Are you sick and tired of paying out the nose to insure your Acura every month? You are no different than most other car owners. Numerous insurance companies battle for your business, and it can be difficult to compare rates and uncover the absolute lowest price
Why your Acura RL might be costing you more
It’s important that you understand the factors that go into determining auto insurance rates. Knowing what controls the rates you pay enables informed choices that could result in lower auto insurance prices.
Listed below are some of the factors auto insurance companies consider when setting premiums.
- A lapse in coverage is a bad thing – Allowing your auto insurance policy to lapse will be a quick way to bump up your auto insurance costs. Not only will you pay more, getting caught without coverage can result in a license revocation or jail time.You may need to submit proof of financial responsibility or a SR-22 with your state department of motor vehicles.
- Bump up deductibles to save – The deductibles define the amount you are required to spend in the event of a claim. Physical damage insurance, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, insures against damage to your car. Some instances where coverage would apply are running into the backend of another car, damage caused by hail, and windstorm damage. The more you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the bigger discount you will receive for RL coverage.
- How your age affects price – Young drivers are known to be more careless when driving so they pay higher auto insurance rates. Adding a youthful driver to your policy can be very expensive. More mature drivers are viewed as being more responsible, statistically cause fewer accidents and get fewer tickets.
- Do you have enough liability coverage? – Liability insurance will protect you if a jury decides you are liable for damages caused by your negligence. It provides you with a defense in court which can cost thousands of dollars. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap compared to physical damage coverage, so do not cut corners here.
- Theft deterrents lower rates – Owning a car with a theft deterrent system can save you a little every year. Anti-theft features like vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems can help prevent your car from being stolen.
- Do you need those extra coverages? – There are many extra bells and whistles you can purchase if you aren’t careful. Coverages like rental car reimbursement, better glass coverage and membership fees may be costing you every month. These may sound like a good investment when you first buy your policy, but your needs may have changed so get rid of them and save.
- Drive a safer car and pay less – Vehicles with high crash test scores are cheaper to insure. Safer cars result in less severe injuries and better occupant protection means less money paid by your insurance company and thus lower rates. If your Acura 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 it may be receiving lower rates.
- Bad driving skills means higher rates – Whether or not you get tickets impacts your car insurance rates tremendously. Only having one citation can boost insurance rates by twenty percent. Careful drivers tend to pay less for car insurance compared to drivers with tickets. Drivers with flagrant tickets like reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence are required to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) with their state DMV in order to keep their license.
Where Can I Get Cheap Auto Insurance?
Finding a lower price on insurance is not a difficult process. You just need to take a couple of minutes comparing rate quotes from different insurance companies. This is very easy and can be done in a couple of different ways.
- Probably the best way to get the best comparison quotes is an all-inclusive rate comparison (click to open form in new window). This type of form prevents you from having to do separate quotation requests for each company. One quote request gets you price quotes from all major companies.
- A slightly less efficient method to analyze rates is to take the time to go to the website for every company you want to comare and complete a new quote form. For sake of this example, we’ll assume you want to compare Liberty Mutual, Allstate and American Family. You would have to take the time to go to each site to input your insurance information, and that’s why the first method is more popular.
For a list of links to insurance companies in your area, click here.
- The most time-consuming way to compare rates is driving to insurance agents’ offices. The internet has reduced the need for local agents unless you prefer the professional advice of a licensed agent. It is possible to compare the best prices online and still use a local agent and we’ll touch on that later.
Which method you use is up to you, but double check that you are using identical deductibles and coverage limits for each comparison quote. If each company quotes differing limits you can’t possibly determine which rate is truly the best.
Do you qualify for discounts?
Companies do not list every available discount very clearly, so the following is a list of both well-publicized and the harder-to-find discounts you could be receiving. If you’re not getting every credit available, you are throwing money away.
- Multi-car Discount – Insuring more than one vehicle on one policy could earn a price break for each car.
- Theft Prevention Discount – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems prevent vehicle theft and will save you 10% or more.
- New Car Discount – Insuring a new car can be considerably cheaper compared to insuring an older model.
- Life Insurance Discount – Larger companies have lower rates if you buy life insurance.
- Accident Waiver – Some insurance companies will forgive one accident without raising rates as long as you don’t have any claims for a certain period of time.
- Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your bill all at once rather than paying monthly you may reduce your total bill.
- Sign Early and Save – Select companies give a discount for signing up prior to your current policy expiring. It can save you around 10%.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Driving fewer miles could qualify for discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
- Own a Home – Simply owning a home may trigger a auto insurance policy discount because owning a home demonstrates responsibility.
- Good Students Pay Less – Performing well in school can get you a discount of up to 25%. The discount lasts until age 25.
Drivers should understand that many deductions do not apply to your bottom line cost. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. Just because it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
To see a list of insurers offering auto insurance discounts, click this link.
Neighborhood agents for auto insurance
Certain consumers just want to buy from a licensed agent. Good agents can point out coverage gaps and help in the event of a claim. One of the best bonuses of comparing insurance prices online is you may find the best rates and still choose a local agent.
Upon completion of this short form, your insurance coverage information is immediately sent to local insurance agents who will battle for your business. You won’t need to drive around because quoted prices will be sent immediately to your email address. How’s that for easy!
Picking an insurance company requires more thought than just a cheap price. Here are some questions to ask:
- Do they receive special compensation for putting your coverage with one company over another?
- Do they assist clients in filing claims?
- What will you get paid if your car is a total loss? How is that amount determined?
- If you are a high risk driver, do they have special markets for your coverage?
- Are they properly licensed to sell insurance in your state?
- Which company do they place the most coverage with?
- Are they full-time agents?
Types of insurance agents
If you’re trying to find a reputable insurance agent or broker, there are two different agency structures to choose from. Agencies are either independent or captive. Both types can do a good job, but it’s worth mentioning the differences because it can influence the selection process.
Captive Agents
Captive agents write business for a single company like Allstate, State Farm and Farmers Insurance. They usually cannot provide prices from multiple companies so keep that in mind. These agents are usually quite knowledgeable on their products and sales techniques which helps them compete with independent agents.
Independent Insurance Agents
Independent agencies are not locked into one company so they can insure your vehicles with many different companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. If you are not satisfied with one company, the business is moved internally without you having to go to a different agency. When searching for an agent, it’s recommended you include at least one independent agent for maximum quote selection.
To view a full list of auto insurance agents, click here.
Once you have acceptable answers to all your questions and an affordable coverage quote, you’ve probably found an insurance agency that is a good match to service your policy.
In conclusion
Cheaper Acura RL insurance is available both online as well as from independent agents, so you should compare both to have the best rate selection. Some companies don’t offer online quoting and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.
You just learned a lot of ways to save on Acura RL insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more times you quote, the better your comparison will be. You may be surprised to find that the most savings is with some of the smallest insurance companies. Smaller companies may only write in your state and offer lower rates than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Nationwide.
When trying to cut insurance costs, do not buy poor coverage just to save money. There are many occasions where someone dropped comprehensive coverage or liability limits only to discover later that they should have had better coverage. The aim is to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.
