Compare 2013 Toyota Matrix Insurance Rates

Searching for cheaper insurance rates for your Toyota Matrix? Car insurance shopping is not a task people enjoy, but it’s a required process before you can legally be on the road.

How to Buy Auto Insurance Online

Shopping for lower auto insurance rates can be challenging if you don’t understand the most efficient way. You can waste a few hours (or days) talking to agents in your area, or you could use online quoting to get the quickest rates.

Most major companies are enrolled in a marketplace that enables customers to submit their information once, and each participating company returns a rated price based on that information. This eliminates the need for quote requests to every company. To submit your quote information now, click here to open in new window.

One minor caviat to using this type of form is that consumers can’t choose which carriers you want pricing from. If you prefer to choose individual companies to request quotes from, we have a listing of auto insurance companies in your area. View list of insurance companies.

Whichever way you use, ensure you’re using apples-to-apples coverage limits on every quote you get. If you are comparing different limits and deductibles on each one you will not be able to truly determine the lowest rate. Having just a slight variation in limits can mean a large discrepancy in price. It’s important to know that getting more free quotes will improve the odds of getting better pricing.

The insurance bait and switch

Companies like 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm consistently run ads on television and other media. All the ads make the same claim that you’ll save big if you change your policy. How can each company make almost identical claims? It’s all in the numbers.

All the different companies can use profiling for the right customer that is profitable for them. For example, a preferred risk might be profiled as between 30 and 50, owns a home, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A customer who meets those qualifications gets the lowest rates and most likely will cut their rates substantially.

Potential insureds who do not match the requirements will have to pay higher rates and ends up with the customer not buying. The ads say “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save money. That’s why insurance companies can claim big savings. Because of the profiling, you need to get as many comparisons as possible. It’s not possible to predict which company will have the lowest Toyota Matrix insurance rates.

Pieces of the Toyota Matrix insurance rate puzzle

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that go into determining the rates you pay for insurance. Having a good understanding of what influences your rates allows you to make educated decisions that may reward you with big savings.

  • More miles equals more premium – The higher the mileage driven each year the higher your rates will be. Most companies price each vehicle’s coverage based on their usage. Cars and trucks used primarily for pleasure use qualify for better rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. An improperly rated Matrix can cost quite a bit. Double check that your insurance declarations sheet is showing the correct usage for each vehicle.
  • Being married is a good thing – Getting married helps lower the price on your policy. Having a significant other usually means you are more mature and it’s proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.
  • More people means more accidents – Being located in small towns and rural areas has it’s advantages when it comes to insurance. City drivers regularly have congested traffic and longer commutes to work. Fewer drivers means reduced accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft.
  • Frequent insurance claims increase rates – Car insurance companies give better rates to policyholders who file claims infrequently. If you tend to file frequent claims, you can look forward to higher rates. Car insurance is intended to be relied upon for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
  • Extra coverages can waste money – There are quite a few add-on coverages you can purchase on your 2013 Matrix policy. Coverages for personal injury protection, better glass coverage and term life insurance may be costing you every month. These may sound like a good investment when you first buy your policy, but if they’re wasting money eliminate them to save money.
  • Do you know your deductibles? – Your deductibles represent how much money you are willing to pay out-of-pocket in the event of a claim. Physical damage insurance, also known as collision and other-than-collision, protects your car from damage. Some examples of claims that would be covered are colliding with a building, damage from fire, and rolling your vehicle. The more the insured has to pay upfront, the lower your rates will be for Matrix insurance.

Are you getting all your discounts?

Companies that sell car insurance don’t always list all their discounts very clearly, so we researched both the well known and the more hidden insurance savings.

  • Discount for New Cars – Insuring a new car can cost up to 25% less compared to insuring an older model.
  • Passive Restraint Discount – Vehicles equipped with air bags can qualify for discounts of up to 25% or more.
  • Anti-lock Brake Discount – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles prevent accidents and will save you 10% or more.
  • Discount for Life Insurance – Larger companies have lower rates if you buy auto and life insurance together.
  • Discount for Good Grades – Getting good grades can earn a discount of 20% or more. Earning this discount can benefit you up to age 25.
  • Employee of Federal Government – Simply working for the federal government could cut as much as 10% off for Matrix insurance with a few insurance companies.
  • Multiple Vehicles – Having multiple vehicles with the same company can get a discount on all vehicles.
  • Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use a seat belt could save 15% on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
  • One Accident Forgiven – Certain companies will allow you to have one accident without raising rates so long as you haven’t had any claims prior to the accident.
  • Service Members Pay Less – Having a deployed family member can result in better rates.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discounts do not apply to the entire policy premium. The majority will only reduce individual premiums such as comp or med pay. Even though it may seem like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, companies wouldn’t make money that way.

For a list of insurance companies with the best insurance discounts, follow this link.

Tailor your coverage to you

When buying adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no perfect coverage plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s.

For example, these questions may help highlight if you would benefit from professional advice.

  • Is my 2013 Toyota Matrix covered for smoke damage?
  • How high should my uninsured/underinsured coverage be in my state?
  • I have health insurance so do I need medical payments coverage?
  • How much liability do I need to cover my assets?
  • Will my rates increase for filing one claim?
  • Is a blown tire covered by insurance?
  • Why does it cost so much to insure a teen driver?
  • Should I buy more coverage than the required minimum liability coverage?
  • Does car insurance cover theft of personal property?
  • Does insurance cover damages from a DUI accident?

If you’re not sure about those questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to an agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, simply complete this short form.

Car insurance specifics

Knowing the specifics of a car insurance policy helps when choosing the right coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be confusing and coverage can change by endorsement.

Auto liability insurance

Liability insurance can cover damages or injuries you inflict on people or other property by causing an accident. This coverage protects you against claims from other people. It does not cover damage to your own property or vehicle.

Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. Your policy might show limits of 50/100/50 which means $50,000 bodily injury coverage, a per accident bodily injury limit of $100,000, and property damage coverage for $50,000.

Liability coverage pays for things such as court costs, medical services, repair costs for stationary objects, legal defense fees and structural damage. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy as much as you can afford.

Medical payments coverage and PIP

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage kick in for immediate expenses like EMT expenses, X-ray expenses and funeral costs. They are used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Coverage for collisions

This coverage pays for damage to your Matrix resulting from colliding with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision coverage pays for things such as scraping a guard rail, crashing into a ditch, sustaining damage from a pot hole and colliding with a tree. This coverage can be expensive, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. Another option is to bump up the deductible to bring the cost down.

Comprehensive coverage

Comprehensive insurance coverage will pay to fix damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as damage from flooding, hail damage, fire damage and hitting a deer. The highest amount your car insurance company will pay is the cash value of the vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider dropping full coverage.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. It can pay for medical payments for you and your occupants as well as damage to your Toyota Matrix.

Since a lot of drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. So UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.

Keep this in mind

Drivers who switch companies do it for a number of reasons such as high rates after DUI convictions, policy cancellation, high prices and unfair underwriting practices. No matter why you want to switch, finding the right insurance provider can be less work than you think.

Budget-conscious 2013 Toyota Matrix insurance is definitely available online as well as from independent agents, and you should be comparing both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some companies don’t offer you the ability to get quotes online and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

When trying to cut insurance costs, you should never reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where someone sacrificed full coverage and discovered at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The proper strategy is to buy a smart amount of coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.

Much more information about insurance can be found at the links below