Car Insurance Quotes for a Dodge Dakota in San Jose

How many times have you said it’s time to compare more affordable Dodge Dakota insurance in San Jose? If online auto insurance comparisons are new to you, most likely you are bewildered by the large number of online companies all claiming to save you money.

Remarkably, a study showed that the vast majority of California auto insurance customers have remained with the same auto insurance company for more than four years, and almost 40% of drivers have never compared rates to find lower-cost insurance. American drivers can save hundreds of dollars each year by just comparing rate quotes, but they think it’s difficult to compare rate quotes.

It’s a great practice to take a look at other company’s rates yearly because auto insurance prices change frequently. Even if you think you had the best rates on Dodge Dakota insurance in San Jose a year ago you can probably find a lower rate today. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about auto insurance because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to one of the easiest ways to eliminate unnecessary coverages and save money on Dodge Dakota insurance in San Jose.

If you have coverage now, you should be able to buy cheaper insurance using these techniques. The goal of this article is to let you in on the best way to buy inexpensive insurance and how to save the most money. But California car owners benefit from understanding the methods companies use to sell online because rates are impacted by many factors.

Dodge Dakota insurance rate analysis

The rate table shown below showcases different insurance premium costs for Dodge Dakota models. Having insight into how premiums are calculated can be useful when making decisions when shopping your coverage around.

Above prices assume married female driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $250 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, multi-policy, homeowner, multi-vehicle, and claim-free. Premium amounts do not factor in specific garaging location which can change rates noticeably.

Rate comparison of full coverage and liability-only

The illustration below illustrates the difference between Dodge Dakota insurance costs with full physical damage coverage compared to only buying the minimum liability limits required in California. The information is based on no accidents or driving violations, $250 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no additional discounts are factored in.

When to drop comprehensive and collision

There is no exact formula for phasing out full coverage, but there is a general guideline. If the annual cost of coverage is about 10% or more of replacement cost minus your deductible, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.

For example, let’s assume your Dodge Dakota replacement value is $4,000 and you have $1,000 deductibles. If your vehicle is destroyed, the most your company would pay you is $3,000 after you pay the deductible. If you are paying over $300 a year for physical damage coverage, then it might be time to buy liability only.

There are a few cases where buying only liability insurance is not financially feasible. If you still have a loan on your vehicle, you must maintain physical damage coverage to protect the lienholder’s interest. Also, if your emergency fund is not enough to purchase a different vehicle in the event your current vehicle is totaled, you should not buy liability only.

Why Smart Consumers Pay Less for Dodge Dakota Insurance

One of the most helpful ways to save on auto insurance is to to have a grasp of the different types of things that help calculate the level of your policy premiums. If you understand what determines premiums, this enables informed choices that may reward you with better auto insurance rates.

The itemized list below are some of the items used by your company to calculate your rate level.

• Vehicle theft costs us all – Buying a car with a theft deterrent system can help bring down rates. Theft prevention devices like GM’s OnStar, tamper alarm systems and vehicle immobilizers can thwart vehicle theft.
• Pay less with a high NHTSA crash test rating – Safer cars tend to be cheaper to insure. The safest vehicles reduce the chance of injuries and lower rates of occupant injuries translates into savings for insurance companies which can result in lower premiums. If the Dodge Dakota has at least four stars on Safercar.gov it may be receiving lower rates.
• High physical damage deductibles reduce premiums – Comprehensive and collision coverage deductibles are the amount of money you are willing to pay if the claim is covered. Insurance for physical damage, termed comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, covers damage that occurs to your car. Some instances where coverage would apply are collision with another vehicle, vandalism, and damage from wind. The more damage repair cost the insured has to pay upfront, the lower your rates will be.

• Youthful drivers are expensive to insure – Inexperience drivers tend to be more careless with other occupants in the car so they pay higher auto insurance rates. Adding a youthful driver to your policy can really hurt. Older insureds are proven to be safer behind the wheel, tend to cause fewer accidents, and tend to be get fewer driving tickets.

  The following data uses these variables: single driver, full coverage with $100 deductibles, and no discounts or violations.

• Gender and car insurance premiums – Statistics show females are less aggressive when driving. Now that doesn’t mean women are better drivers. Both sexes get in fender benders at a similar rate, but males have accidents that have higher claims. Men also tend to receive more major tickets like driving under the influence (DUI).

  The example below illustrates the comparison of Dodge Dakota auto insurance rates for male and female drivers. The costs are based on no claims, a clean driving record, full coverage, $250 deductibles, marital status is single, and no other discounts are factored in.

• Drivers with excellent credit save – A driver’s credit rating is a large factor in calculating your premium rate. Insureds that have high credit ratings tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers with poor credit scores. So if your credit rating leaves room for improvement, you could save money insuring your Dodge Dakota if you improve your credit rating.

• Premiums increase with driving tickets – Whether or not you get tickets has a huge affect on how much you pay. Careful drivers have lower premiums as compared to careless drivers. Having a single ticket can increase the cost of insurance forty percent or more. Drivers who have severe violations like DUI, reckless driving or excessive speeding are required to maintain a SR-22 with their state motor vehicle department in order to legally drive.

  The chart below illustrates how violations and at-fault claims increase Dodge Dakota insurance costs for different age groups. The information is based on a single female driver, full coverage, $100 deductibles, and no discounts are applied to the premium.

Quote more to save more

Insureds leave their current company for any number of reasons including extreme rates for teen drivers, delays in responding to claim requests, high prices and policy cancellation. Whatever your reason, finding a great new company can be easy and end up saving you some money.

As you restructure your insurance plan, make sure you don’t buy less coverage just to save a little money. In too many instances, an insured cut liability limits or collision coverage and discovered at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your strategy should be to purchase plenty of coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.

Lower-priced Dodge Dakota insurance in San Jose can be purchased online and from local agencies, and you need to price shop both so you have a total pricing picture. Some insurance companies do not provide the ability to get a quote online and many times these small, regional companies only sell through local independent agents.

How to find cheaper Dodge Dakota insurance in San Jose

The recommended way to get low-cost Dodge Dakota insurance in San Jose is to start comparing rates regularly from different companies that insure vehicles in California.

Step 1: Try to learn a little about policy coverages and the measures you can control to prevent expensive coverage. Many risk factors that result in higher rates like at-fault accidents and an unfavorable credit rating can be controlled by improving your driving habits or financial responsibility.

Step 2: Obtain price quotes from direct carriers, independent agents, and exclusive agents. Direct companies and exclusive agencies can only give rate quotes from one company like GEICO and State Farm, while agents who are independent can give you price quotes for a wide range of insurance providers. View companies

Step 3: Compare the new quotes to your existing rates and determine if there is any savings. If you can save money and buy the policy, make sure the effective date of the new policy is the same as the expiration date of the old one.

Step 4: Give notification to your current company to cancel your current auto insurance policy and submit the completed application along with a down payment for your new policy. As soon as you receive it, keep your new certificate verifying coverage in your vehicle’s glove compartment or console.

A valuable tip to remember is to compare the same level of coverage on each quote request and and to get price quotes from as many companies as you can. This helps ensure a fair rate comparison and a good representation of prices.

For more information, take a look at the articles below:

• Auto Theft Statistics (Insurance Information Institute)
• Who Has the Cheapest San Jose Car Insurance Rates for a Toyota Corolla? (FAQ)
• Who Has Cheap Car Insurance for a Ford F-150 in San Jose? (FAQ)
• Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance Rates for Nurses in San Jose? (FAQ)
• What Insurance is Cheapest for Drivers Over Age 60 in San Jose? (FAQ)
• What Determines the Price of My Auto Insurance Policy? (Insurance Information Institute)
• Uninsured Motorists: Threats on the Road (Insurance Information Institute)
• Anti-Lock Brake FAQ (iihs.org)
• Auto Insurance FAQ (Farmers Insurance)