If you are new to online insurance, you can easily be bewildered due to the large selection of insurance companies competing for business.
Some insurers do not list every available discount very clearly, so below is a list both well-publicized in addition to some of the lesser obvious discounts that you can inquire about if you buy auto insurance online. If they aren’t giving you every credit you deserve, it’s possible you qualify for a lower rate.
Please keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. Most only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. So when the math indicates you can get free auto insurance, car insurance companies aren’t that generous.
A list of car insurance companies and some of the discounts are:
Before buying, ask all the companies which discounts can lower your rates. Depending on the company, some discounts may not apply to policies in your state.
Most companies such as GEICO, State Farm and Progressive allow consumers to get price estimates on the web. This process is fairly simple as you just enter the coverages you want on the page. Once entered, their rating system requests reports for credit and driving violations and returns pricing information.
Online quotes simplifies rate comparisons, but the time required to go to a lot of sites and type in the same information is a big time waster. But it’s also necessary to compare as many rates as possible in order to find better insurance coverage pricing.
An easier way to get multiple rate quotes utilizes a single form to get prices from a bunch of companies at once. It’s a real time-saver, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes online quotes much easier to do. Immediately after you send the form, it gets priced with multiple companies and you can pick any one of the resulting price quotes.
If the quotes result in lower rates, you simply finish the application and purchase coverage. It can be completed in a matter of minutes and you’ll know if lower rates are available.
To compare rates using this form now, click here to open in a new tab and fill out the form. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you input the coverage information as close as possible to your current policy. This ensures you’re receiving a fair comparison using the same coverage and limits.
A large part of saving on insurance coverage is knowing some of the things that are used to determine your premiums. If you know what determines base rates, this allows you to make good choices that may result in big savings. Many different elements are considered when you quote your car insurance policy. Some of the criteria are obvious like an MVR report, but other factors are not quite as obvious such as your marital status or your commute time.
When buying coverage for your vehicles, there isn’t really a one size fits all plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s.
These are some specific questions might point out whether or not you would benefit from an agent’s advice.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to an insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, simply complete this short form.
Learning about specific coverages of your policy can help you determine which coverages you need for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring.
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage
This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your 2010 Dodge Avenger.
Since many drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Usually your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Collision protection
Collision coverage pays for damage to your Avenger caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage pays for things like hitting a parking meter, colliding with a tree and crashing into a ditch. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. Another option is to raise the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Medical payments and PIP coverage
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage kick in for immediate expenses for things like funeral costs, surgery and pain medications. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. They cover both the driver and occupants as well as getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not available in all states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Liability auto insurance
This provides protection from damage that occurs to other people or property. This insurance protects YOU against other people’s claims, and does not provide coverage for damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. Your policy might show policy limits of 100/300/100 that translate to a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, $300,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $100,000. Some companies may use a combined single limit or CSL that pays claims from the same limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability insurance covers claims like repair bills for other people’s vehicles, legal defense fees, funeral expenses and emergency aid. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but buy as large an amount as possible.
Comprehensive auto coverage
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive can pay for things such as vandalism, damage from flooding, a broken windshield, hitting a deer and theft. The highest amount a car insurance company will pay at claim time is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Low-cost 2010 Dodge Avenger insurance is available both online and also from your neighborhood agents, so get free auto insurance quotes from both of them so you have a total pricing picture. A few companies may not offer rates over the internet and many times these regional carriers only sell through local independent agencies.
Insureds switch companies for many reasons like policy cancellation, extreme rates for teen drivers, poor customer service or delays in paying claims. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch choosing a new company can be pretty painless.
As you quote auto insurance, it’s very important that you do not sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. In many instances, an accident victim reduced physical damage coverage only to find out they didn’t purchase enough coverage. The goal is to buy enough coverage at the best cost, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.
More detailed auto insurance information is located in these articles: