Ford Explorer Sport Insurance – 6 Discounts Drivers are Forgetting

Having to pay for pricey auto insurance can take a big chunk out of your monthly budget and make it impossible to make ends meet. Doing a rate comparison can lower your rates and help to lower your bills every month.

Insurance companies such as State Farm, Farmers Insurance, GEICO and Allstate increase brand awareness with advertising and it can be hard to separate fact from fiction and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.

Consumers should take time to compare rates once or twice a year because auto insurance prices change frequently. Despite the fact that you may have had the lowest rate on Explorer Sport coverage a couple years back a different company probably has better premium rates today. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about auto insurance because we’re going to show you the only way to reduce your cost while increasing coverage.

If you currently have a car insurance policy, you stand a good chance to be able to cut costs considerably using this strategy. Buying car insurance is not that difficult. But car owners need to learn the methods companies use to market on the web.

Which auto insurance is cheapest?

The are a couple different ways to compare rate quotes from many different insurance companies. The best way to find cheaper Ford Explorer Sport rates consists of shopping online. It’s really quite simple and can be done in several different ways.

One of the best ways to get the best comparison quotes would be an industry-wide quote request form (click to open form in new window). This method saves time by eliminating separate quotes for every company. Filling out one form will get you rate comparisons from all major companies.

A slightly less efficient method to analyze rates is spending the time to visit each company website and repeat the quote process again and again. For example, we’ll assume you are doing a rate comparison from USAA, Safeco and GEICO. In order to compare rates, you need to go to every website and punch in your information repeatedly, which is why most consumers use the first method. For a handy list of car insurance company links in your area, click here.

It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but compare identical coverage limits on every quote you get. If each company quotes unequal deductibles or liability limits it’s impossible to determine which rate is truly the best. Slightly different limits may result in a large different in cost. And when price shopping your coverage, getting more free quotes helps improve the odds of finding more affordable rates.

auto insurance discounts

Some providers do not advertise every discount in an easy-to-find place, so we researched some of the more common in addition to some of the lesser obvious auto insurance savings.

• Auto/Home Discount – If you can combine your homeowners and auto policy and insure them with the same company you could earn a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
• Online Discount – Some of the larger companies will give a small break on your computer.
• Distant College Student Discount – Any of your kids who live away from home to go to college and do not have access to a covered vehicle may be able to be covered for less.
• Senior Citizen Discount – Seniors could receive lower premium rates on Explorer Sport coverage.
• Government Employee Discount – Federal government employees could qualify for a slight premium decrease on Explorer Sport coverage depending on your company.
• Cautious Driver Discount – Accident-free drivers can save up to 40% or more on their on Explorer Sport coverage compared to accident prone drivers.

As a disclaimer on discounts, some of the credits will not apply to your bottom line cost. A few only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. Even though it appears you can get free auto insurance, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy.

Companies and some of the premium reductions they offer can be found below.

• American Family offers discounts for good driver, defensive driver, air bags, good student, and bundled insurance.
• State Farm includes discounts for accident-free, passive restraint, good driver, Drive Safe & Save, defensive driving training, and Steer Clear safe driver discount.
• 21st Century may include discounts for anti-lock brakes, early bird, theft prevention, homeowners, and student driver.
• Travelers discounts include IntelliDrive, early quote, hybrid/electric vehicle, multi-policy, multi-car, new car, and good student.
• GEICO may have discounts that include military active duty, membership and employees, emergency military deployment, anti-lock brakes, and five-year accident-free.

If you need , ask each company what discounts are available to you. Some discounts listed above may not apply to policyholders in every state.

The largest companies are not always cheapest

Popular auto insurance providers such as State Farm, Allstate and GEICO regularly use ads in print and on television. All the companies make the same claim about saving some big amount after switching your auto insurance coverage to their company. Is it even possible that every company can offer you a better deal? You have to listen carefully.

Most companies require specific criteria for the right customer that will most likely be profitable. One example of a preferred risk could be over the age of 45, carries full coverage, and drives a safe vehicle. A customer who fits that profile will qualify for the lowest car insurance rates and most likely will cut their rates if they switch.

Potential insureds who are not a match for the “perfect” profile will probably be forced to pay higher premium rates which results in the customer buying from a different company. If you pay attention, the ads say “customers that switch” not “all people who quote” save that much. That is how insurance companies can confidently claim big savings.

Because of these techniques, drivers must quotes as often as possible. It’s impossible to know with any certainty which company will fit you best based on your risk profile.

Auto insurance coverages explained

Knowing the specifics of your auto insurance policy helps when choosing appropriate coverage for your vehicles. The terms used in a policy can be ambiguous and coverage can change by endorsement. Below you’ll find the usual coverages available from auto insurance companies.

Liability coverages

Liability insurance will cover damage or injury you incur to other’s property or people that is your fault. It consists of three limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have policy limits of 25/50/25 that means you have a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a per accident bodily injury limit of $50,000, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Some companies may use one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which provides one coverage limit rather than limiting it on a per person basis.

Liability coverage protects against claims like structural damage, bail bonds and court costs. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but buy as much as you can afford.

Coverage for medical payments

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance kick in for short-term medical expenses for hospital visits, chiropractic care and nursing services. They are used in conjunction with a health insurance plan or if you lack health insurance entirely. Medical payments and PIP cover all vehicle occupants and also covers any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is only offered in select states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Collision coverage protection

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

Collision can pay for claims such as crashing into a building, colliding with another moving vehicle and backing into a parked car. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are older. Another option is to raise the deductible to bring the cost down.

Comprehensive coverages

This will pay to fix damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things like a tree branch falling on your vehicle, hitting a bird and damage from getting keyed. The most your auto insurance company will pay is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage

Your UM/UIM coverage provides protection from other motorists when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. It can pay for injuries to you and your family as well as damage to your Ford Explorer Sport.

Due to the fact that many drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is important protection for you and your family. Frequently these coverages are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.

Cheaper coverage is out there

You just learned a lot of information how to compare Ford Explorer Sport insurance premium rates online. It’s most important to understand that the more rate comparisons you have, the better chance you’ll have of finding . Consumers could even find that the best price on auto insurance is with the smaller companies. Regional companies may cover specific market segments cheaper as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive and GEICO.

Affordable Ford Explorer Sport insurance is available on the web and from local agencies, so you need to with both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers don’t offer online quoting and usually these regional insurance providers prefer to sell through independent agencies.