No car owner looks forward to paying premiums for auto insurance, especially when they are aware that the cost is too high. There is such a variety of auto insurance companies to purchase coverage from, and even though it’s nice to have a choice, so many choices can make it hard to locate the cheapest rates.
Car insurance is not cheap, but you may qualify for discounts that can help lower your rates. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at quote time, but some may not be applied and must be manually applied before being credited.
Remember that most credits do not apply to all coverage premiums. Most only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though it may seem like all the discounts add up to a free policy, you won’t be that lucky.
Large insurance companies and their possible discounts are shown below.
It’s a good idea to ask all the companies which discounts you qualify for. A few discounts might not apply in every state. For a list of insurance companies who offer cheap insurance quotes, follow this link.
There are multiple methods to compare auto insurance prices and some are less labor-intensive and much quicker. You can waste hours talking about coverages with insurance agencies in your area, or you can utilize the web for quick rates.
Most car insurance companies belong to an insurance system that allows shoppers to only type in their quote data once, and each company can give them a price based on the submitted data. This eliminates the need for repetitive form submissions for each company.
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The one disadvantage to comparing rates this way is buyers cannot specifically choose which companies to get pricing from. So if you want to select specific insurance companies to receive pricing from, we put together a list of low cost auto insurance companies in your area. Click to view list.
Whichever method you choose, make sure you use apples-to-apples coverage limits on every quote you get. If you use higher or lower deductibles it will be impossible to truly determine the lowest rate.
When choosing coverage, there really is not a perfect coverage plan. Every insured’s situation is different so your insurance should reflect that Here are some questions about coverages that can help discover if you would benefit from professional advice.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you may need to chat with an agent. To find an agent in your area, simply complete this short form or click here for a list of insurance companies in your area. It only takes a few minutes and can provide invaluable advice.
Understanding the coverages of a insurance policy can help you determine the right coverages for your vehicles. Policy terminology can be confusing and reading a policy is terribly boring. Listed below are typical coverage types available from insurance companies.
Medical expense coverage – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance reimburse you for bills like hospital visits, surgery and EMT expenses. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance program or if there is no health insurance coverage. It covers you and your occupants in addition to if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Collision coverages – Collision insurance pays for damage to your Cougar from colliding with an object or car. A deductible applies and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision insurance covers things like backing into a parked car, sideswiping another vehicle and hitting a parking meter. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider removing coverage from older vehicles. Another option is to choose a higher deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Liability coverages – Liability coverage provides protection from damage or injury you incur to people or other property that is your fault. This insurance protects YOU from claims by other people. It does not cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
Coverage consists of three different limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You commonly see liability limits of 25/50/25 which means $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability insurance covers claims like emergency aid, loss of income, medical services and repair bills for other people’s vehicles. How much coverage you buy is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy as large an amount as possible.
Uninsured or underinsured coverage – This coverage protects you and your vehicle 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 your vehicle’s damage.
Because many people only carry the minimum required liability limits, their limits can quickly be used up. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked.
Comprehensive protection – This coverage will pay to fix damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first have to pay a deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things such as vandalism, damage from flooding, hitting a bird, a broken windshield and hitting a deer. The maximum amount you’ll receive from a claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider dropping full coverage.
As you shop your coverage around, don’t be tempted to reduce needed coverages to save money. In many cases, drivers have reduced full coverage to discover at claim time that the savings was not a smart move. The goal is to purchase plenty of coverage for the lowest cost.
You just read quite a bit of information on how to get a better price on 2002 Mercury Cougar insurance. The key thing to remember is the more companies you get car insurance rates for, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even find the most savings is with a lesser-known regional company. Smaller companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Nationwide.