How Much Does 1996 GMC Sierra 1500 Insurance Cost?

Searching for better insurance rates for your GMC Sierra 1500? Scraping up a payment for overpriced GMC Sierra 1500 insurance can take a big chunk out of your bank account and force you to prioritize other expenses. Doing a price comparison is a great way to help make ends meet.

Having so many insurance companies to choose from, it can be diffult for consumers to pick the right car insurance company.

Cut prices on GMC Sierra 1500 insurance

The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, but discounts can save money and there are some available to reduce the price significantly. Certain discounts will be applied when you quote, but some must be inquired about prior to getting the savings.

  • Theft Prevention Discount – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems are stolen less frequently and earn discounts up to 10%.
  • Discount for Good Grades – A discount for being a good student can earn a discount of 20% or more. The discount lasts well after school through age 25.
  • New Car Discount – Adding a new car to your policy can cost up to 25% less due to better safety requirements for new cars.
  • Multiple Policy Discount – If you have multiple policies with the same insurance company you may save at least 10% off all policies.
  • Drive Safe and Save – Safe drivers may receive a discount up to 45% less for Sierra coverage than drivers with accident claims.
  • Accident Free – Drivers with accident-free driving histories pay less as compared to drivers who are more careless.
  • Student in College – Children who attend school more than 100 miles from home without a vehicle on campus can be insured at a reduced rate.

A little note about advertised discounts, many deductions do not apply to the entire cost. Most only cut individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. So despite the fact that it appears you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any amount of discount will bring down your overall premium however.

To see a list of insurers offering insurance discounts, follow this link.

Which Auto Insurance is Cheapest?

All major auto insurance companies such as Allstate, Geico and Progressive allow you to get coverage prices on the web. The process is pretty easy as you just type in the coverages you want into a form. When complete, the company’s rating system collects credit information and your driving record and generates a price based on these and other factors. This helps simplify price comparisons, but the process of having to visit each company’s website and repetitively enter the same data into a form gets old quite quickly. Unfortunately, it is important to perform this step if you are searching for the lowest auto insurance rates.

The preferred way to compare rates requires only one form that gets prices from many companies. It’s a real time-saver, requires less work, and makes online price comparison much more enjoyable and efficient. Once the form is submitted, it is rated and you are able to buy any of the quotes that you receive.

If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, it’s easy to complete the application and purchase the new policy. The whole process can be completed in less than 10 minutes and may save quite a bit of money.

To find out if lower rates are available, click here to open in new window and complete the simple form. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you type in the coverage information identical to your current policy. Doing this assures you’re receiving a rate comparison using the same coverage and limits.

Why you might be paying too much to insure your GMC Sierra 1500

It’s important that you understand the different types of things that come into play when calculating the price you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in lower car insurance prices.

The list below includes a few of the “ingredients” used by your company to calculate premiums.

  • Your location affects your rates – Living in less populated areas has it’s advantages when it comes to car insurance. Urban drivers have congested traffic and longer commutes to work. Lower population translates into fewer accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft.
  • Choose a safe vehicle and save – Vehicles with high crash test scores get lower rates. Safer cars reduce injuries and better occupant protection means lower claim amounts and thus lower rates. If your GMC scored better than an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website or four stars on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website it is probably cheaper to insure.
  • Never allow your policy to lapse – Driving without insurance can get your license suspended and you will pay a penalty because you let your insurance lapse. Not only will rates go up, but being ticketed for driving with no insurance will get you a revoked license or a big fine.You may then be required to provide proof of insurance in the form of an SR-22 filing with your state DMV.
  • Having a spouse can save you money – Getting married helps lower the price when buying car insurance. It translates into being more mature than a single person and it’s proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.
  • Traffic violations increase rates – Your driving citation history has a huge affect on how much you pay. Just one moving violation can boost insurance rates by twenty percent. Careful drivers get better rates than people who have multiple driving citations. Drivers who have severe citations like reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence may need to submit a SR-22 form with the DMV in their state in order to drive a vehicle legally.
  • Small claims can cost you – Insurance companies give discounts to policyholders who are claim-free. If you file claims often, you can pretty much guarantee either policy cancellation or increased premiums. Insurance coverage is intended to be relied upon for major claims that would cause financial hardship.

Tailor your coverage to you

When buying proper insurance coverage, there is no single plan that fits everyone. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs and your policy should reflect that. Here are some questions about coverages that may help you determine whether your personal situation could use an agent’s help.

  • Does insurance cover tools stolen from my truck?
  • Where can I get insurance after a DUI in my state?
  • Is my cargo covered for damage or theft?
  • How do I insure my teen driver?
  • Can I afford to buy a different vehicle if my 1996 GMC Sierra 1500 is totaled?
  • Will I lose any money if I cancel my policy before it expires?
  • How high should my medical payments coverage be?
  • Do I have any recourse if my insurance company denies a claim?
  • Should I sign the liability waiver when renting a car?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.

Don’t be fooled by advertising claims

Companies like Allstate, Geico and Progressive consistently run ads on TV and radio. All the ads say the same thing of big savings if you change to their company. How do they all claim to save you money?

All the different companies can use profiling for the type of driver that earns them a profit. An example of a profitable customer might be profiled as over the age of 50, owns a home, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. Any driver who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and most likely will save quite a bit of money when switching.

Potential insureds who are not a match for this ideal profile must pay more money and ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ad wording is “people who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that much money. That’s why companies can claim big savings.

This illustrates why drivers should get quotes from several different companies. You cannot predict which insurance coverage company will fit your personal profile best.

Car insurance 101

Having a good grasp of a auto insurance policy can help you determine the best coverages for your vehicles. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Below you’ll find typical coverage types available from auto insurance companies.

Comprehensive coverages

This coverage pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first must pay your deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things like damage from getting keyed, damage from flooding, hitting a deer and hitting a bird. The maximum amount you’ll receive from a claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Coverage for medical payments

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance kick in for immediate expenses for rehabilitation expenses, ambulance fees, hospital visits and prosthetic devices. They are used in conjunction with a health insurance program or if there is no health insurance coverage. Coverage applies to both the driver and occupants and also covers any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Auto liability

Liability insurance protects you from damages or injuries you inflict on other’s property or people in an accident. This coverage protects you from legal claims by others, and doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show limits of 25/50/25 that translate to $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, $50,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Occasionally you may see one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which limits claims to one amount without having the split limit caps.

Liability coverage protects against things such as bail bonds, pain and suffering, medical services, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and structural damage. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but you should buy as high a limit as you can afford.

Collision coverage protection

Collision insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision coverage protects against things such as colliding with a tree, colliding with another moving vehicle and crashing into a ditch. This coverage can be expensive, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are older. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible to bring the cost down.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage

This protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other motorists when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered losses include medical payments for you and your occupants and also any damage incurred to your GMC Sierra 1500.

Because many people only carry the minimum required liability limits, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. So UM/UIM coverage is very important. Frequently the UM/UIM limits do not exceed the liability coverage limits.

Smart shoppers get results

While you’re price shopping online, it’s very important that you do not skimp on coverage in order to save money. There are a lot of situations where an accident victim reduced physical damage coverage only to regret that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your aim should be to buy enough coverage at the best price.

Throughout this article, we presented some good ideas how to shop for 1996 GMC Sierra 1500 insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more you quote, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the best prices are with some of the lesser-known companies. Some small companies can often provide lower rates in certain areas than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm, Geico and Nationwide.

Cheap insurance is definitely available online and also from your neighborhood agents, so compare prices from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some auto insurance companies may not provide online quoting and most of the time these smaller companies sell through independent agents.

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