2012 Toyota Tacoma Car Insurance Rates – 7 Tips for Cheaper Quotes

When searching for cheaper insurance, are you overwhelmed by the dozens of auto insurance providers that you can choose from? Lot’s of other people are too. There are so many options that it can easily become a real challenge to locate the lowest premium rates.

Buying car insurance is easy if you know what you’re doing. If you currently have a car insurance policy, you will be able to save some money using this information. But car owners benefit from understanding how the larger insurance companies market on the web and apply this information to your search.

Drivers can save with these seven discounts

Auto insurance is not cheap nor is it fun to buy but there’s a good chance there are discounts that you may not even know about. A few discounts will be applied at the time of quoting, but some must be manually applied before they will apply.

• Low Mileage Discounts – Maintaining low annual mileage could be rewarded with cheaper rates.
• Own a Home – Owning a house can help you save on auto insurance because maintaining a house is proof that your finances are in order.
• Save over 55 – Mature drivers may qualify for lower premium rates on Tacoma insurance.
• Telematics Data Discounts – People who choose to allow data collection to look at driving manner by using a telematic data system like Allstate’s Drivewise could possibly reduce rates if they exhibit good driving behavior.
• Clubs and Organizations – Belonging to a civic or occupational organization may earn a discount on your next renewal.
• Drivers Ed for Students – Cut your cost by having your teen driver successfully complete driver’s ed class as it can save substantially.
• ABS Braking Discount – Vehicles that have steering control and anti-lock brakes can stop better under adverse conditions so you can save 10 percent or more.

Discounts save money, but please remember that most credits do not apply to your bottom line cost. Most only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as liability and collision coverage. Even though it may seem like adding up those discounts means a free policy, that’s just not realistic. But all discounts will definitely lower your overall bill.

Large auto insurance companies and their possible discounts are shown below.

• Progressive may offer discounts for multi-policy, homeowner, continuous coverage, online quote discount, online signing, and multi-vehicle.
• MetLife may include discounts for defensive driver, accident-free, good driver, claim-free, good student, and multi-policy.
• Mercury Insurance discounts include good driver, age of vehicle, professional/association, multi-policy, and anti-theft.
• Nationwide policyholders can earn discounts including family plan, business or organization, accident-free, multi-policy, good student, and defensive driving.
• Geico offers discounts including federal employee, good student, seat belt use, daytime running lights, multi-vehicle, and defensive driver.
• AAA offers discounts for good student, anti-theft, multi-policy, good driver, AAA membership discount, pay-in-full, and multi-car.

Double check with every insurance company how many discounts you can get. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts may not apply in your area.

Special considerations

When it comes to choosing the best insurance coverage coverage for your vehicles, there isn’t really a “best” method to buy coverage. Everyone’s needs are different.

These are some specific questions might point out if your insurance needs would benefit from professional advice.

• I have good health insurance, so how much medical payments coverage do I need?
• Am I covered if my car is in a flood?
• What is roadside assistance coverage?
• How much liability do I need to cover my assets?
• Does insurance cover damages from a DUI accident?
• When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
• Is my dog or cat covered if injured in an accident?
• Should I bundle my homeowners policy with my auto?
• Exactly who is provided coverage by my policy?
• How high should my uninsured/underinsured coverage be in my state?

If you’re not sure about those questions, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed agent. To find an agent in your area, simply complete this short form.

Insurance myths debunked

Well-known insurance companies like State Farm and Allstate continually stream ads on TV and radio. They all seem to make the point of big savings after switching your policy. How does each company charge lower premium rates? Here is the trick they use.

Insurance providers quote their cheapest rates for the type of driver that is profitable for them. For instance, this type of insured should be over the age of 35, has had continuous coverage, and drives a car with an anti-theft system. A customer that fits those parameters receive the lowest rate quotes and most likely will save money with a new company.

Drivers who cannot meet the “perfect” profile will see a higher premium which translates to the customer buying from a different company. If you listen closely, the ads state “people who switch” not “everybody who quotes” will save that much if they switch. That is how insurance companies can confidently make it sound like they have such great rates. This really illustrates why it is so important to compare quotes as often as possible. It’s just too difficult to predict which insurance company will give you lower prices than your current company.

Insurance policy coverages for a Toyota Tacoma

Knowing the specifics of your insurance policy helps when choosing which coverages you need for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be confusing and reading a policy is terribly boring.

Collision coverage

This coverage covers damage to your Tacoma resulting from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision coverage pays for claims like sideswiping another vehicle, sustaining damage from a pot hole, scraping a guard rail, hitting a parking meter and hitting a mailbox. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so consider removing coverage from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to raise the deductible to save money on collision insurance.

Comprehensive coverages

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

Comprehensive coverage protects against things like fire damage, falling objects, a broken windshield, rock chips in glass and damage from getting keyed. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for hospital bills for your injuries as well as damage to your Toyota Tacoma.

Since many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important.

Liability coverage

This coverage provides protection from damage that occurs to people or other property. This coverage protects you against claims from other people, and does not provide coverage for your own vehicle damage or injuries.

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 means you have $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $50,000, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery.

Liability can pay for things such as structural damage, repair costs for stationary objects, legal defense fees, medical expenses and court costs. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford.

Coverage for medical payments

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance provide coverage for bills like chiropractic care, prosthetic devices and doctor visits. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. Coverage applies to all vehicle occupants and also covers being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP coverage is only offered in select states and may carry a deductible

Smart shoppers get results

We covered a lot of ways to lower your 2012 Toyota Tacoma insurance premium rates. The most important thing to understand is the more companies you get prices for, the higher the chance of saving money. You may be surprised to find that the most savings is with the smaller companies.

When buying insurance coverage, it’s a bad idea to buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There are a lot of situations where someone dropped full coverage to discover at claim time that they should have had better coverage. Your objective should be to get the best coverage possible at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.

Drivers change insurance companies for a variety of reasons including high rates after DUI convictions, not issuing a premium refund, an unsatisfactory settlement offer or even being labeled a high risk driver. No matter why you want to switch, finding the right insurance provider is pretty easy and you might even save some money in the process.

For more information, link through to these articles:

• Senior Drivers (Insurance Information Insitute)
• Safety Tips for Teen Drivers (Insurance Information Insitute)
• Cellphones, Texting and Driving (iihs.org)
• Insuring a Leased Car (Insurance Information Insitute)
• Things to Know Before you Cancel Insurance (Allstate)