Scraping up a payment for overpriced Ford Escape insurance can drain your personal savings and make it hard to pay other bills. Comparison shopping is a smart way to lower your monthly bill.
Online insurance companies like State Farm, Geico and Farmers Insurance constantly bombard you with ad campaigns and consumers find it hard to ignore the flashy ads and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.
It’s important to shop coverage around occasionally because rates are variable and change quite frequently. If you had the lowest price on Escape insurance on your last policy you can probably find a lower rate today. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because you’re about to find out how to use online quotes to save money, get proper deductibles and limits, all at the lowest rate.
Are you getting all your discounts?
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but discounts can save money and there are some available that can drop the cost substantially. A few discounts will automatically apply when you complete an application, but lesser-known reductions have to be inquired about before you will receive the discount.
- Accident Waiver – A few companies permit an accident before your rates go up if you are claim-free for a particular time prior to the accident.
- Student in College – Children who live away from home and do not have a car can receive lower rates.
- Sign Early and Save – Some companies give discounts for signing up before your current expiration date. It can save you around 10%.
- Payment Discounts – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time rather than paying monthly you could save up to 5%.
- Use Seat Belts – Drivers who require all occupants to buckle their seat belts could save 15% on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
- Multiple Vehicles – Having multiple vehicles on the same auto insurance policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
- No Accidents – Good drivers with no accidents can earn big discounts compared to drivers who are more careless.
- Braking Control Discount – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles can reduce accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Anti-theft Discount – Vehicles with anti-theft systems are stolen less frequently and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Military Rewards – Being on active duty in the military could mean lower rates.
Consumers should know that most discounts do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most cut the cost of specific coverages such as comp or med pay. So when the math indicates you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies don’t profit that way. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce the cost of coverage.
To see a list of insurers who offer auto insurance discounts, click this link.
How to Compare Auto Insurance Costs
All the larger auto insurance companies such as Allstate and Progressive give coverage prices online. This process doesn’t take a lot of time as you just type in the coverages you want into a form. When complete, the company’s rating system will obtain your driving and credit reports and returns a price quote based on these factors. Being able to quote online streamlines rate comparisons, but having to visit several different sites and type in the same information can be a bit tiresome and repetitive. But it’s very important to compare as many rates as possible in order to get the lowest auto insurance rates.
A less time-consuming method to find cheaper rates utilizes a single form that obtains quotes from many companies. It’s a real time-saver, reduces the work, and makes rate comparisons much simpler. As soon as you send your information, it is quoted and you can choose any of the returned quotes.
If the quotes result in lower rates, you can simply submit the application and buy the policy. This process can be completed in less than 10 minutes and you will know how your current rates stack up.
To compare rates using this form now, simply click here to open in new window and fill out the form. If you have coverage now, it’s recommended you complete the form with the coverage information exactly as they are listed on your policy. This makes sure you will receive comparison quotes based on the exact same insurance coverage.
Tailor your coverage to you
When buying coverage for your vehicles, there really is no one size fits all plan. Everyone’s situation is a little different so your insurance should reflect that These are some specific questions might point out whether or not you may require specific advice.
- Can my teen driver be rated on a liability-only vehicle?
- Does medical payments coverage apply to all occupants?
- Why am I required to get a high-risk car insurance policy?
- What should my uninsured motorist coverage limits be in my state?
- When would I need additional glass coverage?
- Is business property covered if stolen from my car?
- Do I need medical payments coverage since I have good health insurance?
- Why is insurance for a teen driver so high?
- What can I do if my company won’t pay a claim?
- Am I covered when driving in Canada or Mexico?
If you’re not sure about those questions, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed agent. To find an agent in your area, complete this form or you can also visit this page to select a carrier
Auto insurance coverages explained
Knowing the specifics of your policy can be of help when determining appropriate coverage at the best deductibles and correct limits. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. These are typical coverages offered by auto insurance companies.
Auto liability
Liability coverage will cover damage or injury you incur to a person or their property in an accident. This insurance protects YOU against other people’s claims, and doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. Your policy might show policy limits of 25/50/25 that translate to $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property. Another option is one number which is a combined single limit that pays claims from the same limit and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.
Liability coverage pays for claims like loss of income, court costs, legal defense fees and funeral expenses. How much coverage you buy is your choice, but you should buy as high a limit as you can afford.
Collision protection
This pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision can pay for things such as rolling your car, crashing into a building, colliding with another moving vehicle and sustaining damage from a pot hole. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. It’s also possible to bump up the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Coverage for medical payments
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage provide coverage for immediate expenses such as doctor visits, prosthetic devices, X-ray expenses, hospital visits and EMT expenses. They can be utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. It covers both the driver and occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is not universally available and may carry a deductible
Uninsured and underinsured coverage
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage gives you protection when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. It can pay for injuries to you and your family as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, their limits can quickly be used up. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage should not be overlooked. Usually these coverages are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.
Comprehensive coverages
This coverage pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive coverage pays for things like a tree branch falling on your vehicle, falling objects, damage from flooding and fire damage. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider removing comprehensive coverage.
And the best car insurance company is…
When shopping online for auto insurance, you should never sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. Too many times, an accident victim reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to find out they didn’t purchase enough coverage. Your strategy should be to purchase plenty of coverage for the lowest price.
Budget-conscious Ford Escape insurance is possible from both online companies and with local insurance agents, so you should compare both to have the best rate selection. There are still a few companies who do not offer online quoting and many times these small, regional companies only sell through independent insurance agents.