Nobody I know enjoys paying for insurance coverage, especially knowing they could lower their rates if they shopped around.
Because you have many insurance coverage companies to choose from, it can be hard to find the right insurer.
The purpose of this post is to help educate you on how to get online quotes and some tips to save money. If you have car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to save some money using these tips. Nevertheless, vehicle owners should learn the way companies compete online.
The quickest method we recommend to compare policy rates is to understand almost all companies allow for online access to compare their rates. The only thing you need to do is provide information including whether you are married, whether the vehicles are used for commuting, whether or not you need a SR-22, and if your license is active. That information gets transmitted to many highly-rated insurers and they return cost estimate quickly.
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but there could be significant discounts to reduce the price significantly. Certain reductions will be credited when you quote, but some must be specially asked for before being credited. If they aren’t giving you every credit you deserve, you could be saving more on your insurance coverage.
We need to note that many deductions do not apply to the entire cost. Some only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as medical payments or collision. So when the math indicates you would end up receiving a 100% discount, it just doesn’t work that way. Any qualifying discounts will cut the amount you pay for coverage.
Companies and their offered discounts are detailed below.
Check with every prospective company what discounts are available to you. Savings may not be offered in your area. For a list of insurers who offer free insurance coverage quotes, click here.
When it comes to choosing adequate coverage, there isn’t really a perfect coverage plan. Every insured’s situation is different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For instance, these questions might point out whether or not you would benefit from an agent’s advice.
If you can’t answer these questions but a few of them apply, you might consider talking to an insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
Having a good grasp of your car insurance policy helps when choosing the best coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. The terms used in a policy can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. These are the usual coverages offered by car insurance companies.
Liability insurance protects you from damage or injury you incur to other’s property or people that is your fault. It protects you from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. Your policy might show values of 100/300/100 that means you have a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, $300,000 for the entire accident, and a limit of $100,000 paid for damaged property. Some companies may use one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which limits claims to one amount without having the split limit caps.
Liability can pay for things such as attorney fees, bail bonds and funeral expenses. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible.
Comprehensive insurance covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things such as damage from a tornado or hurricane, falling objects, theft and damage from flooding. The most your car insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
This protects you and your vehicle from other drivers when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered losses include hospital bills for your injuries and also any damage incurred to your MINI Cooper Clubman.
Because many people only carry the minimum required liability limits, their limits can quickly be used up. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is very important. Frequently your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Collision insurance pays for damage to your Cooper Clubman resulting from a collision with another car or object. A deductible applies and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision can pay for claims such as crashing into a building, damaging your car on a curb, hitting a parking meter and colliding with another moving vehicle. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. Drivers also have the option to bump up the deductible to bring the cost down.
Med pay and PIP coverage kick in for expenses such as doctor visits, ambulance fees, pain medications and hospital visits. They can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants as well as getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage