Unimaginable but true, a large majority of insurance policyholders in Massachusetts have purchased from the same company for four years or more, and roughly 40% of drivers have never compared rates with other companies. Drivers in the U.S. could pocket nearly $850 a year just by comparing rates, but they don’t want to spend time to find cheap insurance by shopping around.
The recommended way to get low-cost car insurance rates in Boston is to make a habit of regularly comparing prices from insurance carriers in Massachusetts. Rates can be compared by completing these steps.
- Try to understand how auto insurance works and the things you can change to prevent high rates. Many rating criteria that result in higher prices such as traffic tickets, fender benders, and a bad credit score can be rectified by improving your driving habits or financial responsibility. Keep reading for more information to get cheaper rates and find available discounts that you may qualify for.
- Compare rates from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Direct companies and exclusive agencies can provide rates from one company like GEICO or Allstate, while independent agents can quote prices from multiple companies.
- Compare the new rate quotes to your existing coverage and determine if there is any savings. If you find a lower rate, verify that coverage does not lapse between policies.
- Provide proper notification to your current company of your intent to cancel your current policy and submit the required down payment along with the signed application for your new policy. Once coverage is bound, put the new certificate verifying coverage in an accessible location in your vehicle.
A good tip to remember is to compare the same level of coverage on each quote and and to compare as many auto insurance providers as possible. This enables an apples-to-apples comparison and the best price selection.
Finding cheap Hyundai Sonata Hybrid insurance prices is actually quite simple. You just need to spend a few minutes comparing rate quotes provided by online insurance companies.
Online shopping is fast and free, and it makes it obsolete to waste gas driving to and from local Boston insurance agencies. The ability to get quotes online makes this unnecessary unless you’re the type of person who wants the advice and guidance of a local Boston agent. It is possible to price shop your coverage online but still have the advice of a local agent.
The following companies are ready to provide free quotes in Massachusetts. If multiple companies are listed, it’s a good idea that you click on several of them in order to get a fair rate comparison.
It may be expensive, but it’s not optional
Even though it’s not necessarily cheap to insure a Hyundai in Boston, buying car insurance may not be optional for several reasons.
- Just about all states have mandatory insurance requirements which means the state requires a specific minimum amount of liability insurance if you drive a vehicle. In Massachusetts these limits are 20/40/5 which means you must have $20,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $40,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $5,000 of property damage coverage.
- If you took out a loan on your vehicle, it’s most likely the lender will stipulate that you have insurance to protect their interest in the vehicle. If you do not keep the policy in force, the lender may have to buy a policy to insure your Hyundai for a lot more money and force you to pay for the expensive policy.
- Car insurance preserves not only your Hyundai but also your financial assets. It will also pay for medical expenses for yourself as well as anyone injured by you. One policy coverage, liability insurance, also pays for attorney fees and expenses in the event you are sued. If mother nature or an accident damages your car, collision and comprehensive coverages will cover the damage repairs after a deductible is paid.
The benefits of having car insurance outweigh the cost, especially when you need to use it. The average driver in Massachusetts is currently overpaying as much as $869 every year so smart consumers compare quotes every year to save money.
What auto insurance coverages do you need?
Understanding the coverages of auto insurance can help you determine the best coverages for your vehicles. Auto insurance terms can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Shown next are the usual coverages found on the average auto insurance policy.
Medical expense insurance – Med pay and PIP coverage provide coverage for bills for things like doctor visits, hospital visits, pain medications and ambulance fees. They are used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. It covers both the driver and occupants as well as if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Liability – Liability coverage provides protection from damage or injury you incur to a person or their property by causing an accident. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see limits of 20/40/5 which means a $20,000 limit per person for injuries, a total of $40,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a limit of $5,000 paid for damaged property. Another option is one number which is a combined single limit which provides one coverage limit and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.
Liability coverage pays for claims like repair costs for stationary objects, structural damage, emergency aid, bail bonds and medical services. How much liability should you purchase? That is a decision to put some thought into, but you should buy as large an amount as possible. Massachusetts state minimum liability requirements are 20/40/5 but you should consider buying more coverage.
The next chart shows why low liability limits may not be enough coverage.
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers – This coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when the “other guys” either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.
Since many Massachusetts drivers only carry the minimum required liability limits (20/40/5), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Usually these coverages do not exceed the liability coverage limits.
Collision coverage – Collision coverage covers damage to your Sonata Hybrid resulting from a collision with an object or car. You have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.
Collision coverage pays for claims such as colliding with a tree, backing into a parked car and scraping a guard rail. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so consider dropping it from older vehicles. You can also bump up the deductible on your Sonata Hybrid to save money on collision insurance.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision) – Comprehensive insurance coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers claims like damage from getting keyed, hitting a bird, vandalism, damage from flooding and fire damage. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Boston car insurance companies
Ending up with the best insurer can be a challenge considering how many companies provide coverage in Boston. The company information below may help you select which auto insurance companies to look at shopping prices with.
Top 10 Boston Car Insurance Companies by A.M. Best Rank
- USAA – A++
- GEICO – A++
- Travelers – A++
- State Farm – A++
- Allstate – A+
- Nationwide – A+
- Esurance – A+
- Progressive – A+
- The Hartford – A+
- Mercury Insurance – A+
Top 10 Boston Car Insurance Companies Ranked by Value
- The General
- The Hartford
- Farmers Insurance
- Titan Insurance
- Mercury Insurance
- 21st Century
- Safeco Insurance
- AAA Insurance
- State Farm
- Travelers
Cheap auto insurance rates are possible
In this article, we covered a lot of information how to find lower-cost Hyundai Sonata Hybrid insurance in Boston. The key concept to understand is the more quotes you get, the higher the chance of saving money. Drivers may even discover the lowest priced auto insurance comes from a small mutual company. Smaller companies may often insure only within specific states and give better rates than the large multi-state companies such as State Farm and Allstate.
Affordable Hyundai Sonata Hybrid insurance in Boston is definitely available online in addition to many Boston insurance agents, so get free Boston car insurance quotes from both of them to get a complete price analysis. A few companies may not provide online quoting and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.
To learn more, take a look at the resources below:
- Young Drivers: The High Risk Years Video (iihs.org)
- Who Has Cheap Car Insurance for Drivers with Accidents in Boston? (FAQ)
- Who Has Affordable Auto Insurance for a Ford F-150 in Boston? (FAQ)
- Insurance losses by make and model (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- Eight Auto Insurance Myths (Insurance Information Institute)
- Get the Right Protection (InsureUonline.org)
- Preventing Carjacking and Theft (Insurance Information Institute)