Feel like you’re a prisoner to an overpriced car insurance policy? Believe me, you’re not alone.
With consumers having so many insurance providers from which to choose, it’s nearly impossible to choose the lowest price company.
It’s a good idea to do rate comparisons occasionally since insurance rates change regularly. Just because you found the lowest rates for C70 insurance two years ago you can probably find a lower rate today. So just block out anything you think you know about car insurance because we’re going to show you the things you must know in order to lower your annual insurance bill.
Comparing car insurance rates is a ton of work if you don’t understand the most efficient way. You can waste hours driving to local insurance agents in your area, or you could save time and use online quoting to quickly compare rates.
Most major companies participate in a marketplace that allows shoppers to only type in their quote data once, and each participating company can provide price quotes. This prevents consumers from doing quote requests for each company. To participate in this free quote system, click to open in new window.
The only downside to using this type of form is you can’t choose which companies you want pricing from. If you prefer to choose specific providers to compare prices, we have a page of low cost car insurance companies in your area. Click here for list of insurance companies.
Whichever method you choose, ensure you’re using exactly the same deductibles and coverage limits for every company. If you enter differing limits it’s impossible to determine which rate is truly the best. Just a small difference in coverage limits may result in a large different in cost. Just remember that having more price comparisons gives you a better chance of getting the best offered rates.
Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but discounts can save money and there are some available that many people don’t even know exist. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically when you purchase, but less common discounts must be specially asked for before they will apply.
As a disclaimer on discounts, most credits do not apply to the entire policy premium. The majority will only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So despite the fact that it appears you can get free auto insurance, it just doesn’t work that way. Any qualifying discounts will bring down your overall premium however.
For a list of insurers with discount car insurance rates, click here to view.
A small number of people would rather buy from a licensed agent and there is nothing wrong with that. One of the great benefits of price shopping on the web is the fact that you can find the lowest rates but still work with a licensed agent. Supporting local businesses is definitely important in smaller communities.
After filling out this short form, your coverage information is instantly submitted to participating agents who will compete to get your business. You never need to visit any agencies because quoted prices will be sent immediately to your email address. You can find better rates AND an agent nearby.
To contact a specific insurance agent in your state, click here.
Picking a company shouldn’t rely on just a cheap price. Any agent should be forthright in answering these questions:
Upon receiving acceptable answers to your questions and an affordable coverage quote, you have narrowed it down to an insurance company that can service your policy. But remember, once you purchase a policy you can terminate your policy whenever you wish so never feel you are locked into a specific agent for any length of time.
When buying adequate coverage, there is no perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s needs are different so your insurance needs to address that. For instance, these questions could help you determine whether or not you would benefit from an agent’s advice.
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but one or more may apply to you then you might want to talk to a licensed agent. If you don’t have a local agent, simply complete this short form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier
Allstate, GEICO and Progressive consistently run ads in print and on television. All the companies make an identical promise that you’ll save big if you change to their company. How can each company claim to save you money? This is how they do it.
Insurance companies have a preferred profile for the type of driver they prefer to insure. For instance, a desirable insured could possibly be between 25 and 40, is a homeowner, and has great credit. A customer getting a price quote that hits that “sweet spot” gets the lowest rates and therefore will save quite a bit of money when switching.
Drivers who don’t measure up to the requirements must pay higher rates and ends up with the customer not buying. The ad wording is “customers that switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much money. That’s the way insurance companies can claim big savings.
This illustrates why you need to get as many quotes as possible. It’s impossible to know which car insurance company will give you the biggest savings.
Knowing the specifics of car insurance can be of help when determining the right coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. The terms used in a policy can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Shown next are typical coverages found on most car insurance policies.
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision
This coverage pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things such as damage from getting keyed, theft and rock chips in glass. The maximum amount you’ll receive from a claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Collision coverage protection
Collision coverage covers damage to your C70 resulting from a collision with an object or car. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision insurance covers things like scraping a guard rail, crashing into a ditch, sideswiping another vehicle, backing into a parked car and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from lower value vehicles. You can also choose a higher deductible to bring the cost down.
UM/UIM Coverage
This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists either have no liability insurance or not enough. It can pay for medical payments for you and your occupants and also any damage incurred to your Volvo C70.
Because many people only carry the minimum required liability limits, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. So UM/UIM coverage is very important. Normally the UM/UIM limits do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Medical costs insurance
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance provide coverage for short-term medical expenses such as EMT expenses, ambulance fees, funeral costs and dental work. They are often used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. It covers both the driver and occupants and will also cover any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is not available in all states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Auto liability insurance
This coverage can cover damage that occurs to people or other property. Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. Your policy might show values of 25/50/25 that translate to $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a per accident bodily injury limit of $50,000, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Occasionally you may see a combined limit which provides one coverage limit and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.
Liability coverage pays for things like court costs, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, emergency aid, loss of income and repair costs for stationary objects. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but you should buy as much as you can afford.
As you prepare to switch companies, it’s very important that you do not buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There have been many cases where drivers have reduced collision coverage only to regret that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your strategy should be to find the BEST coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
Cost effective Volvo C70 insurance is available on the web in addition to many insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best rate selection. There are still a few companies who do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and these regional insurance providers work with independent agents.