You have probably watched the commercials from auto insurance companies like Progressive and Farmers that claim big savings, so you should just choose any of them, right?
Regrettably, it’s not quite that easy, as there are many unknown factors like if you are a homeowner, how experienced of a driver you are, the level of liability coverage you want, and the annual mileage you drive. This article delves into the best ways to compare rates and will hopefully give you a good start in finding the cheapest car insurance.
The type of vehicle requiring insurance is one of the main factors that determines the availablility of low-cost coverage for 4×4 vehicles. Vehicles with limited speed and performance, good safety features, or a low likelihood of having liability claims will cost substantially less to insure than adrenaline junky models. The data below outlines coverage prices for a number of the most cost-effective automobiles to buy coverage for.
Make and Model | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
---|---|
Toyota Prius | $1,409 |
Ford F-150 FX2 Super Cab 2WD | $1,421 |
Hyundai Elantra GLS Touring Station Wagon | $1,437 |
Honda CR-V EX 2WD | $1,446 |
Ford Focus S 4-Dr Sedan | $1,468 |
Toyota Tacoma 2WD | $1,476 |
Dodge Grand Caravan Hero | $1,498 |
Toyota RAV4 4WD | $1,508 |
Chevrolet Traverse LS AWD | $1,507 |
Chevrolet Malibu LT | $1,529 |
Ford Escape Limited 4WD | $1,562 |
Nissan Altima 2.5 S 4-Dr Sedan | $1,576 |
Toyota Corolla S | $1,582 |
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Table data represents married female driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Louisiana minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, claim-free, homeowner, multi-policy, and multi-vehicle. Estimates do not factor in specific location which can increase or decrease rates substantially.
By looking at the data, cars like the Toyota Prius, Ford F-150, Hyundai Elantra, and Honda CR-V should be the most budget-friendly vehicles to insure for off-road vehicles.
For off-road vehicles, one of the largest factors used to calculate rate quotes is your zip code in Louisiana. Urban areas that are densely populated like New Orleans, Marrero, and Baton Rouge will most likely pay more, whereas areas with less crime or weather claims get the luxury of paying less.
The illustration below sorts the priciest cities in Louisiana for 4×4 vehicles in which to buy car insurance.
Rank | City | Annual Premium |
---|---|---|
1 | New Orleans | $2,856 |
2 | Harvey | $2,589 |
3 | Marrero | $2,569 |
4 | Terrytown | $2,555 |
5 | Baton Rouge | $2,231 |
6 | Kenner | $2,225 |
7 | Central | $2,223 |
8 | Shenandoah | $2,204 |
9 | Metairie | $2,166 |
10 | Alexandria | $2,117 |
11 | Prairieville | $2,105 |
12 | Hammond | $2,065 |
13 | Laplace | $2,031 |
14 | Lake Charles | $1,993 |
15 | Lafayette | $1,976 |
16 | Monroe | $1,931 |
17 | Sulphur | $1,916 |
18 | New Iberia | $1,909 |
19 | Slidell | $1,899 |
20 | Shreveport | $1,838 |
21 | Natchitoches | $1,835 |
22 | Bayou Cane | $1,818 |
23 | Houma | $1,810 |
24 | Bossier City | $1,797 |
25 | Ruston | $1,720 |
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Premium costs are approximated as the specific geographic location can revise premiums significantly.
A great way to obtain cheap insurance for 4×4 vehicles in Louisiana is to be a careful driver and avoid accidents and keep your driving record clean. The illustration below illustrates how speeding tickets and at-fault claims can raise insurance costs for different age groups of insureds. The data is based on a single female driver, full coverage, $1,000 deductibles, and no discounts are applied.
google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawVioqcibChart);function drawVioqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘No Violations or Accidents’, ‘One Speeding Ticket and No Accidents’, ‘One Speeding Ticket and Two Accidents’],[‘Age 20’, 3713,4049,7221],[‘Age 30’, 2477,2815,5983],[‘Age 40’, 2323,2659,5831],[‘Age 50’, 2029,2365,5537],[‘Age 60’, 1967,2301,5473],[‘Age 70’, 2335,2673,5841]]);var options = {title: ‘Impact of Violations and Accidents on Louisiana Insurance Rates’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’, fontSize: 17, bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 600,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’, ‘height’: ‘70%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’,textStyle: {fontSize: 12}},colors:[‘#b2da64′,’#eed355′,’#e39e71’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Auto Insurance Cost for Average Vehicle in Louisiana’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},vAxis: {title: ‘Age of Insured’}};var formatter = new google.visualization.NumberFormat({fractionDigits: 0,prefix: ‘$’});formatter.format(data,1);formatter.format(data,2);formatter.format(data,3);var chart = new google.visualization.BarChart(document.getElementById(‘qcibvio’));chart.draw(data, options);}
The data charted above shows the average cost of auto insurance per year with no accidents or violations is $2,474. Factor in one speeding ticket and the average cost rises to $2,810, an increase of $336 each year. Then add in two accidents along with the one speeding ticket and the yearly cost of auto insurance for 4×4 vehicles goes up to an average of $5,981. That’s an increase of $3,507, or $292 per month, just for not driving carefully!
Ending up with a high-quality company can be challenging considering how many companies are available to choose from in Louisiana. The company information below could help you select which auto insurance companies to look at purchasing from. These rankings are for the companies with a significant amount of written premium nationwide, so smaller regional companies will not be included in these rankings.
You have many ways to find affordable auto insurance in Louisiana, but the most popular ways are through a non-exclusive or independent agent, an exlusive agent like State Farm or Allstate, or buying direct from a company like Geico or Progressive. They all follow the same basic process, but buyers need to know the differences in how they work.
Independent insurance agencies can place your business with multiple companies and can get policy pricing from all of them. Agents of this type possess the freedom to give you more rate choices, which can help you get the best shot at cutting your rates. If premiums increase, you can get a different policy which makes it simple for you.
An exclusive agent is restricted to quoting rates for a single insurance company like Farmers Insurance or State Farm agents. They usually cannot quote prices from more than a single company, which does not give you the best rate comparison.
Consumers who buy auto insurance direct skip the middleman (the agent) and instead buy buying direct from a company like Esurance or Geico. This option can be good for people who do not need risk management and have some degree of understanding of the exclusions of a policy.
So out of those three methods, which one works best to buy cheap insurance for 4×4 vehicles in Louisiana? It would be premature to say buying direct results in the cheapest rates because there isn’t an agent involved, but that does not always hold true. A valid argument could also be made that going through an independent agent is the best way because they can shop around, but again, that’s not a true statement. In a lot of cases, exclusive agents have really good rates that are the cheapest.
Because there is so much variation in auto insurance prices, the one way to buy the cheapest policy is to compare rate quotes from as many companies as possible. Industry experts recommend getting prices from all three types to give yourself enough choices. For a list of companies with online discounts, click here to view.