How Much Does 2011 Toyota Prius Insurance Cost?

Locating cheaper insurance for a Toyota Prius can normally be a painful process, but you can learn a few tricks to find lower rates.

There are both good and bad ways to find auto insurance online so you’re going to learn the quickest way to quote coverages for a new or used Toyota and obtain the best price possible either online or from local insurance agents.

It’s a great practice to shop coverage around once or twice a year since insurance rates fluctuate regularly. Just because you had the best deal for Prius coverage six months ago you can probably find a lower rate today. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because you’re about to learn the best methods to find better coverage at a better price.

Factors influencing Toyota Prius insurance rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that go into determining the price you pay for insurance. Having a good understanding of what determines base rates helps enable you to make changes that can help you get better insurance rates.

  • Rural vs Urban Areas – Choosing to live in a small town has it’s advantages when it comes to insurance. Urban drivers have to deal with congested traffic and longer commutes to work. Fewer drivers translates into fewer accidents and also fewer theft and vandalism claims.
  • Liability coverage is cheap – Liability coverage will protect you if you are found to be at fault for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. Liability insurance provides you with a defense in court which can cost thousands of dollars. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap when compared with rates for comp and collision, so do not cut corners here.
  • Safer occupants lowers premiums – Vehicles with good safety scores can get you lower premiums. These vehicles result in less severe injuries and any reduction in injury severity means lower claim amounts and lower rates for you. If your Toyota Prius scored better than four stars on Safercar.gov you may qualify for a discount.
  • High numbers of claims are not good – If you tend to file frequent claims, you can pretty much guarantee either higher rates or even cancellation. Companies provide better rates to people who do not file claims often. Car insurance is meant to be used in the event of the large, substantial claims.
  • With age comes lower rates – Older insureds are more cautious drivers, tend to cause fewer accidents and receive fewer citations. Young drivers tend to be careless and easily distracted when behind the wheel therefore insurance rates are much higher.
  • Do men or women drive better? – Statistics demonstrate that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. However, this does not mean women are BETTER drivers than men. Both sexes cause accidents at a similar rate, but men have costlier accidents. Men also have more aggressive citations such as reckless driving. Male drivers age 16 to 19 tend to get in the most accidents and therefore are the most expensive to insure.
  • Never let your coverage lapse – Driving with no insurance can get your license suspended and you will pay a penalty because you let your insurance expire. And not only will insurance be more expensive, but being ticketed for driving with no insurance can result in a revoked license or a big fine.
  • More miles equals more premium – The higher the mileage driven in a year’s time the higher your rate. Most insurance companies charge to insure your cars based upon how you use the vehicle. Autos used primarily for pleasure use get more affordable rates compared to those used for work or business. Double check that your insurance declarations sheet is showing the correct usage for each vehicle. If your policy improperly rates your Prius may be wasting your money.

How to Lower Your Insurance Cost

All the larger insurance companies like Allstate, Geico and Progressive provide insurance quotes online. Getting online quotes is quite simple as you simply type in the amount of coverage you want as requested by the quote form. Behind the scenes, their system requests reports for credit and driving violations and gives you a price quote based on these factors.

Quoting online streamlines rate comparisons, but the work required to visit many different websites and complete many quote forms is repetitive and time-consuming. But it’s very important to do this if you are searching for the best price possible.

Isn’t there an easier way to compare rates?

A more efficient way to compare insurance pricing is to use a quote form to return rates from several different companies. This type of form saves time, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes quoting online a little more enjoyable. Once the form is submitted, it gets priced and you are able to buy any one of the quotes returned.

If you find a better price you simply finish the application and purchase the new policy. The whole process can be completed in less than 10 minutes and may result in a nice savings.

In order to find out how much you’re overpaying now, click here to open in new window and complete the simple form. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you input deductibles and limits as close as possible to your current policy. This way, you will have rate comparison quotes based on identical coverages.

Switch companies and save? Really?

Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements for cheaper car insurance by companies like Allstate, Geico and Progressive. They all seem to have a common claim that you’ll save big after switching to them.

How does each company make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.

Insurance companies have a certain “appetite” for the type of customer that makes them money. An example of a profitable customer might be between 25 and 40, has no driving citations, and has a high credit rating. A customer who meets those qualifications will get very good rates and most likely will save when they switch companies.

Consumers who fall outside the requirements will be charged higher rates which usually ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads say “customers who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that kind of money. That is how insurance companies can confidently state the savings.

That is why you absolutely need to get as many comparisons as possible. It’s not possible to predict the company that will have the lowest Toyota Prius insurance rates.

Pay less by taking advantage of discounts

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you may find discounts to help offset the cost. Certain discounts will be applied when you quote, but some must be manually applied prior to getting the savings. If you don’t get every credit you qualify for, you are throwing money away.

  • Discount for Life Insurance – Larger companies have a break if you buy a life insurance policy as well.
  • Employee of Federal Government – Being employed by or retired from a federal job could cut as much as 10% off for Prius coverage with select insurance companies.
  • Seat Belts Save – Drivers who require all occupants to use their safety belts could cut 10% or more off your PIP or medical payments premium.
  • New Car Discount – Putting insurance coverage on a new car can cost up to 25% less since new cars are generally safer.
  • Multiple Vehicles – Insuring multiple vehicles with the same company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
  • Homeowners Pay Less – Owning a house may trigger a car insurance policy discount because of the fact that having a home shows financial diligence.
  • Memberships – Affiliation with a professional or civic organization could qualify you for a break when shopping for car insurance for Prius coverage.

Drivers should understand that most discounts do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. Just because it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, you’re out of luck. But any discount will reduce your overall premium however.

For a list of companies with discount car insurance rates, click this link.

Your coverage should be tailored to you

When it comes to buying proper insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is not a perfect coverage plan. Each situation is unique.

For example, these questions might point out if your insurance needs might need an agent’s assistance.

  • Does my 2011 Toyota Prius need full coverage?
  • When would I need rental car insurance?
  • Does coverage extend to Mexico or Canada?
  • Am I covered if I crash into my own garage door?
  • Why am I required to get a high-risk car insurance policy?
  • Am I covered when renting a car or should I buy coverage from the car rental agency?
  • Do I need higher collision deductibles?
  • Does my medical payments coverage pay my health insurance deductible?
  • Are my tools covered if they get stolen from my vehicle?
  • Does my policy cover my teen driver if they drive my company car?

If you can’t answer these questions then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and can provide invaluable advice.

Auto insurance coverages explained

Having a good grasp of auto insurance helps when choosing the right coverages and proper limits and deductibles. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and coverage can change by endorsement.

Coverage for uninsured or underinsured drivers – This coverage gives you protection from other drivers when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Since a lot of drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked. Normally these coverages are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.

Comprehensive auto insurance – Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first must pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive can pay for things such as fire damage, rock chips in glass, falling objects and theft. The maximum amount you’ll receive from a claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Liability car insurance – Liability insurance protects you from damage that occurs to people or other property that is your fault. This insurance protects YOU against other people’s claims, and does not provide coverage for 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. As an example, you may have limits of 50/100/50 which means a $50,000 limit per person for injuries, $100,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $50,000. Another option is one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which provides one coverage limit and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.

Liability coverage pays for things like emergency aid, pain and suffering, medical expenses, bail bonds and repair costs for stationary objects. How much coverage you buy is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase higher limits if possible.

Collision – Collision insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision coverage protects against claims like scraping a guard rail, sideswiping another vehicle and colliding with another moving vehicle. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Coverage for medical expenses – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for bills for pain medications, EMT expenses, hospital visits and doctor visits. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance program or if you do not have health coverage. Coverage applies to you and your occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is only offered in select states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Shop Smart and Save

We just showed you many ways to lower your 2011 Toyota Prius insurance rates. The key concept to understand is the more price quotes you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Consumers may even find the lowest premiums are with a smaller regional carrier.

Consumers who switch companies do it for a number of reasons such as being labeled a high risk driver, denial of a claim, delays in paying claims or even policy non-renewal. Regardless of your reason, finding a new company can be less work than you think.

Lower-priced insurance is possible online in addition to many insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best selection. There are still a few companies who do not provide the ability to get a quote online and these small insurance companies work with independent agents.

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