How Much Does 2012 Nissan Altima Insurance Cost?

Want better car insurance rates for your Nissan Altima? Purchasing low-cost car insurance online can seem to be challenging for consumers not familiar with buying insurance on the web. When there are so many choices, how can you even start to compare them all to find the lowest price available?

It’s a good habit to compare rates occasionally due to the fact that insurance rates go up and down regularly. Even if you think you had the best price for Altima insurance a few years ago you may be paying too much now. Starting right now, forget all the misinformation about car insurance because you’re going to learn one of the easiest ways to properly buy coverages and cut your premium.

If you are paying for car insurance now, you will be able to lower your premiums substantially using these methods. Finding the cheapest coverage is easy if you know what you’re doing. But drivers should learn how the larger insurance companies sell online and take advantage of how the system works.

How to Lower Your Insurance Cost

Performing a rate comparison can be a lot of work if you aren’t aware of the best way to get rate quotes. You can waste a few hours (or days) driving to insurance companies in your area, or you could save time and use the web to get prices fast.

Most of the best insurance companies take part in a program that enables customers to submit their information once, and each company returns a competitive quote. This prevents consumers from doing quote forms to each company.

To enter your information into the quoting system, click here to open in new window.

One minor caviat to comparing rates this way is you are unable to specify which carriers to get pricing from. So if you want to select individual companies to compare rates, we have a listing of low cost insurance companies in your area. Click here for list of insurance companies.

It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but ensure you’re using the exact same deductibles and coverage limits for each price quote. If you have unequal deductibles or liability limits you can’t possibly find the best deal for your Nissan Altima. Just a small difference in coverages could mean much higher rates. And when comparing insurance rates, know that quoting more gives you a better chance of getting lower pricing.

Why your Nissan Altima insurance rates may be high

It’s important that you understand some of the elements that help determine the price you pay for insurance. Understanding what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that will entitle you to lower insurance prices.

  • Are you male or female? – Statistics show that women are safer drivers than men. Now that doesn’t mean men are WORSE drivers than women. They both cause accidents at a similar rate, but the males tend to have more serious accidents. They also have more aggressive citations like reckless driving and DUI.
  • Do you work long hours in a high stress job? – Did you know your job can affect your rates? Careers like real estate brokers, executives and accountants tend to have higher rates than average attributed to high stress and lots of time spent at work. On the flip side, occupations such as farmers, athletes and homemakers receive lower rates for Altima insurance.
  • Your location is important – Residing in a rural area is a positive aspect when buying insurance. City drivers tend to have more traffic problems and a longer drive to work. Fewer people means reduced accidents and a lower car theft rate.
  • Bump up deductibles to save – Physical damage insurance, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your Nissan. A few examples of covered claims are running into the backend of another car, damage from fire, or theft. Your deductibles are how much you are required to spend before a claim is paid by your company. The more expense you have to pay, the bigger discount you will receive for Altima insurance.

Discounts are available to cut your rates

Auto insurance companies don’t necessarily list all available discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we break down both the well known and the more hidden insurance savings.

  • Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Vehicles with factory air bags or motorized seat belts can get savings of 20% or more.
  • Low Mileage Discounts – Keeping the miles down on your Nissan can earn a substantially lower rate.
  • Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of making monthly payments you can actually save on your bill.
  • Government Employees – Simply working for the federal government can earn a discount up to 10% for Altima insurance with select insurance companies.
  • New Vehicle Savings – Buying coverage on a new vehicle can cost up to 25% less because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
  • One Accident Forgiven – Some insurance companies permit an accident before your rates go up if you are claim-free for a certain period of time.

Keep in mind that most credits do not apply to the entire policy premium. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like collision or personal injury protection. Just because it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, it doesn’t quite work that way.

To see a list of companies offering insurance discounts, click this link.

Everyone needs different coverages

When buying coverage, there really is no cookie cutter policy. Each situation is unique.

Here are some questions about coverages that can aid in determining if your insurance needs may require specific advice.

  • Am I getting all the discounts available?
  • Do I have coverage when using my vehicle for my home business?
  • Can my teen driver be rated on a liability-only vehicle?
  • Am I covered if hit by an uninsured driver?
  • Can I get a multi-policy discount for packaging my home and auto coverage?
  • What is roadside assistance coverage?
  • How can I get high-risk coverage after a DUI?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you think they might apply to your situation, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed agent. To find an agent in your area, simply complete this short form.

Car insurance coverages 101

Knowing the specifics of your car insurance policy can help you determine the best coverages and proper limits and deductibles. Car insurance terms can be ambiguous and coverage can change by endorsement.

Collision – This covers damage to your Altima resulting from a collision with an object or car. A deductible applies and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision coverage pays for claims like crashing into a building, sustaining damage from a pot hole, backing into a parked car, scraping a guard rail and rolling your car. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from lower value vehicles. Another option is to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage – Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other motorists when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. It can pay for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked.

Medical payments and PIP coverage – Med pay and PIP coverage pay for immediate expenses for chiropractic care, nursing services, doctor visits and X-ray expenses. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if you do not have health coverage. Coverage applies to all vehicle occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal Injury Protection is not universally available and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Comprehensive auto coverage – Comprehensive insurance pays for damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive can pay for things such as theft, a tree branch falling on your vehicle, vandalism and hitting a deer. The most a car insurance company will pay at claim time is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.

Liability insurance – This can cover damages or injuries you inflict on other’s property or people. It protects you against other people’s claims. Liability doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show liability limits of 100/300/100 which means a limit of $100,000 per injured person, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and a total limit of $100,000 for damage to vehicles and property.

Liability can pay for things such as structural damage, medical expenses, bail bonds and funeral expenses. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a personal decision, but you should buy as large an amount as possible.

Quote more, save more

As you restructure your insurance plan, it’s a bad idea to skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. In many cases, drivers have reduced collision coverage only to regret at claim time that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The proper strategy is to purchase a proper amount of coverage at an affordable rate, not the least amount of coverage.

Discount 2012 Nissan Altima insurance is definitely available online as well as from independent agents, so compare prices from both to have the best selection. Some companies don’t offer you the ability to get quotes online and these regional insurance providers work with independent agents.

Throughout this article, we presented a lot of tips how to save on insurance. It’s most important to understand that the more rate comparisons you have, the higher the chance of saving money. Consumers could even find that the lowest priced auto insurance comes from the smaller companies.

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