Are you kicking yourself for buying an overpriced car insurance policy? You’re preaching to the choir because there are many drivers thinking the same thing. Big companies like Progressive, GEICO and Farmers Insurance constantly bombard you with ad campaigns and it is difficult to not get sucked in by the cute commercials and do the work needed to find the best deal.
Car insurance is easily one of your largest bills, but you might find some hidden discounts that could drop your premiums quite a bit. Some discounts will apply at quote time, but a few need to be manually applied in order for you to get them.
Discounts reduce rates, but you should keep in mind that many deductions do not apply to the entire policy premium. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. Even though it appears it’s possible to get free car insurance, it doesn’t quite work that way. But any discount will help reduce the premium cost.
Insurance companies that possibly offer most of these discounts include:
Before you buy a policy, ask all the companies which discounts they offer. Some discounts listed above may not apply to policyholders in your state. To find insurance companies with discount car insurance rates, click this link.
There are a lot of ways to shop for auto insurance, but there is one way that is more efficient than others. You can spend your afternoon talking to insurance companies in your area, or you can stay home and use online quotes to achieve your goal.
Many of the larger companies are enrolled in a marketplace that enables customers to submit their information once, and each participating company returns a competitive quote. This eliminates the need for repetitive form submissions to each individual auto insurance company.
To participate in this free quote system, click here to open in new window.
The single downside to getting quotes like this is you are unable to specify the companies you will receive quotes from. If you wish to select specific insurance companies to compare prices, we put together a list of companies who write auto insurance in your area. Click here for list of insurance companies.
However you get your quotes, make sure you use equivalent coverages for each price quote. If each company quotes different liability limits it’s impossible to determine which rate is truly the best.
It’s important that you understand some of the elements that help calculate the price you pay for car insurance. If you have some idea of what controls the rates you pay, this allows you to make good choices that can earn you much lower annual insurance costs.
The list below includes some of the factors that factor into premiums.
When it comes to choosing adequate coverage, there really is no best way to insure your cars. Every situation is different and your policy should reflect that. Here are some questions about coverages that might help in determining if your situation would benefit from professional advice.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but you think they might apply to your situation, you might consider talking to an agent. If you don’t have a local agent, take a second and complete this form or click here for a list of insurance coverage companies in your area. It’s fast, free and you can get the answers you need.
Consumers can’t escape the ads that claim the lowest premium rates from companies such as Progressive, Allstate and GEICO. They all make the point that people will save after switching your policy.
It sounds good, but how can they all give you a better price?
Insurance providers have specific characteristics for the type of driver that will generate a profit. One example of this type of insured could be between the ages of 30 and 45, has never had a policy lapse, and the vehicle is rated for pleasure use. Someone that matches those criteria is entitled to the best price and therefore will save when they switch companies.
People who are not a match for these criteria may receive higher prices which usually ends up with the prospect going elsewhere. The wording the ads use say “customers who switch” but not “everyone who gets a quote” save that much. That’s the way insurance companies can claim big savings. This illustrates why you really should compare rate quotes every year. It’s just not possible to know the company that will have better prices than you’re paying now.
Learning about specific coverages of your policy aids in choosing the best coverages for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. These are typical coverage types offered by insurance companies.
Uninsured or underinsured coverage – This protects you and your vehicle from other motorists when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. It can pay for injuries to you and your family as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Due to the fact that many drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important.
Coverage for liability – Liability insurance can cover damage or injury you incur to a person or their property by causing an accident. It protects YOU from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
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 which stand for a limit of $100,000 per injured person, $300,000 for the entire accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability can pay for things such as funeral expenses, structural damage, bail bonds and medical services. How much coverage you buy is up to you, but consider buying higher limits if possible.
Medical expense coverage – Med pay and PIP coverage kick in for short-term medical expenses for rehabilitation expenses, prosthetic devices, hospital visits and chiropractic care. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is only offered in select states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Collision – This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with an object or car. You have to pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision can pay for claims like crashing into a ditch, sideswiping another vehicle and driving through your garage door. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. It’s also possible to bump up the deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Comprehensive protection – Comprehensive insurance will pay to fix damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as damage from flooding, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and hitting a bird. The maximum payout you’ll receive from a claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
When shopping online for insurance coverage, do not sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are a lot of situations where an insured dropped liability coverage limits only to find out they didn’t purchase enough coverage. The goal is to purchase plenty of coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.
You just learned a lot of tips how to shop for 2016 Lexus GS F insurance online. The key concept to understand is the more you quote car insurance, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even discover the lowest priced insurance coverage comes from some of the smallest insurance companies. These smaller insurers often have lower car insurance rates on specific markets compared to the large companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive.
Budget-conscious 2016 Lexus GS F insurance can be bought on the web in addition to many insurance agents, so get free car insurance quotes from both of them to have the best selection. Some insurance coverage companies do not provide the ability to get a quote online and these smaller providers work with independent agents.
To learn more, take a look at the articles below: