Truthfully, the best way to find cheaper prices for car insurance rates is to regularly compare price quotes from insurers who provide car insurance in Irvine. Drivers can shop around by completing these steps.
- Try to learn a little about the coverage provided by your policy and the changes you can make to prevent expensive coverage. Many risk factors that are responsible for high rates like accidents, careless driving, and a poor credit score can be remedied by making minor changes to your lifestyle. Continue reading for information to lower rates and find more discounts that you may not know about.
- Compare price quotes from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Direct companies and exclusive agencies can give quotes from one company like GEICO or Allstate, while independent agents can provide prices from multiple sources.
- Compare the price quotes to the price on your current policy to see if a cheaper rate is available. If you find a lower rate and change companies, ensure there is no coverage lapse between policies.
The most important part of shopping around is that you’ll want to compare the same deductibles and limits on each price quote and and to get quotes from as many companies as possible. This guarantees an accurate price comparison and the best price quote selection.
It’s well known that car insurance companies don’t want you to look at other companies. People who compare rates at least once a year are highly likely to buy a new policy because there is a high probability of finding coverage at a cheaper rate. A recent survey revealed that consumers who compared rates once a year saved on average $3,400 over four years as compared to drivers who never shopped around.
If finding the lowest rates on auto insurance in Irvine is why you’re reading this, learning the best ways to shop for coverages can help you be more efficient.
Insurance discounts are available for cheaper rates
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, but you may find discounts that could drop your premiums quite a bit. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied when you purchase, but a few need to be inquired about in order for you to get them.
- Defensive Driver Discount – Taking time to complete a course that instructs on driving safety could save 5% or more if you qualify.
- Sign Early and Save – Select insurance companies give a discount for buying a new policy before your current coverage expires. You may see this discount when you get Irvine car insurance quotes online.
- Save with a New Car – Buying a new car instead of a used Envoy can be considerably cheaper compared to insuring an older model.
- 55 and Retired – If you’re over the age of 55, you may be able to get a slight reduction on a Irvine car insurance quote.
- Active Service Discounts – Having a family member in the military could be rewarded with lower prices.
- Federal Employees – Having worked for a branch of the government may qualify for a discount when you quote Irvine car insurance with some insurance companies.
- Claim Free – Insureds with no claims or accidents have much lower rates compared to drivers who are more careless.
- Clubs and Organizations – Joining a qualifying organization could qualify you for a break on your next insurance statement.
- Payment Discounts – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of monthly or quarterly installments you may have a lower total premium amount.
- Good Grades Discount – Maintaining excellent grades may save you up to 25%. You can use this discount normally up until you turn 25.
Remember that some of the credits will not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most cut specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. Even though it may seem like all the discounts add up to a free policy, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy. But all discounts will bring down your policy premiums.
Companies and some of the discounts are outlined below.
- State Farm offers discounts for multiple policy, passive restraint, anti-theft, multiple autos, driver’s education, and good driver.
- GEICO may have discounts that include anti-lock brakes, federal employee, daytime running lights, seat belt use, driver training, military active duty, and anti-theft.
- Liberty Mutual may offer discounts for newly married, teen driver discount, new move discount, safety features, and hybrid vehicle.
- The Hartford offers premium reductions for vehicle fuel type, anti-theft, air bag, good student, defensive driver, driver training, and bundle.
- MetLife discounts include accident-free, good driver, multi-policy, good student, and claim-free.
- Progressive may include discounts for good student, continuous coverage, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, and homeowner.
Double check with all companies you are considering the best way to save money. Some discounts listed above may not apply to policyholders everywhere. If you would like to choose from a list of insurance companies who offer free GMC Envoy insurance quotes in California, click here to view.
Specifics of your auto insurance policy
Understanding the coverages of your policy helps when choosing which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. These are typical coverage types available from auto insurance companies.
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage
This gives you protection when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include medical payments for you and your occupants and damage to your GMC Envoy.
Since many California drivers have only the minimum liability required by law (15/30/5 in California), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important. Most of the time these limits are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.
Medical payments and PIP coverage
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP reimburse you for immediate expenses for surgery, EMT expenses, chiropractic care, X-ray expenses and funeral costs. They are used to fill the gap from your health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. It covers you and your occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal Injury Protection is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Liability auto insurance
This coverage provides protection from injuries or damage you cause to people or other property in an accident. This coverage protects you against claims from other people. It does not cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. You commonly see limits of 15/30/5 that translate to $15,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $30,000 in injury protection per accident, and a limit of $5,000 paid for damaged property. Some companies may use one number which is a combined single limit that pays claims from the same limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability can pay for things such as bail bonds, loss of income and medical expenses. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but buy as high a limit as you can afford. California requires drivers to carry at least 15/30/5 but drivers should carry better liability coverage.
The chart below demonstrates why buying low liability limits may not provide adequate coverage.
Auto collision coverage
Collision coverage covers damage to your Envoy caused by collision with another car or object. A deductible applies then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision coverage pays for claims like driving through your garage door, sustaining damage from a pot hole, rolling your car, crashing into a ditch and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so consider removing coverage from lower value vehicles. You can also choose a higher deductible on your Envoy to save money on collision insurance.
Comprehensive auto coverage
This coverage pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for things like hail damage, damage from flooding and hitting a deer. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
One last thing about your coverage
We just presented many ideas to lower your GMC Envoy insurance car insurance rates in Irvine. The most important thing to understand is the more you quote Irvine car insurance, the better likelihood of getting affordable Irvine car insurance quotes. Drivers may even discover the best price on auto insurance is with a small mutual company. They may often insure only within specific states and give better rates as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm or Progressive.
When shopping online for auto insurance, it’s a bad idea to reduce needed coverages to save money. There are too many instances where someone sacrificed physical damage coverage only to regret that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your strategy should be to get the best coverage possible for the lowest price, but do not sacrifice coverage to save money.
More learning opportunities
- New Honda safety features benefit drivers of all ages (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance for a Ford Explorer in Irvine? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Irvine Car Insurance Rates for Police Officers? (FAQ)
- Prepare your Teens for Safe Driving (InsureUonline.org)
- Vehicle Insurance in the U.S. (Wikipedia)