Save on 2008 Ford Focus Insurance Cost

Searching for better car insurance rates for your Ford Focus? Scraping up a payment for overpriced Ford Focus insurance can drain your personal savings and force you to make sacrifices. Comparing price quotes is a great way to lower your monthly bill. Popular companies such as State Farm, Farmers Insurance, Geico and Allstate constantly blast consumers with fancy advertisements and it is challenging if not impossible to ignore the promise of big savings and take the time to shop coverage around.

If you have a policy now or need new coverage, you can follow these tips to shop for the lowest rates and still get good coverage. Choosing the best insurance company for you is quite easy. Drivers just need to understand the tricks to compare rates online.

Elements that influence Ford Focus insurance rates

Smart consumers have a good feel for some of the elements that go into determining car insurance rates. Knowing what determines base rates enables informed choices that could result in lower car insurance prices.

Listed below are a few of the “ingredients” car insurance companies consider when setting premiums.

  • High credit ratings translate to low rates – Having a bad credit score is a important factor in determining your rates. If your credit is lower than you’d like, you could potentially save money when insuring your 2008 Ford Focus by improving your rating. People with high credit scores tend to be more responsible than drivers with poor credit.
  • Occupation reflects on rates – Careers like real estate brokers, architects and stock brokers have the highest rates in part from high stress and lots of time spent at work. On the other hand, professions such as farmers, students and retirees get better rates on Focus coverage.
  • Tickets mean higher rates – Only having one citation can boost insurance rates by twenty percent. Careful drivers receive lower rates compared to drivers with tickets. Drivers with flagrant tickets like reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence are required to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) with the DMV in their state in order to keep their license.
  • Do men or women drive better? – Statistics demonstrate that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. Now that doesn’t mean women are BETTER drivers than men. Both sexes cause accidents at about the same rate, but the males tend to have more serious accidents. They also receive more costly citations such as reckless driving.
  • Higher safety ratings means cheaper insurance – Cars with high safety ratings are cheaper to insure. These vehicles protect occupants better and better occupant protection translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and more competitive rates for policyholders. If your Ford Focus earned at least an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website you are probably receiving a discount.

Compare Quotes for Car Insurance

All major car insurance companies give prices directly from their websites. Obtaining pricing is fairly straightforward as you simply type in the coverages you want into the quote form. Behind the scenes, the system will obtain information on your driving record and credit history and generates pricing information. This makes comparing rates easy, but the time required to go to many different websites and enter the same data into a form is repetitive and time-consuming. But it is imperative to get many rate quotes in order to get the best price on car insurance.

The quickest way to get multiple rate quotes utilizes a single form that gets prices from a lot of companies. It’s a real time-saver, eliminates form submissions, and makes quoting online much more efficient. As soon as the form is sent, it gets priced and you can select any or none of the quotes returned. If you find a better price you can simply submit the application and purchase the new policy. The entire process takes just a few minutes to complete and could lower your rates considerably.

To compare rates using this form now, click here to open in a new tab and fill out the form. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you duplicate deductibles and limits exactly as they are listed on your policy. Doing this guarantees you’re receiving rate quotes for similar insurance coverage.

Slick advertising tricks that work

Consumers constantly see and hear ads for car insurance savings from companies such as Allstate and Progressive. All the ads make the same claim about savings if you change your policy.

But how can every company make almost identical claims?

Insurance companies are able to cherry pick for the type of driver that earns them a profit. A good example of a desirable insured might be between the ages of 40 and 55, owns a home, and has excellent credit. A customer who matches those parameters will qualify for the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to save when switching.

Drivers who fall outside these standards must pay a more expensive rate which usually ends up with business not being written. The ads say “customers that switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much. That’s the way insurance companies can confidently state the savings. This illustrates why it’s extremely important to get as many quotes as possible. It’s just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings on Ford Focus insurance.

Save big with these discounts

Companies that sell car insurance do not list every available discount in a way that’s easy to find, so here is a list both the well known and the harder-to-find savings tricks you should be using. If you aren’t receiving every discount possible, you are throwing money away.

  • Early Signing – A few companies offer discounts for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiring. This can save 10% or more.
  • New Car Discount – Buying coverage on a new vehicle is cheaper due to better safety requirements for new cars.
  • Homeowners Savings – Owning a house can save you money because maintaining a house demonstrates responsibility.
  • Distant Student – Youth drivers living away from home attending college without a vehicle on campus can receive lower rates.
  • Drive Less and Save – Driving fewer miles can earn better rates on cars that stay parked.
  • Drivers Education – Require your teen driver to complete a driver education course in school.
  • Organization Discounts – Belonging to a professional or civic organization could trigger savings when buying insurance on Focus coverage.
  • No Charge for an Accident – Certain companies permit an accident before your rates go up as long as you don’t have any claims for a set time period.
  • Lower Rates for Military – Having a deployed family member could be rewarded with lower premiums.

Consumers should know that most of the big mark downs will not be given to your bottom line cost. Some only apply to specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies don’t profit that way.

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

But I don’t know anything about car insurance

When choosing the right insurance coverage for your vehicles, there is no one size fits all plan. Every situation is different so your insurance should reflect that These are some specific questions can help discover whether or not you would benefit from an agent’s advice.

  • Do I have coverage for damage caused while driving under the influence?
  • Am I covered if I drive in a foreign country?
  • Is my custom paint covered by insurance?
  • Can I afford to buy a different vehicle if my 2008 Ford Focus is totaled?
  • Are split liability limits better than a combined single limit?
  • Should I have a commercial auto policy?
  • What companies insure drivers after a DUI or DWI?
  • Am I covered if I hit my neighbor’s mailbox?
  • Am I covered if hit by an uninsured driver?
  • Can I pay claims out-of-pocket if I buy high deductibles?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions but one or more may apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, take a second and complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It’s fast, free and can help protect your family.

Car insurance coverages explained

Having a good grasp of car insurance can be of help when determining appropriate coverage and the correct deductibles and limits. The terms used in a policy can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. These are typical coverage types found on most car insurance policies.

Comprehensive insurance – Comprehensive insurance coverage covers damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things like fire damage, hail damage and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The most your car insurance company will pay is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider dropping full coverage.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for medical payments for you and your occupants as well as damage to your Ford Focus.

Since many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, their limits can quickly be used up. So UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.

Auto liability – This can cover damages or injuries you inflict on other people or property that is your fault. It protects you from claims by other people, and doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

Coverage consists of three different limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You commonly see liability limits of 25/50/25 that translate to $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $50,000, and a total limit of $25,000 for damage to vehicles and property.

Liability insurance covers things such as court costs, structural damage, legal defense fees and bail bonds. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is up to you, but consider buying as high a limit as you can afford.

Collision coverages – This pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision can pay for claims such as sustaining damage from a pot hole, hitting a mailbox, sideswiping another vehicle, crashing into a ditch and damaging your car on a curb. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP provide coverage for immediate expenses like surgery, ambulance fees, rehabilitation expenses, pain medications and chiropractic care. They can be used in conjunction with a health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover all vehicle occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not universally available and may carry a deductible

In the end, you save

While you’re price shopping online, it’s a bad idea to buy less coverage just to save a little money. There are too many instances where an insured cut physical damage coverage and learned later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. The proper strategy is to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford.

You just read many ways to compare 2008 Ford Focus insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Consumers could even find that the most savings is with some of the smallest insurance companies. These smaller insurers often have lower prices on specific markets as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm and Allstate.

To learn more, feel free to visit the following helpful articles: