How Much Does 2004 Nissan Maxima Car Insurance Cost?

Perplexed by the crazy number of insurance company choices? You’re not alone. Consumers have so many options that it can quickly become a real challenge to find lower rates.

Choosing the best insurance company for you is easy if you know what you’re doing. If you currently have car insurance, you will be able to reduce your rates substantially using these techniques. But consumers must know the methods companies use to determine prices and apply this information to your search.

Which Car Insurance is Cheapest?

When shopping for car insurance there are multiple ways of comparing rate quotes from local car insurance companies. The best method to find the cheapest 2004 Nissan Maxima insurance rates consists of shopping online. This can be done in a couple of different ways.

  1. The best way consumers can analyze rates would be an industry-wide quote request form (click to open form in new window). This easy form saves time by eliminating boring form submissions for each company. Just one form will get you price quotes instantly. This is perfect if you don’t have a lot of time.
  2. A less efficient way to compare rate quotes is to manually visit the website for each individual company and fill out their own quote form. For sake of this example, we’ll pretend you want to compare rates from Farmers, Allstate and GEICO. To get each rate you have to go to every website and enter your policy data, and that’s why the first method is more popular.

    For a list of links to companies insuring cars in your area, click here.

  3. The most time-consuming way of comparing rate quotes is to spend your day driving to different agent offices. Shopping for car insurance online has reduced the need for local agents unless you require the personal advice of a local agent. You can, however, get prices online and still use a local agent and you’ll learn how to do that later.

Whichever method you choose, make sure you use identical quote information for each comparison quote. If you are comparing different liability limits you will not be able to determine which rate is truly the best. Just a small difference in insurance coverages may result in a large different in cost. It’s important to know that getting more free quotes will improve the odds of getting the best rates.

Can you really save that much by switching?

State Farm, GEICO and Progressive regularly use ads on TV and radio. All the companies make the same claim that you’ll save big if you move to them. How can each company make the same claim? It’s all in the numbers.

All the different companies have a preferred profile for the driver they prefer to insure. A good example of a preferred risk could be over the age of 50, owns a home, and has great credit. A customer getting a price quote who fits that profile will get very good rates and as a result will probably save quite a bit of money when switching.

Potential customers who don’t measure up to this ideal profile must pay higher premiums which leads to business not being written. The ads state “drivers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. This is how companies can make the claims of big savings. This illustrates why it’s extremely important to get quotes from several different companies. It’s not possible to predict which auto insurance company will provide you with the cheapest Nissan Maxima insurance rates.

Nissan Maxima premiums are determined by many factors

It’s important that you understand the rating factors that play a part in calculating insurance coverage rates. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in much lower annual insurance costs.

Shown below are some of the factors used by your company to calculate premiums.

  • Choose a safe vehicle and save – Vehicles with high crash test scores are cheaper to insure. Safe vehicles protect occupants better and fewer injuries translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and thus lower rates. If your Nissan earned at least an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website or four stars on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website you may qualify for a discount.
  • Where you live – Living in small towns and rural areas has it’s advantages when talking about insurance coverage. Fewer drivers means a lower chance of having an accident and a lower car theft rate. Urban drivers have congested traffic and a longer drive to work. More time commuting means more change of being in an accident.
  • More than one policy can earn a discount – Most insurance companies provide better rates to policyholders who buy several policies from them. It’s known as a multi-policy discount. Discounts can amount to 10 percent or more. If you currently are using one company, you still need to compare rates to make sure you are getting the best deal. You may still be able to find better rates by buying insurance coverage from a different company.
  • Liability insurance protects assets – Your policy’s liability coverage provides coverage if ever you are found to be at fault for personal injury or accident damage. Liability provides for a legal defense up to the limits shown on your policy. This coverage is very inexpensive as compared to coverage for physical damage, so do not cut corners here.
  • Optional equipment can affect rates – Driving a car with an alarm system can save you a little every year. Theft prevention devices such as tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all hinder auto theft.

Discounts are basically free money

Companies don’t necessarily list every available discount very well, so we took the time to find some of the best known as well as the least known insurance savings.

  • Theft Prevention System – Anti-theft and alarm systems are stolen less frequently and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
  • Use Seat Belts – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use their safety belts can save up to 15% off your PIP or medical payments premium.
  • Pay Now and Pay Less – If paying your policy premium upfront rather than paying monthly you could save 5% or more.
  • Student in College – Youth drivers living away from home attending college and do not have a car may qualify for this discount.
  • Government Employees – Active or retired federal employment may qualify you for a discount for Maxima insurance with select insurance companies.
  • Defensive Driving Course – Taking part in a driver safety course could save 5% or more if your company offers it.
  • Military Discounts – Being deployed with a military unit may qualify for rate reductions.
  • No Accidents – Drivers who don’t have accidents can earn big discounts as compared to accident-prone drivers.

As a disclaimer on discounts, some credits don’t apply to your bottom line cost. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. Just because you may think it’s possible to get free car insurance, insurance companies aren’t that generous.

Car insurance companies who might offer these discounts include:

Check with all companies you are considering how you can save money. Savings might not apply everywhere.

Which insurance is the “right” coverage?

When it comes to buying proper insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is not a cookie cutter policy. Everyone’s situation is a little different.

For example, these questions can aid in determining whether your personal situation may require specific advice.

  • How much liability coverage do I need in my state?
  • Do I need roadside assistance coverage?
  • If my 2004 Nissan Maxima is totaled, can I afford another vehicle?
  • Am I covered when delivering products for my home-based business?
  • Do I have coverage when pulling a U-Haul trailer?
  • Is my camper covered by my car insurance policy?
  • Am I covered when driving on a suspended license?
  • Am I covered if hit by an uninsured driver?
  • Should I buy full coverage?
  • Do I need higher collision deductibles?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions but you think they might apply to your situation then you might want to talk to an agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, take a second and complete this form.

Car insurance coverages explained

Learning about specific coverages of your car insurance policy can help you determine appropriate coverage for your vehicles. Policy terminology can be difficult to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring.

Liability coverages

Liability coverage can cover injuries or damage you cause to people or other property that is your fault. It protects you from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t 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. Your policy might show policy limits of 100/300/100 that means you have a limit of $100,000 per injured person, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and a limit of $100,000 paid for damaged property.

Liability coverage pays for claims such as pain and suffering, emergency aid, legal defense fees and repair costs for stationary objects. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a personal decision, but you should buy as large an amount as possible.

Collision protection

Collision coverage covers damage to your Maxima resulting 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 rolling your car, scraping a guard rail, driving through your garage door, sideswiping another vehicle and hitting a mailbox. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. You can also raise the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Comprehensive protection

This coverage pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive can pay for claims like a tree branch falling on your vehicle, hitting a bird, rock chips in glass and damage from flooding. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Uninsured or underinsured coverage

This protects you and your vehicle’s occupants from other drivers when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. It can pay for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is important protection for you and your family.

Medical expense coverage

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for immediate expenses such as X-ray expenses, chiropractic care, prosthetic devices and EMT expenses. They can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. It covers all vehicle occupants and also covers any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not universally available and may carry a deductible

Power to the consumer

As you restructure your insurance plan, make sure you don’t reduce needed coverages to save money. There are too many instances where an accident victim reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits and found out when filing a claim that they should have had better coverage. Your aim should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at an affordable rate while still protecting your assets.

Cheap 2004 Nissan Maxima insurance can be found on the web as well as from independent agents, and you need to price shop both so you have a total pricing picture. Some auto insurance companies don’t offer the ability to get a quote online and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

In this article, we presented many ways to reduce insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more providers you compare, the better your comparison will be. You may even discover the most savings is with a small local company.

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