Have you finally had enough of scraping the payment together to insure your Mercedes-Benz every month? You are no different than many other consumers.
Online insurance companies like Allstate, Progressive and GEICO all claim big savings with advertising and it is challenging if not impossible to ignore the propoganda and do the work needed to find the best deal.
If you currently have car insurance, you stand a good chance to be able to lower your premiums substantially using this strategy. Finding affordable coverage is quite easy. Although car owners do need to learn how the larger insurance companies sell online because it can help you find the best coverage.
When buying car insurance it’s important to understand some of the elements that are used to determine your premiums. If you have some idea of what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this enables informed choices that may reward you with big savings.
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but there are discounts available that could drop your premiums quite a bit. Some of these disounts will be visible when you complete an application, but occassionally some discounts must be inquired about before being credited.
As a sidenote, some credits don’t apply to the entire cost. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as liability and collision coverage. Despite the appearance that you can get free auto insurance, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy.
A few companies who might offer most of these discounts possibly include:
If you are trying to find the cheapest insurance coverage quotes, ask every prospective company which discounts they offer. Depending on the company, some discounts might not be available to policyholders in your area. To find companies that provide some of the discounts listed above, follow this link.
Well-known auto insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate and GEICO endlessly run ads on television and other media. They all make an identical promise that drivers can save some big amount after switching your policy. How does each company charge lower premium rates? This is how they do it.
Insurance companies have specific guidelines for the right customer that is profitable for them. For example, this type of risk profile might be described as over the age of 45, has few claims, and drives a lower-performance vehicle. Any customer that hits that “sweet spot” will probably get cheap rates and will save quite a bit of money when switching.
Consumers who don’t meet those criteria will be quoted higher premiums which results in business going elsewhere. If you listen closely, the ads state “drivers who switch” but not “everyone who gets a quote” save that much when switching. That is how companies can truthfully make claims that they all have the best prices.
Different companies use different criteria so it is so important to compare many company’s prices. It’s impossible to know which insurance companies will have the best premium rates for your profile.
When buying adequate coverage for your vehicles, there really is no best way to insure your cars. Everyone’s situation is a little different so this has to be addressed. These are some specific questions might help in determining whether you might need an agent’s assistance.
If you can’t answer these questions, you might consider talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.
Having a good grasp of your policy can help you determine the best coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The terms used in a policy can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Shown next are typical coverage types found on most insurance policies.
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers
This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and damage to your Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class.
Due to the fact that many drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is important protection for you and your family. Most of the time these coverages are similar to your liability insurance amounts.
Liability coverage
This coverage provides protection from damage or injury you incur to other people or property by causing an accident. This insurance protects YOU from claims by other people, and doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You might see values of 50/100/50 that means you have $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, $100,000 for the entire accident, and a limit of $50,000 paid for damaged property. Alternatively, you may have a combined single limit or CSL that pays claims from the same limit without having the split limit caps.
Liability coverage protects against claims like court costs, medical expenses and structural damage. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but buy as much as you can afford.
Collision insurance
This coverage pays for damage to your SLK-Class from colliding with an object or car. A deductible applies then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision coverage protects against claims such as sideswiping another vehicle, scraping a guard rail, hitting a parking meter and colliding with a tree. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Medical expense insurance
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for short-term medical expenses like nursing services, EMT expenses and dental work. The coverages can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. Coverage applies to all vehicle occupants as well as if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal injury protection coverage is only offered in select states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Comprehensive (Other than Collision)
This will pay to fix damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. A deductible will apply then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things like damage from flooding, rock chips in glass, falling objects and vandalism. The most you’ll receive from a claim is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Cheaper 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class insurance is definitely available online as well as from independent agents, so you should compare both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some companies don’t offer online rate quotes and usually these smaller providers sell through independent agencies.
When trying to cut insurance costs, don’t be tempted to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many cases where someone dropped liability limits or collision coverage and found out when filing a claim that it was a big mistake. The proper strategy is to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford.
More information is available at these links: