Are you sick and tired of sacrificing other expenses to pay car insurance each month? You are in the same boat as many other drivers. Big-name insurance companies like Geico, Farmers Insurance and State Farm increase brand awareness with fancy advertisements and it is challenging if not impossible to see past the geckos and flying pigs and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.
Car insurance is not cheap nor is it fun to buy but you may find discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Many of these discounts will be applied automatically at the time you complete a quote, but some discounts are required to be inquired about prior to getting the savings.
While discounts sound great, it’s important to understand that some of the credits will not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Some 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, car insurance companies aren’t that generous. But any discount will cut your premiums.
A list of companies and a partial list of their discounts can be read below.
Before you buy a policy, ask every insurance company which discounts you may be entitled to. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts might not be available to policyholders in every state. To see a list of providers with the best car insurance discounts, click this link.
Most major insurance companies such as 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm allow consumers to get coverage prices on their websites. Getting online quotes is easy for anyone as you just type in the coverage amounts you desire into a form. Once you submit the form, their system pulls your driving record and credit report and returns a price based on the information you submitted. Online price quotes helps simplify price comparisons, but the time required to go to multiple sites and enter the same data into a form is a big time waster. But it’s absolutely necessary to have as many quotes as possible if you are searching for the best price on car insurance.
There is a better way!
An easier way to lower your rates is to use a quote form to get prices from a bunch of companies at once. The form is fast, requires much less work on your part, and makes online shopping much easier. After your information is entered, it is quoted and you can select any or none of the returned quotes. If a lower price is quoted, it’s easy to complete the application and buy the new coverage. The whole process takes just a few minutes to complete and may save quite a bit of money.
To use this form to compare rates, simply click here to open in new window and submit your coverage information. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you duplicate the coverages identical to your current policy. Using the same limits helps guarantee you’re receiving a price comparison for similar coverage.
Lots of factors are used when quoting car insurance. Some are pretty understandable such as traffic violations, but some are more transparent like where you live or how safe your car is.
When it comes to choosing coverage, there isn’t really a cookie cutter policy. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs so your insurance should reflect that Here are some questions about coverages that might help in determining if you might need an agent’s assistance.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but you know they apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, simply complete this short form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It is quick, free and can help protect your family.
Consumers constantly see and hear ads for auto insurance savings by 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm. They all seem to make the same claim about savings just by moving your auto insurance coverage to their company.
How does each company claim to save you money? It’s all in the words they use.
Insurance companies give the cheapest rates for the right customer that makes them money. One example of a profitable risk profile might be described as between 30 and 50, has never had a claim, and drives a safe vehicle. Anybody who meets those qualifications receives the best prices and will most likely pay quite a bit less when switching companies.
Consumers who are not a match for the ideal profile will probably have to pay higher premiums and this results in the prospect going elsewhere. The ads say “people that switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much. That is how insurance companies can make those statements. Different companies use different criteria so you should do a price quote comparison at every renewal. Because you cannot predict which auto insurance company will have the lowest prices for your situation.
Having a good grasp of your policy helps when choosing the best coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. The terms used in a policy can be difficult to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. Listed below are typical coverage types found on most insurance policies.
UM/UIM Coverage – Your UM/UIM coverage gives you protection when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since a lot of drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages should not be overlooked.
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision – Comprehensive insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims like fire damage, vandalism and a broken windshield. The maximum payout your insurance company will pay is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Medical costs insurance – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for immediate expenses such as EMT expenses, nursing services and dental work. They are used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover both the driver and occupants and will also cover being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal Injury Protection is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Collision coverage – This pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from colliding with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision insurance covers claims such as colliding with a tree, crashing into a ditch, rolling your car, colliding with another moving vehicle and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Another option is to raise the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Liability coverages – Liability insurance will cover damage that occurs to 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 commonly see policy limits of 50/100/50 that means you have $50,000 bodily injury coverage, a per accident bodily injury limit of $100,000, and a limit of $50,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability coverage protects against things like medical services, attorney fees and loss of income. How much coverage you buy is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible.
We just presented a lot of ways to compare 2015 Toyota RAV4 insurance car insurance rates online. The key thing to remember is the more providers you compare, the better your chances of lowering your premium rates. Consumers could even find that the biggest savings come from a lesser-known regional company. Regional companies may cover specific market segments cheaper compared to the large companies like Progressive and Geico.
When getting insurance quotes online, you should never sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There have been many cases where an insured cut comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to regret at claim time that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your goal should be to find the BEST coverage at the best cost, but do not skimp to save money.
Even more information can be read in these articles:
Jeramy Bryant
IMHO Mobile, AL seems to have good rates from State Farm.
Leeanna Craft
I live just to the south of Allentown, PA. Got prices from GEICO, GMAC, and Encompass for my Toyota and I’m now saving $34 a month.
Suzy Wynn
Enjoyed the article. I’m in the east part of Augusta, GA. Quoted quotes with Allstate, Eastwood, and Liberty Mutual for my RAV4 and am saving around $350 a year. Ask about discounts.
Laverna Welch
From northwest of Milwaukee, WI. I got free quotes with The General, Amica, Sentry, and a couple others for my Toyota and I think I saved around $30 each month. Left Progressive to switch. Teenage drivers are expensive! Online quotes are the way to go.