It’s important that you understand some of the elements that play a part in calculating car insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what influences your rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that will entitle you to lower car insurance prices.
Shown below are some of the items used by your company to calculate prices.
- What are your deductibles? – Your deductibles define the amount you are willing to pay out-of-pocket before your car insurance pays a claim. Insurance for physical damage to your car, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, protects your car from damage. A few examples of covered claims are running into the backend of another car, damage from fire, and rolling your vehicle. The more expense you have to pay, the bigger discount you will receive.
- Do you have enough liability coverage? – Your policy’s liability coverage is the protection when a jury decides you are liable for personal injury or accident damage. Liability provides you with a defense in court starting from day one. Liability insurance is quite affordable as compared to coverage for physical damage, so buy as much as you can afford.
- Better credit means lower rates – Having a bad credit score is a huge factor in determining what you pay for car insurance. People with high credit scores tend to be more responsible than drivers who have lower credit ratings. If your credit is low, you could be paying less to insure your Ford Escape by improving your credit score.
- What type of vehicle do you drive? – The performance of the car you are buying insurance for makes a significant difference in how high your rates are. Since the Ford Escape falls in the crossover class, insuring your vehicle will cost slightly more compared to average rates. Lower performance four cylinder passenger vehicles generally have the cheapest insurance rates, but the cost you end up paying is determined by many additional factors.
Making monthly payments for expensive Ford Escape insurance rates is no better than throwing your money into the wind and you just pay the high price without knowing why the price is so inflated. Some car insurance companies charge more than others to insure crossovers, so if you don’t regularly do a rate comparison, you’re pouring money down the drain every time you pay your bill.
Cutting your car insurance rates is actually quite simple. Consumers just need to take a couple of minutes comparing rates from different insurance companies. It is quite easy and can be accomplished using a couple different methods.
- The recommended way to find the lowest comparison rates is a comparison rater form click to view form in new window. This method saves time by eliminating multiple quotation requests for every car insurance company. Just one form will return quotes from multiple low-cost companies.
- A slightly less efficient method to compare rate quotes is to manually visit each individual company website to complete their respective quote request forms. For examples sake, we’ll assume you want comparison quotes from Farmers, Safeco and GMAC. To get rate quotes you would need to spend time on each company’s site to enter your coverage information, which is why most consumers use the first method.
To view a list of companies in your area, click here.
- The least recommended way of getting rate comparisons is driving to and from local insurance agencies. Shopping for car insurance online makes this process obsolete unless you have a need for the professional advice of a local agent. You can, however, get the lowest quotes online but still have the advice of a local agent. We’ll cover that shortly.
Whichever method you choose, make sure you use exactly the same coverage information for every quote you compare. If you compare unequal deductibles or liability limits it’s not possible to determine the lowest rate for your Ford Escape.
Do you qualify for a discount?
Auto insurance companies don’t always advertise every discount in a way that’s easy to find, so we researched some of the best known and the harder-to-find car insurance savings. If you aren’t receiving every discount you deserve, you’re just leaving money on the table.
- Safe Driver Discount – Drivers who don’t get into accidents can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates than drivers with accident claims.
- Multiple Policy Discount – When you have multiple policies with one insurance company you could get a discount of up to 20% off your total premium.
- Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Cars that have air bags or automatic seat belts can qualify for discounts up to 30%.
- Senior Discount – Older drivers may receive a small decrease in premiums.
- Drivers Ed for Students – Require your teen driver to successfully complete driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
- Discount for Life Insurance – Some companies give better rates if you take out a life insurance policy as well.
- Discount for Swiching Early – Select companies give a discount for signing up before your current policy expires. The savings is around 10%.
- Good Student Discount – Getting good grades can get you a discount of up to 25%. The good student discount can last up until you turn 25.
- Use Seat Belts – Requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts could cut 10% or more off your medical payments premium.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Low mileage vehicles could qualify for lower rates on the low mileage vehicles.
A little note about advertised discounts, some of the credits will not apply to all coverage premiums. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. So despite the fact that it appears you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you’re out of luck.
Local agents and car insurance
Some people just want to buy from a licensed agent and that is a personal choice. Educated insurance agents are trained to spot inefficiencies and give you someone to call. The best thing about getting online price quotes is you may find better rates and still choose a local agent.
By using this simple form, your insurance coverage information is emailed to local insurance agents who will return price quotes for your insurance coverage. There is no reason to even leave your home due to the fact that quote results will go immediately to your email address. It doesn’t get any easier!
Choosing a company requires more thought than just the price. Ask your prospective agent these questions:
- Do they have advanced training designations such as CPCU, AAI, AIC, or CIC?
- What is the agency’s Better Business Bureau rating?
- What insurance company do they write the most business with?
- If you have an accident, will your rates go up?
- If you have an accident, are you able to get your vehicle repaired at the shop of your choice?
- Will vehicle repairs be made with aftermarket parts or OEM replacement parts?
Listed below are in your area insurers that can give you price quotes.
To view a full list of licensed insurance agents in your state, click here.
After getting satisfactory answers to any questions you have and locked in a price quote, chances are good that you have found an provider that will provide car insurance coverage.
Don’t be fooled by advertising claims
Drivers constantly see and hear ads for car insurance savings from the likes of State Farm and Allstate. They all say the same thing that you can save if you change your coverage to them.
How can each company say the same thing? This is how they do it.
All companies have a preferred profile for the type of customer they prefer to insure. A good example of a driver they prefer might be profiled as between the ages of 40 and 55, insures multiple vehicles, and chooses high deductibles. A customer who fits that profile is entitled to the best price and as a result will probably cut their rates substantially.
Potential customers who don’t meet the requirements will be quoted higher rates which usually ends up with business not being written. The ads state “drivers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. This is how insurance companies can make those claims. This emphasizes why it’s extremely important to get quotes from several different companies. It’s impossible to know which car insurance company will provide you with the cheapest rates.
A little work can save on Ford Escape coverage
We just covered quite a bit of information on how to get a better price on Ford Escape insurance. It’s most important to understand that the more times you quote, the better your chances of lowering your rates. Consumers could even find that the best price on car insurance is with some of the lesser-known companies. Smaller companies often have lower prices on specific markets than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate and Progressive.
Cheaper Escape insurance can be found on the web as well as from independent agents in your state, and you need to price shop both in order to have the best prices to choose from. Independent agents can write coverage with small mutal insurance companies that don’t always offer online quoting.
