Tired of scraping the payment together to pay your car insurance bill each month? You’re in the same situation as many other drivers. Many auto insurance companies compete for your business, so it’s not easy to compare every insurer and get the best coverage at the lowest cost out there.
You should take the time to shop coverage around quite often since insurance rates are rarely the same from one policy term to another. Even if you think you had the best rates on Civic coverage a few years ago you can probably find a lower rate today. There is a lot of wrong information about insurance online, so with this article, you’re going to get some proven techniques to buy insurance cheaper.
Car insurance can cost a lot, but discounts can save money and there are some available that you may not even be aware of. Most are applied when you purchase, but less common discounts must be asked for before they will apply. If they aren’t giving you every credit possible, you’re just leaving money on the table.
A little note about advertised discounts, most discounts do not apply to the entire policy premium. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like collision or personal injury protection. So when the math indicates all those discounts means the company will pay you, it doesn’t quite work that way. Any amount of discount will bring down your premiums.
A partial list of companies that possibly offer these discounts include:
Double check with all companies you are considering which discounts you may be entitled to. Some discounts may not apply everywhere.
It’s important that you understand the rating factors that help determine your car insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that can help you get lower car insurance prices.
The following are a partial list of the pieces that factor into your rates.
When it comes to buying proper insurance coverage, there really is not a “best” method to buy coverage. Every situation is different so your insurance needs to address that. For instance, these questions might point out if your insurance needs might need an agent’s assistance.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you might consider talking to a licensed agent. If you don’t have a local agent, fill out this quick form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier It’s fast, free and can provide invaluable advice.
Learning about specific coverages of your policy can help you determine the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. These are the usual coverages offered by insurance companies.
Coverage for medical payments – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage provide coverage for immediate expenses such as dental work, prosthetic devices, doctor visits, EMT expenses and rehabilitation expenses. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. It covers you and your occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Comprehensive coverages – This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first have to pay a deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive coverage pays for claims such as damage from a tornado or hurricane, damage from getting keyed, hail damage, hitting a bird and fire damage. The highest amount you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Uninsured and underinsured coverage – Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. This coverage pays for hospital bills for your injuries as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Because many people only carry the minimum required liability limits, their limits can quickly be used up. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Most of the time the UM/UIM limits are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.
Liability coverages – Liability coverage can cover damage that occurs to other’s property or people. This insurance protects YOU from claims by other people, and doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. Your policy might show policy limits of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and a limit of $100,000 paid for damaged property. Another option is a combined limit which provides one coverage limit rather than limiting it on a per person basis.
Liability can pay for things like legal defense fees, medical services, pain and suffering and structural damage. How much coverage you buy is up to you, but you should buy as high a limit as you can afford.
Collision coverages – Collision coverage pays for damage to your Civic from colliding with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision can pay for things such as sideswiping another vehicle, sustaining damage from a pot hole and rolling your car. This coverage can be expensive, so consider removing coverage from older vehicles. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Cheap 2009 Honda Civic insurance can be bought both online and also from your neighborhood agents, so you should be comparing 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 these small insurance companies work with independent agents.
We just covered a lot of ways to lower your insurance rates. The key concept to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even discover the best prices are with a smaller regional carrier. Smaller companies often have lower prices on specific markets than their larger competitors like State Farm and Allstate.
Even more information can be read by following these links: