Save Money on Ford C-Max Energi Insurance in Chicago

Scraping up a payment for high-priced Ford C-Max Energi insurance in Chicago can dry up your family's budget and make it hard to pay other bills. Doing a price comparison can save money and help to make sure you're not throwing money away.

Astonishing but true, the vast majority of insurance customers renewed their policy with the same company for over three years, and just short of a majority have never compared rates to find lower-cost insurance. With the average premium in Illinois being $1,500, drivers could save themselves almost 40% a year just by comparing rates, but they just assume it's a time-consuming process to find lower-cost insurance rates.

Big-name insurance companies like GEICO, Progressive and Allstate all claim big savings, bombarding you with ad campaigns and it can be hard to ignore the promise of big savings and find the best price available.

It's a great practice to do price comparisons every six months since insurance rates tend to go up over time. If you had the best rate on Ford C-Max Energi insurance in Chicago two years ago you can probably find a lower rate today. Forget all the misinformation about insurance because you're about to learn the proper way to properly buy coverages while reducing your premium.

If you currently have insurance, you will definitely be able to cut your premiums using this strategy. Finding the cheapest insurance coverage in Chicago is actually quite easy if you know where to start. But Illinois car owners can benefit from knowing how big insurance companies set your policy premium because it can help you find the best coverage.

Get discounts to get affordable Chicago insurance quotes

Insuring your fleet can be pricey, but you can get discounts that many consumers don't even know exist. Some of these discounts will be visible when you purchase, but lesser-known reductions have to be specially asked for prior to getting the savings. If you are not receiving all the discounts you deserve, you are just wasting money.

• Club Memberships - Participating in qualifying employment or professional organizations is a simple method to lower premiums when getting a Chicago auto insurance quote.
• No Claim Discounts - Claim-free drivers pay less in comparison with frequent claim filers.
• Anti-lock Brakes - Cars and trucks that have anti-lock braking systems can stop better under adverse conditions and earn discounts up to 10%.
• Auto/Home Discount - If you can combine your auto and homeowners policy with one company you could save up to 20% off your total C-Max Energi insurance premium.
• Switch and Save Discount - A few insurance companies allow discounts for signing up early. You can save around 10% with this discount.
• Discounts for Government Workers - Being employed by or retired from a federal job may reduce rates when you quote Chicago auto insurance depending on your insurance provider.
• Air Bags and Passive Restraints - Cars that have air bags can qualify for discounts as much as 30%.

Don't be shocked that some credits don't apply to the whole policy. A few only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as comp or med pay. Even though it appears you can get free auto insurance, insurance companies aren't that generous.

Large insurance companies and a selection of discounts are shown below.

• The Hartford has savings for bundle, good student, driver training, vehicle fuel type, and anti-theft.
• American Family may include discounts for bundled insurance, air bags, good driver, good student, TimeAway discount, early bird, and defensive driver.
• Progressive policyholders can earn discounts including good student, continuous coverage, multi-vehicle, homeowner, online quote discount, and multi-policy.
• Travelers includes discounts for multi-car, student away at school, driver training, home ownership, IntelliDrive, and payment discounts.
• Farmers Insurance has discounts for bundle discounts, early shopping, teen driver, youthful driver, and distant student.
• USAA offers discounts for multi-vehicle, annual mileage, driver training, military installation, and multi-policy.
• Liberty Mutual may offer discounts for new vehicle discount, newly retired, safety features, good student, new move discount, hybrid vehicle, and preferred payment discount.

If you are trying to find inexpensive Chicago auto insurance quotes, ask every prospective company how many discounts you can get. A few discounts might not be available to policyholders in Chicago. If you would like to view insurers that offer discounts in Chicago, click here.

When comparison shopping, comparing more quotes helps locate better pricing. Some regional insurers cannot provide online rate quotes, so you should also compare price quotes from those companies as well.

The companies in the list below offer price quotes in Illinois. If multiple providers are shown, we recommend you visit two to three different companies to get the most affordable price.

When do I need to get advice from an insurance agent?

Many drivers just want to get advice from a local agent and there is nothing wrong with that. The biggest benefit of comparing car insurance online is that drivers can save money and get better rates and still have a local agent.

After filling out this simple form, your insurance coverage information is transmitted to agents in your area that can give you free Chicago auto insurance quotes to get your business. It simplifies rate comparisons since you won't have to search for any insurance agencies due to the fact that quote results will go to your email. You can get cheaper car insurance rates without the usual hassles of price shopping. If you need to get a price quote from a specific company, you just need to go to their quote page and complete a quote there.

Choosing an insurance company shouldn't rely on just a cheap quote. The questions below may impact your decision as well.

• Is insurance their full-time profession?
• Do they have a Better Business Bureau rating in Chicago?
• Does the company have a solid financial rating?
• Do they have advanced training designations such as CPCU, AAI, AIC, or CIC?
• Are they able to provide referrals?
• If your car is totalled, how to they determine the replacement cost?
• What company holds the largest book of business for them?

What types of auto insurance agents are in Chicago?

When looking for an insurance agent, you need to know there are two types of insurance agents and how they are slightly different. Car insurance agents in Chicago are classified as either independent or exclusive depending on the company they work for.

Exclusive Agencies

Agents that elect to be exclusive write business for a single company and examples are State Farm or Allstate. Exclusive agents are unable to shop your coverage around so they have to upsell other benefits. Exclusive agents are well schooled on their company's products which helps them sell on service rather than price.

Shown below are Chicago exclusive insurance agencies that are able to give rate quotes.

View more Chicago agents

Independent Insurance Agents

Agents that choose to be independent do not work for one specific company and that enables them to quote your coverage with a variety of different insurance companies and find you cheaper rates. To transfer your coverage to a different company, your agent can just switch to a different company which makes it simple for you.

If you are trying to find cheaper rates, we highly recommend that you include price quotes from multiple independent agents to ensure the widest selection of prices.

The following is a list of independent agents in Chicago that are able to give price quote information.

View more Chicago agents

Specifics of your insurance policy

Understanding the coverages of a insurance policy can help you determine the right coverages and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be ambiguous and coverage can change by endorsement. Shown next are typical coverage types found on most insurance policies.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM)

This coverage protects you and your vehicle when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered losses include hospital bills for your injuries as well as your vehicle's damage.

Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (Illinois limits are 20/40/15), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. That's why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage should not be overlooked.

Coverage for collisions

Collision insurance covers damage to your C-Max Energi resulting from a collision with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision insurance covers claims like scraping a guard rail, sideswiping another vehicle, colliding with a tree and backing into a parked car. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are older. Another option is to raise the deductible on your C-Max Energi to get cheaper collision coverage.

Comprehensive insurance

Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for 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 coverage protects against things such as a broken windshield, fire damage, damage from a tornado or hurricane and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The most you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Med pay and Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for short-term medical expenses like prosthetic devices, funeral costs, ambulance fees, nursing services and hospital visits. They are used in conjunction with a health insurance plan or if you lack health insurance entirely. Medical payments and PIP cover you and your occupants and will also cover getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Liability auto insurance

This coverage can cover damages or injuries you inflict on other people or property by causing an accident. It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show policy limits of 20/40/15 that translate to a limit of $20,000 per injured person, a total of $40,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $15,000.

Liability coverage protects against things such as medical services, repair bills for other people's vehicles, legal defense fees and attorney fees. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but it's cheap coverage so purchase as high a limit as you can afford. Illinois requires minimum liability limits of 20/40/15 but you should consider buying more coverage.

In conclusion

Cost effective Ford C-Max Energi insurance is definitely available online and with local Chicago insurance agents, and you should compare rates from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance companies may not provide online price quotes and most of the time these regional carriers prefer to sell through independent agents.

When you buy Chicago auto insurance online, it's not a good idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are a lot of situations where drivers have reduced liability coverage limits only to discover later that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. The aim is to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the lowest possible cost, but do not sacrifice coverage to save money.

More information can be found below:

• What is Covered by GAP Insurance? (Allstate)
• What Auto Insurance is Cheapest for Infrequent Drivers in Chicago? (FAQ)
• What Car Insurance is Cheapest for Lyft Drivers in Chicago? (FAQ)
• Who Has the Cheapest Auto Insurance for 4x4 Vehicles in Chicago? (FAQ)
• Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes for Drivers with Bad Credit in Chicago? (FAQ)
• Who Has Affordable Car Insurance for Teenage Males in Chicago? (FAQ)
• Vehicle Insurance in the U.S. (Wikipedia)
• How Much Auto Coverage do I Need? (Insurance Information Institute)