How Much Does 1998 Ford Five Hundred Insurance Cost?

Looking for better car insurance rates? Shoppers have a choice when shopping for the best price on Ford Five Hundred insurance. You can either waste hours struggling with agents to get rate comparisons or use the internet to find the lowest rates. There is a better way to find car insurance online and we’ll show you the best way to get price quotes for your Ford and find the cheapest rates from local insurance agents and online providers.

You need to do rate comparisons as often as possible because car insurance prices change regularly. If you had the best rates for Five Hundred coverage two years ago a different company probably has better premium rates today. There is a lot of wrong information about car insurance online but in just a couple of minutes you can learn some proven techniques to find affordable car insurance.

Smart consumers can slash their insurance prices

The best way to find cheaper auto insurance is to take a look at the different types of things that come into play when calculating your auto insurance rates. If you understand what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this enables informed choices that may result in better auto insurance rates. Many factors are part of the equation when pricing auto insurance. Some are obvious such as your driving record, but others are less obvious like your continuous coverage or your commute time.

The following are a few of the “ingredients” auto insurance companies consider when setting your prices.

• Better credit means lower prices – Having a bad credit score is likely to be a major factor in determining what you pay for auto insurance. Therefore, if your credit is low, you may save money insuring your 1998 Ford Five Hundred by improving your credit score. Consumers who have very high credit ratings tend to be better risks to insure than drivers with lower credit scores.
• Marriage reduces risk – Getting married can get you a discount compared to being single. It demonstrates that you tend to be more stable financially and it’s statistically proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.
• Certain employers raise premiums – Jobs like judges, business owners and stock brokers tend to pay higher average rates attributed to high stress and long work days. On the flip side, careers like farmers, students and the unemployed have the lowest average rates for Five Hundred coverage.
• Incidental coverages that aren’t used – Insurance companies have many additional coverages you can purchase if you aren’t diligent. Things like vanishing deductibles, accidental death, and additional equipment coverage are examples of these. They may sound like good ideas when talking to your agent, but now you might not need them so consider taking them off your policy.
• Urban areas may pay more – Residing in less populated areas has definite advantages when shopping for auto insurance. Less people living in that area means reduced accidents. City drivers have more road rage incidents and more time behind the wheel. More time behind the wheel means more chance of being in an accident.
• Don’t get traffic citations – Having a clean driving record has a big impact on rates. Drivers with clean records have lower premiums than bad drivers. Just one chargable violation could increase your next policy renewal twenty percent or more. Drivers who have gotten serious violations such as DUI, reckless driving or excessive speeding may face state-mandated requirements to submit a SR-22 form with their state’s department of motor vehicles in order to keep their license.
• With age comes responsibility – Older, more experienced drivers are more cautious drivers, file fewer claims and receive fewer citations.Beginning drivers tend to be careless and easily distracted when behind the wheel so auto insurance rates are higher.

Take advantage of with these discounts

Car insurance companies don’t always advertise their entire list of discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we took the time to find some of the best known as well as the least known savings tricks you should be using when you buy car insurance online.

• Accident Forgiveness – Not really a discount, but a few companies such as Geico, State Farm, and Progressive allow you one accident before hitting you with a surcharge as long as you don’t have any claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
• Telematics Data Discounts – Insureds that choose to allow their insurance company to monitor vehicle usage through the use of a telematics system such as Drivewise from Allstate or Snapshot from Progressive may see discounts as long as they are good drivers.
• Low Mileage Discounts – Low mileage vehicles could qualify for slightly better prices than normal.
• Driver Education Discount – Have your child sucessfully take a drivers education course if it’s offered in school.
• Theft Deterent System – Vehicles that have factory alarm systems and tracking devices have a lower chance of being stolen and that can save you a little bit as well.
• Save over 55 – Mature drivers can get a discount up to 10% for Five Hundred coverage.
• Safety Restraint Discount – Requiring all passengers to fasten their seat belts can save 10% or more off the personal injury premium cost.
• Government Employee Discount – Federal government employees may reduce rates when you quote car insurance for Five Hundred coverage but check with your company.
• Discount for Good Grades – A discount for being a good student may save as much as 25% on a car insurance quote. You can use this discount normally up until you turn 25.

Please keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. Some only apply to individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though it sounds like all the discounts add up to a free policy, it’s just not the way it works.

A few popular companies and a partial list of their discounts can be found below.

• AAA offers discounts including anti-theft, good student, multi-car, pay-in-full, AAA membership discount, education and occupation, and multi-policy.
• Progressive may include discounts for multi-vehicle, continuous coverage, online signing, homeowner, and good student.
• State Farm offers discounts for good student, defensive driving training, accident-free, good driver, multiple autos, multiple policy, and anti-theft.
• Esurance policyholders can earn discounts including paid-in-full, online quote, anti-lock brakes, safety device, multi-policy, DriveSense, and Switch & Save.
• Nationwide may offer discounts for defensive driving, family plan, multi-policy, easy pay, anti-theft, and Farm Bureau membership.

Double check with each company which credits you are entitled to. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts may not apply in your area. If you would like to view insurers with discount rates, follow this link.

Auto insurance companies are expert advertisers

Consumers can’t get away from all the ads for cheaper auto insurance from the likes of Allstate and Progressive. All the companies have a common claim that drivers will save a bundle just by switching your auto insurance coverage to their company.

How can each company have lower policy pricing? This is how they do it.

Insurance companies give the best rates for the type of customer that will be a good risk. A good example of a profitable customer should be over the age of 50, insures multiple vehicles, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A customer who matches those parameters will get very good premium rates and will also save some money.

Drivers who do not match those standards will probably be forced to pay higher rates and ends up with the customer not buying. The ads say “people that switch” not “everyone that quotes” will save that much if they switch. That is how insurance companies can make claims that they all have the best car insurance rates. Because of the profiling, you should compare rate quotes every year. It’s not possible to predict the company that will have the lowest rates.

Your situation helps dictate your coverage

When choosing adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no perfect coverage plan. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs.

For example, these questions may help highlight if your insurance needs would benefit from an agent’s advice.

• What are the financial responsibility laws in my state?
• How do I file an SR-22 for a DUI in my state?
• Does having multiple vehicles earn me a discount?
• Why am I required to buy high-risk coverage?
• Is my nanny covered when driving my vehicle?
• Is a new car covered when I drive it off the dealer lot?
• Does my car insurance cover rental cars?

If you’re not sure about those questions but you think they might apply to your situation, you might consider talking to an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, take a second and complete this form. It only takes a few minutes and can help protect your family.

Insurance policy specifics

Learning about specific coverages of your insurance policy can be of help when determining appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and coverage can change by endorsement.

Comprehensive auto coverage

This will pay to fix damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive insurance covers claims such as a tree branch falling on your vehicle, hail damage and vandalism. The highest amount your insurance company will pay is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.

Liability car insurance

Liability insurance can cover damage that occurs to other’s property or people that is your fault. It protects YOU against other people’s claims, and does not provide coverage for damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You commonly see values of 25/50/25 which stand for a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery.

Liability can pay for things like repair costs for stationary objects, emergency aid, loss of income and bail bonds. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy higher limits if possible.

Medical payments and PIP coverage

Med pay and PIP coverage kick in for immediate expenses for things like funeral costs, surgery, EMT expenses and X-ray expenses. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. They cover both the driver and occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Auto collision coverage

This covers damage to your Five Hundred resulting from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision coverage pays for claims such as driving through your garage door, hitting a parking meter, sustaining damage from a pot hole and crashing into a building. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. It’s also possible to increase the deductible to bring the cost down.

UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered losses include injuries to you and your family and damage to your Ford Five Hundred.

Due to the fact that many drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is a good idea.

A penny earned…

As you shop your coverage around, it’s very important that you do not buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. In too many instances, someone dropped uninsured motorist or liability limits and discovered at claim time they didn’t have enough coverage. The aim is to buy the best coverage you can find at a price you can afford and still be able to protect your assets.

More affordable insurance is available from both online companies as well as from independent agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. There are still a few companies who do not provide rate quotes online and usually these small, regional companies prefer to sell through independent insurance agencies.

People switch companies for a number of reasons such as being labeled a high risk driver, policy non-renewal, delays in paying claims and even an unsatisfactory settlement offer. It doesn’t matter what your reason, choosing a new insurance company is pretty easy and you might even save some money in the process.

To read more, take a look at these articles:

• Uninsured Motorist Statistics (Insurance Information Insitute)
• Vehicle Insurance (Wikipedia)
• Rental Reimbursement Coverage (Allstate)
• Choosing a Car for Your Teen (State Farm)