It’s a fact that insurance companies don’t want their policyholders to compare prices. Insureds who get comparison quotes at least once a year are inclined to move their business because they have good chances of finding good coverage at a lower price. Surprisingly, a recent survey revealed that drivers who compared rates annually saved approximately $865 a year compared to those who never compared other company’s rates.
If finding the lowest price for auto insurance is your ultimate goal, then understanding the best ways to shop for auto insurance can save time and money.
The recommended way to find cheaper prices for car insurance rates in San Jose is to annually compare prices from companies in California. Drivers can shop around by following these steps.
- Get a basic knowledge of the different coverages in a policy and the changes you can make to keep rates down. Many policy risk factors that drive up the price such as traffic violations and poor credit rating can be controlled by paying attention to minor details. Read the full article for instructions to get cheaper coverage and earn a bigger discount.
- Get rate quotes from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Direct and exclusive agents can give quotes from one company like Progressive and State Farm, while independent agents can give you price quotes from multiple sources.
- Compare the quotes to your existing coverage to see if you can save by switching companies. If you find a better price, make sure coverage does not lapse between policies.
One key aspect when comparing rates is to make sure you’re comparing identical deductibles and limits on each price quote and and to get price estimates from as many carriers as you can. This ensures the most accurate price comparison and a complete selection of prices.
Locating the best insurance company for you in San Jose is actually not that difficult if you follow our advice. If you currently have a car insurance policy, you will most likely be able to buy cheaper car insurance using the tips covered below. Nevertheless, California car owners do need to know the way companies calculate your car insurance rates and use this information to your advantage.
Lower Your San Jose Insurance Costs
Many factors are part of the calculation when premium rates are determined. Some are obvious such as your driving record, but some are less apparent like your continuous coverage or how safe your car is.
- If you don’t need it don’t buy it – Insurance policies have a lot of add-on coverages that may not really be needed but may not be useful. Insurance for coverage for rental cars, accident forgiveness, and additional equipment coverage are examples of these. They may seem like a good idea at first, but now you might not need them so think about removing them and cutting costs.
- Long commutes cost more – Driving more miles annually the higher your rate. A lot of insurance companies charge to insure your cars based upon how much you drive. Vehicles used primarily for pleasure use receive lower rates compared to those used for work or business. Double check that your auto insurance declarations sheet is showing the right rating data. Having the wrong rating on your Quest is just wasting money.
- Male premiums may be higher – Over the last 50 years, statistics have shown women are more cautious behind the wheel. Now that doesn’t mean women are BETTER drivers than men. Females and males cause auto accidents at a similar rate, but the male of the species cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Not only that, but men also receive more costly citations like reckless driving and DUI.
- Does your job cost you more? – Jobs such as lawyers, executives, and dentists are shown to have higher rates than average due to high stress and lots of time spent away from family. On the other hand, occupations such as farmers, athletes and performers pay lower than average rates.
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Insurance losses for a Nissan Quest – Insurers analyze historical claim data when setting rates for each model. Models that historically have higher loss trends will have a higher cost to insure. The table below demonstrates the compiled insurance loss statistics for Nissan Quest vehicles.
For each type of coverage, the loss probability for all vehicles, as an average, is a value of 100. Numbers below 100 suggest a better than average loss history, while numbers above 100 indicate higher probability of having a loss or an increased probability of a larger loss.
Nissan Quest Insurance Loss Statistics Vehicle Model Collision Property Damage Comp Personal Injury Medical Payment Bodily Injury Nissan Quest 96 103 94 120 115 98 BETTERAVERAGEWORSEStatistics from IIHS.org for 2013-2015 Model Years
It’s important to know that comparing a wide range of rates will enable you to find the best rates.
The companies shown below provide price comparisons in San Jose, CA. If more than one company is shown, we recommend you compare several of them to get the best price comparison.
Choosing Nissan Quest insurance is an important decision
Even though it can be expensive, insurance is not optional due to several reasons.
- Just about all states have minimum mandated liability insurance limits which means state laws require specific minimum amounts of liability in order to get the vehicle licensed. In California these limits are 15/30/5 which means you must have $15,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $5,000 of property damage coverage.
- If you have a lien on your Nissan Quest, more than likely the lender will have a requirement that you carry insurance to ensure the loan is repaid in case of a total loss. If you cancel or allow the policy to lapse, the bank may buy a policy for your Nissan at an extremely high rate and force you to pay much more than you were paying before.
- Insurance preserves not only your vehicle but also your financial assets. Insurance will pay for all forms of medical expenses for you, your passengers, and anyone else injured in an accident. One policy coverage, liability insurance, will also pay for a defense attorney if someone files suit against you as the result of an accident. If mother nature or an accident damages your car, comprehensive and collision coverage will pay to repair the damage minus the deductible amount.
The benefits of buying enough insurance definitely exceed the cost, particularly for liability claims. In a recent study of 1,000 drivers, the average customer is overpaying more than $830 a year so it’s recommended you shop around at every renewal to ensure rates are competitive.
Determine discounts on San Jose insurance
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but there’s a good chance there are discounts that could help you make your next renewal payment. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at the time of quoting, but a few need to be specially asked for before you get the savings.
- Safety Course Discount – Taking time to complete a class that teaches driver safety techniques is a good idea and can lower rates and make you a better driver.
- Own a Home and Save – Just being a homeowner may earn you a small savings because owning a home requires a higher level of personal finance.
- Save over 55 – If you’re over the age of 55, you may be able to get better insurance rates.
- Life Insurance Discount – Select companies reward you with better prices if you take out a life insurance policy as well.
- E-sign – Certain insurance companies give back up to $50 for buying your policy on the web.
- ABS Brakes – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles can reduce accidents and will save you 10% or more on Quest insurance in San Jose.
- Save with a New Car – Adding a new car to your policy is cheaper because new model year vehicles keep occupants safer.
- Military Rewards – Having a family member in the military may qualify for rate reductions.
- Air Bags and Passive Restraints – Factory options such as air bags or motorized seat belts could see savings of 20 to 30 percent.
Drivers should understand that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the whole policy. Most only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as collision or personal injury protection. Just because you may think you would end up receiving a 100% discount, insurance companies wouldn’t stay in business.
Popular insurance companies and some of the premium reductions they offer are shown below.
- Progressive offers discounts including homeowner, good student, multi-vehicle, online quote discount, and multi-policy.
- The Hartford policyholders can earn discounts including bundle, air bag, defensive driver, driver training, and anti-theft.
- Mercury Insurance offers premium reductions for accident-free, age of vehicle, low natural disaster claims, good student, annual mileage, anti-theft, and location of vehicle.
- GEICO has discounts for seat belt use, anti-lock brakes, multi-policy, air bags, emergency military deployment, federal employee, and daytime running lights.
- AAA includes discounts for multi-policy, anti-theft, multi-car, education and occupation, AAA membership discount, and pay-in-full.
- State Farm may include discounts for driver’s education, passive restraint, good driver, accident-free, multiple policy, and Drive Safe & Save.
Check with every prospective company which discounts they offer. Savings might not be offered on policies in San Jose. To see a list of providers that offer many of these discounts in San Jose, click here.
Compare rate quotes but buy from a local San Jose insurance agency
Some people just prefer to get advice from a local agent and that can be a smart move The best thing about comparing auto insurance online is you may find lower car insurance rates but also keep your business local.
To find an agent, once you fill out this short form, your coverage information is transmitted to local insurance agents that can provide free San Jose car insurance quotes for your business. There is no reason to drive around since price quotes are sent to you directly. You can get cheaper auto insurance rates AND a local agent. If for some reason you want to get a price quote from a specific auto insurance provider, just jump over to their website and fill out the quote form the provide.
Finding the right provider is decision based upon more than just a low price. Below are some questions you should ask.
- Do you have coverage for a rental car if your vehicle is in the repair shop?
- How often do they review policy coverages?
- Will vehicle repairs be made with aftermarket parts or OEM replacement parts?
- Are glass claims handled on-site or do you have to take your vehicle to a repair shop?
- What insurance companies do they recommend if they are an independent agent?
- Are they able to influence company decisions when a claim is filed?
If you want to buy auto insurance from a local San Jose insurance agency, you must know there are a couple different types of agents and how they can write your policy. Auto insurance agents can be described as either independent (non-exclusive) or exclusive.
Exclusive Insurance Agents
Agents in the exclusive channel generally can only insure with one company and some examples include State Farm, Allstate, or Farmers Insurance. Exclusive agents cannot provide other company’s prices so you need to shop around if the rates are high. They are well schooled on the products they sell which aids in selling service over price.
Below is a list of exclusive insurance agencies in San Jose who can help you get price quote information.
Tami Pratt – State Farm Insurance Agent
360 Kiely Blvd #125 – San Jose, CA 95129 – (408) 247-6800 – View Map
Doug Kim – State Farm Insurance Agent
1361 S Winchester Blvd #107 – San Jose, CA 95128 – (408) 370-2008 – View Map
John Hong – State Farm Insurance Agent
1777 Saratoga Ave #100 – San Jose, CA 95129 – (408) 777-8700 – View Map
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Agents that elect to be independent often have many company appointments and that enables them to quote your coverage with lots of companies and help determine which has the cheapest rates. If they find a cheaper price, they simply switch companies in-house without you having to go to a different agency.
When comparing auto insurance prices, we recommend you include rate quotes from several independent insurance agents to have the best price comparison.
The following is a list of independent insurance agents in San Jose willing to provide rate quotes.
Khalsa Insurance Agency
3750 McKee Rd A – San Jose, CA 95127 – (408) 272-2500 – View Map
Sergio Plascencia Insurance Agency
3136 Story Rd – San Jose, CA 95127 – (408) 254-8336 – View Map
Casey Nguyen Insurance Agency, Inc.
1639 Meridian Ave a – San Jose, CA 95125 – (408) 286-4467 – View Map
Smart consumers save more
You just read many ideas to reduce Nissan Quest insurance premium rates online in San Jose. The key concept to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even find the best price on insurance is with a lesser-known regional company. They may only write in your state and offer lower prices as compared to the big name companies such as Allstate and Progressive.
Cheaper Nissan Quest insurance in San Jose is definitely available both online and also from your neighborhood San Jose agents, so you need to quote San Jose car insurance with both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers don’t offer internet price quotes and many times these small insurance companies prefer to sell through local independent agents.
Helpful resources
- Coverage Information (Progressive Insurance)
- Who Has Cheap San Jose Car Insurance Quotes for Drivers Over Age 70? (FAQ)
- Credit Impacts Car Insurance Rates (State Farm)
- Distracted Driving Extends Beyond Texting (State Farm)