Purchasing the cheapest Cicero car insurance on the internet is difficult for consumers new to shopping for insurance online. With a ridiculous number of insurance companies available, how can anyone possibly compare every one to find the best pricing?
Smart consumers take time to do rate comparisons quite often because insurance rates tend to go up over time. Even if you got the best price last year you will most likely find a better rate today. So forget all the misinformation about car insurance because you’re going to learn the fastest and easiest way to properly buy coverages and cut your premium.
Locating affordable coverage in Cicero is not that difficult. Basically, every vehicle owner who has to buy car insurance should be able to find better rates. Although Illinois drivers need to learn the way insurance companies sell online.
Lots of discounts mean lots of savings
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not know about. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied when you purchase, but a few need to be inquired about before you will receive the discount.
- Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts could cut 10% or more on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
- College Student – Any of your kids who attend school more than 100 miles from home and do not have access to a covered vehicle may qualify for this discount.
- Driver Safety – Taking part in a course teaching defensive driving skills could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
- One Accident Forgiven – A handful of insurance companies permit an accident before your rates go up if your claims history is clear prior to the accident.
- Anti-theft System – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems can help prevent theft and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
- Service Members Pay Less – Having a family member in the military could be rewarded with lower premiums.
- Early Switch Discount – Select companies give a discount for switching to them before your current policy expires. It’s a savings of about 10%.
- Drivers Ed for Students – Cut your cost by having your teen driver complete a driver education course if it’s offered in school.
- Low Mileage – Driving fewer miles could qualify for better rates on cars that stay parked.
- Homeowners Pay Less – Simply owning a home can save you money because owning a home demonstrates responsibility.
A little note about advertised discounts, some of the credits will not apply to the entire policy premium. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. So when it seems like you could get a free car insurance policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any qualifying discounts will bring down the amount you have to pay.
For a list of insurers offering car insurance discounts in Illinois, click here to view.
Situations that might require an agent
When it comes to choosing proper insurance coverage, there really is not a perfect coverage plan. Each situation is unique.
Here are some questions about coverages that might help in determining if you might need an agent’s assistance.
- Do I get a pro-rated refund if I cancel my policy early?
- How do I file an SR-22 for a DUI in Illinois?
- What can I do if my company won’t pay a claim?
- When do I need to add a new car to my policy?
- Is pleasure use cheaper than using my vehicle to commute?
- Is my nanny covered when driving my vehicle?
If you’re not sure about those questions but you think they might apply to your situation, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form.
Auto insurance 101
Having a good grasp of car insurance aids in choosing the best coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy.
Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance kick in for expenses such as X-ray expenses, hospital visits, doctor visits, EMT expenses and pain medications. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not an option in every state but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) – This provides protection from other motorists when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered claims include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and also any damage incurred to your vehicle.
Due to the fact that many Illinois drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (20/40/15 in Illinois), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea. Frequently these limits do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Collision coverages – This pays for damage to your vehicle resulting from a collision with another car or object. A deductible applies and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage protects against things like damaging your car on a curb, colliding with another moving vehicle, sideswiping another vehicle and driving through your garage door. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Liability insurance – Liability coverage provides protection from damage that occurs to other people or property in an accident. 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 which stand for $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property. Another option is a combined single limit or CSL which provides one coverage limit without having the split limit caps.
Liability coverage pays for things like attorney fees, pain and suffering and court costs. How much coverage you buy is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford. Illinois state law requires minimum liability limits of 20,000/40,000/15,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy higher limits.
Comprehensive insurance – Comprehensive insurance covers damage that is not covered by collision coverage. A deductible will apply and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for claims such as theft, fire damage, rock chips in glass, damage from a tornado or hurricane and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The maximum payout your car insurance company will pay is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Additional reading for car insurance information
Additional information is available on the Illinois Department of Insurance website located here. Illinois drivers can read state legal mandates and laws, find disaster information, file complaints about a company, and find out industry alerts.
A tidy conclusion
Cost effective car insurance is attainable from both online companies and also from your neighborhood Cicero agents, so you should compare both to have the best rate selection. There are still a few companies who may not provide you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.
As you shop your coverage around, do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where an accident victim reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to discover later that it was a big error on their part. Your focus should be to get the best coverage possible for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.
Consumers leave their current company for any number of reasons including high prices, poor customer service, an unsatisfactory settlement offer and even policy non-renewal. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch finding a new company is pretty easy and you might even save some money in the process.