Are you drained from not being able to afford to keep your car insured? Your situation is no different than many other consumers.
Since consumers have many choices, it is hard for the average consumer to choose the lowest price company.
Finding the best rates is not that difficult. If you are paying for car insurance now, you will most likely be able to lower your premiums substantially using these techniques. Nevertheless, vehicle owners must learn the way companies determine prices and take advantage of how the system works.
An important part of buying insurance is that you know a few of the rating criteria that go into determining your premiums. If you understand what controls the rates you pay, this allows you to make educated decisions that could result in better auto insurance rates.
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but discounts can save money and there are some available that you may not even know about. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at the time you complete a quote, but once in a while a discount must be specifically requested prior to getting the savings.
One last thing about discounts, some of the credits will not apply to the entire cost. Most cut specific coverage prices like collision or personal injury protection. Despite the fact that it seems like it’s possible to get free car insurance, that’s just not realistic.
A few of the larger companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts are shown below.
Check with all companies you are considering which discounts can lower your rates. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts may not apply to policies everywhere.
Allstate and Progressive seem to constantly run television, radio, and online ads. All the companies make the point that you’ll save big if you switch your policy. How does each company lower your rates? This is the trick they use.
Auto insurance companies offer their best rates for the type of customer that earns them the most money. For example, this type of insured might have to be over the age of 50, has no prior claims, and drives less than 5,000 miles a year. A driver who fits that profile will get low car insurance rates and is almost guaranteed to save quite a bit of money when switching.
Drivers who may not quite match those criteria must pay more expensive rates which results in the customer buying from a different company. The wording the ads use say “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save money. That’s why companies can truthfully make it sound like they have such great prices. This really emphasizes why drivers should do a price quote comparison at every renewal. It’s not possible to predict which company will have better premium rates than you’re paying now.
When it comes to buying adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a “perfect” insurance plan. Each situation is unique so your insurance should reflect that For example, these questions can help discover whether or not you would benefit from professional advice.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you know they apply to you, you might consider talking to a licensed insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, simply complete this short form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.
Learning about specific coverages of your auto insurance policy can be of help when determining appropriate coverage and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Listed below are typical coverage types found on the average auto insurance policy.
Comprehensive insurance – Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims like hail damage, a broken windshield and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The highest amount a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) – This protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists either have no liability insurance or not enough. It can pay for medical payments for you and your occupants and damage to your BMW M3.
Due to the fact that many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage should not be overlooked.
Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) – Med pay and PIP coverage reimburse you for short-term medical expenses for dental work, nursing services, chiropractic care and funeral costs. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover both the driver and occupants and also covers any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is only offered in select states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Liability insurance – This can cover damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property. It protects YOU from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t cover damage to your own property or vehicle.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You might see limits of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $300,000 in injury protection per accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability insurance covers claims like repair costs for stationary objects, emergency aid, medical services and court costs. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but consider buying as much as you can afford.
Collision coverages – Collision insurance will pay to fix damage to your M3 from colliding with an object or car. You will need to pay your deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision insurance covers claims such as sideswiping another vehicle, sustaining damage from a pot hole, colliding with a tree, colliding with another moving vehicle and backing into a parked car. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
While you’re price shopping online, do not skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. In many cases, an insured dropped physical damage coverage and discovered at claim time that it was a big error on their part. Your objective should be to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
We just showed you a lot of ways to get a better price on 2011 BMW M3 insurance. The key thing to remember is the more rate quotes you have, the better likelihood of getting cheaper auto insurance. You may even find the best car insurance rates are with a lesser-known regional company. Some small companies often have lower premium rates on specific markets as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm and Allstate.
More tips and info about insurance coverage is available in these articles: