Save on 2003 Dodge Ram Pickup 3500 Insurance Rates

Sick and tired of wondering where the money will come from to insure your Dodge every month? You have the same problem as many other drivers.

Insurance companies such as GEICO and Progressive promote their brand names with fancy advertisements and consumers find it hard to ignore the flashy ads and do the work needed to find the best deal.

Four factors that affect insurance prices

Lots of things are considered when you quote your car insurance policy. Some are obvious such as traffic violations, but some are not quite as obvious such as your credit history or your vehicle rating.

  • Don’t cut corners with liability coverage – The liability coverage on your policy will afford coverage if ever you are ruled to be at fault for physical damage or personal injury to other. Your policy’s liability insurance provides legal defense starting from day one. It is affordable coverage when compared with rates for comp and collision, so do not cut corners here.
  • Your address can modify premiums – Having an address in small towns and rural areas is a positive aspect when insuring your vehicles. Less people translates into fewer accident claims and a lower car theft rate. Drivers who live in large cities regularly have much more traffic and longer commute times. Longer commute distances means a statistically higher chance of an accident.
  • Your gender affects rates – Over the last 30 years, statistics show females are less aggressive when driving. That doesn’t necessarily mean that females are better drivers. Females and males tend to get into at-fault accidents at a similar rate, but the male of the species tend to have more serious accidents. They also get cited for more serious violations like DWI (DUI) or reckless driving.
  • Premiums are high for teenagers – Inexperience drivers are statistically proven to get distracted easily with other occupants in the car so they pay higher auto insurance rates. Older people have been proven to be more responsible, file fewer claims and receive fewer citations.

How to compare insurance quotes

There are several ways you can shop for insurance and some are less labor-intensive and much quicker. You can spend your afternoon talking about coverages with insurance companies in your area, or you could use the web to accomplish the same thing much quicker.

Most of the best insurance companies belong to an insurance system where prospective buyers submit one quote, and at least one company returns a competitive quote for coverage. This saves time by eliminating form submissions to each individual insurance company.

To use this form to compare rates click here (opens in new window).

One minor caviat to getting quotes like this is you can’t choose which providers you will receive quotes from. If you wish to select from a list of companies for rate comparison, we have a listing of low cost insurance companies in your area. View list of insurance companies.

The approach you take is up to you, just make sure you compare identical coverage data for every company. If your comparisons have unequal deductibles or liability limits you will not be able to determine which rate is truly the best. Quoting even small variations in limits could mean much higher rates. Just keep in mind that comparing all the rates in your area will increase your chances of finding a lower rate. Not every company provides prices over the internet, so you should also compare price estimates from the smaller companies as well.

The car insurance bait and switch

Popular car insurance providers such as Allstate, GEICO and Progressive seem to constantly run ads on television and other media. They all seem to tend to make the same promise that you’ll save big if you get a free car insurance quote and switch your coverage to them. How does each company make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.

All companies require specific criteria for a prospective insured that earns them a profit. One example of a profitable risk profile could possibly be between 25 and 40, carries full coverage, and does not commute to work. Any customer that meets those criteria will most likely get cheap rates and will cut their rates if they switch.

People who don’t meet those standards may be required to pay a higher premium and the customer buying from a different company. The wording the ads use say “customers who switch” but not “all drivers who get quotes” save that much money. That’s the way insurance companies can confidently make those claims. That is why it’s extremely important to do a quote comparison often. It is impossible to guess which insurance companies will fit you best based on your risk profile.

Are you qualifying for every discount?

Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but there could be significant discounts that you may not even be aware of. Certain credits will be shown when you get a quote, but occassionally some discounts must be specifically requested prior to receiving the credit.

  • Seat Belt Discounts – Drivers who always wear seat belts and also require passengers to use their safety belts can save a little on the premium charged for medical payments and/or PIP.
  • Policy Bundle Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles with the same company you may save nearly 15% which can help you find inexpensive car insurance.
  • Include Life Insurance and Save – Some companies give a discount if you purchase life insurance.
  • No Accidents – Insureds who avoid accidents and claims are rewarded with significantly better rates on car insurance quote as compared to frequent claim filers.
  • Professional Organizations – Participating in specific professional or occupational memberships or organizations may earn a discount on your bill.
  • Sign Online – Some of the larger companies may give you up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up on their website.
  • Lower Rates for Military – Being deployed with a military unit could qualify you for better rates.
  • More Vehicles More Savings – Having multiple cars on a single policy qualifies for this discount.
  • New Vehicle Savings – Adding a new car to your policy is cheaper because new vehicles are generally safer.

Don’t be shocked that most credits do not apply the the whole policy. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. Just because you may think it’s possible to get free car insurance, you aren’t that lucky.

Companies and a selection of discounts are included below.

  • Progressive offers discounts including online quote discount, multi-policy, homeowner, continuous coverage, good student, and online signing.
  • MetLife has savings for claim-free, good driver, good student, multi-policy, accident-free, and defensive driver.
  • Mercury Insurance has discounts for annual mileage, type of vehicle, ease of repair, professional/association, multi-policy, good student, and accident-free.
  • Nationwide offers premium reductions for multi-policy, Farm Bureau membership, family plan, anti-theft, and defensive driving.
  • GEICO offers discounts for federal employee, anti-lock brakes, anti-theft, defensive driver, seat belt use, military active duty, and multi-policy.
  • AAA may offer discounts for good driver, education and occupation, good student, multi-policy, pay-in-full, anti-theft, and multi-car.

When getting a coverage quote, ask each insurance company how many discounts you can get. Depending on the company, some discounts may not apply to policyholders in your state. If you would like to choose from a list of companies with significant discounts, click this link.

When in doubt talk to an agent

When choosing the right insurance coverage, there is no “best” method to buy coverage. Everyone’s situation is unique and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. Here are some questions about coverages that could help you determine whether you might need professional guidance.

  • What is medical payments coverage?
  • Am I covered if I break a side mirror?
  • Am I covered by my employer’s commercial auto policy when driving my personal car for business?
  • Why does it cost so much to insure a teen driver?
  • At what point should I drop full coverage?
  • I have good health insurance, so how much medical payments coverage do I need?
  • Is my dog or cat covered if injured in an accident?
  • What is roadside assistance coverage?
  • Should I have a commercial auto policy?

If you can’t answer these questions, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.

Specifics of your auto insurance policy

Learning about specific coverages of your policy aids in choosing the best coverages and proper limits and deductibles. Policy terminology can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring. Below you’ll find the usual coverages found on the average auto insurance policy.

Medical payments coverage and PIP

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for short-term medical expenses such as rehabilitation expenses, surgery, EMT expenses and ambulance fees. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if you lack health insurance entirely. Medical payments and PIP cover all vehicle occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal Injury Protection is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Comprehensive coverage

Comprehensive insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for claims like fire damage, damage from flooding and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.

Liability auto insurance

This coverage can cover damages or injuries you inflict on other people or property that is your fault. This insurance protects YOU from claims by other people. It does not cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see policy limits of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 bodily injury coverage, a limit of $300,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $100,000.

Liability coverage pays for claims like medical services, pain and suffering and attorney fees. How much liability coverage do you need? That is your choice, but you should buy as high a limit as you can afford.

Auto collision coverage

Collision insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with an object or car. You first must pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision coverage protects against claims like backing into a parked car, crashing into a building, damaging your car on a curb and colliding with another moving vehicle. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are older. You can also raise the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage

Your UM/UIM coverage provides protection from other motorists when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered losses include hospital bills for your injuries and also any damage incurred to your Dodge Ram Pickup 3500.

Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is important protection for you and your family.

Have money to burn

In this article, we presented many ideas to save on 2003 Dodge Ram Pickup 3500 insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more times you quote, the better chance you’ll have of finding inexpensive car insurance. You may be surprised to find that the lowest rates are with the smaller companies. These companies may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates compared to the large companies like Allstate and Progressive.

As you prepare to switch companies, it’s not a good idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. Too many times, an insured cut physical damage coverage and learned later they didn’t have enough coverage. Your strategy should be to find the BEST coverage at the best cost while not skimping on critical coverages.

Lower-priced 2003 Dodge Ram Pickup 3500 insurance is available both online and with local insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers may not provide rates over the internet and many times these smaller providers only sell through local independent agencies.

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