How long have you put off shopping around for more competitive Acura ILX insurance in San Jose? Trying to find the cheapest insurance for a new or used Acura ILX in California can normally be a lot of work, but you can learn these tips and make it easy. There are both good and bad ways to shop for car insurance and you need to know the best way to price shop coverage for a Acura and locate the best price possible either online or from San Jose insurance agents.
Locating the most cost-effective auto insurance policy in San Jose can really be easy if you know what you’re doing. If you have insurance now or want to find a cheaper company, you will benefit by learning to find the best rates while maximizing coverage. Drivers just need to understand how to quote multiple rates online.
Informed Consumers Can Save Money
Many things are part of the calculation when you get your auto insurance bill. Some are obvious such as your driving record, but other criteria are not as apparent such as your marital status or your vehicle rating. A large part of saving on car insurance is knowing some of the things that help calculate car insurance rates. If you understand what controls the rates you pay, this enables you to make decisions that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.
Raising comp and collision deductibles lowers prices – Physical damage protection, also called ‘full coverage’, is used to repair damage to your Acura. Some coverage claims are a broken windshield, hail damage, and windstorm damage. Physical damage deductibles state the amount of money you are willing to pay out-of-pocket if the claim is covered. The larger the amount you are required to pay out-of-pocket, the better rate you will receive.
Car insurance policy lapses increase car insurance rates – Driving any period of time without insurance is against the law and car insurance companies will penalize you for letting your insurance coverage expire. Not only will you pay higher rates, the inability to provide proof of insurance could result in a revoked license or a big fine.
Your address can modify rates – Having an address in a rural area can be a good thing when trying to find low car insurance rates. Fewer people translates into fewer accident claims and lower theft and vandalism rates. City drivers tend to have more aggressive driving styles and more time behind the wheel. More time on the road means more chance of being in an accident.
When should you not file a insurance claims? – If you frequently file small claims, you can look forward to increased rates or even have your policy non-renewed. Companies in California generally give better rates to insureds who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. Insurance coverage is meant to be used in the event of claims that you cannot pay yourself.
Gender and car insurance premiums – Over the last 30 years, statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. That doesn’t necessarily mean that women are better drivers. Women and men are responsible for auto accidents at a similar rate, but the males cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Men also tend to get higher numbers of serious violations like DUI and reckless driving. Young men ages 16 to 20 tend to get in the most accidents so they pay the highest premiums.
Drive less and pay lower prices – The more you drive your Acura in a year’s time the higher the price you pay to insure it. Most insurance companies charge to insure your cars partially by how you use the vehicle. Cars and trucks not used for work or commuting cost less to insure as compared to vehicles used primarily for driving to work. A policy that improperly rates your ILX is just wasting money. It’s a smart idea to ensure your policy states the correct usage for each vehicle.
Accidents are costly – Whether or not you get tickets can have a huge impact on auto insurance premiums. Careful drivers pay less for auto insurance compared to bad drivers. Just one citation could increase your next policy renewal substantially. Drivers who have multiple tickets such as DUI, reckless driving or excessive speeding may be required to file a SR-22 with their state’s department of motor vehicles in order to drive a vehicle legally.
Insurance losses for an Acura ILX – Insurance companies analyze claim trends for every vehicle in order to profitably underwrite each model. Models that the data determines to have high amounts or severity of claims will have a higher premium rate.
The table shown below demonstrates the insurance loss data used by companies for Acura ILX vehicles. For each coverage category, the claim probability for all vehicles, as an average, is a value of 100. Numbers that are below 100 suggest a better than average loss history, while percentage values above 100 point to more losses or a tendency for losses to be larger than average.
| Make and Model | Collision | Property Damage | Comp | Personal Injury | Medical Payment | Bodily Injury |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acura ILX | 96 | 94 | 83 | 112 | 111 | 97 |
Statistics from IIHS.org for 2013-2015 Model Years
Insurance policy discounts you can’t miss
Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you may qualify for discounts that can dramatically reduce your bill. Certain discounts will be applied at quote time, but occasionally some discounts must be specifically requested before you get the savings.
- Waiver for an Accident – Not a discount per se, but companies like GEICO and Liberty Mutual will let one accident slide without raising rates if your claims history is clear for a particular time prior to the accident.
- Pay Upfront and Save – By paying your policy upfront instead of making monthly payments you may reduce your total bill.
- Driver’s Ed – Reduce the cost of insurance for teen drivers by having them successfully take a driver’s education course in school.
- Discount for Swiching Early – A few insurance companies allow discounts for buying a new policy before your current expiration date. This discount can save up to 10%.
- Discounts for New Vehicles – Adding a new car to your policy can save up to 30% because newer vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
Keep in mind that most credits do not apply to the entire cost. A few only apply to individual premiums such as collision or personal injury protection. Just because you may think you can get free auto insurance, that’s just not realistic.
Popular insurance companies and some of the discounts are included below.
- State Farm policyholders can earn discounts including anti-theft, Drive Safe & Save, good student, passive restraint, good driver, and accident-free.
- Farmers Insurance may have discounts that include business and professional, distant student, mature driver, homeowner, good student, teen driver, and electronic funds transfer.
- Progressive offers discounts including continuous coverage, homeowner, multi-vehicle, online signing, and online quote discount.
- GEICO discounts include daytime running lights, air bags, federal employee, multi-policy, good student, membership and employees, and seat belt use.
- Auto-Owners Insurance offers premium reductions for paid in full, group or association, multiple vehicles, company car, and teen driver.
- The Hartford may include discounts for anti-theft, bundle, driver training, good student, air bag, vehicle fuel type, and defensive driver.
- Farm Bureau has discounts for 55 and retired, driver training, youthful driver, multi-vehicle, and safe driver.
- USAA has savings for driver training, good student, multi-vehicle, family discount, and loyalty savings.
Before buying, ask all the companies to give you their best rates. Savings may not apply in San Jose. To see a list of providers that offer the discounts shown above in California, click this link.
You can find affordable coverage
In this article, we covered a lot of tips how to save on Acura ILX insurance in San Jose. The most important thing to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the better chance you’ll have of finding the cheapest Acura ILX rate quotes. Consumers could even find that the best price on car insurance is with the smaller companies.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, it’s very important that you do not sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are a lot of situations where an accident victim reduced physical damage coverage only to regret that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The goal is to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest price, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.
People who switch companies do it for a variety of reasons including policy non-renewal, unfair underwriting practices, policy cancellation and even lack of trust in their agent. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, choosing a new insurance company is easier than you think.
How to find low-cost rates for Acura ILX insurance in San Jose
The best way we recommend to save on Acura ILX insurance is to start doing a yearly price comparison from insurance carriers who sell auto insurance in San Jose. This can be done by following these guidelines.
Step 1: Take a little time to learn about how insurance companies determine prices and the steps you can take to keep rates low. Many things that are responsible for high rates such as at-fault accidents and an unacceptable credit score can be eliminated by paying attention to minor details.
Step 2: Request price quotes from exclusive agents, independent agents, and direct providers. Direct companies and exclusive agencies can only give prices from a single company like Progressive or State Farm, while agents who are independent can provide prices from multiple sources.
Step 3: Compare the new rates to the premium of your current policy to determine if switching companies saves money. If you find better rates and decide to switch, make sure there is no lapse between the expiration of your current policy and the new one.
Step 4: Provide written notification to your current company of your decision to cancel your current policy. Submit a completed policy application and payment to your new company or agent. As soon as you can, keep your new certificate verifying proof of insurance in your glove compartment.
The key aspect of shopping around is to compare identical limits and deductibles on each quote and and to get price estimates from as many car insurance companies as possible. Doing this provides a fair rate comparison and the best price selection.
Additional learning opportunities
- Understanding Your Insurance Deductible (Insurance Information Institute)
- Who Has Cheap San Jose Car Insurance for 19 Year Olds? (FAQ)
- How Much are San Jose Auto Insurance Quotes for Felons? (FAQ)
- How to shop for a safer car (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- Five Tips to Save on Auto Insurance (Insurance Information Institute)