Trying to find the cheapest insurance for a BMW 3 Series could be an all-consuming task, but you can follow our insurance buying tips to save time.
There is a right way and a wrong way to compare insurance rates and you need to know the absolute fastest way to price shop coverage for your BMW and obtain the cheapest rates.
It’s a good habit to check insurance prices yearly because insurance rates are constantly changing. Even if you got the lowest rates on 3 Series insurance two years ago you may be paying too much now. So ignore everything you know about insurance because we’re going to show you the best way to find lower rates on insurance.
If you have a policy now or need new coverage, you can use this information to reduce the price you pay and still get good coverage. Shopping for the cheapest coverage is quite easy. Vehicle owners just need to understand how to get comparison rates online.
Shopping for lower insurance rates can be exhausting if you don’t understand the best way to get rate quotes. You can waste hours talking about coverages with agents in your area, or you can stay home and use the web to get the quickest rates.
Many of the larger companies participate in a marketplace where prospective buyers enter their coverage request one time, and every company can give them a price for coverage. This system prevents you from having to do repetitive form submissions for every insurance company. To access this free quoting program, click here (opens in new window).
One minor caviat to pricing coverage this way is buyers cannot specifically choose the companies to get quotes from. If you prefer to choose specific providers for rate comparison, we have a page of companies who write insurance in your area. Click here to view list.
It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but double check that you are using the exact same coverage limits for each comparison quote. If you enter higher or lower deductibles it will be impossible to decipher which rate is best.
Drivers can’t get away from ads for car insurance savings by companies like State Farm, Allstate and Geico. All the ads make an identical promise of big savings if you switch to them.
How can each company say the same thing? It’s all in the numbers.
Different companies have a preferred profile for the type of customer that earns them a profit. An example of a profitable customer could possibly be between the ages of 40 and 55, has no driving citations, and has a short commute. A customer getting a price quote who fits that profile will get very good rates and is almost guaranteed to pay quite a bit less when switching companies.
Consumers who do not match this ideal profile will be quoted more money which leads to business not being written. The ads say “customers that switch” not “everyone that quotes” save money. That is how insurance companies can make the claims of big savings.
This emphasizes why it is so important to compare many company’s rates. It’s not possible to predict which company will give you the biggest savings on BMW 3 Series insurance.
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that go into determining insurance coverage rates. When you know what positively or negatively influences your rates allows you to make educated decisions that will entitle you to better insurance coverage rates.
The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but discounts can save money and there are some available that many people don’t even know exist. A few discounts will automatically apply at the time of purchase, but some must be asked about prior to getting the savings. If you don’t get every credit you qualify for, you are throwing money away.
Keep in mind that most discounts do not apply to your bottom line cost. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like medical payments or collision. So even though it sounds like you can get free auto insurance, companies don’t profit that way. But any discount will bring down your premiums.
For a list of companies with discount insurance coverage rates, click here.
When it comes to buying adequate coverage, there isn’t really a best way to insure your cars. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs.
Here are some questions about coverages that could help you determine whether your personal situation might need professional guidance.
If you can’t answer these questions but you think they might apply to your situation, you may need to chat with an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form. It only takes a few minutes and can help protect your family.
Knowing the specifics of your insurance policy aids in choosing the right coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy.
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers – This coverage provides protection when other motorists either have no liability insurance or not enough. It can pay for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and also any damage incurred to your 2016 BMW 3 Series.
Because many people carry very low liability coverage limits, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important. Normally these limits do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision) – Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from 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 hitting a deer, damage from getting keyed, theft and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The most your insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Collision coverages – This will pay to fix damage to your 3 Series caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision coverage pays for things such as crashing into a ditch, driving through your garage door, hitting a mailbox and backing into a parked car. This coverage can be expensive, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are older. Another option is to raise the deductible to bring the cost down.
Liability coverage – This protects you from injuries or damage you cause to people or other property in an accident. This coverage protects you against other people’s claims. It does not cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
It consists of three limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have liability limits of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 bodily injury coverage, $300,000 for the entire accident, and a total limit of $100,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Occasionally you may see one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which combines the three limits into one amount and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.
Liability can pay for claims such as repair costs for stationary objects, attorney fees and medical expenses. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford.
Medical expense insurance – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance provide coverage for short-term medical expenses like X-ray expenses, chiropractic care, surgery, ambulance fees and EMT expenses. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
When buying insurance coverage, it’s very important that you do not sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. In many cases, someone sacrificed liability coverage limits and learned later that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your goal should be to buy a smart amount of coverage for the lowest price while still protecting your assets.
We covered a lot of techniques to save on 2016 BMW 3 Series insurance. It’s most important to understand that the more rate comparisons you have, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may even find the lowest priced auto insurance comes from a small local company.
Cheap insurance is attainable online in addition to many insurance agents, so you should compare both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some insurance providers do not provide online quoting and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.