Save on 2011 Toyota Prius Insurance Quotes

Trying to find cheaper car insurance rates for your Toyota Prius? No sane person looks forward to paying for car insurance, especially when they know the cost is too high.

You have multiple insurers to buy insurance from, and although it’s a good thing to have a selection, having more car insurance companies makes it harder to compare rates and cut insurance costs.

Smart choices result in lower insurance prices

Lots of factors are used in the calculation when you quote your car insurance policy. Some are obvious such as your driving record, although others are not as apparent such as whether you are married and annual miles driven.

The items below are some of the most rate-impacting factors car insurance companies consider when setting your premiums.

• Vocation can influence prices – Did you know your career choice can influence rates? Careers such as lawyers, business owners and emergency personnel are shown to have the highest average rates in part from high stress levels and long work days. Conversely, careers such as scientists, athletes and retirees have the lowest average rates on Prius insurance.
• Less chance of injury means lower car insurance rates – Vehicles with good safety scores tend to be cheaper to insure. Highly rated vehicles reduce injuries and lower rates of occupant injuries means less claims paid and cheaper rates on your policy. If your Toyota earned at least four stars on Safercar.gov or an “acceptable” rating on iihs.org it may cost less to insure.
• Your gender affects premiums – The statistics show that females take fewer risks when driving. However, this does not mean females are better drivers. Males and females cause auto accidents at about the same rate, but men tend to have more serious accidents. Men also get more serious tickets such as driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving recklessly.
• Qualify for multi-policy discounts – Most larger insurers allow discounts for people who consolidate policies with them in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even if you’re getting this discount consumers should still compare other company rates to guarantee you are still saving the most.

Low cost car insurance prices

When shopping for cheaper insurance quotes, there are a couple of ways to compare rate quotes from many car insurance companies in your state. The fastest way to do a complete rate comparison involves getting comparison quotes online. It’s really quite simple and can be done in a couple of different ways.

1. One of the simplest ways to find the lowest comparison rates is to use a rate comparison form click to view form in new window. This quick form saves time by eliminating boring form submissions for every company. One simple form will get you price quotes from many national carriers.
2. A less efficient way to shop for car insurance online requires a trip to the website for each individual company and repeat the quote process again and again. For example, we’ll pretend you want to compare prices for Allstate, Liberty Mutual and Geico. To get rate quotes you would need to take the time to go to each site and punch in your information repeatedly, which can get old fast.

   For a list of links to insurance companies in your area, click here.

3. The final way to price shop rates is physically going to each insurance agency near you. Comparing rate quotes online has reduced the need for local agents unless you require the advice and guidance only provided by licensed agents. It is possible to get prices online but buy the policy through an agent.

You can use whichever method you prefer to find lower rates, just make absolute certain that you use exactly the same coverage limits and deductibles on every quote. If each company quotes different liability limits it will be nearly impossible to make an equal comparison. Slightly different coverage limits can make a big difference in price. And when comparing car insurance rates, know that making a lot of price comparisons provides better odds of finding more affordable rates. Not every company does quotes online, so you need to compare rates from them as well.

Discounts can really help lower premiums

Some providers don’t list all disounts in a way that’s easy to find, so the below list has some of the best known and also the more inconspicuous discounts that you may qualify for.

• Home Ownership Discount – Owning a house can earn you a little savings because owning a home shows financial diligence.
• Driver’s Ed – Reduce the cost of insurance for teen drivers by having them sucessfully take a drivers education course in school or through a local driver safety program.
• No Accidents – Drivers who don’t have accidents get the best insurance coverage rates as opposed to accident-prone drivers.
• Renewal Discounts – A few insurance coverage companies give discounts for buying a new policy prior to your current policy expiration. It can save you around 10%.
• Student in College – Children living away from home attending college and don’t have a car can receive lower rates.
• Buy New and Save – Buying a new car model may earn a small discount since new vehicles have better safety ratings.
• Military Rewards – Being deployed with a military unit can result in better insurance coverage rates.
• Discount for Life Insurance – Not all insurance carriers offer life insurance, but some may give you better rates if you take out life insurance from them.

Just know that many deductions do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most only reduce individual premiums such as comp or med pay. So when the math indicates having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it just doesn’t work that way.

To see insurance companies with the best discounts, click here to view.

Will just any policy work for me?

When it comes to choosing coverage for your vehicles, there really is no cookie cutter policy. Every insured’s situation is different and your policy should reflect that. These are some specific questions might point out if you might need professional guidance.

• Should I buy more coverage than the required minimum liability coverage?
• What is an SR-22 filing?
• Do I need special endorsements for business use of my vehicle?
• How much liability coverage do I need in my state?
• How can I force my company to pay a claim?
• How much underlying liability do I need for an umbrella policy?
• How can I find cheaper teen driver insurance?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions but one or more may apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies.

Auto insurance coverage specifics

Having a good grasp of your policy helps when choosing the best coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be impossible to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Shown next are the normal coverages offered by auto insurance companies.

Comprehensive auto insurance

This covers damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first must pay your deductible then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive can pay for things like vandalism, fire damage, rock chips in glass, hitting a deer and hail damage. The most you’ll receive from a claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider dropping full coverage.

Collision protection

Collision insurance covers damage to your Prius from colliding with another car or object. You have to pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision can pay for claims like rolling your car, crashing into a ditch and driving through your garage door. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider dropping it from lower value vehicles. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Auto liability

Liability insurance protects you from damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property by causing an accident. It protects you against claims from other people. It does not cover your injuries or vehicle damage.

It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You might see liability limits of 25/50/25 that translate to $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property.

Liability insurance covers claims like loss of income, medical services, bail bonds, emergency aid and attorney fees. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase higher limits if possible.

Coverage for uninsured or underinsured drivers

Your UM/UIM coverage provides protection when other motorists are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for injuries to you and your family as well as damage to your Toyota Prius.

Due to the fact that many drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is very important.

Coverage for medical expenses

Med pay and PIP coverage pay for immediate expenses such as surgery, ambulance fees and EMT expenses. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. They cover both the driver and occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Don’t be a big spender

When shopping online for insurance coverage, make sure you don’t buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. In many instances, someone dropped collision coverage only to regret that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your goal should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage for the lowest cost, not the least amount of coverage.

In this article, we presented many ideas to shop for 2011 Toyota Prius insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better likelihood of getting cheaper insurance. You may even discover the biggest savings come from a smaller regional carrier. Some small companies may only write in your state and offer lower car insurance rates compared to the large companies like State Farm and Allstate.

Budget-friendly insurance coverage can be sourced online and with local insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best rate selection. There are still a few companies who do not provide internet price quotes and most of the time these small, regional companies sell through independent agencies.

Additional detailed information can be found by following these links:

• Credit and Insurance Scores (Insurance Information Insitute)
• Top Signs Your Brakes are Giving Out (State Farm)
• Coverage Information (Progressive Insurance)
• Credit Impacts Car Insurance Rates (State Farm)
• Understanding Rental Car Insurance (Insurance Information Insitute)