Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an underperforming, overpriced car insurance policy? Trust us, there are many consumers feeling the pinch from expensive car insurance.
Drivers have so many auto insurance companies to pick from, and although it’s a good thing to have a choice, having more car insurance companies makes it harder to find the lowest rates.
Shopping for the best coverage is quite easy. Just about every vehicle owner who buys auto insurance should be able to lower their premiums. But car owners benefit from understanding the way insurance companies sell online.
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that go into determining your insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what controls the rates you pay enables informed choices that will entitle you to much lower annual insurance costs.
The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but you may find discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of quoting, but a few must be specially asked for before you get the savings.
As a disclaimer on discounts, many deductions do not apply to the entire cost. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. Just because you may think you could get a free auto insurance policy, it doesn’t quite work that way. Any amount of discount will reduce the amount you have to pay.
For a list of companies with the best auto insurance discounts, click this link.
Companies like State Farm, Allstate and Geico continually stream ads in print and on television. All the ads make the same claim of big savings after switching your policy. How can each company make the same claim? It’s all in the numbers.
Insurance companies can use profiling for the right customer that earns them a profit. For instance, a driver they prefer could possibly be between the ages of 40 and 55, insures multiple vehicles, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A driver who meets those qualifications is entitled to the best price and is almost guaranteed to save when switching.
Consumers who fall outside the requirements will be quoted a more expensive rate and this can result in business going elsewhere. The ads say “people who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much. That is how companies can advertise the savings.
This emphasizes why drivers must get a wide range of price quotes. It’s impossible to know which insurance companies will fit your personal profile best.
When it comes to buying coverage for your vehicles, there is no cookie cutter policy. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s so this has to be addressed. These are some specific questions may help highlight whether you may require specific advice.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but you think they might apply to your situation, then you may want to think about talking to an agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form or click here for a list of auto insurance companies in your area.
Having a good grasp of insurance can help you determine the right coverages for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Shown next are typical coverage types offered by insurance companies.
Collision coverage – Collision coverage pays for damage to your RL caused by collision with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision can pay for claims such as driving through your garage door, damaging your car on a curb, crashing into a building and hitting a parking meter. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision – This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like damage from getting keyed, rock chips in glass, damage from a tornado or hurricane, fire damage and falling objects. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
UM/UIM Coverage – This protects you and your vehicle from other drivers when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. It can pay for injuries to you and your family and also any damage incurred to your 1998 Acura RL.
Since many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is important protection for you and your family. Frequently your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Liability coverage – This protects you from damage or injury you incur to other people or property in an accident. This coverage protects you against claims from other people. It does not cover damage to your own property or vehicle.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have liability limits of 50/100/50 which means $50,000 bodily injury coverage, $100,000 for the entire accident, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Occasionally you may see one limit called combined single limit (CSL) that pays claims from the same limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability insurance covers claims like medical services, pain and suffering and repair costs for stationary objects. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford.
Medical costs insurance – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for expenses for pain medications, ambulance fees and chiropractic care. They are used in conjunction with a health insurance plan or if you do not have health coverage. Coverage applies to you and your occupants and will also cover any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not an option in every state but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Lower-priced 1998 Acura RL insurance can be bought both online and with local insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to get a complete price analysis. Some companies do not offer you the ability to get quotes online and many times these small, regional companies only sell through independent insurance agents.
As you restructure your insurance plan, it’s very important that you do not buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. In many cases, someone dropped collision coverage and learned later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your focus should be to get the best coverage possible for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.
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