2012 Volkswagen GTI Car Insurance Quotes – 5 Ways to Save

Have you had enough of not being able to scrape enough together to pay your insurance coverage bill each month? You have the same problem as millions of other people.

Many car insurance companies vie for your insurance dollar, so it’s not easy to compare every insurance company and get the definite best price available.

Low cost car insurance

When shopping for car insurance there are multiple ways to get quotes from many available car insurance companies in your state. The quickest method to find the cheapest 2012 Volkswagen GTI insurance rates consists of obtaining rate quotes online. This is quite simple and can be completed in several different ways.

• The best way to find low rates would be an industry-wide quote request form (click to open form in new window). This method keeps you from doing separate forms for each company you want a rate for. Just one form gets insurance cost estimates from multiple companies.
• A less efficient way to find lower rates consists of going to each company’s website and fill out their own quote form. For instance, let’s assume you want to compare rates from Auto-Owners, Allstate and Liberty Mutual. To get each rate you have to navigate to each company’s site and repeatedly type in your coverage information, which can get old fast. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in your area, click here.
• The most difficult method to comparison shop is making phone calls or going to all the different insurance agencies. Quoting and buying insurance online eliminates the middleman unless you prefer the trained advice of an agent trained in personal lines coverage. It is possible with some companies comparison shop your insurance online but still have the advice of a local agent.

Which method you use is up to you, but do your best to use exactly the same coverages on every price quote you get. If you use unequal deductibles or liability limits it’s impossible to truly determine the lowest rate. Just a small difference in coverage limits may result in a large different in cost. And when comparing car insurance rates, know that comparing more rates from different companies helps improve the odds of finding a lower rate than you’re paying now.

Ads can be misleading

Geico, State Farm and Progressive regularly use ads in print and on television. All the ads tend to make the same promise about how much you will save after switching your coverage to them. How does every company lower your premium rates? Here is the trick they use.

Many companies have specific characteristics for the type of customer that earns them the highest profit. A good example of a driver they prefer should be a married female, has no driving citations, and drives a lower-performance vehicle. A propective insured that matches those criteria gets the lowest premium rates and is almost guaranteed to pay quite a bit less when switching companies.

People who do not meet those standards will see a higher rate and ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. If you listen to the ad wording, they say “customers who switch” not “all people who quote” can get the lowest rates when switching. That’s the way companies can truthfully make those claims.

This emphasizes why it’s extremely important to compare quotes as often as possible. Because without a comparison, you cannot know the company that will have the lowest rate quotes.

Insurance coverage discounts help reduce rates

Some providers don’t always list every possible discount very well, so the following list contains some of the best known as well as the least known insurance coverage savings.

• Telematics Data – Drivers that enable their insurance coverage company to study driving habits by using a telematics device in their vehicle like Drivewise from Allstate or In-Drive from State Farm could see a rate decrease if they are good drivers.
• Drivers Ed for Students – Reduce the cost of insurance for teen drivers by having them enroll in driver’s education as it will make them better drivers and lower rates.
• Low Miles Discount – Maintaining low annual mileage may enable drivers to earn lower prices on the low mileage vehicles.
• Professional Memberships – Being a member of qualifying clubs or civic groups is a simple method to lower premiums when getting a insurance coverage quote.
• Anti-lock Brakes – Cars, trucks, and SUVs equipped with ABS or steering control are safer to drive and will save you 10% or more.

Keep in mind that some of the credits will not apply to all coverage premiums. Some only reduce individual premiums such as comp or med pay. Despite the appearance that you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you aren’t that lucky.

A few of the larger companies and a selection of discounts are included below.

• State Farm discounts include accident-free, driver’s education, passive restraint, multiple policy, and good driver.
• American Family offers discounts including multi-vehicle, air bags, accident-free, TimeAway discount, bundled insurance, defensive driver, and early bird.
• AAA may offer discounts for multi-policy, pay-in-full, good driver, anti-theft, and good student.
• Geico has savings for driver training, federal employee, air bags, multi-vehicle, membership and employees, military active duty, and good student.
• Mercury Insurance may have discounts that include ease of repair, annual mileage, accident-free, professional/association, and age of vehicle.
• Farmers Insurance has discounts for multi-car, homeowner, early shopping, switch companies, and bundle discounts.
• Progressive may include discounts for online signing, multi-vehicle, homeowner, continuous coverage, and online quote discount.

Double check with each company or agent which discounts can lower your rates. Some credits might not be offered in your area. To view providers who offer free insurance coverage quotes, follow this link.

Which is the best car insurance?

When it comes to choosing coverage for your vehicles, there really is no perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s situation is a little different so your insurance should reflect that These are some specific questions might help in determining whether your personal situation might need professional guidance.

• Exactly who is provided coverage by my policy?
• What is an SR-22 filing?
• Is rental equipment covered for theft or damage?
• When would I need additional glass coverage?
• Am I covered when driving in Canada or Mexico?
• How many claims can I have before being cancelled?
• Is a blown tire covered by insurance?
• Does insurance cover tools stolen from my truck?
• How can I get high-risk coverage after a DUI?

If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you know they apply to you, you might consider talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area.

Insurance coverages 101

Knowing the specifics of your policy aids in choosing which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. The terms used in a policy can be ambiguous and coverage can change by endorsement. Shown next are the normal coverages found on the average insurance policy.

Insurance for medical payments – Med pay and PIP coverage reimburse you for short-term medical expenses like chiropractic care, funeral costs, surgery, rehabilitation expenses and doctor visits. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. They cover you and your occupants in addition to any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance – Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered losses include hospital bills for your injuries and also any damage incurred to your Volkswagen GTI.

Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is very important. Normally your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.

Liability – Liability insurance protects you from damages or injuries you inflict on other’s property or people by causing an accident. It protects YOU from claims by other people, and doesn’t cover damage to your own property or vehicle.

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 limits of 25/50/25 which means $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a per accident bodily injury limit of $50,000, and a total limit of $25,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Alternatively, you may have one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which limits claims to one amount without having the split limit caps.

Liability insurance covers things like repair bills for other people’s vehicles, court costs, pain and suffering and emergency aid. How much coverage you buy is up to you, but you should buy as large an amount as possible.

Collision coverage – Collision insurance covers damage to your GTI caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You have to pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision insurance covers things such as damaging your car on a curb, sustaining damage from a pot hole and colliding with another moving vehicle. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. You can also raise the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision) – This pays for damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first must pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive insurance covers claims such as hitting a deer, hail damage, rock chips in glass, a broken windshield and hitting a bird. The maximum payout a insurance company will pay at claim time is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider dropping full coverage.

And the best car insurance company is…

We’ve covered quite a bit of information on how to save on 2012 Volkswagen GTI insurance. It’s most important to understand that the more times you quote, the better likelihood of getting inexpensive insurance coverage. You may even find the best price on insurance is with a lesser-known regional company. Some small companies may only write in your state and offer lower premium rates compared to the large companies like Allstate or State Farm.

More affordable insurance is available online as well as from insurance agents, so get free insurance coverage quotes from both of them to have the best selection. Some insurance companies may not provide the ability to get quotes online and these small insurance companies prefer to sell through independent agents.

When buying insurance coverage, you should never skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There are many occasions where an insured cut uninsured motorist or liability limits only to discover later that it was a big mistake. Your strategy should be to purchase plenty of coverage for the lowest cost, but do not sacrifice coverage to save money.

Additional detailed information is located in the articles below:

• Car Insurance for Teen Drivers with Divorced Parents (Allstate)
• Drunk Driving Statistics (Insurance Information Insitute)
• Alcohol Impaired Driving FAQ (iihs.org)
• State Laws for Cellphones and Texting (iihs.org)
• Car Insurance: When not to Skimp (BankRate.com)
• What is Gap Insurance? (Insurance Information Insitute)