1997 BMW Z3 Car Insurance Quotes – 7 Tips for Cheaper Rates

Searching for lower insurance coverage rates for your BMW Z3? When trying to find lower-priced insurance, do you get confused by the dozens of insurance coverage choices that you can choose from? Many other drivers are as well. You have so many choices to choose from that it can quickly become a real challenge to locate the lowest insurance coverage rates.

Take advantage of every insurance coverage discount

Auto insurance companies don’t always advertise every available discount very clearly, so we researched some of the more common and also the more inconspicuous credits available to bring down your rates.

• Auto/Life Discount – Some insurance companies give a discount if you purchase some life insurance too.
• Paperwork-free – Some larger companies provide a small discount for buying a policy and signing up online.
• Full Payment Discount – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time rather than paying in monthly installments you can avoid monthly service charges.
• Federal Government Employee – Federal government employees can save as much as 8% on Z3 coverage depending on your insurance coverage provider.
• Fewer Miles Equal More Savings – Driving less can earn slightly better insurance coveragerates than normal.
• Defensive Driver Discount – Taking a course teaching driver safety skills could cut 5% off your bill and also improve your driving technique.
• Air Bags and Passive Restraints – Options like air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems may qualify for discounts as much as 30%.

As a sidenote, most discounts do not apply to the entire cost. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. If you do the math and it seems like you can get free auto insurance, insurance coverage companies aren’t that generous.

Some companies that have these benefits are:

• Farmers Insurance
• State Farm
• Liberty Mutual
• MetLife
• Progressive

When comparing rates, check with every company how you can save money. Depending on the company, some discounts might not be available to policyholders everywhere. If you would like to choose from a list of companies that have a full spectrum of discounts, click this link.

Buy auto insurance online

To find cheaper rates, there are a couple of ways to compare quotes from different insurance companies. The recommended way to do a complete rate comparison consists of obtaining rate quotes online. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in a couple of different ways.

One of the best ways to find the lowest comparison rates is an all-inclusive rate comparison (click to open form in new window). This easy form saves time by eliminating repetitive form submissions for every company. A single form will get you rate comparisons from multiple low-cost companies. It’s the fastest way to compare.

A slightly less efficient method to find more affordable insurance is spending the time to visit the website for every company you want to comare and complete a new quote form. For sake of this example, we’ll assume you want to get rates from USAA, Allstate and Liberty Mutual. To get rate quotes you would need to spend time on each company’s site and type in your information over and over, which is why the first method is quicker.

To view a list of companies in your area, click here.

If you have time to kill, the last method to get comparison rates is to spend time driving to local insurance agencies. The ability to get quotes online has made agencies unnecessary unless your situation requires the professional guidance that only a licensed agent can provide. You can, however, price shop online but buy from a local insurance agent.

Which method you use is up to you, but make sure you use apples-to-apples coverage data with every price quote. If you enter different limits and deductibles on each one it will be nearly impossible to determine the lowest rate for your BMW Z3. Even a minor difference in insurance coverages could mean much higher rates. Just remember that more quotes helps increase your odds of locating the best rates. Some regional insurers cannot provide online rate quotes, so it’s necessary to compare price quotes from them as well.

How to know if you need help

When buying the best car insurance coverage, there is no “best” method to buy coverage. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs.

Here are some questions about coverages that might help in determining whether your personal situation may require specific advice.

• Can my teen driver be rated on a liability-only vehicle?
• Is extra glass coverage worth it?
• What are the best liability limits?
• Why am I required to buy liability insurance?
• Is business property covered if stolen from my car?
• What is no-fault insurance?

If you can’t answer these questions, you may need to chat with an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form.

Coverages available on your policy

Knowing the specifics of your policy helps when choosing which coverages you need for your vehicles. Policy terminology can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.

Collision coverage

This 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 such as rolling your car, hitting a parking meter and damaging your car on a curb. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. It’s also possible to increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)

This coverage will pay to fix damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive can pay for things such as falling objects, damage from flooding, hitting a bird, damage from a tornado or hurricane and hail damage. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Liability

This coverage can cover damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property. This insurance protects YOU against other people’s claims, and does not provide coverage for your injuries or vehicle damage.

Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You might see policy limits of 25/50/25 which stand for a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery.

Liability coverage pays for claims such as repair bills for other people’s vehicles, pain and suffering, medical services and loss of income. How much coverage you buy is your choice, but you should buy higher limits if possible.

Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance

This coverage provides protection when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. It can pay for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and also any damage incurred to your BMW Z3.

Since many drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is important protection for you and your family.

Insurance for medical payments

Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP reimburse you for bills like hospital visits, ambulance fees, doctor visits, chiropractic care and prosthetic devices. They can be used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and also covers getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not available in all states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Final thoughts

When getting car insurance quotes online, it’s a bad idea to buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. In many cases, an accident victim reduced physical damage coverage and discovered at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The goal is to buy the best coverage you can find at the best possible price, not the least amount of coverage.

Budget-friendly car insurance is definitely available from both online companies in addition to local insurance agencies, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some car insurance companies do not offer the ability to get quotes online and many times these small, regional companies only sell coverage through independent agents.

Insureds change insurance companies for a number of reasons such as questionable increases in premium, high prices, not issuing a premium refund and even denial of a claim. No matter why you want to switch, switching car insurance companies can be less work than you think.

For more information, link through to the following helpful articles:

• Insuring a Leased Car (Insurance Information Insitute)
• Coverage Information (Progressive Insurance)
• Auto Insurance 101 (About.com)
• Understanding your Policy (NAIC.org)
• Understanding Rental Car Insurance (Insurance Information Insitute)
• Safety Tips for Teen Drivers (Insurance Information Insitute)