Cheaper 2008 Pontiac Torrent Insurance Quotes

No sane person looks forward to paying for car insurance, especially when they are aware that they could find lower prices if they just compared rates. With so many choices, it can be hard to find the best car insurance company.

This article will teach you the best way to quote coverages and some money-saving tips. If you currently have a car insurance policy, you stand a good chance to be able to lower your premiums substantially using these methods. Drivers only need an understanding of the most efficient way to compare price quotes on the web.

Shop insurance online

There are several ways to compare insurance quotes, but there is one way that is easier and takes less work. You could spend the better part of a day talking to insurance agencies in your area, or you can utilize online quotes to accomplish the same thing much quicker.

Most of the best insurance companies belong to an insurance system that enables customers to enter their coverage request one time, and at least one company then gives them pricing based on the submitted data. This system prevents you from having to do quotation requests to each company.

To use this form to compare rates click here to open in new window.

The only drawback to getting quotes like this is that you can’t choose the companies you want to price. So if you prefer to choose specific providers to compare prices, we have a listing of companies who write insurance in your area. Click to view list.

Whichever way you choose to compare rates, make sure you compare equivalent coverage limits and deductibles for each price quote. If you use different values for each quote you will not be able to make a fair comparison for your Pontiac Torrent.

Earn discounts to get lower-cost insurance quotes

Not too many consumers would say insurance is affordable, but there may be some discounts that could help you make your next renewal payment. Many of these discounts will be applied automatically when you purchase, but some discounts are required to be requested specifically prior to receiving the credit.

• Buy New and Save – Insuring a vehicle that is new can save up to 30% since newer vehicles are generally safer.
• Government Employee Discount – Simply working for the federal government can save as much as 8% on Torrent insurance with select insurance companies.
• Early Renewal Discounts – A few insurance companies give discounts for switching policies before your current expiration date. It can save you around 10%.
• Safety Restraint Discount – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to use a seat belt can save a little off the personal injury premium cost.
• College Student Discount – Older children living away from home attending college and don’t have a car may be able to be covered for less.
• Air Bags and Passive Restraints – Vehicles with factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems could see savings of 25 to 30%.
• Discount for Life Insurance – Companies who offer life insurance give a discounted rate on car insurance if you buy life insurance.
• No Claim Discounts – Drivers who don’t have accidents have much lower rates as opposed to bad drivers.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discounts do not apply to all coverage premiums. A few only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like medical payments or collision. So even though you would think you can get free auto insurance, it doesn’t quite work that way.

Companies that possibly offer these discounts include:

• 21st Century
• Progressive
• State Farm
• Nationwide
• Esurance
• The Hartford

Check with all companies you are considering which discounts you may be entitled to. Some discounts listed above may not apply to policyholders in your area. For a list of insurance companies who offer discounts, click here to view.

Tailor your insurance coverage to you

When choosing proper insurance coverage, there isn’t really a one size fits all plan. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. Here are some questions about coverages that might point out whether you will benefit from professional help.

• Should I put collision coverage on all my vehicles?
• Is my teen driver covered when they drive my company car?
• Does my personal policy cover me when driving out-of-state?
• Is my ex-spouse still covered by my policy?
• Are split liability limits better than a combined single limit?
• Is other people’s property covered if stolen from my vehicle?
• Do I get a pro-rated refund if I cancel my policy early?
• Is pleasure use cheaper than using my 2008 Pontiac Torrent to commute?
• Am I covered when driving someone else’s vehicle?

If you can’t answer these questions but you think they might apply to your situation, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It’s fast, free and may give you better protection.

Cut insurance costs with these tips

One of the most helpful ways to save on insurance coverage is to to have a grasp of the different types of things that come into play when calculating your premiums. When consumers understand what determines base rates, this allows you to make good choices that may result in big savings. Lots of things are part of the calculation when quoting car insurance. Some factors are common sense like a motor vehicle report, although others are not as apparent like your vehicle usage or how safe your car is.

Listed below are some of the most common factors utilized by car insurance companies to help set your prices.

• Good drivers pay less – A bad driving record can have a huge impact on auto insurance premiums. Careful drivers tend to pay less for car insurance than bad drivers. Only having one speeding ticket or other violation can increase rates by as much as twenty percent. People who have dangerous violations such as DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions might be required by their state to maintain a SR-22 with their state DMV in order to drive a vehicle legally.
• Policy claims cost money – If you’re an insured who likes to file claims you can expect much higher rates or policy non-renewal. Auto insurance companies give most affordable rates to insureds who are not frequent claim filers. Insurance coverage is intended for larger claims.
• Gender is a factor – Over the last 50 years, statistics have shown women tend to be less risk to insure than men. The data does not necessarily mean that women are BETTER drivers than men. Males and females are responsible for auto accidents in similar numbers, but men have costlier accidents. They also get ticketed for serious violations such as driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving recklessly.
• Don’t skimp on liability insurance – Your policy’s liability coverage provides coverage in the event that you are determined to be liable for damages caused by your negligence. Your policy’s liability insurance provides for a legal defense to defend your case. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so insureds should have plenty of protection for their assets.
• Pay more out-of-pocket – Physical damage coverage, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, helps pay for damage to your vehicle. Some instances where coverage would apply could be colliding with a building, hail damage, and having your car stolen. Comprehensive and collision coverage deductibles state the amount of money you are willing to pay if a covered claim is submitted. The larger the amount you pay before a claim is paid (deductible), the less your insurance coverage will be on Torrent insurance.
• Do you need those extra coverages? – Insurance policies have a lot of add-on coverages that you can buy if you don’t pay attention. Coverages like rental car coverage, accident forgiveness, and membership fees may be wasting your money. The coverages may be enticing when you first buy your policy, but your needs may have changed so consider taking them off your policy.
• Bad credit will cost you – An insured’s credit score is likely to be a major factor in your rate calculation. Therefore, if your credit history is lower than you’d like, you could potentially save money when insuring your 2008 Pontiac Torrent by improving your rating. People that have good credit tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than drivers who have worse credit.

Save 15 percent in 15 minutes? Is it for real?

Consumers can’t get away from all the ads that claim the best car insurance rates by Progressive, Allstate and Geico. All the companies say the same thing that you’ll save big after switching your policy.

How does every company give you a lower rate? It’s all in the numbers.

Companies quote the lowest rates for the type of customer that will be a good risk. An example of a profitable customer might have to be between the ages of 30 and 50, has no prior claims, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A customer who fits those characteristics will get low car insurance rates and most likely will save if they switch.

Potential insureds who do not match these stringent criteria will probably be forced to pay higher prices and this can result in the customer not purchasing. If you pay close attention to the ads, they say “customers who switch” but not “everyone who gets a quote” can save as much as they claim. This is how insurance companies can make the claims of big savings.

This really emphasizes why you absolutely need to compare rate quotes every year. It is just not possible to predict which insurance companies will have better premium rates than you’re paying now.

Car insurance coverages explained

Knowing the specifics of a car insurance policy can help you determine appropriate coverage and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. These are typical coverages found on the average car insurance policy.

UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage

Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle from other drivers when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. It can pay for medical payments for you and your occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Since many drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, their limits can quickly be used up. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is very important. Usually the UM/UIM limits are set the same as your liablity limits.

Medical payments and PIP coverage

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for expenses such as pain medications, hospital visits and funeral costs. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants in addition to any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not available in all states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Liability insurance

This will cover damage or injury you incur to other people or property in an accident. This insurance protects YOU against claims from other people. Liability doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have limits of 50/100/50 that translate to $50,000 bodily injury coverage, $100,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $50,000. Some companies may use one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which combines the three limits into one amount and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.

Liability coverage pays for things such as funeral expenses, pain and suffering, medical expenses, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and legal defense fees. How much coverage you buy is your choice, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford.

Coverage for collisions

This coverage will pay to fix damage to your Torrent resulting from colliding with an object or car. A deductible applies then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision coverage pays for things like backing into a parked car, hitting a parking meter, sideswiping another vehicle, rolling your car and driving through your garage door. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so you might think about dropping it from lower value vehicles. You can also increase the deductible to bring the cost down.

Comprehensive auto coverage

Comprehensive insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. A deductible will apply and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive coverage protects against things like a tree branch falling on your vehicle, falling objects, hitting a deer, hail damage and a broken windshield. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.

Buy Smart and Save

As you prepare to switch companies, make sure you don’t buy less coverage just to save a little money. In many instances, an insured dropped collision coverage only to regret at claim time that it was a big error on their part. Your objective should be to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.

You just learned many ways to reduce 2008 Pontiac Torrent insurance rates online. The most important thing to understand is the more times you quote, the higher the chance of saving money. You may even find the best price on auto insurance is with a small mutual company. These smaller insurers often have lower car insurance rates on specific markets as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive and Geico.

Cheaper auto insurance can be purchased from both online companies in addition to local insurance agencies, and you need to comparison shop both so you have a total pricing picture. There are still a few companies who may not offer rate quotes online and these smaller companies only sell coverage through independent insurance agents.

Other learning opportunities

• Parking Tips to Reduce Door Dings (State Farm)
• Determing Auto Insurance Rates (Geico)
• What is Full Coverage? (Allstate)
• A Tree Fell on Your Car: Now What? (Allstate)
• What is Covered by GAP Insurance? (Allstate)