If you’re new to shopping for insurance coverage online, it’s easy to get confused by the sheer number of online insurance coverage companies and websites offering coverage.
Finding affordable coverage is easy if you know what you’re doing. In a nutshell, every driver who shops for insurance coverage will most likely be able to find lower rates. Nevertheless, consumers can benefit by having an understanding of how the larger insurance companies price online insurance.
Most major insurance companies allow you to get prices for coverage on the web. Getting online quotes is pretty painless as you simply enter your coverage information as requested by the quote form. When the form is submitted, their rating system requests information on your driving record and credit history and generates pricing information based on these and other factors.
This makes it a lot easier to compare rates but having to visit each company’s website and repetitively complete many quote forms can be a bit repetitive. But it is imperative to do this if you want to find lower prices.
There is a better way!
An easier way to compare auto insurance pricing uses one simple form that gets price quotes from several different companies. The form is fast, reduces the work, and makes rate comparisons a little more enjoyable. Immediately after you send the form, it is rated and you can select any or none of the price quotes you receive. If the quotes result in lower rates, you simply finish the application and buy the new coverage. It only takes a few minutes and may save quite a bit of money.
To get comparison pricing now, click here to open in new window and input your coverage information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you duplicate your coverages as close as possible to your current policy. Using the same limits helps guarantee you will receive a rate comparison for similar coverage.
Companies don’t list all their discounts very well, so we break down both the well known and the more hidden savings tricks you should be using.
A little note about advertised discounts, most credits do not apply the the whole policy. The majority will only reduce specific coverage prices like collision or personal injury protection. So despite the fact that it appears having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, insurance coverage companies aren’t that generous.
Insurance companies that may offer these money-saving discounts include:
It’s a good idea to ask every prospective company which discounts they offer. Discounts might not apply in every state.
When buying adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no one size fits all plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s.
For example, these questions can help discover if your insurance needs might need an agent’s assistance.
If you can’t answer these questions, you may need to chat with an agent. If you don’t have a local agent, fill out this quick form.
Knowing the specifics of a insurance policy can be of help when determining the best coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The terms used in a policy can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Auto liability insurance
This provides protection from damage or injury you incur to a person or their property. This coverage protects you against claims from other people, and does not provide coverage for damage to your own property or vehicle.
Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have liability limits of 25/50/25 that means you have a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and a total limit of $25,000 for damage to vehicles and property.
Liability coverage pays for claims like funeral expenses, emergency aid, court costs and pain and suffering. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase higher limits if possible.
Medical payments and PIP coverage
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for short-term medical expenses for things like ambulance fees, pain medications and EMT expenses. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Comprehensive auto coverage
This coverage covers damage from a wide range of events other than collision. A deductible will apply then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive can pay for things like a broken windshield, falling objects, rock chips in glass, hail damage and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The most 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.
Collision coverage protection
Collision coverage pays for damage to your SLK-Class resulting from colliding with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision insurance covers things such as backing into a parked car, driving through your garage door, hitting a parking meter and crashing into a ditch. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. You can also choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage
This protects you and your vehicle when other motorists either have no liability insurance or not enough. It can pay for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and also any damage incurred to your Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class.
Due to the fact that many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea.