Everyone in Florida wants to find cheap auto insurance, but not everyone knows how to do it.
If you are moving to the start to escape the blistering cold, or you have lived on the beautiful coast for years, you need to be prepared to do what it takes to save off of your premiums.
So many believe that saving money means electing to carry a minimum amount of coverage that really does not offer you much of a shield of protection.
The only time that you should choose to lower coverage limits or remove coverage options and when you have shopped around and found that nothing falls into your restricted budget.
If you do not know the steps or the path that you should take to get cheap car insurance quote from providers in Florida, you have come to the right place.
Sometimes all it takes is a small amount of direction and invaluable information to do something in life that is important but that you dread to do.
Buying Florida car insurance may not be the most exciting thing to do with your free time, but when you use this guide to price shop you can reduce the time it takes so you have time left for activities that you enjoy.
Read on, and learn how to get free car insurance quotes in Florida and what you should consider to save money. Simply enter your ZIP code to get started above!
Understanding Florida Car Insurance Laws
In Florida, there is a mandatory auto insurance law. This means that you must buy coverage from a Florida insurer and then maintain that coverage for as long as your car is registered. If you buy a new car and register it, you will need to buy insurance on the car and show the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles that your vehicle is covered.
Failing to do this can result in a suspended driving privilege and registration for a period of up to 3 years.
In Florida, the state laws surrounding the types of required insurance consumers must buy are unique.
If you are coming to another state, you may be surprised to hear that Florida in one of the 12 states that operates under a no-fault type of system.
In a no-fault state like Florida, you are required to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. You are also required to carry liability coverage if you are in an accident who is from out-of-state.
Florida Auto Insurance Coverage Requirements
It may be surprising to hear that in Florida you are required to buy coverage to pays for your medical bills when you are in any type of accident.
This is part of living in a no-fault state. Florida state officials have mandated that all drivers that call Florida home must carry Personal Injury Protection and Property Damage Liability. Here is a basic breakdown that will show you how each coverage works:
Personal Injury Protection (PIP):
PIP will cover not only you, but also your relatives in the home and permissive drivers. It pays for your medical expenses and other expenses that can add up when you are in an accident and you are injured.
One thing about PIP is that it pays regardless of fault, making the ability to recover from injuries easier without the delays. The standard requirements says that you must carry $10,000 in PIP at a minimum. Your plan will pay for 80% of your medical expenses, 60% of your loss of wages, and a $5000 death benefit.
Property Damage Liability:
In addition to PIP, you must also carry at least $10,000 in Property Damage Liability. This pays for the damage that you cause to property that you or your household family members do not own.
Property is defined as any type of real property, which includes cars, buildings, homes, and fences.
Bodily Injury Liability (BIL):
Not everyone is required to purchase Bodily Injury Liability, but there are a group of drivers that must carry it.
Typically, state officials require high-risk drivers who have been convicted of DUI to purchase BIL. You will either need to carry $10,000 per person, up to $20,000 per accident limits, or higher limits.
BIL is a coverage to consider even if you do not have a DUI. This is because it pays for the injuries that you cause in a serious accident. If you have an accident with someone who does not live in the state or have PIP, then they can sue you for their damages. Having BIL protects you and can prevent unnecessary lawsuits.
Selecting the Coverage that You Want to Purchase
It is not possible to buy an insurance policy that protects you if you do not sit down and select the type of coverage that you want and need. Now that you know the state requirements, you must decide if you need supplemental coverage or higher PIP and PDL limits.
Raising your PIP limits is smart if you do not have medical insurance or disability coverage that helps kick in to cover your bills and lost wages.
If your vehicle is financed, leased or it is paid off and holds value, you should buy comprehensive and collision coverage to pay for damage to the car. If you do not have roadside assistance or an extra car, you should consider towing and rental car reimbursement.
While your budget is important, getting everything that you need at a low price is more important. Once you consider which limits are right and which add-ons are essential, you can then start to search for cheap car insurance quotes.
Compare Car Insurance Quotes with Multiple Florida Carriers
You must buy your coverage from a company that is licensed by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Not only is that part of the no-fault law, it is essential for consumer protection. Once you do a company search and find a list of carriers that can legally sell to you, the next step is to find out how much these carriers charge to provide you with the limits you have settled on.
You will need to consider not just how much they charge, but also what their reputation in the marketplace is before you make a final decision. If you would like to look at costs first, it is time to learn how to get quotes quickly without skipping past quality.
The Best Methods to Get Quotes
There are plenty of different ways that you can get cheap car insurance quotes in Florida. It is up to you to decide which way is most practical and convenient for you. Here are the options that you may have never considered:
Visiting a local exclusive agency offering quotes for a single carrier
Calling a local exclusive agent directly from work during office hours
Visiting a local brokerage office that sells policies from multiple insurers
Calling brokers during your lunch break and requesting quotes by mail
Visiting a carrier’s website and use quoting tool for online quotes
Email agents or companies for quotes via email
Visiting an online website that gives you access to multiple quotes at once
It is best to get face-to-face quotes when you prefer traditional service and you have the time to visit several different agencies during a period of a few weeks to buy a single policy.
If you like speaking with someone but cannot make the time to visit an office, you may want to get a quote by phone where you can still get recommendations. The last option is to get quotes online, either through the official company or a brokerage style tool.
The brokerage-style rating tool tends to be the best for modern consumers who really want to save money without spending all of their time.
Get All of the Discounts that You Qualify For
Saving money may be about shopping around, but you also need to get discounts that will turn expensive premiums to affordable ones. Insurance companies offer discounts for a myriad of different things.
Many times, the discounts are offered because it lowers the risk that you present to the insurer. Other times, the discounts are offered to give you an incentive to stay with the company or to buy insurance with the company. Here are some discounts offered in Florida:
Good Student
Low Mileage
Mature Driver Training
Good Driver/Accident-free
Renewal/Loyalty discounts
Anti-theft discounts
Driver Education Discounts
Cheap car insurance is not always the best type of auto insurance. It is best to find a policy that you can afford and that offers you some kind of value. You will need to decide if one carrier is better than the next as you compare costs.
After you narrow down the options and then you find the companies with the best products, you can choose when the time to buy is. Shop for quotes online, save time, and then you save money.
Enter your ZIP code to get started below!
Original article: Getting Cheap Car Insurance Quotes in Florida
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