Save on 2003 Nissan Maxima Car Insurance Rates

Want cheaper auto insurance rates for your Nissan Maxima? Consumers not familiar with shopping for insurance online may discover buying cheap insurance can be quite challenging.

How to get free auto insurance quotes online

Shopping for lower auto insurance rates is a ton of work if you aren’t aware of the best way to get rate quotes. You can waste a few hours (or days) talking to agents in your area, or you can utilize the internet to get prices fast.

Most of the larger companies belong to an insurance system where insurance shoppers enter their coverage request one time, and every company then gives them pricing based on that information. This system prevents you from having to do quotation requests for each company you want a rate for.

To use this form to compare rates click here to start a free quote.

The only downside to pricing coverage this way is buyers cannot specifically choose which providers to get pricing from. So if you want to choose specific insurance companies for rate comparison, we have a listing of the cheapest auto insurance companies in your area. Click to view list.

Whichever method you choose, make sure you compare the exact same quote data for each quote you get. If each company quotes different limits and deductibles on each one it will be very difficult to make a fair rate comparison. Slightly different insurance coverages or limits could throw off the whole comparison. Just keep in mind that making a lot of price comparisons increases your odds of finding the best rates.

Drivers save money with with these discounts

Some companies don’t always list all their discounts in a way that’s easy to find, so the next list breaks down a few of the more well known and the harder-to-find savings tricks you should be using when you buy insurance online.

  • Student Discount for Driver Training – Reduce the cost of insurance for teen drivers by having them take driver’s ed class in school or through a local driver safety program.
  • Clubs and Organizations – Joining a professional or civic organization is a simple method to lower premiums on car insurance.
  • Senior Discount – Mature drivers can possibly qualify for reduced rates on Maxima coverage.
  • Accident Waiver – This one isn’t a discount, but some insurance companies permit an accident without raising rates if you have no claims for a specific time period.
  • Policy Bundle Discount – If you can bundle your auto and homeowners insurance with the same insurance company you will save over 10 percent off each policy depending on the company.

As a footnote on discounts, many deductions do not apply to the entire policy premium. The majority will only reduce individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. Despite the fact that it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, you aren’t that lucky.

Popular car insurance companies and a selection of discounts are outlined below.

  • GEICO may offer discounts for air bags, defensive driver, seat belt use, multi-policy, and membership and employees.
  • SAFECO discounts include bundle discounts, anti-theft, accident prevention training, drive less, and homeowner.
  • State Farm may have discounts that include good student, defensive driving training, multiple policy, good driver, multiple autos, safe vehicle, and driver’s education.
  • MetLife offers discounts for defensive driver, good driver, claim-free, good student, multi-policy, and accident-free.
  • 21st Century may include discounts for automatic seat belts, early bird, driver training, student driver, theft prevention, 55 and older, and anti-lock brakes.
  • Progressive policyholders can earn discounts including online quote discount, online signing, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, and continuous coverage.

It’s a good idea to ask every prospective company how many discounts you can get. Depending on the company, some discounts may not apply to policies in every state. To see a list of companies with discount car insurance rates, follow this link.

Five things that affect your insurance premiums

When buying insurance coverage it’s important to understand the rating factors that help calculate insurance coverage rates. If you have some idea of what determines base rates, this allows you to make good choices that could help you find big savings.

The items below are some of the major factors companies use to determine your prices.

  • Discounts for auto and home policies – Most major companies apply better rates to clients who buy several policies from them such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. The discount can add up to five, ten or even twenty percent. Even if you’re getting this discount you may still want to compare other company rates to help ensure you have the lowest rates.There is a good possibility that you can save even more by buying insurance coverage from a different company.
  • Premiums drop with age – Young drivers have been known to be inattentive and easily distracted when driving therefore insurance coverage rates are much higher. Having to add a beginning driver to your policy can cause a big jump in price. Older insureds are more responsible, tend to cause fewer accidents and get fewer tickets.
  • Credit rating impacts premium costs – A driver’s credit history is likely to be a major factor in calculating your insurance coverage rates. If your credit history is not that good, you could pay less to insure your 2003 Nissan Maxima by spending a little time repairing your credit. People that have high credit scores tend to be more responsible and file fewer claims than those with poor credit.
  • High policy claims frequency drives up premiums – If you frequently file small claims, you shouldn’t be surprised to get higher premiums or even policy non-renewal. Companies generally give discounts to insureds who file claims infrequently. Your car insurance is meant to be used in the event of larger claims.
  • Cheaper prices using alarms and GPS tracking – Selecting a car model that has a built-in theft deterrent system can get you a discount on your insurance coverage. Anti-theft features such as OnStar, LoJack tracking, and tamper alarms all hinder auto theft and help lower rates.

Your situation helps dictate your coverage

When it comes to buying adequate coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no one size fits all plan. Everyone’s situation is unique.

For example, these questions might point out if you could use an agent’s help.

  • Am I missing any policy discounts?
  • What is the ISO rating for a 2003 Nissan Maxima?
  • Do I need PIP (personal injury protection) coverage in my state?
  • Can I make deliveries for my home business?
  • What if I owe more than I can insure my car for?
  • Am I covered if I drive in a foreign country?
  • Do I have coverage when pulling a U-Haul trailer?
  • How much liability do I need to cover my assets?
  • Does my insurance cover my expensive audio equipment?
  • Do I really need UM/UIM coverage?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, take a second and complete this form.

Educate yourself about car insurance coverages

Knowing the specifics of your car insurance policy helps when choosing the best coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. The terms used in a policy can be ambiguous and reading a policy is terribly boring.

UM/UIM Coverage

Your UM/UIM coverage provides protection when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered losses include injuries to you and your family as well as damage to your Nissan Maxima.

Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required, it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Most of the time your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.

Comprehensive or Other Than Collision

Comprehensive insurance covers damage that is not covered by collision coverage. A deductible will apply and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive can pay for things like a broken windshield, hitting a deer and falling objects. The maximum payout your car insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Liability coverage

Liability coverage will cover damage that occurs to a person or their property in an accident. This coverage protects you from claims by other people, and does not provide coverage for damage to your own property or vehicle.

Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see liability limits of 100/300/100 which stand for $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Some companies may use one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which provides one coverage limit without having the split limit caps.

Liability coverage pays for claims such as repair bills for other people’s vehicles, structural damage, legal defense fees, pain and suffering and loss of income. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is up to you, but buy as large an amount as possible.

Medical costs insurance

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance kick in for expenses for things like pain medications, X-ray expenses and dental work. They are utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if you lack health insurance entirely. Coverage applies to you and your occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP coverage is not available in all states and may carry a deductible

Collision coverage protection

This coverage will pay to fix damage to your Maxima resulting from a collision with another car or object. You first must pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision coverage protects against things such as backing into a parked car, damaging your car on a curb, sideswiping another vehicle, rolling your car and hitting a mailbox. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from lower value vehicles. You can also increase the deductible to bring the cost down.

More comparisons equals lower rates

In this article, we presented quite a bit of information on how to get a better price on 2003 Nissan Maxima insurance. The key concept to understand is the more price quotes you have, the better your chances of lowering your car insurance rates. Consumers could even find that the biggest savings come from a lesser-known regional company.

Lower-priced insurance can be bought online and from local agencies, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some insurance providers do not provide rates over the internet and many times these regional carriers prefer to sell through local independent agents.

As you quote insurance, it’s not a good idea to reduce needed coverages to save money. There are a lot of situations where drivers have reduced full coverage only to discover later that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your goal should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at an affordable rate and still be able to protect your assets.

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