Lower Your 2015 Ford Focus ST Car Insurance Rates

Searching for lower insurance rates for your Ford Focus ST? Wish you could get a refund on an underperforming, overpriced insurance policy? You’re preaching to the choir because many drivers feel the same as you.

Many insurance companies compete for your hard-earned dollar, and it can be difficult to compare rates to find the cheapest price

You can change your insurance premiums

Many things are used when you get a price on insurance. Most are fairly basic like an MVR report, although others are not as apparent such as whether you are married or how safe your car is.

Listed below are some of the most common factors that factor into your premiums.

• Deter theft and lower premiums – Buying a car with a theft deterrent system can save you a little every year. Systems that thwart theives like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all help stop auto theft and help lower rates.
• Liability coverage – Your policy’s liability coverage kicks in if ever you are found to be at fault for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. Your policy’s liability insurance provides you with a defense in court which can cost a lot. It is affordable coverage compared to comp and collision, so insureds should have plenty of protection for their assets.
• Poor driving means higher rates – How you drive has a huge affect on how much you pay. Even a single moving violation can increase rates by as much as thirty percent. Careful drivers get better rates compared to bad drivers. Drivers who have gotten careless citations like hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions may face state-mandated requirements to submit a SR-22 or proof of financial responsibility to the state department of motor vehicles in order to continue driving.
• Do you really need the extra coverages? – Insurance companies have many extra add-on coverages that can waste your money on your Focus ST policy. Insurance for things like vanishing deductibles, high-cost glass coverage, and Farm Bureau memberships may be wasting your money. The coverages may be enticing initially, but now you might not need them so consider taking them off your policy.

The cheapest insurance

The are a couple different ways of comparing price quotes from companies that offer insurance in your state. The best way to comparison shop is to jump online and get quotes. This can be done using a couple different methods.

The easiest and least time consuming way to get the best comparison quotes is to use a rate comparison form like this one (opens in new window). This type of form keeps you from doing boring form submissions for each company you want a rate for. One simple form will return price quotes from all major companies.

A less efficient way to find better pricing is going to each company’s website and go through the quote process again. For instance, let’s assume you want rates from Nationwide, Geico and Travelers. You would have to go to every website and repeatedly type in your coverage information, which can get old fast. To view a list of companies in your area, click here.

The last way to compare price quotes is driving around to insurance agencies in your area. Quoting and buying insurance online eliminates the need for an insurance agent unless you have a need for the guidance that only an agent can give. Drivers can compare online quotes but buy the policy through an agent.

The method you choose is up to you, but make absolute certain that you use apples-to-apples coverage limits and deductibles for each price quote. If each company quotes different limits and deductibles on each one it will be impossible to determine the lowest rate for your Ford Focus ST. Quoting even small variations in limits could throw off the whole comparison. Just keep in mind that quoting more increases the change that you will find a lower rate than you’re paying now.

The insurance coverage bait and switch

Progressive, Geico, Allstate and State Farm regularly use ads on TV and radio. All the companies seem to make the promise about how much you will save if you change your policy. How do they all charge less that you’re paying now?

Companies can use profiling for the type of driver that earns them the highest profit. A good example of a preferred risk may need to be between the ages of 40 and 55, insures multiple vehicles, and drives a lower-performance vehicle. A customer getting a price quote that matches those criteria will most likely get cheap prices and will probably save when they switch companies.

People who cannot meet the “perfect” profile may receive higher premiums and ends up with the customer not buying. The wording the ads use say “drivers who switch” but not “everyone who gets a quote” save money. That’s the way insurance companies can confidently make those statements.

Different companies use different criteria so you absolutely need to compare rate quotes every year. Because you never know which insurance coverage company will have the best car insurance rates.

Discounts for cheap car insurance rates

Auto insurance companies do not advertise every discount they offer in a way that’s easy to find, so the next list breaks down both the well known as well as some of the hidden discounts that you may qualify for. If they aren’t giving you every credit you qualify for, it’s possible you qualify for a lower rate.

• Discount for Good Grades – Getting good grades can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. You can use this discount normally up to age 25.
• Drivers Education – Have your child enroll and complete driver’s education in school.
• Air Bag Discount – Options like air bags may earn rate discounts of more than 20%.
• Bundle and Save – When you combine your home and auto insurance with one company you could earn a discount of as much as 10 to 15 percent.
• Military Deployment Discount – Having a family member in the military could mean lower prices.
• Distant Student – who live away from home at college and do not have access to a covered vehicle can receive lower rates.
• Discount for Life Insurance – Not every insurance company offers life insurance, but if they do you may earn better car insurancerates if you take out life insurance.

As is typical with insurance, most discount credits are not given to the entire cost. Most only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. Just because it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, nobody gets a free ride.

Auto insurance companies that possibly offer these benefits are:

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

When quoting, ask every prospective company how many discounts you can get. Some discounts might not be available to policyholders in your area. To view insurers that offer many of these discounts, click this link.

You may need specialized insurance coverage coverage

When it comes to buying proper insurance coverage, there isn’t really a perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s situation is unique so this has to be addressed. Here are some questions about coverages that can help discover if you might need professional guidance.

• How can I get high-risk coverage after a DUI?
• Is extra glass coverage worth it?
• When should I drop full coverage on my 2015 Ford Focus ST?
• Does my insurance cover my expensive audio equipment?
• Does my insurance cover a custom paint job?
• Do I need more liability coverage?
• Who is covered by my policy?
• I have good health insurance, so how much medical payments coverage do I need?
• Can I pay claims out-of-pocket if I buy high deductibles?
• Will filing a claim cost me more?

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

Car insurance coverage information

Learning about specific coverages of auto insurance aids in choosing the best coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Listed below are typical coverages offered by auto insurance companies.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. This coverage pays for injuries to you and your family as well as damage to your 2015 Ford Focus ST.

Due to the fact that many drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, their limits can quickly be used up. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage should not be overlooked. Frequently these limits are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.

Coverage for medical payments

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance reimburse you for immediate expenses such as prosthetic devices, dental work and funeral costs. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover both the driver and occupants and will also cover getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not available in all states and may carry a deductible

Collision insurance

Collision coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision coverage pays for things like hitting a parking meter, scraping a guard rail and rolling your car. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible to bring the cost down.

Liability

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

Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have values of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Some companies may use one number which is a combined single limit which limits claims to one amount without having the split limit caps.

Liability can pay for claims such as bail bonds, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and loss of income. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but consider buying higher limits if possible.

Comprehensive coverages

This will pay to fix damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for claims such as damage from getting keyed, falling objects and hitting a bird. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Have money to burn

We covered quite a bit of information on how to get a better price on 2015 Ford Focus ST insurance. The key thing to remember is the more price quotes you have, the better likelihood of getting cheaper car insurance. You may be surprised to find that the best prices are with a small local company. These companies may cover specific market segments cheaper as compared to the big name companies such as Allstate, Geico and Progressive.

A few companies do not offer rates over the internet and usually these smaller providers only sell coverage through independent agents. Cheaper insurance is definitely available from both online companies and with local insurance agents, so you need to compare both to have the best rate selection.

More information can be found at the links below

• Frontal Crash Tests (iihs.org)
• No-Fault Auto Insurance Statistics (Insurance Information Insitute)
• Vehicle Insurance in the U.S. (Wikipedia)
• Teen Driving Statistics (iihs.org)