1998 Toyota Tercel Car Insurance Rates – 5 Discounts for Cheaper Quotes

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an overpriced car insurance policy? Believe me when I say many consumers feel financially strained by their car insurance policy.

Many car insurance companies vie for your business, so it’s not easy to compare every company and uncover the absolute lowest rate possible.

If you currently have car insurance, you will most likely be able to cut costs considerably using this strategy. Buying car insurance is not that difficult. But car owners do need to know how insurance companies price insurance differently and apply this information to your search.

How to Compare Auto Insurance Rates

There are several ways to get quotes and find the best price. The best way to find competitive 1998 Toyota Tercel insurance rates is to get quotes online. This can be accomplished using a couple different methods.

  1. The easiest and least time consuming way to compare a lot of rates at once is to use a rate comparison form like this one (opens in new window). This method prevents you from having to do multiple quote forms to each individual auto insurance company. One simple form will get you price quotes from many national carriers.
  2. A harder way to compare prices consists of going to each company website and complete a new quote form. For sake of this example, we’ll pretend you want to compare GEICO, Liberty Mutual and American Family. To get each rate you have to visit each site to enter your coverage information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. For a list of links to insurance companies in your area, click here.
  3. The hardest way to get comparison rates is driving to local insurance agencies. Buying insurance online has reduced the need for local agents unless you require the professional advice of a local agent. You can, however, comparison shop online and get advice from an agent in your area and you’ll learn how to do that later.

It’s up to you which method you use, but make sure you use the exact same coverage information with every price quote. If you enter unequal deductibles or liability limits it will be next to impossible to decipher which rate is best. Having just a slight variation in coverages may cause a big price difference. It’s important to know that having more price comparisons will improve the odds of getting the best rates.

Insurance ads bend the truth

Insurance providers like Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm constantly bombard you with ads on television and other media. They all say the same thing that you’ll save big if you switch your coverage to them. How does each company claim to save you money? This is how they do it.

All companies can use profiling for the type of customer that is profitable for them. For instance, a driver they prefer might be profiled as between 25 and 40, owns a home, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A driver who fits that profile receives the best rates and most likely will cut their rates substantially.

Drivers who are not a match for the “perfect” profile will be quoted a higher premium which leads to business not being written. The ad wording is “drivers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save money. That’s the way companies can make those claims.

This emphasizes why you need to get quotes from several different companies. Because you never know which company will provide you with the cheapest Toyota Tercel insurance rates.

How much can you save with these five discounts?

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, buy you may qualify for discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Some discounts apply automatically when you purchase, but a few must be asked for in order for you to get them.

  • Paperless Signup – Certain companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying your policy online.
  • Own a Home – Owning a home can save you money due to the fact that maintaining a home requires personal responsibility.
  • Passive Restraints – Cars that have air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can qualify for discounts of up to 25% or more.
  • Safe Driver Discount – Drivers who avoid accidents may receive a discount up to 45% less for Tercel coverage than less cautious drivers.
  • Club Memberships – Being a member of a civic or occupational organization could qualify you for a break when shopping for car insurance for Tercel coverage.

Consumers should know that some credits don’t apply the the whole policy. Most only reduce individual premiums such as comp or med pay. Just because you may think it’s possible to get free car insurance, it just doesn’t work that way. Any amount of discount will reduce your overall premium however.

Car insurance companies that may offer some of the above discounts are:

Double check with each company what discounts are available to you. Some discounts may not apply in your state.

How much car insurance do I need?

When choosing proper insurance coverage, there isn’t really a best way to insure your cars. Everyone’s needs are different and your policy should reflect that. Here are some questions about coverages that can aid in determining if you might need an agent’s assistance.

  • Can I get a multi-policy discount for packaging my home and auto coverage?
  • How can I get high-risk coverage after a DUI?
  • Can my teen drive my company car?
  • Are my friends covered when driving my car?
  • Am I covered when driving a rental car?
  • What are the financial responsibility laws in my state?
  • Can I make deliveries for my home business?
  • Should I buy full coverage?
  • What should my uninsured motorist coverage limits be in my state?

If you’re not sure about those questions, you might consider talking to an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form or go to this page to view a list of companies.

Car insurance 101

Knowing the specifics of a insurance policy helps when choosing which coverages you need for your vehicles. Insurance terms can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Listed below are typical coverages found on most insurance policies.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and damage to your Toyota Tercel.

Because many people only carry the minimum required liability limits, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important. Usually the UM/UIM limits are similar to your liability insurance amounts.

Liability – Liability insurance will cover damages or injuries you inflict on other’s property or people that is your fault. Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. Your policy might show limits of 100/300/100 that translate to a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $100,000. Alternatively, you may have one number which is a combined single limit which limits claims to one amount rather than limiting it on a per person basis.

Liability coverage pays for things such as loss of income, medical services and court costs. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy higher limits if possible.

Coverage for medical payments – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage provide coverage for bills such as pain medications, doctor visits and prosthetic devices. The coverages can be used in conjunction with a health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and also covers being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is only offered in select states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Collision coverages – This will pay to fix damage to your Tercel resulting 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 such as colliding with another moving vehicle, rolling your car, scraping a guard rail and sideswiping another vehicle. This coverage can be expensive, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are older. You can also choose a higher deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Comprehensive coverages – This coverage will pay to fix damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first must pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive insurance covers claims such as a tree branch falling on your vehicle, falling objects and vandalism. The maximum payout your insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider dropping full coverage.

Make an honest buck

Low-cost 1998 Toyota Tercel insurance is available on the web in addition to many insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best rate selection. Some companies do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and many times these smaller companies only sell through independent insurance agents.

We just covered some good ideas how to lower your insurance rates. The most important thing to understand is the more times you quote, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may even discover the lowest premiums are with an unexpected company. Regional companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than their larger competitors like Progressive and GEICO.

When buying insurance coverage, it’s a bad idea to buy poor coverage just to save money. In many cases, an accident victim reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits and discovered at claim time they didn’t have enough coverage. Your focus should be to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.

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