1997 Volkswagen GTI Car Insurance Rates

Searching for lower auto insurance rates for your Volkswagen GTI? Are you regretting the purchase of an underperforming, overpriced auto insurance policy? You’re preaching to the choir because you’re not the only one. Big-name insurance companies like Geico and Progressive continually hit you with TV and radio ads and it can be hard to ignore the promise of big savings and find the best price available.

Lower rates by qualifying for discounts

Not too many consumers would say car insurance is affordable, but you might already qualify for some discounts that you may not know about. Many of these discounts will be applied automatically at quote time, but some need to be manually applied before they will apply.

• Theft Deterent – Anti-theft and alarm system equipped vehicles help deter theft and that can save you a little bit as well.
• No Charge for an Accident – This isn’t a discount exactly, but companies like Liberty Mutual and Geico permit an accident without the usual rate increase if you are claim-free prior to being involved in the accident.
• Memberships – Affiliation with a civic or occupational organization could trigger savings on your bill.
• Life Insurance Discount – Insurance companies who offer life insurance give a discounted car insurance rate on car insurance if you buy auto and life insurance together.
• Paperless Signup – A handful of companies give back up to $50 just for signing your application online.
• Telematics Devices – Drivers that enable their car insurance company to monitor vehicle usage by installing a telematics device such as State Farm’s In-Drive could see a rate decrease if they show good driving skills.

Please keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like liability, collision or medical payments. So when it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, nobody gets a free ride.

Larger car insurance companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts are detailed below.

• State Farm may have discounts that include driver’s education, Steer Clear safe driver discount, safe vehicle, passive restraint, and defensive driving training.
• Geico may offer discounts for anti-theft, five-year accident-free, daytime running lights, membership and employees, air bags, seat belt use, and multi-vehicle.
• Progressive policyholders can earn discounts including homeowner, continuous coverage, good student, online quote discount, and multi-vehicle.
• 21st Century offers discounts including 55 and older, student driver, defensive driver, early bird, driver training, automatic seat belts, and good student.
• American Family offers discounts for multi-vehicle, defensive driver, mySafetyValet, bundled insurance, good driver, and TimeAway discount.
• The Hartford offers premium reductions for driver training, air bag, defensive driver, good student, and vehicle fuel type.
• AAA may include discounts for anti-theft, multi-car, good driver, multi-policy, pay-in-full, good student, and AAA membership discount.

If you are trying to find the cheapest auto insurance quotes, ask every prospective company to give you their best rates. Some of the discounts discussed earlier may not apply in every state. To see car insurance companies who offer free car insurance quotes, click here to view.

What determines Volkswagen GTI insurance rates?

When buying insurance it’s important to understand the different types of things that aid in calculating your policy premiums. When you understand what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this enables informed choices that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs. Lots of factors are considered when you quote your car insurance policy. Some factors are common sense such as traffic violations, but others are more transparent such as your marital status or how financially stable you are.

The following are some of the major factors that factor into your rate level.

• Liability protection claims can be big – Your policy’s liability coverage will provide protection if a jury decides you are liable for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. Your policy’s liability insurance provides legal defense coverage to attempt to prove you were not liable. It is affordable coverage compared to physical damage coverage, so drivers should make sure they buy enough to cover all assets.
• Your occupation is a factor – Did you know your occupation can influence how much you pay for insurance? Occupations like judges, executives and medical professionals generally pay higher average rates due to high stress and long work days. On the other hand, jobs like farmers, engineers and performers receive lower rates for GTI insurance.
• Use credit responsibly and save – An insured’s credit history will be a significant factor in calculating your insurance rates. Drivers who have good credit tend to file fewer claims than drivers who have lower credit scores. If your credit rating is lower than you’d like, you could potentially save money when insuring your 1997 Volkswagen GTI if you improve your credit rating.
• Eliminate incidental coverages – There are a lot of optional add-on coverages you can purchase if you aren’t careful. Coverage for things like rental car coverage, death and dismemberment, and membership fees could be just wasting money. These coverages may sound good when buying your policy, but if you’ve never needed them in the past think about removing them and cutting costs.
• How many miles do you drive? – The more you drive in a year’s time the higher your rate. Most companies rate vehicles determined by how the vehicle is used. Cars and trucks that have low annual miles cost less to insure than vehicles that have high annual mileage. Incorrect rating for your GTI may be wasting your money. It’s a smart idea to ensure your insurance policy shows the correct driver usage, because it can save money.
• Does insurance cost less for gals? – Over the last 50 years, statistics have shown women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, this does not mean women are better drivers. Females and males are responsible for fender benders at about the same rate, but males tend to have more serious accidents. In addition to higher claims, males also receive more major tickets like reckless driving and DUI. Young males tend to get in the most accidents and are penalized with high insurance rates.
• Being married reduces risk – Having a significant other may cut your premiums compared to being single. Having a significant other may mean you are more mature it has been statistically shown that being married results in fewer claims.

Car insurance is unique, just like you

When it comes to choosing coverage for your vehicles, there is no “best” method to buy coverage. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s and your policy should reflect that. These are some specific questions may help you determine whether or not you may require specific advice.

• Am I covered when pulling a rental trailer?
• When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
• Why is insurance for a teen driver so high?
• Do I need PIP (personal injury protection) coverage in my state?
• Can I still get insurance after a DUI?
• Should I buy full coverage?

If you’re not sure about those questions but you know they apply to you then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, simply complete this short form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It only takes a few minutes and can provide invaluable advice.

Insurance coverage considerations

Understanding the coverages of a insurance policy helps when choosing appropriate coverage and the correct deductibles and limits. Insurance terms can be difficult to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Shown next are the normal coverages offered by insurance companies.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage – Your UM/UIM coverage provides protection from other drivers when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your occupants and damage to your 1997 Volkswagen GTI.

Since many drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked. Usually the UM/UIM limits are set the same as your liablity limits.

Liability coverages – This coverage protects you from damage or injury you incur to other people or property by causing an accident. This coverage protects you from legal claims by others, and does not provide coverage for damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see values of 50/100/50 that translate to a limit of $50,000 per injured person, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and $50,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Occasionally you may see a combined limit which provides one coverage limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability insurance covers things like court costs, repair costs for stationary objects and legal defense fees. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy as large an amount as possible.

Medical payments coverage and PIP – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for bills like doctor visits, prosthetic devices, hospital visits and X-ray expenses. The coverages can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover you and your occupants in addition to any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is only offered in select states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Comprehensive coverage – Comprehensive insurance pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive insurance covers things like damage from getting keyed, falling objects, fire damage, theft and vandalism. The maximum amount your insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.

Collision coverage – Collision coverage covers damage to your GTI caused by collision with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision can pay for things such as sustaining damage from a pot hole, rolling your car and crashing into a ditch. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

You can do this!

Low-cost 1997 Volkswagen GTI insurance is possible on the web as well as from insurance agents, so you need to shop auto insurance with both in order to have the best chance of saving money. A few companies may not provide the ability to get a quote online and many times these regional carriers only sell through independent agencies.

As you prepare to switch companies, make sure you don’t sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. In many cases, an insured cut physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your focus should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.

Even more information can be read in the articles below:

• Protecting Teens from Drunk Driving (Insurance Information Insitute)
• Liability Insurance Coverage (Nationwide)
• What is Full Coverage? (Allstate)
• No-Fault Auto Insurance Statistics (Insurance Information Insitute)
• Frontal Crash Tests (iihs.org)
• Child Safety FAQ (iihs.org)