Expensive insurance coverage can take a big chunk out of your personal savings and force you to make sacrifices. Comparison shopping is a great way to tighten up your finances.
Insurance companies such as State Farm, Geico and Farmers Insurance constantly blast consumers with TV and radio ads and it is difficult to ignore the propoganda and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.
It’s a great practice to price shop coverage on a regular basis due to the fact that insurance rates are constantly changing. Despite the fact that you may have had the best price for Nitro coverage a year ago you can probably find a lower rate today. Starting right now, forget all the misinformation about insurance coverage because it’s time to teach you how to use online quotes to reduce your cost while increasing coverage.
Auto insurance companies don’t always advertise every discount in a way that’s easy to find, so here is a list some of the more common and the more hidden discounts you could be receiving.
It’s important to understand that some credits don’t apply to the entire cost. A few only apply to individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. Even though it may seem like all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
For a list of providers offering insurance coverage discounts, click here.
It’s important that you understand the rating factors that go into determining your insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what controls the rates you pay allows you to make educated decisions that could result in lower insurance prices.
When it comes to buying proper insurance coverage, there really is no “best” method to buy coverage. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs and your policy should reflect that. For instance, these questions could help you determine whether or not you might need professional guidance.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but one or more may apply to you, you might consider talking to an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, simply complete this short form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
21st Century, Allstate and State Farm consistently run ads on TV and radio. All the companies say the same thing of big savings if you change your coverage to them. How does each company say the same thing? This is how they do it.
Insurance companies can use profiling for the type of driver that is profitable for them. A good example of a driver they prefer could possibly be a mature driver, has no prior claims, and has a short commute. A propective insured that hits that “sweet spot” will get the preferred rates and therefore will cut their rates substantially.
Potential insureds who don’t meet the requirements must pay higher prices which leads to business going elsewhere. The ads say “customers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save money. That’s why companies can claim big savings. This illustrates why you should get a wide range of price quotes. It’s impossible to know which company will have the lowest Dodge Nitro insurance rates.
Learning about specific coverages of your auto insurance policy can be of help when determining appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Listed below are the usual coverages available from auto insurance companies.
Liability car insurance
Liability insurance will cover injuries or damage you cause to people or other property by causing an accident. It protects YOU against other people’s claims, and does not provide coverage for damage to your own property or vehicle.
Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You commonly see limits 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 property damage coverage for $100,000.
Liability can pay for claims such as loss of income, structural damage and legal defense fees. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but consider buying higher limits if possible.
Insurance for medical payments
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for expenses for things like EMT expenses, X-ray expenses, hospital visits, pain medications and dental work. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if there is no health insurance coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)
Comprehensive insurance will pay to fix damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first must pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for things such as rock chips in glass, falling objects and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The maximum amount your auto insurance company will pay 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.
Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance
This protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. It can pay for medical payments for you and your occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, their limits can quickly be used up. So UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.
Collision protection
Collision coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You have to pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision can pay for claims like hitting a mailbox, crashing into a ditch, backing into a parked car and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. It’s also possible to raise the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Discount 2007 Dodge Nitro insurance can be found both online as well as from independent agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to get a complete price analysis. There are still a few companies who don’t offer online quoting and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.
In this article, we covered some good ideas how to save on insurance. The key thing to remember is the more providers you compare, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Drivers may discover the best prices are with a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. These companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments than the large multi-state companies such as Progressive or Geico.
As you restructure your insurance plan, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, drivers have reduced liability coverage limits and found out when filing a claim that they should have had better coverage. Your goal should be to find the BEST coverage at the best price while still protecting your assets.
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