Trying to come up with a payment for expensive auto insurance can deplete your funds and maybe even restrict other spending. Doing a rate comparison is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to tighten up your finances.
Many insurance companies compete to insure your vehicles, so it’s not easy to compare every insurance company to find the best rate
If you currently have a car insurance policy, you stand a good chance to be able to lower your premiums substantially using these techniques. Finding affordable coverage is quite easy. Nevertheless, vehicle owners do need to know how big insurance companies sell insurance online and take advantage of how the system works.
There are several ways to compare insurance coverage quotes, but one way is less time-consuming than others. You could waste time talking about coverages with local insurance agents in your area, or you could use online quoting to get pricing more quickly.
Many insurance companies enroll in a system that enables customers to send in one quote, and at least one company then returns a price quote based on that information. This eliminates the need for quote forms to every company. To enter your information into the quoting system, click here to open in new window.
The only downside to using this type of system is you cannot specify the insurers you want to price. So if you prefer to pick individual companies to compare prices, we have assembled a list of the cheapest insurance coverage companies in your area. Click here to view list.
It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just make sure you use the same coverage information for each quote you get. If you use different liability limits it will be impossible to make an equal comparison. Having just a slight variation in insurance coverages or limits can mean a large discrepancy in price. And when comparing insurance coverage rates, know that comparing more quotes helps improve the odds of finding better pricing.
Well-known insurance companies like Progressive, Geico, Allstate and State Farm continually stream ads on TV and radio. All the companies make the point that people will save just by moving your policy. It sounds good, but how can they all lower your prices? It’s all in the numbers.
All companies look for specific characteristics for the type of insured that will not have excessive claims. A good example of a profitable customer could possibly be a married male, has no claims, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. Any driver who fits that profile is entitled to the best price and therefore will cut their rates substantially.
Potential customers who do not match the “perfect” profile must pay higher premiums which leads to the driver buying from a lower-cost company. If you pay attention, the ads say “drivers who switch” not “everyone who quotes” save that much money. This is how insurance companies can make it sound like they have such great premium rates.
Because of these techniques, it’s extremely important to compare as many free car insurance quotes as you can. It is just not possible to predict the company that will provide you with the cheapest car insurance rates.
The best way to find cheaper insurance is to take a look at some of the elements that help calculate your policy premiums. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates, this helps enable you to make changes that can help you get lower rates. Many different elements are part of the calculation when pricing auto insurance. Most are fairly basic like an MVR report, although others are more obscure like your continuous coverage or how safe your car is.
The items below are some of the major factors used by your company to calculate your premiums.
Some providers don’t always list the complete list of policy discounts in a way that’s easy to find, so we researched both well-publicized as well as the least known credits that may apply to you.
A quick disclaimer, many deductions do not apply the the whole policy. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. Even though the math looks like all the discounts add up to a free policy, nobody gets a free ride. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce your premiums.
A list of car insurance companies and some of the discounts are outlined below.
Check with each company how many discounts you can get. Some discounts might not be offered on policies in your state.
When choosing the best auto insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is not a cookie cutter policy. Every insured’s situation is different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For example, these questions could help you determine if your situation would benefit from an agent’s advice.
If you’re not sure about those questions but a few of them apply, you might consider talking to an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, simply complete this short form or click here for a list of auto insurance companies in your area.
Learning about specific coverages of your insurance policy can help you determine appropriate coverage for your vehicles. The terms used in a policy can be impossible to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Listed below are typical coverage types available from insurance companies.
Medical expense insurance – Med pay and PIP coverage pay for bills such as funeral costs, rehabilitation expenses, pain medications and chiropractic care. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. Coverage applies to you and your occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers – This provides protection from other drivers when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your occupants and also any damage incurred to your Mercury Villager.
Because many people carry very low liability coverage limits, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Usually these limits are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision) – Comprehensive insurance covers damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims such as damage from a tornado or hurricane, hitting a bird, fire damage and damage from getting keyed. The most a insurance company will pay at claim time is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Collision coverage – This coverage will pay to fix damage to your Villager resulting from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. A deductible applies then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision can pay for things such as damaging your car on a curb, colliding with a tree, scraping a guard rail, sideswiping another vehicle and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. You can also choose a higher deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Liability – Liability coverage will cover damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property. It protects YOU from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see liability limits of 50/100/50 that translate to $50,000 bodily injury coverage, a per accident bodily injury limit of $100,000, and $50,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Occasionally you may see a combined limit which limits claims to one amount and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.
Liability insurance covers things such as legal defense fees, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and medical expenses. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as high a limit as you can afford.
We’ve covered many ways to shop for 2002 Mercury Villager insurance online. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the higher your chance of finding cheaper car insurance. You may be surprised to find that the biggest savings come from a lesser-known regional company. They can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than their larger competitors like Geico and State Farm.
Cheap 2002 Mercury Villager insurance can be sourced both online in addition to local insurance agencies, so you should compare both so you have a total pricing picture. Some auto insurance companies do not offer online price quotes and most of the time these smaller providers sell through local independent agencies.
When you buy car insurance online, it’s a bad idea to buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There are too many instances where an insured cut full coverage only to regret at claim time that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The aim is to purchase plenty of coverage for the lowest price, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.
Honey Caldwell
I’m from Frederick, MD. Got car insurance quotes with State Farm, Auto-Owners, and some I forget for my 2002 Mercury Villager and I’m now saving $16 a month. Was with Farmers. They offer free online rate quotes.
Saundra Duffy
Where is cheaper car insurance? From a town just southwest of Minneapolis, MN. Got quotes with Western Auto Insurance, AIG Insurance, Hanover, and Safeco for my Villager and saved about $70 a year. Left Hartford to switch. I only have liability coverage on it.
Maire Gilbert
Why are claims settled so low?
Scotty Hays
Does 21st Century offer multi-policy discounts?
Sylvia Flynn
Will Progressive do a SR22 in Paterson, NJ?
Zane Hood
Compared rates with Progressive and Auto-Owners but still pricey.
Eufemia Britt
Found cheapest coverage with Travelers for my Mercury and saved around $110 a year. Got better coverage too.
Eddie Chan
I’ve bought from State Farm forever. Cheapest rates in Mobile, Alabama.
Lester Mathis
Does GEICO do SR22s in California?
Suk Mcclain
Cheap car insurance? What’s that? I’m from Des Moines, Iowa. Got quotes from Amica, Sentry, and some smaller one I can’t remember the name of for my 2002 Mercury Villager and saved $61 a year. My new agent seems to be really good. I got prices on the web.
Lupe Stark
Not sure if this is cheap. Live in Evansville, Indiana. Received rates from Allstate, Esurance, and Hartford for my Villager and I’m now saving $17 a month. I just quoted rates online.
Aliza Harper
If you have a clean record and live in the vicinity of Fort Wayne, IN, check out Progressive. I saved quite a bit. Liability only on my Villager.
Ambrose House
Quoted with Encompass for my Villager and saved about $70 a year. Left Sentry to switch. I used their online quote form to compare rates. It’s only liability tho.
Arnold Vega
In Providence, RI, Auto-Owners had the best rates for my 2002 Mercury Villager. Insured with 21st Century before. Can still barely afford it. It’s too old for full coverage.
Dotty Bradshaw
I compared a lot of rate quotes for a 2002 Mercury Villager in Jackson, Mississippi. Ended up at roughly $90 every six months with American Family. I think they have home insurance too. Online quotes are the way to go. Not worth enough to pay for comprehensive and collision.
Kazuko Foster
FYI in Grand Forks, ND try 21st Century. I got a good deal.
Malorie Lawrence
Anyone understand their policy?