No one in their right mind looks forward to buying car insurance, especially knowing the cost is too high.
Since consumers have many different company options, it’s nearly impossible to locate the lowest price car insurance company.
It’s a good habit to take a look at other company’s rates every six months since rates fluctuate regularly. Even if you got the best rates for 500E insurance last year there may be better deals available now. Forget all the misinformation about car insurance because you’re about to learn how to use the internet to lower your rates without sacrificing coverage.
Pricing cheaper coverage can be fairly easy. Basically, every vehicle owner who is shopping for car insurance should be able to save money. Nevertheless, vehicle owners need to have an understanding of how insurance companies market insurance on the web and take advantage of how the system works.
Compare the Market for Car Insurance
Most companies like State Farm and Allstate allow you to get prices for coverage on the web. Getting online rates is pretty easy as you just enter your coverage preferences as detailed in the form. Once you submit the form, the company’s rating system will order reports for credit and driving violations and quotes a price based on these and other factors. This helps simplify price comparisons, but the process of having to visit each company’s website and repetitively type in the same information is repetitive and time-consuming. Unfortunately, it is important to do this in order to find lower prices.
There is a better way to compare rates
The smarter way to compare car insurance pricing utilizes a single form to return rates from a bunch of companies at once. It’s a real time-saver, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes online shopping much more enjoyable. After your information is entered, it gets priced and you are able to buy any or none of the quote results.
If you find a better price it’s easy to complete the application and buy the new coverage. The entire process just takes a couple of minutes and can result in significant savings.
To fill out one form to compare multiple rates now, simply click here to open in new window and enter your vehicle and coverage information. To compare your current rates, we recommend you duplicate the coverages as shown on your current policy. This guarantees you will have rate quotes for exact coverage.
The car insurance bait and switch
Companies like State Farm and Allstate regularly use television and radio advertisements. All the ads make an identical promise that you can save if you move to their company. But how can every company make the same claim? It’s all in the numbers.
Different companies have a preferred profile for the driver that is profitable for them. A good example of a desirable insured could be between 25 and 40, a clean driving record, and has excellent credit. A customer getting a price quote that hits that “sweet spot” will qualify for the lowest rates and as a result will probably pay quite a bit less when switching companies.
Potential insureds who don’t qualify for the requirements will be charged a more expensive rate and this can result in the customer not buying. Company advertisements say “drivers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that much money. That’s why insurance companies can confidently make those claims.
That is why you should compare as many rates as you can. You cannot predict which car insurance company will provide you with the cheapest rates.
More discounts equal less premium
The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, buy you may qualify for discounts that you may not know about. Some discounts apply automatically at the time of quoting, but some must be inquired about before you will receive the discount.
- Life Insurance – Some companies give better rates if you take out life insurance.
- Payment Method – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save up to 5%.
- Homeowners Discount – Owning a house may earn you a small savings because owning a home shows financial diligence.
- Anti-lock Brake System – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems prevent accidents 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.
- Senior Citizens – If you’re over the age of 55, you may be able to get a discount up to 10% for 500E insurance.
- Discount for New Cars – Buying coverage on a new vehicle can save up to 30% due to better safety requirements for new cars.
- Organization Discounts – Participating in certain professional organizations could qualify you for a break on car insurance for 500E insurance.
- Discount for Swiching Early – A few companies offer discounts for switching to them prior to your current policy expiration. The savings is around 10%.
Consumers should know that most discount credits are not given to the overall cost of the policy. A few only apply to individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. Just because it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce the cost of coverage.
To choose providers who offer car insurance discounts, follow this link.
It’s not one size fits all
When it comes to buying the right insurance coverage, there is no single plan that fits everyone. Each situation is unique so your insurance needs to address that. Here are some questions about coverages that might point out if your situation would benefit from professional advice.
- Is my dog or cat covered if injured in an accident?
- Are split liability limits better than a combined single limit?
- Will my vehicle be repaired with OEM or aftermarket parts?
- Are all vehicle passengers covered by medical payments coverage?
- Can I afford low physical damage deductibles?
- Do all my vehicles need collision coverage?
- What are no-fault laws?
- Does my liability insurance cover pulling a trailer or camper?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, simply complete this short form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
Specifics of your car insurance policy
Knowing the specifics of car insurance can help you determine which coverages you need for your vehicles. Policy terminology can be confusing and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Listed below are typical coverages found on most car insurance policies.
Medical expense coverage – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP reimburse you for short-term medical expenses for pain medications, chiropractic care, ambulance fees, surgery and rehabilitation expenses. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if you lack health insurance entirely. Coverage applies to all vehicle occupants as well as getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not available in all states and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Liability coverages – Liability insurance protects you from damage or injury you incur to a person or their property. Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have limits of 25/50/25 which means a limit of $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Alternatively, you may have one limit called combined single limit (CSL) that pays claims from the same limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability coverage protects against claims like loss of income, court costs, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, structural damage and medical expenses. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible.
Uninsured or underinsured coverage – This gives you protection from other motorists when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered losses include medical payments for you and your occupants and also any damage incurred to your Mercedes-Benz 500E.
Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Frequently these coverages do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Comprehensive protection – This coverage covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as damage from a tornado or hurricane, rock chips in glass, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and theft. The most your car insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Collision coverages – This coverage will pay to fix damage to your 500E from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision insurance covers things like hitting a parking meter, scraping a guard rail, backing into a parked car, rolling your car and colliding with another moving vehicle. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider removing coverage from lower value vehicles. You can also choose a higher deductible to save money on collision insurance.
More effort can pay off
You just learned a lot of tips how to compare Mercedes-Benz 500E insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more price quotes you have, the higher the chance of saving money. Consumers could even find that the best prices are with a small mutual company. These companies often have lower prices on specific markets as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm and Allstate.
Budget-conscious Mercedes-Benz 500E insurance is attainable on the web as well as from independent agents, so you should compare both so you have a total pricing picture. Some insurance companies don’t offer online price quotes and most of the time these small, regional companies sell through independent agents.
