Do you get confused by the crazy number of insurance choices? Vehicle owners have so many options that it can be hard work to locate the lowest insurance rates.
You need to shop coverage around quite often because insurance prices are constantly changing. Even if you think you had the best rates on 3 coverage two years ago you will most likely find a better premium rate today. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about insurance because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to the fastest and easiest way to reduce your cost while improving coverage.
Car insurance companies don’t always list every policy discount in a way that’s easy to find, so the list below contains a few of the more well known and also the lesser-known credits available to lower your premiums when you buy car insurance online.
A little disclaimer on discounts, many deductions do not apply to all coverage premiums. Some only apply to individual premiums such as comp or med pay. So even though it sounds like you could get a free insurance policy, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy.
A few popular companies and some of their more popular discounts are included below.
Double check with every prospective company which discounts you qualify for. Discounts might not apply in your area.
There are a lot of ways to compare insurance prices but some are less time-consuming than others. You could waste time discussing policy coverages with insurance companies in your area, or you can utilize the internet to maximize your effort.
Most of the best insurance companies take part in a program where prospective buyers enter their policy data once, and each participating company returns a rated price based on that data. This prevents consumers from doing quotation requests to each company.
To enter your information into the quoting system, click here (opens in new window).
The only downside to getting quotes like this is buyers cannot specifically choose the companies you will receive quotes from. So if you want to choose individual companies to compare prices, we have a page of companies who write insurance in your area. Click to view list.
You can use whichever method you prefer to find lower rates, just do your best to use equivalent coverage limits for each quote you get. If you use different liability limits you can’t possibly make a fair rate comparison. Even a minor difference in coverage limits can mean a large discrepancy in price. And when comparison shopping, comparing a large number of companies helps improve the odds of finding lower pricing. Some companies don’t provide online rate quotes, so you need to compare prices from the smaller companies as well.
Lots of things are part of the equation when you quote your car insurance policy. A few of the factors are predictable such as your driving history, but other factors are more transparent such as your credit history or your vehicle rating.
When it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage, there really is no “best” method to buy coverage. Every situation is different.
Here are some questions about coverages that can help discover if you will benefit from professional help.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but a few of them apply, you might consider talking to an insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form.
Understanding the coverages of a car insurance policy helps when choosing the right coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Medical payments and PIP coverage
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage kick in for immediate expenses for things like X-ray expenses, dental work, EMT expenses and pain medications. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants in addition to being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Collision protection
Collision coverage will pay to fix damage to your 3 from colliding with an object or car. You will need to pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision can pay for things such as hitting a parking meter, sideswiping another vehicle, driving through your garage door, sustaining damage from a pot hole and colliding with a tree. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to increase the deductible to bring the cost down.
Comprehensive auto coverage
This coverage will pay to fix damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. A deductible will apply then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for claims like falling objects, rock chips in glass, fire damage and theft. The most your car insurance company will pay is the cash value of the vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.
Liability insurance
Liability coverage provides protection from damage or injury you incur to other people or property in an accident. This insurance protects YOU against other people’s claims, and doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You might see values of 100/300/100 that translate to $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability insurance covers things such as repair costs for stationary objects, funeral expenses, medical expenses and structural damage. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but you should buy as much as you can afford.
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage
This provides protection when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your 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. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.
Consumers leave their current company for a variety of reasons including policy non-renewal, delays in responding to claim requests, being labeled a high risk driver and even high rates after DUI convictions. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, finding the right insurance coverage provider is pretty simple and you could end up saving a buck or two.
We just showed you a lot of ways to reduce 2013 Mazda 3 insurance rates online. The key thing to remember is the more price quotes you have, the better likelihood of getting inexpensive car insurance. Consumers could even find that the lowest priced insurance coverage comes from some of the lesser-known companies.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, never buy poor coverage just to save money. In many instances, consumers will sacrifice full coverage and learned later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your goal should be to purchase plenty of coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
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