2001 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Car Insurance Quotes – 5 Tricks for Cheaper Rates

Did you come to the realization that you have high-priced car insurance? You’re preaching to the choir because there are lots of people in the same boat. There is such a variety of auto insurance companies to insure vehicles with, and even though it’s nice to have multiple companies, more choices can make it harder to find the best rates for your vehicles.

It’s a good idea to compare premium rates every six months because car insurance prices change frequently. If you had the best rates for Silverado insurance last year there is a good chance you can find better rate quotes now. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about car insurance because you’re about to learn how to use the internet to properly buy coverages and cut your premium.

Buying car insurance is easy if you know what you’re doing. If you currently have car insurance, you stand a good chance to be able to save some money using these methods. Drivers just need to learn the best way to shop their coverage around on the web.

Ways to get auto insurance rate quotes

Finding a better price on auto insurance isn’t really that difficult. You just have to spend a few minutes comparing rate quotes provided by online insurance companies. You can get a good selection of rate quotes using a couple different methods.

  1. The fastest way to find low rates would be an industry-wide quote request form click to view form in new window. This style of form saves time by eliminating boring form submissions to each individual auto insurance company. One simple form will get you rate comparisons from auto insurance companies with the best prices.
  2. A more time consuming way to obtain and compare quotes online is going to the website for each individual company and get a separate price quote. For examples sake, let’s say you want to get rates from Farmers, GEICO and GMAC. You would have to navigate to each company’s site to input your insurance information, which can get old fast.

    For a list of links to companies insuring cars in your area, click here.

  3. The hardest way to find lower rates is to drive around to insurance agencies in your area. Quoting and buying insurance online eliminates the need for an insurance agent unless you require the guidance of a local agency. However, consumers can compare online quotes but have your policy serviced through an agent.

You can use whichever method you prefer to find lower rates, just try to use the same coverages with each company. If the quotes have different values for each quote it will be next to impossible to get a fair rate comparison.

Big brands don’t always mean big savings

Drivers can’t get away from ads that claim the lowest premium rates from companies such as GEICO, State Farm and Progressive. They all try to convey promises that people will save if you move your car insurance coverage to their company.

How is it possible that every company can claim to save you money?

Many companies have specific guidelines for the type of driver they prefer to insure. A good example of a driver they prefer might be between 30 and 50, has no claims, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A customer getting a price quote who fits that profile is entitled to the best price and as a result will probably cut their rates substantially.

Potential customers who fall outside those criteria will have to pay higher rates and this can result in the driver buying from a lower-cost company. Company advertisements say “customers that switch” not “everybody who quotes” save money. That is how companies can make the claims of big savings. Because each company has a different risk profile, you should compare many company’s auto insurance rates. It’s not possible to predict which company will give you lower rates than your current company.

Don’t miss with these five discounts

Not many people think insurance is cheap, but there may be some discounts to help offset the cost. Some trigger automatically when you quote, but a few must be specifically requested before being credited.

  • Passive Restraints – Vehicles equipped with air bags or automatic seat belts may earn rate discounts as much as 30%.
  • Save with a New Car – Insuring a vehicle that is new can save up to 30% because newer models keep occupants safer.
  • Switch and Save Discount – Some companies provide a discount for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiring. It’s a savings of about 10%.
  • ABS and Traction Control Discounts – Vehicles with ABS and/or traction control can reduce accidents and will save you 10% or more.
  • Distant Student – who are enrolled in higher education away from home and don’t have a car can be insured at a reduced rate.

As a footnote on discounts, many deductions do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though the math looks like it’s possible to get free car insurance, it’s just not the way it works.

A few companies that have these discounts may include but are not limited to:

Double check with every company how many discounts you can get. A few discounts may not apply to policyholders in your area.

Your situation helps dictate your coverage

When it comes to choosing proper insurance coverage, there is no “perfect” insurance plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s so your insurance needs to address that. For instance, these questions can help discover if your insurance needs may require specific advice.

  • I have a DUI can I still get coverage?
  • Am I covered if I drive in a foreign country?
  • Can I afford to buy a different vehicle if my 2001 Chevy Silverado 1500 is totaled?
  • Am I insured when driving a different vehicle?
  • Do I need special endorsements for business use of my vehicle?
  • Which is better, split liability limits or combined limits?
  • I have health insurance so do I need medical payments coverage?
  • Am I covered if I break a side mirror?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, take a second and complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and you can get the answers you need.

Auto insurance coverages and their meanings

Having a good grasp of a auto insurance policy aids in choosing appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. Policy terminology can be confusing and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Listed below are typical coverages found on the average auto insurance policy.

Liability coverage

Liability insurance protects you from damage or injury you incur to other people or property by causing an accident. This insurance protects YOU against claims from other people. It does not cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You might see values of 25/50/25 that means you have $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property.

Liability can pay for claims like legal defense fees, loss of income, bail bonds, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and medical services. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford.

Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers

Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when the “other guys” either have no liability insurance or not enough. This coverage pays for injuries to you and your family as well as damage to your Chevy Silverado 1500.

Since many drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is a good idea.

Medical expense insurance

Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP reimburse you for expenses for chiropractic care, nursing services, surgery, prosthetic devices and dental work. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. Coverage applies to not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP coverage is not an option in every state but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Comprehensive (Other than Collision)

This coverage pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first must pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive insurance covers claims like hitting a bird, rock chips in glass, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and damage from getting keyed. The maximum amount a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Auto collision coverage

Collision insurance will pay to fix damage to your Silverado 1500 caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision can pay for things like hitting a mailbox, driving through your garage door, colliding with a tree, damaging your car on a curb and rolling your car. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are older. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Don’t be a big spender

As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, do not buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There are many occasions where drivers have reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits and discovered at claim time that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The goal is to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest cost, but do not skimp to save money.

Some companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and many times these regional carriers only sell coverage through independent insurance agents. Cheaper 2001 Chevy Silverado 1500 insurance can be sourced both online as well as from independent agents, so you should compare both to have the best rate selection.

In this article, we covered some good ideas how you can save on 2001 Chevy Silverado 1500 insurance. It’s most important to understand that the more rate quotes you have, the higher the chance of saving money. You may even find the lowest priced insurance comes from the least-expected company. Some small companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive and GEICO.

More articles