auto collision coverage

Collision coverage will pay to fix damage to your Park Avenue resulting from colliding with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision insurance covers things like crashing into a building, hitting a parking meter, hitting a mailbox, damaging your car on a curb and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Another option is to increase the deductible to save money on collision insurance.

Liability auto insurance

This protects you from damages or injuries you inflict on people or other property in an accident. It protects YOU from claims by other people, and does not provide coverage for damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You might see limits of 50/100/50 that means you have a $50,000 limit per person for injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $100,000, and $50,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Some companies may use one limit called combined single limit (CSL) that pays claims from the same limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability coverage protects against claims such as medical services, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, court costs, structural damage and bail bonds. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a personal decision, but consider buying as large an amount as possible.

Be a Smart Shopper

We just covered some good ideas how you can shop for 1998 Buick Park Avenue insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the higher your chance of finding cheap insurance. You may be surprised to find that the lowest priced insurance comes from some of the smallest insurance companies.

Consumers change insurance companies for a number of reasons such as not issuing a premium refund, extreme rates for teen drivers, denial of a claim or policy non-renewal. It doesn’t matter what your reason, finding a great new company can be easy and end up saving you some money.

Lower-priced 1998 Buick Park Avenue insurance is available online and also from your neighborhood agents, so you need to quote insurance with both to get a complete price analysis. Some insurance companies do not provide online rate quotes and many times these smaller providers provide coverage only through independent agencies.

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