Nobody I know looks forward to paying for car insurance, especially when the price is too high. You have multiple insurers to purchase coverage from, and although it’s a good thing to be able to choose, it can be more difficult to find a good deal.
It’s important to compare rates before your policy renews because insurance rates change regularly. Even if you think you had the lowest rates for van insurance a few years ago you can probably find a lower rate today. Starting right now, forget anything you know (or think you know) about car insurance because you’re going to get a crash course in one of the quickest ways to save on car insurance.
Pricing affordable coverage can be fairly easy. If you are insured now or are looking for a new policy, you can learn to find the best rates while maximizing coverage. Consumers just need to understand the most efficient way to compare company rates on the web.
Free Quotes for Car Insurance
Cutting your car insurance rates is a fairly straight forward process. The only requirement is to take a couple of minutes to compare rate quotes online from several insurance companies. This can be accomplished using a couple different methods.
- The recommended way consumers can analyze rates is a comparison rater form (click to open form in new window). This method keeps you from doing repetitive form entry for every car insurance company. A single, simple form will get you rate comparisons from several companies.
- A more time consuming way to compare rate quotes requires a trip to each individual company website to complete a price quote. For sake of this example, let’s assume you want comparison quotes from Nationwide, Progressive and State Farm. To get rate quotes you would need to go to every website and enter your information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in your area, click here.
Whichever way you use, double check that you are using apples-to-apples coverage limits and deductibles on every quote. If you are comparing mixed coverages you can’t possibly make a fair comparison for your Nissan Van.
Cut your premium with these eight discounts
Car insurance can cost a lot, but there are discounts available that many people don’t even know exist. Most are applied when you get a quote, but a few need to be inquired about before being credited. If you aren’t receiving every discount available, you’re paying more than you need to.
- Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to wear their seat belts can save 10% or more on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
- Discounts for Safe Drivers – Insureds without accidents may receive a discount up to 45% less for van insurance than less cautious drivers.
- Pay Upfront and Save – If paying your policy premium upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save 5% or more.
- Discount for Good Grades – A discount for being a good student can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. The good student discount can last well after school through age 25.
- Military Discounts – Having a family member in the military could be rewarded with lower premiums.
- Driver Safety – Completing a defensive driving course could possibly earn you a 5% discount depending on where you live.
- Anti-lock Brakes – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems can avoid accidents and will save you 10% or more.
- Government Employees – Being employed by or retired from a federal job could cut as much as 10% off for van insurance with a few car insurance companies.
Consumers should know that most discounts do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Some only reduce specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. Just because you may think you could get a free car insurance policy, it doesn’t quite work that way. But any discount will bring down the amount you have to pay.
To see a list of companies with the best car insurance discounts, follow this link.
Learn about car insurance coverages for a Nissan Van
Knowing the specifics of car insurance aids in choosing the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be difficult to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. These are typical coverages available from car insurance companies.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision)
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first must pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for claims such as a broken windshield, damage from getting keyed, theft, damage from a tornado or hurricane and rock chips in glass. The highest amount you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Medical expense insurance
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for immediate expenses like doctor visits, funeral costs and chiropractic care. The coverages can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if you do not have health coverage. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and will also cover being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Auto liability
Liability coverage will cover damage that occurs to a person or their property. Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You commonly see policy limits of 25/50/25 which stand for a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property. Some companies may use one number which is a combined single limit which provides one coverage limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability coverage pays for things like legal defense fees, medical services and repair costs for stationary objects. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a personal decision, but consider buying as large an amount as possible.
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers
This gives you protection from other motorists when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea. Frequently these coverages are identical to your policy’s liability coverage.
Collision insurance
This 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 your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision coverage protects against things such as hitting a parking meter, scraping a guard rail and sustaining damage from a pot hole. This coverage can be expensive, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Drivers also have the option to raise the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Final thoughts
As you shop your coverage around, make sure you don’t reduce coverage to reduce premium. In many cases, drivers have reduced physical damage coverage only to regret that the savings was not a smart move. Your aim should be to find the BEST coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.
Cheap Nissan Van insurance can be purchased online as well as from independent agents, so you should compare both to have the best selection. Some car insurance companies don’t offer the ability to get a quote online and these smaller companies work with independent agents.
