Feel like you’re a prisoner to high-priced car insurance? Believe me when I say there are many consumers feeling the pinch from expensive car insurance. Multiple auto insurance companies compete for your business, so it’s not easy to compare every company and get the best coverage at the best rate
Smart consumers take time to price shop coverage periodically since rates change regularly. Even if you think you had the lowest rates for MKS insurance two years ago you may be paying too much now. There is a lot of wrong information about car insurance online but I’m going to show you some excellent ideas to slash your car insurance rates.
If you have a current car insurance policy or are shopping for new coverage, you will benefit by learning to shop for the lowest rates and still get good coverage. Choosing the best insurance company for you is easy if you know what you’re doing. Vehicle owners just need to know the tricks to shop their coverage around online.
How to Compare Car Insurance Rates
Getting a lower price on Lincoln MKS insurance can be quick and easy. The only requirement is to spend a few minutes to compare rate quotes online from several insurance companies. This can be accomplished in several different ways.
- The best way to get quotes for comparison would be an industry-wide quote request form (click to open form in new window). This type of form keeps you from doing boring form submissions for each company you want a rate for. In just a few minutes this one form will get you rate comparisons from several companies.
- Another way to analyze rates is going to the website for every company you want to comare to complete their respective quote request forms. For sake of this example, let’s say you want to compare rates from Nationwide, Liberty Mutual and GEICO. To get each rate you have to go to every website to input your insurance information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. For a handy list of car insurance company links in your area, click here.
Whichever way you use, make darn sure you compare exactly the same information on every quote. If you enter different limits and deductibles on each one it will be impossible to make a fair comparison for your Lincoln MKS.
Save big with these discounts
Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but discounts can save money and there are some available to cut the cost considerably. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of purchase, but a few need to be asked about prior to receiving the credit. If they aren’t giving you every credit you deserve, you are paying more than you should be.
- Seat Belts Save – Drivers who require all occupants to use their safety belts can save 10% or more off your PIP or medical payments premium.
- Distant Student – Kids in college who are attending college without a vehicle on campus may qualify for this discount.
- Driver Safety – Taking a course in driver safety could possibly earn you a 5% discount if you qualify.
- Payment Method – If you pay your bill all at once instead of paying each month you can actually save on your bill.
- Anti-theft System – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems help deter theft and earn discounts up to 10%.
- 55 and Retired – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may qualify for a discount up to 10% for MKS insurance.
Keep in mind that most of the big mark downs will not be given the the whole policy. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. So even though it sounds like adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any qualifying discounts will cut the amount you have to pay.
To see a list of insurance companies who offer car insurance discounts, click here.
Some factors that can determine what Lincoln MKS insurance costs
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that come into play when calculating car insurance rates. Knowing what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that may reward you with big savings.
- Too many car insurance claims drive up costs – If you frequently file small claims, you can look forward to either higher rates or even cancellation. Companies award better rates to policyholders who are claim-free. Car insurance is intended for larger claims.
- How credit affects car insurance rates – A driver’s credit score is a huge factor in determining what you pay for car insurance. Consumers who have excellent credit tend to be less risk to insure than drivers who have lower ratings. If your credit history is low, you could potentially save money when insuring your Lincoln MKS by improving your credit score.
- Your location affects your rates – Choosing to live in a small town has it’s advantages when buying car insurance. City drivers have congested traffic and longer commutes to work. Lower population means a lower chance of having an accident and also fewer theft and vandalism claims.
- Occupation reflects on rates – Careers like real estate brokers, executives and dentists tend to have the highest average rates because of high stress and lots of time spent at work. Other professions such as farmers, historians and the unemployed receive lower rates for MKS insurance.
- Your spouse saves you money – Having a spouse can get you a discount on your policy. It usually means you are more mature and responsible and statistics show married drivers get in fewer accidents.
- Safe vehicles cost less to insure – Cars with high safety ratings are cheaper to insure. Safer cars protect occupants better and lower injury rates means less money paid by your insurance company and lower rates for you. If your Lincoln MKS is rated at least four stars on Safercar.gov it is probably cheaper to insure.
- Liability coverage is cheap – Your policy’s liability coverage is the protection if ever a court rules you are at fault for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. Liability provides for a legal defense starting from day one. This coverage is very inexpensive as compared to coverage for physical damage, so do not skimp.
- Your car’s features help determine rates – Purchasing a vehicle with a theft deterrent system can save you a little every year. Theft prevention features like vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems all aid in stopping your vehicle from being stolen.
Do you really save 40% when you switch?
Drivers constantly see and hear ads for cheaper car insurance by Allstate, GEICO and Progressive. They all seem to say the same thing of big savings after switching to their company.
How do they all say the same thing?
All the different companies have a preferred profile for the type of customer that makes them money. For example, a profitable customer might be profiled as between 30 and 50, is a homeowner, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A customer getting a price quote who fits that profile gets the lowest rates and most likely will save quite a bit of money when switching.
Potential customers who don’t qualify for these standards will have to pay higher premiums and this can result in business not being written. The ad wording is “people who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much. This is how companies can truthfully claim big savings.
Because of the profiling, it’s extremely important to get quotes from several different companies. It’s just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will fit your personal profile best.
Cheaper insurance is a realistic goal
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, make sure you don’t reduce coverage to reduce premium. There have been many situations where an insured cut collision coverage to discover at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your strategy should be to purchase plenty of coverage at an affordable rate, not the least amount of coverage.
We covered a lot of ways to lower your Lincoln MKS insurance rates. It’s most important to understand that the more times you quote, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may even discover the lowest premiums are with a smaller regional carrier. They may cover specific market segments cheaper than their larger competitors like Progressive and GEICO.
Cheaper Lincoln MKS insurance can be sourced from both online companies in addition to many insurance agents, and you need to price shop both so you have a total pricing picture. Some insurance providers do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and many times these small, regional companies only sell through independent insurance agents.