Lower Your 2002 Mercury Mountaineer Insurance Rates

Searching for better insurance rates for your Mercury Mountaineer? Shopping for the most affordable insurance over the internet is intimidating for consumers new to comparison shopping online. Because there are so many choices, how can you possibly compare the different rates to find the cheapest available price?

The purpose of this post is to teach you how to get online quotes. If you have car insurance now, you will be able to save some money using these techniques. But consumers must learn the way insurance companies sell online and use this information to your advantage.

How to Compare Auto Insurance Costs

Most companies allow you to get price estimates on the web. The process is fairly simple as you simply type in your required coverages as requested by the quote form. When the form is submitted, their rating system pulls information on your driving record and credit history and generates a price.

Quoting online simplifies rate comparisons, but the process of having to visit each company’s website and repetitively enter the same data into a form is monotonous and tiresome. But it’s absolutely necessary to have as many quotes as possible if you want to find better prices.

The smarter way to lower your rates requires only one form that gets price quotes from a bunch of companies at once. This type of form saves time, eliminates form submissions, and makes online quotes much simpler. As soon as the form is sent, it is quoted and you are able to buy any of the quotes returned.

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

In order to compare rates using this form now, click here to open in a new tab and begin entering your coverage information. To compare your current rates, we recommend you complete the form with deductibles and limits as shown on your current policy. This guarantees you will receive an apples-to-apples comparison based on identical coverages.

Cut your insurance rates with discounts

Car insurance is not cheap, but there could be available discounts that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at the time of purchase, but some must be requested specifically before you will receive the discount.

  • Government Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job may qualify you for a discount for Mountaineer insurance with a few insurance companies.
  • Own a Home – Owning a home may earn you a small savings because of the fact that having a home demonstrates responsibility.
  • Military Rewards – Having a family member in the military could be rewarded with lower premiums.
  • Discount for Swiching Early – Some companies give discounts for buying a policy before your current policy expires. The savings is around 10%.
  • Anti-lock Brake System – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems can reduce accidents and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
  • 55 and Retired – Mature drivers may receive better insurance rates for Mountaineer insurance.
  • Save with a New Car – Insuring a new car can be considerably cheaper due to better safety requirements for new cars.
  • Multiple Cars – Having all your vehicles on one policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
  • Safety Course Discount – Taking part in a course in driver safety can save you 5% or more depending on where you live.

Drivers should understand that most discounts do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like liability, collision or medical payments. Just because you may think having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any amount of discount will bring down the cost of coverage.

To see a list of providers with the best insurance discounts, click here.

You are unique and your insurance should be too

When it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage, there really is not a perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s needs are different.

For instance, these questions may help highlight whether you would benefit from professional advice.

  • How do I file an SR-22 for a DUI in my state?
  • Do I need replacement cost coverage?
  • Should I put collision coverage on all my vehicles?
  • When can I cancel my policy?
  • Do I pay less for low miles?
  • Am I missing any policy discounts?
  • When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
  • Do I have coverage when making deliveries for my home business?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions but a few of them apply, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form.

Why your Mercury Mountaineer insurance rates may be high

Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that play a part in calculating car insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what influences your rates enables informed choices that can help you get much lower annual insurance costs.

Shown below are some of the items car insurance companies consider when setting your rates.

  • Liability coverage is cheap – Liability insurance will protect you if ever you are found liable for personal injury or accident damage. Liability provides legal defense up to the limits shown on your policy. This coverage is very inexpensive compared to physical damage coverage, so drivers should carry high limits.
  • Where you live can impact rates – Residing in small towns and rural areas can save you money when insuring your vehicles. City drivers have to deal with traffic congestion and much longer commute distances. Fewer people means reduced accidents.
  • Safer cars cost less to insure – Vehicles with high crash test scores can get you lower premiums. Safe vehicles result in less severe injuries and fewer injuries translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and thus lower rates. If your Mercury earned at least an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website or four stars on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website you may qualify for a discount.
  • Rates may be higher depending on your occupation – Did you know your job can affect your rates? Careers like doctors, executives and stock brokers tend to have the highest rates due to stressful work requirements and lengthy work days. On the other hand, occupations such as scientists, students and performers receive lower rates for Mountaineer insurance.
  • Men fork out a little more – Statistics have proven that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. That doesn’t necessarily mean that women are better drivers. They both tend to get into accidents at a similar rate, but the male of the species cause more damage. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations like reckless driving and DUI. Male drivers age 16 to 19 are the most expensive to insure and therefore have the most expensive car insurance rates.
  • Higher deductibles cost less – Insurance for physical damage to your car, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your Mercury. Some examples of claims that would be covered could be running into the backend of another car, collision with an animal, and rolling your vehicle. Your deductibles are how much you are willing to pay out-of-pocket before your car insurance pays a claim. The more the insured has to pay upfront, the bigger discount you will receive for Mountaineer insurance.
  • Do you need those extra coverages? – There are a lot of additional coverages that you can get tricked into buying when buying car insurance. Coverages like rental car reimbursement, accidental death and membership fees are examples of these. These coverages may sound good initially, but your needs may have changed so get rid of them and save.

Insurance coverage myths debunked

Insurance coverage providers like 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm constantly bombard you with ads on TV and radio. They all make the same claim that you can save if you switch to their company. How do they all make almost identical claims? It’s all in the numbers.

Different companies can use profiling for the right customer they prefer to insure. For instance, a driver they prefer might be between the ages of 40 and 55, owns a home, and has a high credit rating. Any driver who fits that profile will get the preferred rates and as a result will probably save quite a bit of money when switching.

Consumers who are not a match for the requirements will be charged higher prices and this can result in business not being written. The ads state “customers that switch” not “people who quote” save that much. That is how insurance companies can advertise the way they do.

That is why you need to compare many company’s rates. You cannot predict which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings on Mercury Mountaineer insurance.

Car insurance 101

Having a good grasp of your insurance policy aids in choosing the right coverages for your vehicles. The terms used in a policy can be difficult to understand and coverage can change by endorsement.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage – This protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered claims include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your Mercury Mountaineer.

Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked. Frequently the UM/UIM limits are set the same as your liablity limits.

Liability auto insurance – This coverage will cover damages or injuries you inflict on other’s property or people by causing an accident. This coverage protects you from legal claims by others, and does not provide coverage for your injuries or vehicle damage.

Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. Your policy might show values of 100/300/100 that translate to a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Occasionally you may see one number which is a combined single limit which limits claims to one amount without having the split limit caps.

Liability coverage protects against things such as loss of income, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, court costs and attorney fees. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but you should buy higher limits if possible.

Collision coverage – Collision coverage pays for damage to your Mountaineer resulting from colliding with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision insurance covers claims such as crashing into a ditch, backing into a parked car, driving through your garage door and damaging your car on a curb. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. You can also bump up the deductible to bring the cost down.

Medical payments coverage and PIP – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP provide coverage for immediate expenses for ambulance fees, funeral costs, surgery and hospital visits. They can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. Coverage applies to you and your occupants and also covers getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not universally available and may carry a deductible

Comprehensive coverage – Comprehensive insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You need to pay your deductible first then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as damage from getting keyed, hail damage and falling objects. The maximum payout a insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Don’t break the bank

People change insurance companies for many reasons like delays in responding to claim requests, policy non-renewal, policy cancellation or delays in paying claims. No matter why you want to switch, finding a new insurance company can be less work than you think.

When you buy insurance online, do not buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There are many occasions where someone dropped collision coverage only to regret at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The aim is to buy the best coverage you can find at an affordable rate.

You just read quite a bit of information on how to reduce 2002 Mercury Mountaineer insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more quotes you get, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. Drivers may discover the lowest priced insurance comes from the smaller companies.

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