Cheaper 1997 BMW 5 Series Insurance Rates

Searching for cheaper auto insurance rates for your BMW 5 Series? Nobody looks forward to paying for auto insurance, particularly when the cost is way too high. Numerous auto insurance companies battle for your insurance dollar, so it’s not easy to compare every insurance company and get the best coverage at the lowest rate

Consumers should take time to compare rates once or twice a year because prices are adjusted regularly by insurance companies. Just because you found the best rates on 5 Series insurance six months ago you may be paying too much now. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because we’re going to demonstrate the tricks you need to know to find the best coverage while lowering your premiums.

If you have a current car insurance policy or need new coverage, you can use these techniques to reduce the price you pay while maximizing coverage. Finding affordable coverage is quite easy. Drivers just need to learn the tricks to compare price quotes over the internet.

How to Compare Insurance Rates

Getting better 1997 BMW 5 Series insurance pricing can be relatively painless. All that’s required is to spend a little time getting comparison quotes online with multiple companies. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in several different ways.

  1. The best way to find the lowest comparison rates is an all-inclusive rate comparison click here to open form in new window. This form prevents you from having to do a different quote for each company. In just a few minutes this one form gets you coverage quotes from insurance companies with the best prices.
  2. A less efficient way to get quotes online requires visiting each company’s website to complete their respective quote request forms. For sake of this example, we’ll pretend you want to compare Nationwide, Allstate and Progressive. You would have to spend time on each company’s site to input your insurance information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in your area, click here.

It’s up to you which method you use, but compare the exact same information for each comparison quote. If you enter unequal deductibles or liability limits then you won’t be able to decipher which rate is best.

Don’t miss out on these money-saving discounts

Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but there could be available discounts that you may not know about. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at quote time, but a few must be specifically requested in order for you to get them. If you don’t get every credit available, you are throwing money away.

  • E-sign – Some insurance companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks simply for signing on their website.
  • Homeowners Savings – Owning a home may earn you a small savings because owning a home requires personal responsibility.
  • Club Memberships – Being a member of certain professional organizations could trigger savings on car insurance on 5 Series insurance.
  • Seat Belts Save – Drivers who require all occupants to use their safety belts can save up to 15% off your PIP or medical payments premium.
  • More Vehicles More Savings – Buying coverage for multiple cars or trucks with the same company can get a discount on all vehicles.
  • Low Mileage Discounts – Keeping the miles down on your BMW can earn better rates on cars that stay parked.
  • Braking Control Discount – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles can reduce accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
  • Accident Forgiveness – Some insurance companies will allow you to have one accident without raising rates if your claims history is clear prior to the accident.
  • Bundle and Save – When you combine your home and auto insurance with one company you could get a discount of at least 10% off all policies.

As a disclaimer on discounts, most discount credits are not given to the entire cost. Most only cut specific coverage prices like liability and collision coverage. So even though they make it sound like adding up those discounts means a free policy, car insurance companies aren’t that generous. But any discount will help reduce your overall premium however.

To see a list of providers with the best car insurance discounts, click here to view.

Pieces of the BMW 5 Series insurance rate puzzle

Consumers need to have an understanding of the different types of things that play a part in calculating the price you pay for auto insurance. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels enables informed choices that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.

  • Don’t skimp on liability – The liability section of your policy provides coverage if a court rules you are at fault for personal injury or accident damage. It provides for a legal defense up to the limits shown on your policy. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so drivers should carry high limits.
  • Always keep insurance in force – Having an insurance coverage lapse is a quick way to increase your auto insurance rates. Not only will rates go up, but being ticketed for driving with no insurance will get you a revoked license or a big fine.Then you may be required to file a SR-22 with your state DMV.
  • Bad driving skills means higher rates – Just one speeding ticket can bump up the cost by as much as thirty percent. Drivers who don’t get tickets have lower premiums than their less careful counterparts. Drivers who have dangerous citations such as DUI or reckless driving may need to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) with the DMV in their state in order to prevent a license revocation.
  • Your car’s features help determine rates – Purchasing a vehicle with an alarm system can save you a little every year. Theft prevention devices such as GM’s OnStar, tamper alarm systems and vehicle immobilizers all aid in stopping car theft.
  • Policy add-ons can waste money – There are a lot of additional coverages you can purchase on your auto insurance policy. Coverages for roadside assistance, better glass coverage and additional equipment coverage may be wasting your money. They may seem good when you first buy your policy, but now you might not need them so eliminate them to save money.
  • Your credit rating is important – Credit score is a huge factor in determining your rates. If your credit score is lower than you’d like, you could save money insuring your 1997 BMW 5 Series by spending a little time repairing your credit. People with high credit ratings tend to be more responsible than drivers who have poor credit.
  • One company can mean more discounts – Most insurers will award you with lower prices to people who carry more than one policy, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even if you’re getting this discount it’s still a good idea to comparison shop to verify if the discount is saving money. You may still be able to find a better deal by insuring with multiple companies.
  • How your age affects price – Mature drivers tend to be more responsible, file fewer claims and receive fewer citations. Teen drivers tend to be less responsible in a vehicle and because of this, their auto insurance rates are much higher.

Do I need special coverages?

When choosing the best car insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no one size fits all plan. Each situation is unique and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. For example, these questions may help highlight whether or not you will benefit from professional help.

  • Am I covered when renting a car or should I buy coverage from the car rental agency?
  • Should I buy more coverage than the required minimum liability coverage?
  • When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
  • Do I get a pro-rated refund if I cancel my policy early?
  • Am I covered if I hit my neighbor’s mailbox?
  • Do I need rental car coverage?
  • How high should my medical payments coverage be?

If you can’t answer these questions, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, take a second and complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It’s fast, free and can help protect your family.

Save $404 a year? Really?

Consumers constantly see and hear ads that promise big savings by companies like State Farm, GEICO and Progressive. All the companies make an identical promise that you can save after switching to them.

How does each company make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.

All companies are able to cherry pick for the type of driver that earns them a profit. For example, a profitable customer might be profiled as between the ages of 30 and 50, has no driving citations, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A driver who matches those parameters will get very good rates and is almost guaranteed to save when switching.

Drivers who do not match this ideal profile will have to pay higher prices and ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads state “customers who switch” not “people who quote” save that much. That’s the way companies can truthfully advertise the savings.

Because of the profiling, drivers must compare as many rates as you can. It is impossible to predict which insurance companies will have the lowest BMW 5 Series insurance rates.

What insurance coverages do you need?

Having a good grasp of a insurance policy aids in choosing the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be impossible to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. Shown next are typical coverage types found on most insurance policies.

Comprehensive coverages

This pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first have to pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive can pay for claims such as rock chips in glass, hitting a bird, a broken windshield, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and hitting a deer. The highest amount you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider dropping full coverage.

Liability car insurance

Liability insurance provides protection from injuries or damage you cause to a person or their property that is your fault. This coverage protects you from claims by other people. It does not cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have limits of 100/300/100 which stand for $100,000 bodily injury coverage, a limit of $300,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $100,000. Occasionally you may see a combined single limit or CSL which combines the three limits into one amount rather than limiting it on a per person basis.

Liability coverage pays for claims such as bail bonds, structural damage, attorney fees and pain and suffering. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as much as you can afford.

Coverage for medical payments

Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for bills like X-ray expenses, doctor visits and nursing services. They can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover both the driver and occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP coverage is only offered in select states and may carry a deductible

Auto collision coverage

This coverage will pay to fix damage to your 5 Series from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You will need to pay your deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision coverage pays for claims such as scraping a guard rail, sideswiping another vehicle, crashing into a building and hitting a parking meter. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Another option is to bump up the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage

Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle from other drivers when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered losses include medical payments for you and your occupants as well as damage to your BMW 5 Series.

Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law, their limits can quickly be used up. So UM/UIM coverage is very important. Most of the time your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.

More comparisons equals lower rates

Throughout this article, we presented some good ideas how you can get a better price on 1997 BMW 5 Series insurance. The key thing to remember is the more providers you compare, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. Consumers could even find that the lowest rates come from the smaller companies. These companies can often provide lower rates in certain areas than their larger competitors like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive.

Affordable insurance is available on the web and with local insurance agents, so compare prices from both to have the best selection. A few companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

More information can be found below: