2002 Mercury Cougar Insurance Rates – 10 Tricks for Cheaper Quotes

Trying to find cheaper car insurance rates for your Mercury Cougar? Consumers who are new to price shopping insurance online will find buying the cheapest car insurance is more work than they anticipated.

You probably qualify for some discounts

Auto insurance companies do not list every discount very well, so we researched both well-publicized as well as the least known savings tricks you should be using.

  • Homeowners Savings – Being a homeowner may trigger a car insurance policy discount because of the fact that having a home demonstrates responsibility.
  • Auto/Life Discount – Companies who offer life insurance give a break if you buy life insurance.
  • Fewer Miles Equal More Savings – Driving fewer miles can earn a substantially lower rate.
  • Government Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job could cut as much as 10% off on Cougar coverage with certain companies.
  • More Vehicles More Savings – Having multiple cars or trucks with the same company qualifies for this discount.
  • Auto/Home Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles with one company you may save at least 10% off all policies.
  • Discount for Good Grades – This discount can earn a discount of 20% or more. The good student discount can last until age 25.
  • One Accident Forgiven – Certain companies allow you one accident without raising rates so long as you haven’t had any claims for a set time period.
  • New Car Discount – Buying coverage on a new vehicle is cheaper compared to insuring an older model.
  • Paperless Signup – A few companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying a policy and signing up digitally online.

A little note about advertised discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire cost. Some only reduce specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though it sounds like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you’re out of luck.

Companies that may offer these benefits include:

It’s a good idea to ask each insurance company how you can save money. All car insurance discounts might not be offered everywhere.

There’s no such thing as the perfect policy

When buying the right insurance coverage, there really is not a “perfect” insurance plan. Everyone’s needs are different.

Here are some questions about coverages that may help you determine if your insurance needs could use an agent’s help.

  • Do I need medical payments coverage since I have good health insurance?
  • Am I covered when using my vehicle for business?
  • Do I have any recourse if my insurance company denies a claim?
  • Does medical payments coverage apply to all occupants?
  • Do I have newly-aquired coverage?
  • Do I need replacement cost coverage?
  • Is business equipment covered while in my vehicle?
  • Are there companies who specialize in insuring high-risk drivers?
  • How high should deductibles be on a 2002 Mercury Cougar?

If you can’t answer these questions but you think they might apply to your situation, you might consider talking to an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form.

Can you really save $488 a year?

Companies like 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm regularly use ads on television and other media. All the ads make an identical promise about savings if you move to them. How do they all make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.

All the different companies have a certain “appetite” for the right customer that earns them a profit. For example, a profitable customer might be between 30 and 50, owns a home, and has excellent credit. A customer getting a price quote who meets those qualifications will get very good rates and therefore will pay quite a bit less when switching companies.

Potential customers who are not a match for this ideal profile will be quoted more money and ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads say “people who switch” not “people who quote” save money. This is how companies can truthfully advertise the savings. This emphasizes why you absolutely need to get as many quotes as possible. It’s just too difficult to predict which company will fit your personal profile best.

Car insurance coverages for a Mercury Cougar

Knowing the specifics of your auto insurance policy can help you determine which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and damage to your Mercury Cougar.

Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important.

Auto collision coverage

Collision coverage will pay to fix damage to your Cougar resulting from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. A deductible applies and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision coverage protects against claims such as driving through your garage door, hitting a mailbox, damaging your car on a curb, colliding with a tree and scraping a guard rail. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Comprehensive coverages

Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage that is not covered by collision coverage. A deductible will apply and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things like damage from a tornado or hurricane, damage from flooding and hitting a deer. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Coverage for medical payments

Med pay and PIP coverage provide coverage for bills such as nursing services, dental work and surgery. They are often used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance program or if you lack health insurance entirely. It covers all vehicle occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is only offered in select states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Coverage for liability

Liability insurance provides protection from damage or injury you incur to other people or property in an accident. It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You might see limits of 25/50/25 which means $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000.

Liability insurance covers claims like bail bonds, attorney fees, medical services, funeral expenses and repair costs for stationary objects. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but buy as high a limit as you can afford.

Shop. Compare. Save.

We’ve covered many tips how you can save on 2002 Mercury Cougar insurance. The key concept to understand is the more times you quote, the better your comparison will be. You may even discover the most savings is with some of the smallest insurance companies.

Cheap insurance can be purchased from both online companies and also from your neighborhood agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to get a complete price analysis. There are still a few companies who may not provide you the ability to get quotes online and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

Drivers change insurance companies for many reasons like lack of trust in their agent, not issuing a premium refund, delays in paying claims and even delays in responding to claim requests. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch switching companies is pretty simple and you could end up saving a buck or two.

More tips and info about insurance can be found in these articles: