Looking for cheaper car insurance rates for your Volkswagen Passat? I can’t think of a single person who anticipates paying for car insurance, in particular when they could get a better deal.
Many insurers vie to insure your vehicles, so it can be very hard to choose a provider and get the definite best price available.
Auto insurance is easily one of your largest bills, but there may be some discounts to reduce the price significantly. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at the time of quoting, but lesser-known reductions have to be specifically requested before being credited.
While discounts sound great, it’s important to understand that most of the big mark downs will not be given to all coverage premiums. Some only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as comprehensive or collision. So even though they make it sound like all those discounts means the company will pay you, you aren’t that lucky.
To view auto insurance companies offering auto insurance discounts, click here.
There are a lot of ways you can shop for insurance coverage but some are more efficient than others. You can spend your afternoon talking to insurance companies in your area, or you could use the internet for quick rates.
Many companies participate in an industry program where insurance shoppers only type in their quote data once, and each participating company can give them a price determined by their information. This saves time by eliminating quote forms for each company you want a rate for. To find out how much you can save on insurance coverage click here to start a free quote.
The single downside to using this type of system is you cannot specify which insurance companies you want to price. If you wish to select from a list of companies to compare rates, we put together a list of low cost insurance coverage companies in your area. Click here to view list.
Whichever way you choose to compare rates, make absolute certain that you use the same quote data on every price quote you get. If you are comparing unequal deductibles or liability limits you will not be able to get a fair rate comparison. Just a small difference in coverage limits may result in a large different in cost. Keep in mind that comparing more rates from different companies provides better odds of finding more affordable rates. Not every company provides online price quotes, so you also need to get quotes from those companies as well.
Smart consumers have a good feel for a few of the rating criteria that aid in calculating the level of your policy premiums. If you know what impacts premium levels, this enables you to make decisions that can help you get lower insurance prices. Many different elements are taken into consideration when you get a price on insurance. Most are fairly basic like your driving record, although others are not as apparent like where you live or your vehicle rating.
The list below includes some of the most rate-impacting factors used by insurance companies to determine your rate level.
When choosing proper insurance coverage, there isn’t really a best way to insure your cars. Every situation is different so this has to be addressed. Here are some questions about coverages that can help discover if you could use an agent’s help.
If you can’t answer these questions but you know they apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier
Car insurance companies such as State Farm and Allstate constantly bombard you with ads on TV and radio. All the ads tend to make the same promise that you can save if you switch your car insurance coverage to their company. How does each company have lower policy pricing? This is the trick they use.
All the different companies have a preferred profile for the driver that makes them money. One example of this type of driver could possibly be between 25 and 40, has a clean driving record, and drives less than 5,000 miles a year. Someone that matches those criteria will probably get the lowest premium rates and have a good chance to cut their rates substantially.
Consumers who fall outside this stringent profile will get a higher premium which translates to the customer buying from a different company. The ad wording is “people who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much. That’s why companies can advertise the way they do.
Because every company is different, you really need to compare as many free auto insurance quotes as you can. It’s impossible to know which insurance companies will give you lower auto insurance rates than your current company.
Understanding the coverages of your insurance policy can help you determine appropriate coverage and the correct deductibles and limits. Insurance terms can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Shown next are typical coverages available from insurance companies.
Collision coverage protection
Collision coverage will pay to fix damage to your Passat caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage protects against things such as colliding with a tree, backing into a parked car and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are older. Drivers also have the option to raise the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Medical costs insurance
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP reimburse you for immediate expenses like pain medications, surgery, chiropractic care and X-ray expenses. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants in addition to if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is not universally available and may carry a deductible
UM/UIM Coverage
This coverage protects you and your vehicle from other motorists when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include medical payments for you and your occupants and damage to your Volkswagen Passat.
Due to the fact that many drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Frequently these coverages are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision
Comprehensive insurance covers damage that is not covered by collision coverage. A deductible will apply then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive can pay for things such as damage from getting keyed, damage from flooding, theft and vandalism. The maximum amount a insurance company will pay at claim time is the ACV or actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Auto liability
This coverage protects you from damage that occurs to people or other property that is your fault. It protects you from claims by other people, and doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have limits of 25/50/25 that translate to $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property. Occasionally you may see a combined limit which limits claims to one amount with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability insurance covers claims like pain and suffering, medical services and repair bills for other people’s vehicles. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is your choice, but consider buying higher limits if possible.
As you prepare to switch companies, do not buy poor coverage just to save money. Too many times, drivers have reduced physical damage coverage to discover at claim time that they should have had better coverage. The proper strategy is to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest price and still be able to protect your assets.
Throughout this article, we presented some good ideas how to compare 2017 Volkswagen Passat insurance car insurance rates online. The key thing to remember is the more rate quotes you have, the better your comparison will be. You may be surprised to find that the best car insurance rates are with the smaller companies. Smaller companies can often provide lower premium rates in certain areas as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm, Geico and Nationwide.
Much more information about insurance coverage is available on the following sites: