Cheap Insurance for a Ford Taurus in San Diego

Having to pay for pricey Ford Taurus insurance in San Diego can deplete your checking account and make it tough to pay other bills. Performing a price comparison can lower your rates and help to make ends meet.

Surprisingly, a recent survey revealed that the majority of drivers have bought insurance from the same company for four years or more, and nearly 40% of drivers have never compared rates with other companies. With the average insurance premium being $1,400, California drivers could save an average of about $500 each year just by shopping around, but they underestimate the rate savings if they bought a different policy.

Having so many insurance providers from which to choose, it’s difficult to find the lowest price insurance provider.

It’s a great practice to take a look at other company’s rates occasionally since prices are usually higher with each renewal. Even if you think you had the lowest rates on Ford Taurus insurance in San Diego at your last renewal other companies may now be cheaper. You’ll find a ton of advice on Taurus insurance on the internet, but I’m going to show you some of the best techniques to lower your insurance bill.

Companies offering Ford Taurus insurance in California

The car insurance companies shown below can provide comparison quotes in California. If several companies are displayed, it’s highly recommended you visit several of them in order to get a fair rate comparison.

Data assumes single female driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $100 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, claim-free, safe-driver, multi-vehicle, and multi-policy. Prices do not factor in vehicle location which can increase or decrease coverage rates noticeably.

Impact of citations and accidents on insurance rates

The chart below highlights how traffic violations and accident claims increase Ford Taurus auto insurance costs for different age groups. The premiums are based on a single male driver, full coverage, $100 deductibles, and no discounts are applied.

Affordable San Diego auto insurance quotes with discounts

Car insurance can cost a lot, but you may find discounts that may help make it more affordable. Many discounts should be triggered at the time of quoting, but some may not be applied and must be asked for before you will receive the discount.

• Braking Control Discount – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems prevent accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
• Discounts for Multiple Vehicles – Insuring multiple cars on a single policy can get a discount for every vehicle.
• Renewal Discounts – A few auto insurance companies allow discounts for switching companies early. It can save you around 10%.
• Student Discount for Driver Training – Have your child enroll in driver’s education if offered at their school.
• Auto/Home Discount – When you have multiple policies and place coverage with the same company you may earn as much as 10 to 15 percent.
• Waiver for an Accident – Not a discount per se, but some companies like Liberty Mutual, Allstate and State Farm will let one accident slide before raising your premiums so long as you haven’t had any claims for a set time period.
• Theft Prevention Discount – Vehicles with anti-theft systems prevent vehicle theft and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
• Low Mileage Discounts – Driving fewer miles could be rewarded with discounted premium rates on garaged vehicles.

As is typical with insurance, some credits don’t apply to the entire cost. A few only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like you could get a free auto insurance policy, companies don’t profit that way. Any qualifying discounts should help lower your policy premiums.

The best auto insurance companies and a selection of discounts include:

• GEICO may offer discounts for air bags, multi-vehicle, military active duty, defensive driver, and anti-theft.
• Mercury Insurance policyholders can earn discounts including age of vehicle, annual mileage, anti-theft, low natural disaster claims, good driver, and good student.
• Farmers Insurance includes discounts for switch companies, alternative fuel, mature driver, multi-car, bundle discounts, teen driver, and electronic funds transfer.
• Auto-Owners Insurance offers premium reductions for safe driver, mature driver, multi-policy, paperless, student away at school, good student, and anti-theft.
• Liberty Mutual may have discounts that include good student, teen driver discount, exclusive group savings, new move discount, new vehicle discount, newly married, and hybrid vehicle.
• SAFECO has savings for safe driver, drive less, homeowner, anti-theft, and multi-car.
• Progressive may include discounts for homeowner, multi-policy, good student, continuous coverage, multi-vehicle, and online signing.
• USAA offers discounts including new vehicle, vehicle storage, multi-vehicle, family discount, annual mileage, military installation, and loyalty savings.

Check with all the companies how many discounts you can get. Some discounts listed above might not be available to policyholders in San Diego. To see insurers that offer the discounts shown above in California, click this link.

Situations that may require an agent’s advice

When buying coverage, there isn’t really a single plan that fits everyone. You are unique so this has to be addressed.
These are some specific questions can aid in determining whether you could use an agent’s help.

• Is my trailer covered?
• Will my rates increase for filing one claim?
• Is my teen driver covered when they drive my company car?
• What is the ISO rating for a Ford Taurus?
• How can I get the company to pay a claim?
• How much cheaper are high deductibles?
• Is my Ford Taurus covered if I use it for business?

If you’re not sure about those questions but a few of them apply, you may need to chat with an insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, simply complete this short form or go to this page to view a list of companies.

Insurance agent or online?

Some consumers prefer to buy from a local agent and doing that can be a smart decision The biggest benefit of price shopping on the web is the fact that drivers can get the best rates and still have an agent to talk to. And supporting local agencies is still important in San Diego.

To help locate an agent, after submitting this short form, the coverage information is sent to participating agents in San Diego that provide free San Diego car insurance quotes for your coverage. You won’t even need to drive around since price quotes are sent immediately to your email address. You can get cheaper car insurance rates without the usual hassles of price shopping. If you have a need to quote rates from a specific insurance company, just jump over to their website and fill out their quote form.

When searching for a local insurance agency, there are a couple of different types of agencies from which to choose. Insurance agencies in San Diego are either independent or exclusive.

Independent Insurance Agents

Agents of this type are not employed by any specific company and that enables them to quote your coverage through many companies and find the cheapest rate. If you want to switch companies, your agent can just switch to a different company and that require little work on your part.

If you are trying to find cheaper rates, it’s a good idea to get rate quotes from at least one independent agent to have the most options to choose from.

Shown below is a list of independent agents in San Diego who can help you get price quotes.

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Exclusive Agents

Agents that choose to be exclusive can only write with one company and examples are State Farm, Allstate, and Farm Bureau. They are unable to compare rates from other companies so it’s a take it or leave it situation. Exclusive agents receive extensive training on their company’s products and that enables them to sell even at higher rates.

The following is a short list of exclusive agencies in San Diego that can give you rate quotes.

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Picking an auto insurance agent requires you to look at more than just the bottom line cost. Some important questions to ask are:

• What are the financial ratings for the companies they represent?
• Do you have coverage for a rental car if your vehicle is in the repair shop?
• Where would your vehicle be repaired?
• Will one accident increase rates?
• Do they specialize in personal lines auto insurance in San Diego?
• How are they compensated?

Car insurance 101

Understanding the coverages of your insurance policy helps when choosing which coverages you need for your vehicles. Insurance terms can be ambiguous and coverage can change by endorsement. Listed below are the normal coverages found on the average insurance policy.

Comprehensive insurance

This pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for claims like hitting a deer, falling objects and hitting a bird. The maximum payout you’ll receive from a claim is the actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Coverage for liability

Liability insurance will cover damage that occurs to other people or property. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You commonly see policy limits of 15/30/5 which means a $15,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $30,000 in injury protection per accident, and $5,000 of coverage for damaged property. Alternatively, you may have one limit called combined single limit (CSL) which limits claims to one amount with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability insurance covers things such as loss of income, legal defense fees, court costs and structural damage. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a decision to put some thought into, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible. California state law requires minimum liability limits of 15/30/5 but you should think about purchasing higher limits.

Collision coverage

Collision insurance will pay to fix damage to your Taurus caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.

Collision insurance covers things like hitting a mailbox, sustaining damage from a pot hole, crashing into a ditch and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from lower value vehicles. You can also choose a higher deductible on your Taurus in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Coverage for medical expenses

Med pay and PIP coverage provide coverage for bills like funeral costs, doctor visits and hospital visits. They are often used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover both the driver and occupants and also covers getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Coverage for uninsured or underinsured drivers

This provides protection when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered claims include hospital bills for your injuries and also any damage incurred to your Ford Taurus.

Due to the fact that many California drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits (which is 15/30/5), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Normally these coverages do not exceed the liability coverage limits.

How much can you save?

Throughout this article, we presented a lot of tips how to shop for Ford Taurus insurance online. It’s most important to understand that the more providers you compare, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even discover the biggest savings come from a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. Some small companies may often insure only within specific states and give better rates than their larger competitors like Progressive or GEICO.

Affordable Ford Taurus insurance in San Diego can be found both online and from local agencies, so you need to shop San Diego car insurance with both to have the best chance of lowering rates. A few companies may not offer price quotes online and usually these regional insurance providers work with independent agents.

Helpful resources

• Honda warning system reduces insurance claims (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
• How Much are Auto Insurance Rates for a Dodge Grand Caravan in San Diego? (FAQ)
• Credit and Insurance Scores (Insurance Information Institute)
• Older Driver Statistics (Insurance Information Institute)
• Insuring a Leased Car (Insurance Information Institute)
• Things to Know Before you Cancel Insurance (Allstate)