Are you tired of paying out the nose each month for car insurance? Your situation is no different than many other Arkansas consumers. Many auto insurance companies compete for your insurance dollar, so it can be very hard to choose a insurance company to find the absolute lowest cost out there.
It is always a good idea to take a look at other company’s rates at least once a year because prices are variable and change quite frequently. Even if you got the best rates on your last policy the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. So just ignore everything you know about auto insurance because you’re about to learn one of the best ways to lower your annual insurance bill.
Auto insurance companies don’t necessarily list every available discount very well, so the following is a list of some of the best known and the harder-to-find ways to save on auto insurance. If you don’t get every credit available, you are throwing money away.
It’s important to note that some of the credits will not apply to the entire cost. Most only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as comp or med pay. So despite the fact that it appears all those discounts means the company will pay you, you won’t be that lucky.
To choose insurers with discount auto insurance rates in Arkansas, click here.
Knowing the specifics of your policy helps when choosing which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring. Shown next are typical coverages found on the average auto insurance policy.
Collision insurance
This pays to fix your vehicle from damage resulting from a collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision can pay for things like damaging your car on a curb, colliding with a tree, crashing into a ditch, rolling your car and sustaining damage from a pot hole. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are older. It’s also possible to raise the deductible to bring the cost down.
Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)
This coverage covers damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims like a broken windshield, damage from a tornado or hurricane, vandalism, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and fire damage. The maximum payout your auto insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Coverage for liability
Liability insurance provides protection from injuries or damage you cause to people or other property in an accident. It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show limits of 50/100/50 which means $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $50,000.
Liability coverage pays for claims such as structural damage, emergency aid and pain and suffering. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but you should buy as high a limit as you can afford. Arkansas requires drivers to carry at least 25,000/50,000/25,000 but you should think about purchasing more coverage.
Insurance for medical payments
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage provide coverage for immediate expenses such as hospital visits, dental work, EMT expenses and nursing services. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance program or if you lack health insurance entirely. It covers all vehicle occupants and will also cover being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance
Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include hospital bills for your injuries as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since many Arkansas drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits (25/50/25), their limits can quickly be used up. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.
More tips and info about auto insurance can be read at the Arkansas Insurance Department website. Arkansas consumers can discover disciplinary actions, learn about specific coverages, get help finding coverage, and learn about insurance regulations.
Also read more on this online resource for free quotes in Arkansas and this page on QuoteClickInsure.com.
We just presented many tips how you can get a better price on auto insurance. The key thing to remember is the more you quote, the higher the chance of saving money. Drivers may discover the best prices are with some of the smallest insurance companies. Smaller companies often have lower prices on specific markets as compared to the big name companies such as Allstate and Progressive.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, it’s not a good idea to buy less coverage just to save a little money. There have been many cases where someone sacrificed physical damage coverage to discover at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your aim should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.