Best Tips to Paying Less to Insure a Chevy Lumina

Are you a victim of an underperforming, overpriced auto insurance policy? Believe me when I say many consumers are feeling buyer’s remorse and feel like there’s no way out. Many insurers vie for your hard-earned dollar, and because of this it can be hard to compare auto insurance companies to find the cheapest price

It is always a good idea to shop coverage around quite often because insurance rates change quite often. Even if you think you had the lowest rates for Lumina coverage two years ago you can probably find a lower rate today. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because you’re about to find out one of the easiest ways to find the best coverage while lowering your premiums.

How to Get Auto Insurance

Getting a cheaper price on Chevy Lumina insurance isn’t really that difficult. All you need to do is take a few minutes to get quotes online from several insurance companies. This can be accomplished using a couple different methods.

Probably the best way consumers can analyze rates is to use a rate comparison form click here to open form in new window. This method eliminates the need for repetitive form submissions for every auto insurance company. One quote request gets you price quotes from all major companies.
A more difficult way to find lower rates consists of visiting the website for every company you want to comare and fill out their own quote form. For sake of this example, let’s say you want to compare Liberty Mutual, Safeco and Farmers. To find out each rate you need to spend time on each company’s site to enter your coverage information, and that’s why the first method is more popular.
For a list of links to insurance companies in your area, click here.
The hardest way to get comparison rates is driving around to insurance agents’ offices. The internet makes this process obsolete unless you prefer the personal advice only provided by licensed agents. Drivers can get the lowest quotes online and get advice from an agent in your area.

It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just ensure you are comparing apples-to-apples information on every quote you get. If you use different limits and deductibles on each one it will be next to impossible to determine the lowest rate for your Chevy Lumina.

Take advantage of discounts

Companies offering auto insurance don’t list all available discounts very well, so the following is a list of both well-publicized and the more hidden savings tricks you should be using. If you don’t get every credit available, you’re just leaving money on the table.

Service Members Pay Less – Being on active duty in the military can result in better rates.
Accident Forgiveness – Some insurance companies will allow you to have one accident before raising your premiums if your claims history is clear prior to the accident.
Anti-lock Brake Discount – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems can avoid accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
Low Mileage Discounts – Low mileage vehicles could be rewarded with discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
Theft Prevention Discount – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems are stolen less frequently and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
Pay Upfront and Save – By paying your policy upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save up to 5%.

Drivers should understand that most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. Most cut the cost of specific coverages such as collision or personal injury protection. Just because it seems like you could get a free auto insurance policy, you’re out of luck.

To see a list of companies who offer auto insurance discounts, click this link.

Chevy Lumina insurance rates are influenced by…

It’s important that you understand some of the elements that come into play when calculating your auto insurance rates. Understanding what impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.

The list below includes a partial list of the pieces that factor into rates. Auto insurance in

The type of vehicle makes a difference – The performance level of the car you own makes a big difference in your rates. The cheapest insurance rates are for low performance passenger vehicles, but there are many factors that impact the final cost. Due to the fact that the Chevrolet Lumina is considered a passenger car, insuring your vehicle will cost similar in price or lower as compared to the average rate.
High crash test scores lower rates – Cars with high safety ratings get lower rates. The safest vehicles protect occupants better and any reduction in injury severity translates into savings for insurance companies and lower rates for you. If your Chevy Lumina has ratings of a minimum four stars on Safercar.gov you may qualify for a discount.
Drive less and save money – Driving more miles each year the more you will pay for auto insurance. Most companies apply a rate determined by how the vehicle is used. Cars and trucks left parked in the garage get more affordable rates as compared to vehicles used primarily for driving to work. An improperly rated Lumina can cost quite a bit. Make sure your auto insurance coverage properly reflects the proper vehicle usage.
With age comes lower rates – Teenage drivers are known to be less responsible behind the wheel so auto insurance rates are higher. Adding a teenage driver to your policy can be very expensive. Older drivers tend to be more responsible, statistically cause fewer accidents and receive fewer citations.
Women pay lower rates – The statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, this does not mean men are WORSE drivers than women. Women and men cause accidents at about the same rate, but the male of the species have costlier accidents. Men also tend to receive more costly citations such as DWI and reckless driving. Young males tend to get in the most accidents and therefore have the most expensive auto insurance rates.
High numbers of claims are not good – Insurance companies generally give cheaper rates to policyholders who file claims infrequently. If you tend to file frequent claims, you can expect either policy cancellation or increased premiums. Auto insurance is intended to be relied upon for the bigger claims that can’t be paid out-of-pocket.
Big city or small town – Being located in small towns and rural areas can be a good thing when buying auto insurance. Fewer drivers means fewer accidents and also fewer theft and vandalism claims. Drivers who live in large cities tend to have much more traffic to deal with and much longer commute distances. Longer commute distances means higher likelihood of an accident.
Liability coverage protects you – Liability insurance will protect you in the event that a jury decides you are liable for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. Liability provides legal defense coverage which can cost thousands of dollars. Liability is cheap compared to physical damage coverage, so do not skimp.

What about my local agents?

Some consumers just want to visit with an insurance agent and that is just fine! Good agents can point out coverage gaps and help you file claims. The best thing about price shopping on the web is you can get better rates but still work with a licensed agent.

After filling out this simple form, the coverage information gets sent to insurance agents who will battle for your coverage. You won’t need to visit any agencies as quotes are delivered to your email. How’s that for easy!

Picking an insurer shouldn’t rely on just a cheap price. Here are some questions to ask:

What insurance company do they write the most business with?
What are the financial ratings for the companies they represent?
Are glass claims handled on-site or do you have to take your vehicle to a repair shop?
Can they give you a list of client referrals?
Are there any discounts that you might be missing?
Is vehicle damage repaired with OEM or aftermarket parts?
If they are an independent agency, which companies do they recommend?

What type of car insurance agent is right for you?

If you’re trying to find an insurance agent, there are a couple of different agency structures to choose from. Agents are categorized either independent or captive. Both properly insure your vehicles, but it’s worth mentioning how they are different because it can impact your selection of an agent.

Captive Insurance Agents

These agents have only one company to place business with and examples are Farmers Insurance or State Farm. Captives cannot compare other company’s rates so always compare other rates. These agents are trained well on their products and sales techniques which helps them compete with independent agents.

Independent Agencies or Brokers

Independent agencies are not employed by any specific company so they have the ability to put coverage amongst many companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. To transfer your coverage to a different company, an independent agent can move your coverage and that require little work on your part. When searching for an agent, it’s recommended you contact at least one independent agent for the best price selection.

For a full directory of agents, click here.

After receiving good answers for all questions you ask as well as a affordable price, chances are good that you have found an insurance agency that will provide auto insurance coverage.

Drivers who switch save $488 a year? Really?

Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements for cheaper car insurance by GEICO, State Farm and Progressive. They all make the same claim that you’ll save big after switching to their company.

How do they all make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.

Different companies have a preferred profile for the type of customer that is profitable for them. For example, a profitable customer might be profiled as between the ages of 40 and 55, has no driving citations, and has excellent credit. A driver who matches those parameters will get very good rates and most likely will save when switching.

Drivers who don’t qualify for the “perfect” profile will have to pay a higher premium which usually ends up with business going elsewhere. The ad wording is “customers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that kind of money. That’s the way companies can truthfully advertise the way they do. Because of the profiling, you should compare as many rates as you can. It’s impossible to know the company that will have the lowest rates.

Buy online or local, you save

We just showed you some good ideas how you can compare Chevy Lumina insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may be surprised to find that the lowest priced auto insurance comes from a lesser-known regional company. These companies can often provide lower rates in certain areas compared to the large companies like Allstate and Progressive.

As you shop your coverage around, it’s a bad idea to buy poor coverage just to save money. In too many instances, an insured cut liability limits or collision coverage and found out when filing a claim that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The proper strategy is to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest price, not the least amount of coverage.