Being forced to pay for high-priced insurance premiums can consume your savings, especially in this economy. Doing a price comparison is recommended to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket.
Lots of auto insurance companies contend for your insurance dollar, and it can be difficult to compare rates and uncover the absolute best rates possible.
If you have car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to reduce your rates substantially using these methods. Buying car insurance is easy if you know what you’re doing. Nevertheless, car owners can benefit by having an understanding of the way companies price online insurance.
Many things are used when pricing auto insurance. Some of the criteria are obvious like an MVR report, but other factors are more obscure like where you live or how safe your car is.A large part of saving on insurance is knowing some of the factors that help determine your policy premiums. If you have some idea of what determines premiums, this enables you to make decisions that can earn you much lower annual insurance costs.
The list below includes some of the items used by insurance companies to determine your premiums.
There are a variety of methods to compare insurance coverage quotes, and some are less time-consuming than others. You can spend countless hours talking to insurance companies in your area, or you could use the web to get prices fast.
Most of the larger companies belong to an insurance system that allows shoppers to submit their information once, and each company then gives them pricing. This saves time by eliminating quote requests to each company.
To find out what other companies charge click to open in new window.
The only downside to pricing coverage this way is you don’t know exactly which insurance companies you want to price. If you prefer to choose individual companies for rate comparison, we have a listing of companies who write insurance coverage in your area. Click here to view list.
Compare rates however you want, just make sure you compare exactly the same coverages with every price quote. If you have unequal deductibles or liability limits it will be very difficult to make a fair rate comparison. Having just a slight variation in insurance coverages or limits can mean a large discrepancy in price. And when comparison shopping, more quotes provides better odds of finding more affordable rates.
Big name companies like Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm endlessly run ads in print and on television. They all seem to try to convey promises that drivers can save some big amount just by moving your coverage to them. How is it plausible that every one can save you money? It’s all in the wording.
All companies have specific characteristics for the right customer that earns them the highest profit. For instance, this type of driver may need to be married and over the age of 30, has never had a claim, and has great credit. Someone who fits that profile receive the lowest rate quotes and will save when switching.
People who fall short of this stringent profile will have to pay higher prices and this can result in business going elsewhere. The trick companies use is to say “drivers that switch” not “everybody who quotes” can get the lowest rates when switching. That’s why insurance companies can make the claims of big savings.
Because of the profiling, you absolutely need to get auto insurance quotes as often as possible. It’s not possible to predict with any certainty which company will fit your personal profile best.
Insurance can be pricey, but you may be missing some discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Many of these discounts will be applied automatically when you complete an application, but some may not be applied and must be specifically requested before you will receive the discount.
Please keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to the entire policy premium. Some only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as medical payments or collision. Even though it may seem like you can get free auto insurance, insurance companies wouldn’t stay in business. Any amount of discount will bring down your policy premium.
A list of insurance companies and their offered discounts can be found below.
It’s a good idea to ask every prospective company to apply every possible discount. Some of the discounts discussed earlier might not be available to policyholders everywhere. If you would like to see a list of insurers that offer some of these discounts, click here.
When buying adequate coverage, there really is no single plan that fits everyone. Everyone’s situation is unique and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For instance, these questions may help you determine if your insurance needs might need professional guidance.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions then you might want to talk to an insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
Knowing the specifics of your insurance policy can be of help when determining which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. Insurance terms can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Shown next are the usual coverages offered by insurance companies.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage kick in for expenses for EMT expenses, ambulance fees and nursing services. They can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. Coverage applies to you and your occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP coverage is not available in all states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
This will cover damages or injuries you inflict on other’s property or people. This coverage protects you against claims from other people. Liability doesn’t cover damage to your own property or vehicle.
Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You commonly see liability limits of 50/100/50 that means you have $50,000 bodily injury coverage, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $50,000. Some companies may use one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which provides one coverage limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability coverage protects against claims such as medical services, loss of income, court costs and repair bills for other people’s vehicles. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but you should buy as high a limit as you can afford.
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered claims include hospital bills for your injuries as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since a lot of drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, their limits can quickly be used up. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family. Most of the time these coverages are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.
This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with an object or car. You will need to pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage protects against claims like scraping a guard rail, hitting a parking meter and crashing into a building. This coverage can be expensive, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. It’s also possible to raise the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Comprehensive insurance pays for damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first have to pay a deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims like a broken windshield, hitting a bird, rock chips in glass and vandalism. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Affordable 2015 Honda Accord insurance can be found from both online companies as well as from insurance agents, so get free auto insurance quotes from both of them so you have a total pricing picture. There are still a few companies who don’t offer price quotes online and many times these regional insurance providers sell through independent insurance agents.
You just read some good ideas how to shop for 2015 Honda Accord insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more you quote auto insurance, the better your comparison will be. Consumers could even find that the lowest rates come from a smaller regional carrier. Regional companies may cover specific market segments cheaper than their larger competitors like State Farm and Allstate.