Saving Money on Comprehensive Car Insurance
If you own a car, you are required by law to carry a certain amount of liability insurance, or in some states you can waive the insurance if you can prove financial responsibility. While this coverage will pay for damages that you cause to others, including vehicle repairs and medical costs, it is not going to take care of any of your own expenses. For instance, if you want to be sure that you are going to be covered no matter what happens to your vehicle, you should have comprehensive car insurance.
What is Comprehensive Car Insurance?
Many things can happen to our vehicles, and we don’t have to be in actual accidents for things to happen. This is why it is wise to have comprehensive car insurance. This type of coverage will pay for damages that are caused by acts of God, such as earthquakes, hail or other severe weather. If your vehicle is stolen, your comprehensive car insurance will pay to replace it. If your vehicle is vandalized, this coverage will pay for repairs.
Full Coverage Insurance Policies
Most of the time people include comprehensive car insurance in a full coverage policy. In addition to comprehensive insurance, these policies also offer the liability coverage that you are required by law to have, as well as collision coverage so if you are at fault in an accident you will have a means of paying for your own damages. Without this type of coverage you may or may not be able to afford to pay for your own expenses, which could include extensive medical bills.
Discounts You May Qualify For
When you are shopping around for comprehensive car insurance, you need to be aware of the many discounts that are offered by insurance companies. Not all insurers will offer the same discounts, which is why you need to get quotes from many different insurance companies to compare products and rates. Some of the discounts you should inquire about include:
- Multi-Vehicle Discounts – If you have two or more vehicles, you will save money on your comprehensive car insurance by having them all insured under one policy. Some exceptions to this include motorcycles and RV’s, which must have separate coverage.
- Multi-Policy Discounts – If you are carrying more than one type of coverage, you can combine it with your car insurance. Many insurers will offer discounts to customers who buy their home, life and auto insurance from them. It not only saves you money, it also saves a lot of hassles because you are only dealing with one insurer.
- New Vehicle Discounts – If you are planning on purchasing a vehicle, take note of the fact that buying a newer model vehicle will help you to save money on your comprehensive car insurance. New vehicles usually come equipped with the newest safety features. These features are what insurers want to see, and they will help you get discounts.
- Customer Loyalty Discounts – If you have been dealing with the same insurance company for many years you should ask if you can get a discount for your loyalty. Many insurance companies offer these discounts. The more discounts you qualify for, the better your insurance rates are going to be.
Maintain a Good Credit Rating
Your credit record is going to help decide what your insurance rates will be. While this may sound kind of dumb, it does make sense when you look at it from the point of view of insurance companies. If you don’t have good credit, it means that you have a history of having late or delinquent payments to creditors. Insurance companies will charge you higher rates because of this, at least until you have a history of paying your premiums on time every single month.
It’s Time to Do Some Comparison Shopping
When you are trying to get the best deals on comprehensive car insurance you need to do a bit of comparison shopping. Just like with any big-ticket purchase, insurance is not something that should be taken lightly. You need to check out what the different insurance companies have to offer. As noted earlier, not all insurers offer the same discounts, and they all offer varying products at different rates. You can do your comparison shopping online, which is going to save you a lot of time, and in the long run, money. Give us your zip code and we will search through our data bases to get you free quotes from local and national insurers. Then you can do your comparison shopping and decide which insurer has the best deal on the coverage you need, including comprehensive car insurance.
How to Get Cheap Comprehensive Car Insurance
If you are trying to find ways to get cheap comprehensive car insurance, you are in luck. Insurance can be expensive, but when you know about the different ways to save money you can get much better deals than the next person who is not aware that they could be paying less. Cheap comprehensive car insurance is actually pretty easy to get. All you have to do is get quotes from various insurers, find out what discounts you are eligible for, and see who is offering the best rates on the coverage you need.
Getting Discounts on Your Comprehensive Car Insurance
While it is often much more expensive to have full coverage, you can get cheap comprehensive car insurance which is much better than just the minimum liability insurance that is required by the state you live in. You can find many ways to save money on your insurance. This way, you will know that you can afford to have the coverage you really need. After all, liability coverage is fine and dandy, but it isn’t going to help pay for any of your own damages if you are at fault in a car accident. You may be eligible for a number of discounts that are offered by a lot of insurance companies. Some of these discounts include:
- Safe Driver Discounts – Your driver’s abstract will show insurers whether or not you are a high risk or a safe driver. If you have a clean driver’s abstract for a certain amount of time, usually three or more years, you may qualify for a safe driver discount.
- Multi-Vehicle Discounts – Owning more than one vehicle help you get cheap comprehensive car insurance if you combine them all on one policy. There are some exceptions to this, such as motorcycles and recreational vehicles, which require separate coverage.
- Multi-Policy Discounts – Many insurance companies will offer discounts to customers who choose to let them handle all of their insurance needs. Combining auto, life and home insurance is a great way to save money, and make it much easier to get cheap comprehensive car insurance.
- Military Discounts – If you are a current or retired member of any branch of the US military you may be eligible for a discount of up to 15% on your comprehensive car insurance. You can even find some insurance companies that specialize in insurance for military members and veterans.
Quotes: Another Great Way to Get Good Insurance Rates
When you are trying to get cheap comprehensive car insurance, you need to shop around to make sure that you are not going to be paying too much. Even if you are already insured, it never hurts to find out if you could be dealing with an insurance company that will charge you less for the same type of coverage.
Quotes are free, and you are never under any obligation to purchase anything. Go online today, give us your zip code, and you will have all the quotes you need in a few minutes. Then you will be able to get the cheap comprehensive car insurance you want.
Comprehensive Car Insurance is Not Always Required, but Good to Have
If you are looking for general auto insurance that will cover you in most events, then you should check out what comprehensive car insurance can offer. This is not coverage that you are required to have in most states, but it is good to have, and in some cases, if you have a loan for your vehicle, your lender may require you to have this type of insurance. When you have comprehensive coverage, you will be covered for a variety of things that may have been left out of your regular auto insurance policy.
Accidents Happen…Be Prepared!
No matter how good a driver you are, or how careful you are, accidents do happen. That’s why they are called accidents, because you don’t plan for them to happen. Having enough insurance coverage will protect you from most of the expenses that can arise following an accident, as well as damages from many other things. For example, if your vehicle is damaged by something other than an accident, such as fire or vandalism, you will be covered. Other situations that are covered include hitting animals (this is excellent coverage to have if you live in a rural area, because you never know when you could hit a deer or a moose), theft, severe weather, and even items such as tree branches falling onto your car and causing damages.
When Should You NOT Have Comprehensive Insurance?
Vehicle owners do not always need to have this type of insurance coverage. For instance, if you drive an older model vehicle that is not in the best of shape, you probably won’t want to bother having additional coverage for it. After all, the premiums and deductibles may cost more than the vehicle is actually worth in the first place, and the cost just isn’t worth it.
Who Should Have Comprehensive Insurance?
If you have a newer model vehicle, you will want to have as much insurance as you can afford in order to make sure that it is protected no matter what. Of course, this is just one reason why one should have this type of insurance coverage. Other reasons include:
- If you collect vehicles and want to make sure that they are safe at all times, even while being stored or transported. The cost of the premiums is a lot less than what it would cost to replace a collectible vehicle.
- If you want to make sure that you have as much coverage as possible so you don’t have a lot of out-of-pocket expenses following an accident you are at fault in.
Will You Have to Pay a Deductible?
The simple answer to this question is “yes”. Your deductible is the amount that you pay yourself for any damages resulting from an accident where you are at fault before the insurance company pays anything. As a rule, you choose the amount you wish to pay for a deductible. There are a couple of ways to look at it when you are trying to decide on an amount. You can choose to pay a higher deductible and have lower premiums, or pay higher premiums so your deductible will be lower. Normally, deductibles for this type of insurance policy range around $500.
What are the Benefits of Comprehensive Insurance?
If you are in an accident and your vehicle is totaled, it could cost a lot of money to replace it. If you have the right coverage, you will be glad that you paid the premiums, because they will have cost you a lot less than it would to get a brand new vehicle. This is just one of the many benefits to having comprehensive car insurance, and it is especially good to have if you have a newer model vehicle that cost a lot of money. One of the great things about this is that if you are at fault in an accident, your own damages will be taken care of, and your only expense is going to be the deductible. There may be many other benefits, including payments for rental cars if they are needed following an accident. This is something you will have to ask your insurer about.
Are there Any Downsides?
There may be occasions where not all expenses are going to be covered by your comprehensive insurance. It is important that you discuss every aspect of your policy with your insurer, to make sure that you understand everything. If you do not do this, you could be in for quite a shock if you ever end up needing to make a claim, and you find out that some of your bigger expenses are not covered. For instance, you can only claim collision coverage if you hit an animal. Your insurance will not pay for any damage caused to others if you are at fault in an accident, and you will need to have additional coverage to make sure that medical expenses will be covered. You are covered in most cases, but it is best to know in advance what is not covered.
Shop Around to Get the Best Rates
You can call a dozen different insurers, and get a dozen different rates for comprehensive car insurance. This is why it is necessary to get quotes from as many insurers as possible. Of course, it is best to try to stick with insurers in your area, unless you go with one of the national insurers that can be contacted at any time of the day or night via a toll-free number.
Getting quotes for insurance is easy. You can either call the insurers in your area, or if you have the time, visit each one. Of course, you can save a lot of time and energy by letting us do all of the legwork for you. Just let us know what you require for coverage, and we will use your zip code to get you the best rates from insurers where you live.
Comprehensive vs. Collision – Do You Understand Your Coverage?
If you were asked about whether your auto insurance policy includes comprehensive insurance coverage, would you even know the answer?
In fact, it is quite important that you make sure you understand what exactly comprehensive car insurance is. It may come as a bit of a shock, but many drivers are under the false assumption that their policy already includes coverage for any and all of the issues comprehensive auto insurance takes care of.
To find out, all you have to do is contact your current insurance provider and ask these types of questions about your policy as it stands at present:
- “If my car is stolen will it be replaced?”
- “Is damage to my car that results from flooding or other storm related incidents covered?”
- “Who pays for repairs to my car if the damage is caused by an animal?”
- “If my car is damaged as the result of vandalism, will the repairs be taken care of by my insurance policy?
- “I’ve heard that many types of insurance policies do not cover ‘acts of God.’ Does my car insurance policy currently cover damage from something considered an ‘act of God’?”
All of these are factors that are covered by comprehensive car insurance. If it isn’t already part of the policy you currently have, you could be taking a huge gamble with your coverage. Having gaps in your policy or lacking the coverage you need could result in paying expensive repair costs from your own pocket. Still you may not truly grasp the severity of what this entails.
“Paying Out of Pocket Can’t Be That Bad”
Unfortunately, many drivers are under the false impression that if they were forced to pay some of their car repair expenses out of their own pocket it would be manageable. Unless you have a considerable amount of savings put aside for expenses like this you are most likely fooling yourself into believing something that is not true. Consider some of these scenarios:
- If you do not have comprehensive insurance coverage and your brand new car suffers vandalism you may be paying for all of the repair from your own pocket. If you have priced just the cost of an entire body repaint recently you should already be aware that this is probably not an expense that would be easy to manage unexpectedly.
- You could be leasing a car because you like to be able to change vehicles every few years without the commitment of being tied down to one vehicle. However if you do not have comprehensive car insurance and the car you are leasing gets totaled in a natural disaster, you will probably be stuck buying that car. Not only will you be forced to buy a car when you only wanted to lease it, but that totaled car won’t even be drivable so you will be left paying for a car you can’t do anything with.
- You get a brand new car of your dreams and drive it off the lot feeling certain you have all the insurance required in place for it. The very first night you drive it home your car becomes the innocent victim that gets burned as the result of a nearby house fire. The next day you contact your insurance company to find out about a replacement vehicle only to find out there won’t be one. Without comprehensive insurance coverage you could be left with no new car at all before even having made the very first loan payment on it.
Hopefully, this puts things in a better perspective for you. This should give you a more realistic look at the importance of having comprehensive insurance coverage for your automobile, especially if you are still making payments on it. It is extremely important that you do not assume that you have any coverage for your car other than collision. If you have any doubt in your mind, it is time to work with your insurance provider to review and understand what your policy covers.
“But I Opted Out of Comprehensive to Save on My Premiums”
If you thought you would be a thrifty driver and save money by leaving out the comprehensive car insurance so you would have lower premiums, keep in mind you are getting what you pay for. Cutting coverage means cutting corners on your policy not just your finances. In other words, it is more like taking a gamble with your money and your insurance.
Unless you have a good deal of money set aside in savings for the possibility of needing major car repairs, then saving money on your monthly premiums is not worth the risk. The thing to understand about collision insurance is that it usually covers just what the name implies, collision only. The problem is there are plenty of factors that can cause damage other that a collision that you may not even be considering.
Aside from collision, what happens if:
- The body and/or windshield of your car are damaged or destroyed by hail.
- While you are camping, a bear tears into your soft-top convertible for that bag of chips you forgot about in the back seat.
- A potted plant falls from the balcony of an apartment terrace and destroys your windshield.
- Lightning takes down a tree while you are parked at the local park causing severe damage and possibly even complete destruction.
The bottom line is that life can throw expected obstacles in your path literally, and accidents are not the only expensive car related issue you may have to contend with. If you have been assuming your collision insurance is enough to make the needed repairs or replace your car, you may be completely misinformed.
The good news is you do not have to take the risk another day longer. By offering up just your zip code you could be getting the comprehensive car insurance quotes you need right away.
Put an end to the gamble today and get your comprehensive auto insurance quotes.
Not Having Comprehensive Car Insurance Is a Risky Gamble
If you are looking for ways to save on car insurance, you may have opted to skip having comprehensive insurance coverage. The problem is there are much better ways to save on your car insurance bill than cutting out types of coverage you really do need. Saving a couple of dollars per month up front can actually lead to much greater out of pocket expenses down the road.
The idea is to learn where you can cut your automobile insurance expenses without taking huge risks with your car insurance coverage. To be a wise consumer and make informed decisions about your automobile coverage, you should be aware of what comprehensive car insurance is. Not to mention you should know about other ways you can find cheap insurance rates.
Comprehensive Car Insurance 101
To get the basic idea of what comprehensive insurance covers, you should consider that most drivers end up carrying just collision insurance. This is fine when you think about only having a collision. So much more can happen to a vehicle aside from a collision however.
Can you be certain your policy covers things such as:
- vandalism
- theft
- fire
- flooding
- storms or other natural disasters
- falling objects
- animals
- acts of God
So, if you were to avoid having comprehensive car insurance just to save some money on your premiums, you can see just part of the many things that could happen that you would not be covered for.
Other Ways to Cut Corners
- Instead of opting out of comprehensive car insurance, consider other ways to save money on your auto insurance policy. One way to do so is to change the amount of your deductible. The deductible is the amount of money you pay out of pocket at the time of a claim before your insurance pays the rest. Most people choose low deductibles so that if they have an accident they will not have to pay much from their own savings to get the car repairs needed.
- The problem with this approach is that you often pay more than needed per month on premiums. Increasing the amount of your deductible lowers the amount of what your pay each month to have your insurance. Changing from a $500 deductible to a $1,000 deductible can be a great way to see cheap car insurance rates.
- Another great way to save some money is find out about things you can do that insurance companies tend to offer discounts for. One example is just bundling your services. What this means is that if you are open to getting all of your insurance needs through one provider, you could see great savings. Find out if combining your car insurance, home insurance, renters insurance, boat insurance or other types of necessary coverage under one company will help you save money.
- Also many insurance agencies offer discounts for drivers who take drivers training courses, if you reach a certain age or, in some cases, to reward customers who are also actively involved in charity work. There are actually quite a few surprising things different insurance companies offer discounts for. When getting quotes or while deciding between a few ask directly about what kind of discounts each one offers.
Don’t Forget to Review the Numbers
Comparing auto insurance rates is also an effective approach towards seeing savings. Drivers tend to settle for the first policy they find or never bother to check later to see if they could be saving money. Car insurance policy providers tend to be very competitive. By simply looking at the rates available to you, you may find you have already been overpaying.
This is especially true if you have recently gotten married, had your 25th birthday or an infraction from years ago finally came off your record. At least once a year you should get rates from insurance companies who are competing for your business to find out what each one has to offer. Never settle when it comes to your policy and never take on such brand loyalty that you are unwilling to do an annual “expense checkup and comparison” to other providers in the industry.
If you are getting a new policy or it is time for your annual rate “check up” all you have to do is provide your zip code to get comparison quotes and start saving money today. For the best in comprehensive car insurance rates let us help you find the coverage you need at prices you can afford.
Getting the Most Coverage with Comprehensive Car Insurance
So you got that new car or finally signed up to lease the car of your dreams, which also meant getting comprehensive car insurance, or did it? While you may think your “full coverage” policy has you fully covered, you may be surprised to learn this is not necessarily true. Most drivers, in fact, have little coverage above and beyond what the basic collision and liability policy includes.
If you are not sure about the insurance policy you have in place, be sure to take the time to find out if you actually have comprehensive insurance coverage for your vehicle. The worst part is if you do not have coverage for the types of incidents that comprehensive auto insurance covers, you will be held responsible for paying for these repairs on your own. It also means if the car is totaled out you will have to pay for the entire vehicle.
If the new car you are making payments on or leasing suffers damage, your insurance is intended to step in to cover the repair costs. In some cases a car may even be totaled out, which means the damage is so severe that it would be less expensive to replace the car than to repair it. If your insurance has gaps in it or does not include things that are generally covered by comprehensive car insurance, then your insurance company will not be paying.
The bottom line is that the insurance policy you have been paying for won’t help. The new car you financed will still have to be paid on even if the car is totaled out and you may not even have a car to drive. For these reasons, you should make sure you actually have the comprehensive auto insurance you truly need. If not, you may find yourself with more expenses than you can actually manage.
What Exactly Is Covered
You need more than collision when it comes to your automobile insurance policy. There are so many more things that can happen to a car other than a simple collision when it comes to owning and operating a vehicle. The problem is most drivers assume their insurance will handle things aside from accidents.
Here is a list of the top five things that can happen to cause damage to a car that doesn’t even involve a standard collision:
- Fire
- Theft
- Storm or other natural disaster
- Vandalism
- “Act of God”
Don’t take chances when it comes to your coverage unless you are prepared to pay for the full price of that new car out of your own pocket, even once the car is totaled out and you are left with nothing to drive. To get the ultimate protection you need, get your free quotes today. By providing us with your zip code you can be on your way to the most affordable rates in comprehensive car insurance on the market today.
The Importance of Comprehensive Auto Insurance
If you have not added comprehensive insurance coverage to your standard policy you may not have all the coverage you need. The worst part is you may think you actually are fully covered until something happens.
Finding out the hard way that your current insurance coverage does not include things such as theft or natural disasters is not something you want to experience. A lot of drivers who suffer vehicular problems such as vandalism find out when they try to get their insurance to cover the cost that they are not even covered for a problem like that.
Understanding what comprehensive auto insurance can do for you is an important first step. Comprehensive car insurance is the type of coverage drivers get to take care of incidents standard collision insurance does not include. The scary part is that the typical driver may not even know his or her insurance lacks this type of coverage. So, to get an idea of what may be missing in your policy, it is a good idea to know what comprehensive auto insurance does include.
The Comprehensive Insurance Coverage Package
Collision coverage is great for just that, collisions. When it comes to filling in the gaps in your insurance plan comprehensive has got you covered. You will take care of incidents including:
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Fire
- Storms
- Natural Disasters
- Acts of God
- Animal damage
- Windshield damage
- Falling objects
In many cases, there are other incidents that comprehensive car insurance covers, but this is a good idea of the basics. More than likely while reading the list, you noticed that there are a few items listed that you were sure your own insurance covered but may not.
Stop assuming and become an informed consumer today by gaining insight to what your current policy includes and whether it is time to get those comprehensive insurance coverage quotes for your policy.
Mistakes Drivers Make
Assuming that your automobile insurance currently includes these types of comprehensive damage issues is the first mistake drivers make. Another one is to assume cutting this type of coverage out to save money is a wise idea. The problem is the few dollars a month you may save from not including comprehensive coverage in your insurance policy won’t help if you have a problem such as fire damage that you could be paying for out of pocket.
In the long run, this ends up being a much more expensive and costly mistake. Being forced to come up with expensive car repairs or even worse replacing your car from your own savings is not worth saving a few dollars on the monthly insurance bill. You may even find after comparing different insurance rates that you can get comprehensive insurance coverage included and actually still be paying less than you are with your present policy.
The only way to find out is to obtain free rates from carriers looking to compete for your business. Take a moment to supply your zip code and find out now how you can see savings with your comprehensive auto insurance.