Compare 2002 Ford Focus Car Insurance Cost

Scraping up a payment for overpriced Ford Focus insurance can overdraw your checking account and make it impossible to make ends meet. Comparison shopping is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to lower your monthly bill. Numerous insurers battle for your insurance dollar, so it’s not easy to compare every insurance company and uncover the absolute lowest rate possible.

It’s smart to compare prices occasionally since insurance rates tend to go up over time. Just because you found the lowest rates for Focus coverage a year ago a different company probably has better rates today. Block out anything you think you know about car insurance because you’re about to find out the best methods to buy cheaper car insurance.

If you are insured now or are just looking to switch companies, you can follow these tips to reduce the price you pay and still get good coverage. Choosing the best insurance company for you is easy if you know what you’re doing. Vehicle owners only need to know how to shop their coverage around over the internet.

Factors influencing Ford Focus insurance rates

It’s important that you understand the different types of things that help determine your insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in big savings.

The following are some of the items used by your company to calculate premiums.

  • Your spouse saves you money – Getting married actually saves money on your policy. Having a significant other translates into being more responsible and it’s statistically proven that married drivers get in fewer accidents.
  • Never go without insurance – Driving without insurance is against the law and you will pay a penalty because you let your coverage have a gap. And not only will your rates increase, but not being able to provide proof of insurance may earn you a license revocation or jail time.Then you may be required to provide proof of insurance in the form of an SR-22 filing with your state motor vehicle department.
  • Older drivers save more – Young drivers tend to be careless and easily distracted when driving so they pay higher insurance rates. Parents adding a young driver to your insurance policy can really hurt. More mature drivers are more cautious drivers, tend to cause fewer accidents and tend to be better behind the wheel.
  • How’s your driving record? – Good drivers tend to pay less for car insurance than people who have multiple driving citations. Even one ticket can increase rates by as much as thirty percent. Drivers who get severe violations like DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions may be required to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) to the state department of motor vehicles in order to drive a vehicle legally.

How to Buy Insurance Online

Finding cheaper 2002 Ford Focus insurance prices doesn’t have to be difficult. The only requirement is to spend a little time to compare rate quotes online with multiple companies. It is quite easy and can be accomplished using a couple different methods.

  1. The single most time-saving way to compare a lot of rates at once would be an industry-wide quote request form like this one (opens in new window). This method prevents you from having to do repetitive form submissions to each individual insurance company. In just a few minutes this one form will get you rate comparisons from many national carriers.
  2. A more time consuming way to get comparison quotes requires a trip to the website for every company you want to comare and fill out their own quote form. For examples sake, we’ll pretend you want to compare Allstate, State Farm and Progressive. To find out each rate you need to visit each site and enter your policy data, which is why most consumers use the first method. To view a list of companies in your area, click here.
  3. The hardest method to get comparison rates is to spend your day driving to different agent offices. The ability to buy insurance online can eliminate the need for a local agent unless you prefer the personal advice that only a license agent can provide. Drivers can comparison shop your insurance online and get advice from an agent in your area and we’ll cover that in a bit.

Whichever way you use, double check that you are using identical quote information for each comparison quote. If you enter different liability limits you will not be able to determine the best price for your Ford Focus.

Ads can be misleading

Consumers can’t get away from ads for the lowest price auto insurance from the likes of Progressive, Allstate and Geico. All the ads make the same claim that you can save if you move your coverage to them.

How do they all claim to save you money? It’s all in the numbers.

All companies are able to cherry pick for the right customer that earns them a profit. An example of a driver they prefer could be between 30 and 50, has no tickets, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. Any new insured who matches those parameters receives the best rates and is almost guaranteed to save when switching.

Consumers who fall outside this ideal profile must pay a more expensive rate and ends up with business going elsewhere. Company advertisements say “people who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. That is how companies can state the savings.

This illustrates why it is so important to get as many comparisons as possible. It’s just too difficult to predict which auto insurance company will fit your personal profile best.

Companies offer discounts so take them!

Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but there could be available discounts to cut the cost considerably. A few discounts will automatically apply at the time you complete a quote, but lesser-known reductions have to be specifically requested before you get the savings. If you don’t get every credit possible, you are throwing money away.

  • Anti-lock Brake Discount – Cars that have steering control and anti-lock brakes are safer to drive and will save you 10% or more.
  • Life Insurance Discount – Select insurance companies reward you with better rates if you take out life insurance.
  • Good Student Discount – A discount for being a good student can get you a discount of up to 25%. The discount lasts until age 25.
  • Multi-car Discount – Buying insurance for more than one vehicle with the same company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
  • College Student – Youth drivers living away from home attending college and do not have access to a covered vehicle may qualify for this discount.
  • No Accidents – Drivers with accident-free driving histories pay less when compared to bad drivers.
  • Passive Restraint Discount – Vehicles equipped with air bags or motorized seat belts can get savings of 20% or more.
  • Paperless Signup – A few companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying a policy and signing up on their website.

It’s important to understand that most of the big mark downs will not be given the the whole policy. Some only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Just because it seems like you could get a free insurance policy, companies don’t profit that way. Any qualifying discounts will cut the cost of coverage.

To see a list of insurance companies with the best insurance discounts, follow this link.

Do I just need basic coverages?

When it comes to choosing coverage, there really is not a perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s situation is unique so your insurance needs to address that. For instance, these questions could help you determine if your insurance needs will benefit from professional help.

  • Do I pay less for low miles?
  • Where can I get insurance after a DUI in my state?
  • Is rental equipment covered for theft or damage?
  • I have health insurance so do I need medical payments coverage?
  • Will my insurance pay for OEM parts?
  • Should I buy additional glass protection?
  • Does coverage extend to a rental car in a foreign country?
  • Why does it cost so much to insure a teen driver?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you may need to chat with a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It is quick, free and can help protect your family.

Specifics of your insurance policy

Having a good grasp of your policy helps when choosing appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. The terms used in a policy can be impossible to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. These are typical coverage types offered by insurance companies.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists either have no liability insurance or not enough. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and also any damage incurred to your 2002 Ford Focus.

Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is important protection for you and your family. Usually the UM/UIM limits do not exceed the liability coverage limits.

Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance provide coverage for bills such as hospital visits, funeral costs, surgery and dental work. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and will also cover any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is only offered in select states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Comprehensive insurance – This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive insurance covers things like hitting a deer, falling objects and hail damage. The most you’ll receive from a claim is the actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider dropping full coverage.

Liability coverage – This provides protection from damage that occurs to people or other property by causing an accident. It protects you from claims by other people, and doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You commonly see liability limits of 100/300/100 which stand for $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $300,000 in injury protection per accident, and a total limit of $100,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Alternatively, you may have a combined single limit or CSL which provides one coverage limit rather than limiting it on a per person basis.

Liability coverage protects against things like medical services, legal defense fees and repair costs for stationary objects. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a personal decision, but consider buying as high a limit as you can afford.

Collision coverage – This coverage pays for damage to your Focus resulting from colliding with another car or object. A deductible applies and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision coverage protects against claims like damaging your car on a curb, hitting a mailbox, rolling your car, crashing into a building and sideswiping another vehicle. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Affordable insurance is out there

Throughout this article, we presented a lot of tips how to shop for 2002 Ford Focus insurance online. The key concept to understand is the more quotes you get, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the lowest rates come from the smaller companies. Some small companies may often insure only within specific states and give getter rates than the large multi-state companies such as Progressive or Geico.

Low-cost insurance can be sourced on the web and with local insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best rate selection. A few companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and many times these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.

Additional insurance coverage information can be found at these links: