Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an underperforming, overpriced auto insurance policy? Trust us, many consumers feel financially strained by their auto insurance policy.
You have so many insurance companies to purchase coverage from, and even though it’s nice to be able to choose, having more insurers makes it harder to locate the cheapest rates.
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that come into play when calculating the price you pay for insurance. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels allows you to make educated decisions that could result in big savings.
The price of auto insurance can be rather high, buy you may qualify for discounts that many people don’t even know exist. A few discounts will automatically apply at quote time, but some may not be applied and must be specially asked for before you will receive the discount.
As a disclaimer on discounts, some credits don’t apply to the entire policy premium. Most cut specific coverage prices like comprehensive or collision. Even though it may seem like adding up those discounts means a free policy, it doesn’t quite work that way. Any amount of discount will cut the amount you have to pay.
For a list of insurers with the best insurance coverage discounts, follow this link.
When it comes to buying proper insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there is no cookie cutter policy. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs so your insurance needs to address that. For example, these questions may help you determine whether you may require specific advice.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but a few of them apply, then you may want to think about talking to an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or click here for a list of insurance companies in your area.
Learning about specific coverages of your insurance policy can be of help when determining which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. The terms used in a policy can be impossible to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Listed below are the usual coverages found on the average insurance policy.
This will pay to fix damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first must pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims such as theft, a broken windshield, damage from a tornado or hurricane, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and hitting a bird. The maximum amount a insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider dropping full coverage.
This provides protection from damage that occurs to other people or property that is your fault. This coverage protects you against other people’s claims, and does not provide coverage for your own vehicle damage or injuries.
Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show liability limits of 50/100/50 which means a $50,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Occasionally you may see a combined single limit or CSL which provides one coverage limit and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.
Liability can pay for things like medical services, bail bonds, legal defense fees and emergency aid. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but you should buy higher limits if possible.
This protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your occupants as well as damage to your Pontiac Firebird.
Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, their limits can quickly be used up. So UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked. Frequently the UM/UIM limits are set the same as your liablity limits.
This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision coverage protects against claims such as sustaining damage from a pot hole, crashing into a ditch, rolling your car and backing into a parked car. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP provide coverage for short-term medical expenses for things like prosthetic devices, X-ray expenses and funeral costs. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover you and your occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not available in all states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
We’ve covered a lot of techniques to get a better price on 1992 Pontiac Firebird insurance. It’s most important to understand that the more price quotes you have, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the best prices are with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. Smaller companies may cover specific market segments cheaper as compared to the big name companies such as Allstate, Geico and Progressive.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, never sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are a lot of situations where someone sacrificed collision coverage to discover at claim time that the savings was not a smart move. The aim is to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate.
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