Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can overdraw your checking account and put a big crunch on your finances. Comparing price quotes is a smart way to help make ends meet.
Numerous auto insurance companies battle for your insurance dollar, so it’s not easy to compare every insurance company and uncover the absolute lowest price
Honda Crosstour rates are complex
Smart consumers have a good feel for the factors that help determine the price you pay for car insurance. Knowing what impacts premium levels helps enable you to make changes that can help you get lower car insurance prices.
- Your credit rating is important – Credit score is a important factor in determining your rates. Drivers with high credit ratings tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than drivers with lower credit scores. If your credit rating is low, you could potentially save money when insuring your Honda Crosstour by spending a little time repairing your credit.
- An active claims history can cost you – If you frequently file small claims, you can look forward to either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Auto insurance companies award cheaper rates to insureds who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. Auto insurance is intended for larger claims.
- High performance equals high price – The performance level of the vehicle you own makes a big difference in the rate you pay. Because the Honda Crosstour falls in the crossover class, rates will be slightly more when compared to the average rates. Small economy passenger models generally receive the lowest base rates, but there are many factors that impact the final cost.
- Choose a safe vehicle and save – Vehicles with high crash test scores get lower rates. Safer cars have better occupant injury protection and any reduction in injury severity means less money paid by your insurance company and thus lower rates. If your Honda is rated at least an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website or four stars on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website you are probably receiving a discount.
- Pleasure use saves money – The more you drive in a year the higher your rates will be. Almost all companies charge to insure your cars determined by how the vehicle is used. Cars and trucks not used for work or commuting receive lower rates as compared to vehicles used primarily for driving to work. An improperly rated Crosstour may be wasting your money. Ask your agent if your car insurance policy properly reflects the correct driver usage, because improper ratings can cost you money.
Low Cost Car Insurance
To find the best car insurance prices, there are several ways to compare rate quotes from local car insurance companies. The easiest way to compare insurance prices consists of obtaining rate quotes online. This is very easy and can be done using a couple different methods.
- The fastest way to compare a lot of rates at once is an all-inclusive rate comparison click here to open form in new window. This easy form eliminates the need for multiple quote forms for every car insurance company. One quote request will return price quotes .
- A more difficult way to compare rate quotes requires visiting the website of each company to request a price quote. For example, let’s say you want to compare GEICO, State Farm and Progressive. To get each rate you have to visit each site to enter your coverage information, which is why the first method is quicker.
For a list of links to insurance companies in your area, click here.
- The most time-consuming way to get comparison rates is to spend time driving to and from local insurance agencies. The internet can eliminate the need for a local agent unless you have a need for the professional guidance of a licensed agent. Drivers can comparison shop online and still use a local agent and we’ll touch on that later.
It’s your choice how you get your quotes, but double check that you are using identical coverage limits and deductibles for every company. If the quotes have different values for each quote you can’t possibly determine which rate is truly the best. Slightly different coverages can make a big difference in price. And when comparison shopping, quoting more will increase your chances of finding lower pricing.
Discounts are great for lower rates
Car insurance companies don’t list every available discount in a way that’s easy to find, so we researched some of the best known as well as the least known car insurance savings.
- Auto/Home Discount – When you have multiple policies with one company you could get a discount of up to 20% off your total premium.
- Auto/Life Discount – Select insurance companies reward you with a discount if you purchase life insurance.
- 55 and Retired – If you’re over the age of 55, you can possibly qualify for a discount up to 10% for Crosstour insurance.
- Drive Safe and Save – Drivers who don’t get into accidents can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates for Crosstour insurance than their less cautious counterparts.
- Sign Early and Save – Some insurance companies reward drivers for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiring. It can save you around 10%.
- Passive Restraint Discount – Vehicles equipped with air bags can qualify for discounts of more than 20%.
- Driver Safety – Successfully completing a course in driver safety can save you 5% or more if you qualify.
As a disclaimer on discounts, most credits do not apply to your bottom line cost. Most only reduce individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So even though they make it sound like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it just doesn’t work that way.
To see a list of providers with the best car insurance discounts, click here to view.
Buying car insurance locally
A small number of people would prefer to buy from a local agent and that is a personal choice. One of the great benefits of comparing insurance prices online is that you can obtain the lowest rates and still have an agent to talk to.
After completing this simple form, your insurance coverage information is submitted to local insurance agents who will give you bids for your coverage. There is no reason to leave your computer as quotes are delivered to the email address you provide. How cool is that?! You can find better rates and a licensed agent to work with.
Deciding on an provider needs to be determined by more than just the price. Here are some questions to ask:
- Do they have adequate Errors and Ommissions coverage? This protects you if they make a mistake.
- Can they give you a list of client referrals?
- Do they regularly work with personal auto policies?
- Are they full-time agents?
- Do the coverages you’re quoting properly cover your vehicle?
Auto insurance agents come in two flavors
If you’re trying to find a reputable insurance agent or broker, you must know there are a couple different agency structures that you can select. Agents are categorized either captive or independent (non-captive).
Agency Captives
These agents work for only one company such as AAA, Allstate, State Farm, Farmers Insurance or Liberty Mutual. They generally cannot shop your coverage around so they have no alternatives for high prices. Captive agents receive extensive training on the products they sell which can be an advantage.
Independent Insurance Agents
Independent insurance agents do not work for one specific company but instead can place your coverage with many different companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. To move your coverage to a new company, an independent agent can move your coverage and that require little work on your part.
When shopping rates, it’s recommended you contact multiple independent agents to get the best comparison.
To view a full list of agencies, click here.
After getting positive responses to your questions and an acceptable price quote, you may have just found a car insurance agent that can service your policy.
Do I just need basic coverages?
When choosing the best car insurance coverage, there isn’t really a cookie cutter policy. Every insured’s situation is different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For instance, these questions might help in determining if your situation could use an agent’s help.
- What are the best liability limits?
- Do I pay less if my vehicle is kept in my garage?
- Where can I get insurance after a DUI in my state?
- Should I drop comprehensive coverage on older vehicles?
- Is a new car covered when I drive it off the dealer lot?
- Are there companies who specialize in insuring high-risk drivers?
- What can I do if my company won’t pay a claim?
- Should I buy only the required minimum liability coverage?
If you can’t answer these questions, you might consider talking to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, fill out this quick form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
Shop smart and save
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, never skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. In many cases, someone dropped liability limits or collision coverage to discover at claim time that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. The ultimate goal is to buy enough coverage at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.
Affordable Honda Crosstour insurance can be bought online in addition to many insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best rate selection. Some car insurance companies do not provide online price quotes and most of the time these small insurance companies sell through independent agents.
