It’s well known that insurance companies don’t want their customers to go rate shopping. People who shop around for cheaper rates will most likely buy a different policy because of the high probability of finding lower rate quotes. A recent insurance study discovered that consumers who compared rates regularly saved approximately $3,500 over four years as compared to drivers who never compared prices.
If finding the best rates on Lincoln MKC insurance in Oakland is your goal, then learning a little about how to find and compare insurance premiums can help you succeed in finding affordable rates.
If you want to save money, the best way to find cheaper quotes for Lincoln MKC insurance is to compare prices annually from providers who provide car insurance in Oakland. Price quotes can be compared by completing these steps.
- First, learn about the different coverages in a policy and the measures you can take to keep rates low. Many policy risk factors that cause high rates such as at-fault accidents, speeding tickets, and a low credit rating can be rectified by being financially responsible and driving safely. This article provides more information to get better rates and find available discounts that you may qualify for.
- Second, request price quotes from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Exclusive agents and direct companies can only quote rates from one company like GEICO or State Farm, while independent agencies can quote rates for a wide range of companies.
- Third, compare the price quotes to the premium of your current policy to see if switching to a new carrier will save money. If you find a lower rate quote, ensure coverage does not lapse between policies.
The most important part of shopping around is to try to use identical limits and deductibles on every quote request and and to get quotes from as many different insurance providers as possible. Doing this provides a fair rate comparison and and a good selection of different prices.
Lincoln MKC Insurance Rate Factors
An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the things that play a part in calculating auto insurance rates. If you understand what determines premiums, this allows you to make good choices that can help you get big savings. Many things are part of the calculation when quoting car insurance. Some factors are common sense such as traffic violations, but other factors are not quite as obvious such as whether you are married or your vehicle rating.
Performance makes a difference – The type of vehicle you drive makes a big difference in how high your rates are. Lower performance four cylinder passenger models generally have the cheapest insurance rates, but many other things help determine your insurance rates.
Inexpensive frequent auto insurance claims are not good – If you file a lot of claims you shouldn’t be surprised to get either higher rates or even cancellation. Companies in California generally give the lowest premiums to drivers that do not abuse their auto insurance. Insurance coverage is designed for claims that you cannot pay yourself.
Can a thief steal your car? – Purchasing a vehicle that has an advanced theft prevention system can save you some money. Anti-theft features such as tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar can help prevent auto theft and help lower rates.
Lower comp and collision deductibles cost more – Comp and collision deductibles state the amount of money you are required to spend if a covered claim is submitted. Physical damage insurance, aka comp and collision, covers damage that occurs to your car. Some examples of covered claims would be colliding with a stationary object, vandalism, and damage caused by road hazards. The more money the insured has to pay upfront, the bigger discount you will receive.
Lincoln MKC historical loss data – Insurers use past loss statistics for each vehicle to help set a rate to offset losses. Models that the data shows to have a trend towards higher claims will have higher premium rates. The next table shows the collected loss data for Lincoln MKC vehicles.
For each policy coverage, the claim probability for all vehicles, as a total average, is a value of 100. Numbers shown that are under 100 indicate better than average losses, while values over 100 indicate higher probability of having a loss or an increased likelihood of larger losses.
| Vehicle Make and Model | Collision | Property Damage | Comp | Personal Injury | Medical Payment | Bodily Injury |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln MKC 4dr 2WD | 97 | 76 | 69 | |||
| Lincoln MKC 4dr 4WD | 99 | 68 | 72 | 82 |
Empty fields indicate not enough data collected
Data Source: iihs.org (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) for 2013-2015 Model Years
Buy Oakland Lincoln MKC insurance online
The companies in the list below have been selected to offer free quotes in California. If multiple companies are listed, we recommend you visit two to three different companies to get the most affordable price.
Three good reasons to insure your Lincoln MKC
Even though it can be expensive, insuring your vehicle is required in California but also provides important benefits.
First, just about all states have mandatory liability insurance requirements which means the state requires specific minimum amounts of liability insurance coverage in order to drive the car legally. 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.
Second, if your MKC has a lienholder, almost all lenders will make it mandatory that you carry insurance to ensure loan repayment if the vehicle is totaled. If you do not keep the policy in force, the lender may insure your Lincoln for a much higher rate and require you to fork over the higher price.
Third, car insurance preserves not only your Lincoln but also your assets. Insurance will pay for all forms of medical expenses for you, your passengers, and anyone else injured in an accident. One policy coverage, liability insurance, also pays for attorney fees and expenses 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 cover the damage repairs after a deductible is paid.
The benefits of carrying adequate insurance definitely exceed the price paid, particularly if you ever have a claim. The average driver in America is overpaying over $830 a year so it’s recommended you shop around every year to ensure rates are inline.
Lower rate quotes by earning discounts
Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but there’s a good chance there are discounts to cut the cost considerably. A few discounts will be applied at the time of quoting, but occasionally some discounts must be asked about in order for you to get them.
- Defensive Driver Discount – Taking part in a course teaching safe driver skills can save you 5% or more if your company offers it.
- Waiver for an Accident – Not really a discount, but some companies like Allstate and Progressive will forgive one accident without raising rates if you are claim-free prior to the accident.
- Payment Discounts – By paying your policy upfront as opposed to paying monthly you could save up to 5%.
- Passenger Safety Discount – Vehicles equipped with air bags could see savings of 20 to 30 percent.
- Student Driver Training – Require your teen driver to enroll and complete driver’s education in high school.
- Good Grades Discount – Maintaining excellent grades may save as much as 25% on a Oakland car insurance quote. Earning this discount can benefit you up to age 25.
- Government Employee Discount – Simply working for the federal government could qualify for a slight premium decrease but check with your company.
As is typical with insurance, some of the credits will not apply to your bottom line cost. Most only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when the math indicates all those discounts means the company will pay you, nobody gets a free ride.
Car insurance companies that may offer policyholders some of the above discounts possibly include:
If you want affordable Lincoln MKC insurance quotes, ask each company or agent which discounts can lower your rates. All car insurance discounts may not apply everywhere.
Compare prices but still have a local neighborhood Oakland car insurance agent
Some people just want to sit down with an agent and that is OK! Licensed agents are highly skilled in risk management and help file insurance claims. An additional benefit of getting free rate quotes online is the fact that drivers can get lower rates and still have an agent to talk to. And supporting local agencies is still important in Oakland.
By using this quick form, your coverage information is immediately sent to local insurance agents who can give free rate quotes for your insurance coverage. It’s much easier because you don’t need to find an agent on your own because prices are sent to you instantly. If you wish to compare prices from a particular provider, you can always find their quoting web page and submit a quote form there.
When searching for an insurance agent, it’s important to understand the types of agencies and how they are distinctly different. Agents in Oakland are either exclusive or independent agents depending on their company appointments. Both write insurance policies, but it’s worth mentioning the difference in the companies they write for since it can impact which type of agent you select.
Independent Insurance Agencies
These type of agents are normally appointed by many insurers so they can insure your vehicles through many different insurance companies and get you the best rates possible. If they quote lower rates, your agent can just switch to a different company which requires no work on your part.
If you need cheaper insurance rates, you definitely need to check rates from a few independent agents to get the most accurate price comparison.
Shown below is a short list of independent agencies in Oakland that may be able to provide pricing information.
Fred Loya Insurance
1620 High St STE B – Oakland, CA 94601 – (510) 434-1801 – View Map
Aviation Marine Insurance Services
5707 Redwood Rd – Oakland, CA 94619 – (510) 530-4415 – View Map
Western-Southern Life Insurance Co
80 Swan Way # 102 – Oakland, CA 94621 – (510) 877-4119 – View Map
Exclusive Insurance Agencies
Agents of this type generally can only insure with one company such as Allstate, State Farm and Farmers Insurance. Exclusive agents cannot give you multiple price quotes so if the price isn’t competitive there isn’t much they can do. They are usually well trained in insurance sales and that enables them to sell even at higher rates.
Listed below are exclusive agencies in Oakland willing to provide price quotes.
Farmers Insurance – Mahir Abdul-Haqq
4267 Masterson St – Oakland, CA 94619 – (510) 530-8502 – View Map
Joe Trapasso – State Farm Insurance Agent
1901 Harrison St Ste 100 – Oakland, CA 94612 – (510) 808-7120 – View Map
Fernando Valenzuela – State Farm Insurance
1236 30th Ave – Oakland, CA 94601 – (510) 533-9712 – View Map
Deciding on a insurance agency requires you to look at more than just a cheap price quote. Here are some questions you might want to ask.
- Will the agent help in case of a claim?
- Do they have designations such as AIC, CPCU, or CIC?
- Can they provide you with a list of referrals?
- What companies can they write with?
- Is insurance their full-time profession?
Which auto insurance company is best in Oakland?
Ending up with the highest-rated insurance company is hard considering how many different companies sell coverage in California. The company information in the lists below could help you analyze which coverage providers to look at to insure your vehicles.
Top 10 Oakland Car Insurance Companies Ranked by Customer Service
- AAA of Southern California
- GEICO
- State Farm
- The Hartford
- Mercury Insurance
- The General
- Progressive
- Allstate
- AAA Insurance
- American Family
One last note
Budget-conscious Lincoln MKC insurance can be found on the web and from local insurance agents, so you should compare both in order to have the best chance of saving money. A few companies may not have rates over the internet and most of the time these smaller companies sell through independent insurance agents.
Throughout this article, we presented a lot of ways to get a better price on Lincoln MKC insurance in Oakland. The most important thing to understand is the more providers you compare, the better your comparison will be. You may even discover the lowest prices are with some of the lesser-known companies. These companies may cover specific market segments cheaper compared to the large companies like Allstate and Progressive.
When searching for affordable Oakland car insurance quotes, you should never skimp on coverage in order to save money. There have been many cases where drivers have reduced physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time they didn’t purchase enough coverage. Your objective should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at a price you can afford while still protecting your assets.
More detailed insurance information can be read at these sites: