Finding cheap premium rates for car insurance can be frustrating for people who are beginners to comparison shopping online. Because there are so many online companies, it can easily become a chore to locate the lowest premium rates.
It’s smart to quote other rates once or twice a year because car insurance prices change frequently. If you had the best price on Cooper coverage last year the chances are good that you can find a lower rate quote today. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about car insurance because you’re about to learn the easiest way to eliminate unnecessary coverages and save money.
If you currently have a car insurance policy, you will be able to save some money using these tips. Finding cheaper car insurance can be fairly easy. But drivers must learn how the larger insurance companies sell insurance online and use this information to your advantage.
Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that aid in calculating the level of your policy premiums. When you understand what determines premiums, this empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in big savings.
The items below are most of the major factors auto insurance companies consider when setting your premiums.
The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, but you may be missing some discounts that many people don’t even know exist. Some of these disounts will be visible when you get a quote, but some may not be applied and must be asked about prior to receiving the credit. If you don’t get every credit possible, you are not getting the best rate possible.
You can save money using discounts, but many deductions do not apply to the entire cost. Most cut individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Just because it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, it doesn’t quite work that way. But all discounts will definitely lower your overall bill.
Car insurance companies that may offer quotes with these money-saving discounts may include but are not limited to:
Double check with every prospective company the best way to save money. A few discounts may not apply to policies in your area. To see a list of insurance companies who offer free insurance quotes, click here.
Car insurance providers like Progressive, Allstate and GEICO endlessly run ads in print and on television. All the companies advertise claims that drivers can save some big amount if you just switch your car insurance policy to them. But how can every company offer drivers better rates? It’s all in the words they use.
Insurance providers have underwriting criteria for the type of driver that earns them the most money. For instance, a desirable insured might be a married female, carries high limits, and drives newer vehicles. Anyone that hits that “sweet spot” gets the lowest rates and will most likely cut their rates substantially.
Drivers who do not meet this stringent profile will probably have to pay a higher premium and this can result in the customer not purchasing. The trick is to say “drivers who switch” not “everyone who quotes” save the amount stated. That’s why companies can lure you into getting a quote. Because of this risk profiling, you should get as many free insurance coverage quotes as possible. It’s impossible to know which company will give you lower rates than your current company.
When it comes to choosing adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a best way to insure your cars. Each situation is unique.
For example, these questions can aid in determining if you will benefit from professional help.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but one or more may apply to you then you might want to talk to an agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, complete this form.
Having a good grasp of your policy helps when choosing the right coverages for your vehicles. The terms used in a policy can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision) – Comprehensive insurance covers damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You need to pay your deductible first then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims such as damage from a tornado or hurricane, theft and damage from getting keyed. The highest amount a insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Collision coverages – This pays for damage to your Cooper resulting from a collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision coverage protects against claims like hitting a parking meter, backing into a parked car and rolling your car. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to bump up the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Medical expense insurance – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage provide coverage for immediate expenses like pain medications, surgery, ambulance fees, EMT expenses and prosthetic devices. They can be used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover all vehicle occupants in addition to if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is not available in all states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Liability coverage – Liability coverage will cover injuries or damage you cause to other’s property or people by causing an accident. It protects you against other people’s claims. It does not cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show values of 100/300/100 that translate to $100,000 bodily injury coverage, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability coverage protects against things like loss of income, attorney fees and emergency aid. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but consider buying as large an amount as possible.
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers – This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. It can pay for hospital bills for your injuries and damage to your 2013 MINI Cooper.
Since many drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked.
As you restructure your insurance plan, it’s very important that you do not reduce needed coverages to save money. In many cases, consumers will sacrifice collision coverage and learned later that they should have had better coverage. The proper strategy is to find the BEST coverage at the best possible price.
We just covered some good ideas how to save on 2013 MINI Cooper insurance. The key concept to understand is the more companies you get premium rates for, the better your comparison will be. You may even discover the biggest savings come from a small local company.
Drivers who switch companies do it for any number of reasons including lack of trust in their agent, delays in responding to claim requests, an unsatisfactory settlement offer and even policy cancellation. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch switching companies is not as hard as you think.
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