How Much Does 2002 Saturn S-Series Car Insurance Cost?

Having to pay for overpriced insurance can take a big chunk out of your personal savings and force you to make sacrifices. Shopping your coverage around is free and is an excellent way to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket. Big-name insurance companies like State Farm and GEICO constantly blast consumers with TV and radio ads and it can be hard to see through the deception and take the time to shop coverage around.

You need to check insurance prices once or twice a year because rates change quite often. Despite the fact that you may have had the lowest price on S-Series insurance on your last policy you will most likely find a better rate today. There is a lot of bad information regarding insurance online, so by reading this article, you’re going to learn some great ways to slash your insurance rates.

Why your Saturn S-Series insurance rates may be high

Smart consumers have a good feel for the factors that help determine insurance coverage rates. Understanding what influences your rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that can help you get better insurance coverage rates.

The following are a partial list of the pieces used by your company to calculate your rates.

  • Liability coverage is cheap – Liability insurance provides coverage if you are found liable for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. It provides you with a defense in court up to the limits shown on your policy. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap compared to physical damage coverage, so drivers should carry high limits.
  • Don’t get talked into coverage you don’t need – There are a ton of extra bells and whistles you can purchase when buying insurance coverage. Things like personal injury protection, better glass coverage and membership fees may be costing you every month. They may seem good when you first buy your policy, but your needs may have changed so remove them from your policy.
  • Consolidate policies to earn discounts – Many insurers will give a discount to insureds who consolidate policies with them in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even with this discount, you still need to shop around to verify if the discount is saving money. You may still find better rates by splitting coverages up.
  • High credit ratings translate to low rates – Having a bad credit rating is a large factor in determining what you pay for insurance coverage. People with excellent credit tend to be more responsible as compared to drivers with lower credit ratings. If your credit can use some improvement, you could save money insuring your 2002 Saturn S-Series by improving your credit score.
  • Lower rates with optional equipment – Choosing a vehicle with an alarm system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft devices like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar can thwart car theft.
  • Drive a safer car and pay less – Vehicles with good safety scores can get you lower premiums. These vehicles have better occupant injury protection and fewer injuries means lower claim amounts and thus lower rates. If your Saturn S-Series scored better than an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website or four stars on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website you are probably receiving a discount.

Insurance Coverage Prices Online

Finding cheaper 2002 Saturn S-Series insurance coverage prices is actually quite simple. You just need to invest a few minutes comparing rate quotes online with multiple companies. It is quite easy and can be accomplished using a couple different methods.

  1. One of the simplest ways consumers can make multiple comparisons would be an industry-wide quote request form like this one (opens in new window). This method prevents you from having to do separate forms for each company you want a rate for. One form submission will return price quotes instantly.
  2. A more difficult way to compare prices is to manually visit each individual company website to complete a price quote. For sake of this example, let’s say you want to compare rates from Liberty Mutual, GEICO and State Farm. To get rate quotes you would need to go to every website to input your insurance information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. For a handy list of car insurance company links in your area, click here.
  3. The least efficient method to compare rates is to drive around to local insurance agencies. The internet makes this process obsolete unless you have a need for the personal advice that only a license agent can provide. However, consumers can get the lowest quotes online but buy from a local insurance agent and we’ll talk about that later.

Which method you use is up to you, but compare the exact same coverage limits on every quote. If you use differing limits it will be impossible to truly determine the lowest rate.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but companies offer discounts to help bring down the price. Certain discounts will be applied at quote time, but lesser-known reductions have to be inquired about before they will apply. If you’re not getting every credit you deserve, you are paying more than you should be.

  • Paperwork-free – A few companies may give you up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up digitally online.
  • Resident Student – Kids in college who are attending college and do not have access to a covered vehicle may qualify for this discount.
  • Drivers Ed for Students – Require your teen driver to take driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
  • Drive Safe and Save – Drivers who don’t get into accidents can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates on S-Series insurance than their less cautious counterparts.
  • Seat Belt Usage – Drivers who require all occupants to wear their seat belts can save up to 15% off your PIP or medical payments premium.

A little note about advertised discounts, many deductions do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. The majority will only reduce individual premiums such as collision or personal injury protection. Even though it may seem like all those discounts means the company will pay you, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any amount of discount will bring down the amount you have to pay.

To see a list of providers with discount car insurance rates, follow this link.

Tailor your coverage to you

When buying proper insurance coverage, there really is not a perfect coverage plan. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs so this has to be addressed. For instance, these questions can aid in determining if you will benefit from professional help.

  • Am I covered if I crash into my own garage door?
  • Am I covered if hit by an uninsured driver?
  • When can I cancel my policy?
  • What happens if I owe more than my 2002 Saturn S-Series is worth?
  • Am I covered when pulling a rental trailer?
  • Am I covered if I break a side mirror?

If you’re not sure about those questions then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, 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.

Insurance coverage specifics

Having a good grasp of your insurance policy aids in choosing the best coverages for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring. Listed below are typical coverage types offered by insurance companies.

Liability

This provides protection from injuries or damage you cause to a person or their property in an accident. It protects YOU from legal claims by others, and does not provide coverage for damage to your own property or vehicle.

It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have liability limits of 25/50/25 that means you have a $25,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and a total limit of $25,000 for damage to vehicles and property. Some companies may use a combined single limit or CSL which combines the three limits into one amount without having the split limit caps.

Liability coverage pays for claims such as bail bonds, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, loss of income, medical expenses and funeral expenses. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase higher limits if possible.

Auto collision coverage

This pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. A deductible applies then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision coverage protects against things like backing into a parked car, colliding with another moving vehicle and damaging your car on a curb. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. Drivers also have the option to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

UM/UIM Coverage

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage provides protection from other motorists when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered claims include injuries to you and your family and also any damage incurred to your Saturn S-Series.

Since a lot of drivers carry very low liability coverage limits, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage should not be overlooked. Usually these limits do not exceed the liability coverage limits.

Comprehensive or Other Than Collision

This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from 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 things such as falling objects, vandalism, hitting a bird, rock chips in glass and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The maximum amount you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.

Medical costs insurance

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for expenses for funeral costs, pain medications, EMT expenses, ambulance fees and surgery. The coverages can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. Coverage applies to all vehicle occupants in addition to being hit by a car walking across the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Save for a rainy day

When trying to cut insurance costs, make sure you don’t skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. Too many times, consumers will sacrifice liability coverage limits and learned later that it was a big mistake. The aim is to buy the best coverage you can find at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.

Discount 2002 Saturn S-Series insurance can be bought on the web and with local insurance agents, so you should compare both so you have a total pricing picture. Some insurance companies do not offer online price quotes and usually these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

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