Cheap Insurance for a Chrysler PT Cruiser in Santa Ana

The best way we recommend to get the cheapest Chrysler PT Cruiser insurance in Santa Ana is to make a habit of comparing prices annually from companies that sell auto insurance in California.

Step 1: It will benefit you to learn about the coverage provided by your policy and the measures you can control to lower rates. Many things that result in higher rates such as careless driving and poor credit history can be rectified by making lifestyle changes or driving safer.

Step 2: Quote rates from independent agents, exclusive agents, and direct companies. Exclusive agents and direct companies can only give prices from a single company like GEICO and State Farm, while independent agents can quote rates from multiple insurance companies.

Step 3: Compare the new rates to your current policy to see if switching to a new carrier will save money. If you can save money and switch companies, ensure coverage does not lapse between policies.

Step 4: Provide adequate notice to your current company of your intention to cancel the current policy. Submit a completed application and payment to your new insurance company. Once the paperwork is finalized, safely store the certificate verifying coverage along with the vehicle's registration papers.

One important bit of advice is to try to compare the same coverage limits and deductibles on every price quote and and to get prices from every company you can. This helps ensure an apples-to-apples comparison and maximum price selection.

Unthinkable but true, a large majority of drivers kept their coverage with the same car insurance company for a minimum of four years, and almost 40% of drivers have never even compared quotes to find affordable rates. The average driver in California could cut their rates by 35% a year by just comparing rate quotes, but they just don't understand how much money they would save if they just switched companies.

Finding the cheapest insurance coverage in Santa Ana can be easy if you know a few tricks. If you are insured now or want to find a cheaper company, you can follow these tips to reduce premiums and still get good coverage. Consumers just have to learn how to compare company rates over the internet.

The companies shown below are our best choices to provide quotes in Santa Ana, CA. If several companies are displayed, we recommend you get rate quotes from several of them to find the lowest auto insurance rates.

Choosing Chrysler PT Cruiser insurance is an important decision

Despite the potentially high cost of Chrysler PT Cruiser insurance, insuring your vehicle may be mandatory for several reasons.

• The majority of states have minimum mandated liability insurance limits which means it is punishable by state law to not carry a minimum amount of liability in order to license the vehicle. 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 your vehicle has a lienholder, more than likely the lender will stipulate that you have full coverage to ensure the loan is repaid in case of a total loss. If you default on your policy, the bank will be required to insure your Chrysler at a more expensive rate and require you to pay much more than you were paying before.
• Insurance protects your vehicle and your assets. It will also cover hospital and medical expenses that are the result of an accident. Liability insurance will also pay to defend you if someone files suit against you as the result of an accident. If your vehicle suffers damage from an accident or hail, comprehensive (other-than-collision) and collision coverage will pay to restore your vehicle to like-new condition.

The benefits of insuring your PT Cruiser more than offset the price you pay, especially with large liability claims. According to a survey of 1,000 drivers, the average driver is wasting up to $865 each year so shop around every year to make sure the price is not too high.

Coverage analysis

The rate table displayed next covers different coverage costs for Chrysler PT Cruiser models. Being more informed about how insurance rates are calculated can help you make decisions on which insurance to purchase.

Data rating is based on married male driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $250 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, claim-free, and homeowner. Estimates do not factor in vehicle location which can lower or raise coverage prices greatly.

Choosing deductibles

When comparing insurance rates, the most common question is where should you set your physical damage deductibles. The following insurance rates may help you to understand the rate differences of buying low and high policy deductibles. The first rate estimation uses a $250 physical damage deductible and the second price grid uses a $500 deductible.

Table data represents married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, homeowner, and safe-driver. Information does not factor in your specific Santa Ana location which can decrease or increase premium rates noticeably.

We can derive from the above data that using a $250 deductible costs about $14 more each month or $168 each year than buying the higher $500 deductible. Since you would pay $250 more out of your own pocket with a $500 deductible as compared to a $250 deductible, if you average more than 18 months between claim filings, you would probably save some money going with the higher deductible.

One important issue to know is that raising deductibles means you pay more out-of-pocket when you file a claim. You need to have some savings in the event you have to pay the deductible.

The information below shows how different deductible levels and can impact Chrysler PT Cruiser insurance costs for different ages of insureds. The premium estimates are based on a married male driver, comp and collision included, and no discounts are taken into consideration.

Price comparison of only insuring for liability

The illustration below illustrates the difference between Chrysler PT Cruiser car insurance rates when comparing full coverage to liability only. The data is based on no claims or violations, $500 deductibles, single status, and no discounts are applied.

When to buy liability coverage only

There is no specific rule of when to drop comp and collision coverage, but there is a guideline you can consider. If the annual cost of comprehensive and collision coverage is more than 10% of the vehicle's replacement cost less your deductible, then you may need to consider dropping full coverage.

For example, let's say your Chrysler PT Cruiser book value is $7,000 and you have $1,000 policy deductibles. If your vehicle is damaged in an accident, the most you would receive is $6,000 after paying your policy deductible. If premium cost is more than $600 annually for comprehensive and collision coverage, then it may be the right time to buy liability only.

There are some scenarios where buying only liability insurance is not recommended. If you still owe a portion of the original loan, you are required to maintain full coverage in order to satisfy the requirements of the loan. Also, if your emergency fund is not enough to purchase a different vehicle in the even your car is totaled, you should not eliminate full coverage.

Chrysler PT Cruiser insurance discounts in Santa Ana

Auto insurance is not cheap nor is it fun to buy but you may be missing some discounts that you may not know about. Some of these discounts will be visible when you quote, but occasionally some discounts must be asked about before being credited.

• One Accident Forgiven - This one isn't a discount, but companies like Liberty Mutual, Allstate and State Farm will forgive one accident without the usual rate increase if you are claim-free for a set time period.
• Good Driver Discount - Accident-free drivers can pay as much as 50% less than less cautious drivers.
• Payment Method - If you can afford to pay the entire bill instead of making monthly payments you may have a lower total premium amount.
• Policy Bundle Discount - If you insure your home and vehicles with one company you could earn a discount of at least 10 to 15 percent or more.
• Distant College Student Discount - Older children who attend college more than 100 miles from Santa Ana and won't have access to an insured vehicle may qualify for this discount.
• Life Insurance - Select companies reward you with lower premium rates if you buy life insurance from them.
• Sign Early and Save - A few larger companies allow discounts for switching policies before your current PT Cruiser insurance policy expires. Ten percent is about the average savings.
• Organization Discounts - Having an affiliation with qualifying clubs or civic groups is a simple method to lower premiums when shopping for auto insurance.
• Air Bag Discount - Vehicles equipped with air bags or automatic seat belts can receive discounts as much as 30%.
• Active Service Discounts - Being on active duty in the military could be rewarded with lower premium rates.

Discounts save money, but please remember that most discounts do not apply to your bottom line cost. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. So when the math indicates adding up those discounts means a free policy, nobody gets a free ride. Any qualifying discounts should help reduce your policy premiums.

The diagram below visualizes the comparison of Chrysler PT Cruiser yearly insurance costs with and without discounts. The rates are based on a male driver, no violations or accidents, California state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $100 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with claim-free, safe-driver, multi-car, marriage, homeowner, and multi-policy discounts applied.

A list of companies and some of the discounts are shown below.

• State Farm policyholders can earn discounts including accident-free, driver's education, good student, anti-theft, and multiple policy.
• American Family may offer discounts for Steer into Savings, defensive driver, bundled insurance, good student, multi-vehicle, and TimeAway discount.
• AAA offers discounts for multi-car, multi-policy, pay-in-full, good student, good driver, AAA membership discount, and anti-theft.
• GEICO offers premium reductions for emergency military deployment, military active duty, driver training, multi-vehicle, daytime running lights, defensive driver, and anti-lock brakes.
• Mercury Insurance may have discounts that include professional/association, annual mileage, multi-policy, anti-theft, and age of vehicle.
• Farmers Insurance discounts include bundle discounts, early shopping, distant student, switch companies, multi-car, and youthful driver.
• Progressive offers discounts including online signing, multi-policy, good student, online quote discount, homeowner, and continuous coverage.

When getting free Santa Ana auto insurance quotes, it's a good idea to all the companies to apply every possible discount. Depending on the company, some discounts might not be offered on policies in your area. To see a list of insurance companies that offer many of these discounts in California, click here.