Have you fallen victim to an overpriced car insurance policy? Trust us when we tell you many Klamath Falls consumers feel financially strained by their car insurance policy. Companies like GEICO, Progressive and Allstate promote their brand names with catchy ads and it is difficult to ignore the promise of big savings and do the work needed to find the best deal.
If you have a policy now or need new coverage, you can use these techniques to get lower rates while maximizing coverage. Finding affordable coverage in Klamath Falls is not rocket science. Oregon vehicle owners just need to understand the tricks to compare rates online.
Performing a rate comparison can be exhausting if you aren’t aware of the most efficient way. You could spend your day driving to insurance companies in Klamath Falls, or you can utilize online quotes for quick rates.
The majority of car insurance companies belong to an insurance system where insurance shoppers enter their coverage request one time, and each company returns a competitive quote. This saves time by eliminating quotation requests to each individual car insurance company.
To participate in this free quote system, click here to start a free quote.
The only downside to comparing rates this way is you don’t know exactly which insurance companies you want to price. So if you prefer to pick specific insurance companies to request quotes from, we have a listing of car insurance companies in Oregon. Click here for list of insurance companies in Oregon.
It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just make absolute certain that you use apples-to-apples coverage limits for every company. If you are comparing unequal deductibles or liability limits you can’t possibly make an equal comparison in Klamath Falls.
Car insurance can cost a lot, but there could be available discounts to help bring down the price. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied when you complete an application, but a few must be asked about prior to getting the savings. If you’re not getting every credit you deserve, you’re paying more than you need to.
Drivers should understand that most of the big mark downs will not be given to all coverage premiums. Most only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. So even though it sounds like all the discounts add up to a free policy, it just doesn’t work that way. Any qualifying discounts will cut your overall premium however.
Learning about specific coverages of your policy aids in choosing appropriate coverage and the correct deductibles and limits. The terms used in a policy can be difficult to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. These are the usual coverages available from car insurance companies.
Auto liability – Liability insurance provides protection from injuries or damage you cause to other’s property or people. Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have limits of 100/300/100 which stand for a limit of $100,000 per injured person, a limit of $300,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $100,000. Alternatively, you may have a combined single limit or CSL which combines the three limits into one amount with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability coverage protects against claims such as legal defense fees, structural damage and loss of income. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible. Oregon state law requires minimum liability limits of 25,000/50,000/20,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy better liability coverage.
Comprehensive car insurance – Comprehensive insurance coverage covers damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things such as fire damage, damage from flooding, falling objects and hitting a deer. The highest amount 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.
Coverage for medical expenses – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage kick in for bills for things like funeral costs, doctor visits, hospital visits and X-ray expenses. They are utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. Medical payments and PIP cover you and your occupants in addition to being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP coverage is only offered in select states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Collision coverages – This coverage covers damage to your vehicle from colliding with an object or car. You have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision insurance covers claims such as colliding with another moving vehicle, scraping a guard rail, crashing into a building, crashing into a ditch and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. You can also raise the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Coverage for uninsured or underinsured drivers – Your UM/UIM coverage provides protection from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your vehicle.
Since a lot of drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (25/50/20), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important. Most of the time these limits are set the same as your liablity limits.
More information can be found on the website for the Oregon Insurance Division found here. Consumers can view a list of available companies, report car insurance fraud, and learn about specific coverages.
Additional helpful sites include this page for car insurance in Oregon and this page for help finding agents in Klamath Falls, OR.