1996 Mercury Cougar Insurance Rates

Locating better insurance prices for a Mercury Cougar can normally be a painful process, but you can follow a few tricks to make it easier.

There is a right way and a wrong way to shop for car insurance so you’re going to learn the quickest way to get price quotes for a new or used Mercury and obtain the lowest possible price.

It’s important to price shop coverage at least once a year since rates are usually higher with each renewal. Just because you had the best price for Cougar coverage a couple years back there may be better deals available now. So just forget all the misinformation about car insurance because you’re going to learn the proper way to properly buy coverages and cut your premium.

How to Lower Your Car Insurance Cost

All major car insurance companies allow you to get coverage price quotes online. The process doesn’t take much effort as you simply type in the coverages you want into a form. After you complete the form, the system automatically orders your driving and credit reports and provides a quote based on these factors.

This streamlines rate comparisons, but the process of having to visit several different sites and complete many quote forms can get tiresome after awhile. Unfortunately, it is important to compare as many rates as possible in order to find a better rate.

There is a better way!

An easier way to find lower prices uses one simple form to get prices from a lot of companies. This type of form saves time, requires much less work on your part, and makes online price comparison much more efficient. Immediately after submitting the form, it is quoted and you are able to buy any one of the returned quotes.

If you find a better price you can simply submit the application and buy the policy. The entire process can be completed in a matter of minutes and you’ll know if lower rates are available.

To save time and find out how much you’re overpaying now, simply click here to open in new window and complete the simple form. If you have coverage now, it’s recommended you replicate deductibles and limits as close as possible to your current policy. This makes sure you will get an apples-to-apples comparison using the same coverage and limits.

These discounts can lower your rates

Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but you may find discounts that you may not even be aware of. Certain discounts will be applied when you quote, but lesser-known reductions have to be specially asked for before they will apply. If they aren’t giving you every credit you qualify for, you’re just leaving money on the table.

• Multi-policy Discount – When you combine your home and auto insurance with the same company you could get a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
• Early Signing – Select companies give a discount for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiration. This can save 10% or more.
• Federal Employees – Employees or retirees of the government can save as much as 8% for Cougar coverage with certain companies.
• Discount for Life Insurance – Larger companies have better rates if you take out life insurance from them.
• Distant Student – Youth drivers who attend school more than 100 miles from home and do not have a car may qualify for this discount.
• Seat Belt Usage – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to use their safety belts could save 15% on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
• Multiple Vehicles – Insuring multiple vehicles with the same company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.

It’s important to understand that most of the big mark downs will not be given to all coverage premiums. Some only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. Just because it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, you won’t be that lucky. Any amount of discount will help reduce your overall premium however.

To see a list of insurers offering insurance coverage discounts, follow this link.

Mercury Cougar insurance rates consist of many parts

Smart consumers have a good feel for the different types of things that come into play when calculating insurance coverage rates. When you know what positively or negatively influences your rates helps enable you to make changes that will entitle you to lower insurance coverage prices.

• You might want pay the small claims yourself – Car insurance companies provide discounts to people who file claims infrequently. If you tend to file frequent claims, you can definitely plan on either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Your insurance policy is designed for larger claims.
• Never let your coverage lapse – Allowing your coverage to lapse will be a quick way to bump up your insurance coverage costs. And not only will your rates increase, getting caught without coverage might get you a hefty fine and possibly a revoked license.You may need to submit proof of financial responsibility or a SR-22 with your state department of motor vehicles.
• Don’t sacrifice liability coverage – Liability insurance is the coverage that protects you when you are found liable for personal injury or accident damage. It provides for a legal defense which can be incredibly expensive. Liability insurance is quite affordable compared to physical damage coverage, so do not skimp.
• Men pay higher rates – Statistics demonstrate women tend to be less risk to insure than men. Now that doesn’t mean women are BETTER drivers than men. They both cause accidents at a similar rate, but the male of the species tend to have more serious accidents. Men also tend to receive more costly citations like reckless driving and DUI.
• Where you live is a factor – Being located in small towns and rural areas can be a good thing when talking about insurance coverage. Drivers who live in large cities have to deal with much more traffic and longer commute times. Fewer people means reduced accidents and also fewer theft and vandalism claims.

Different people need different coverages

When it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage, there isn’t really a perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s situation is unique.

Here are some questions about coverages that might point out if your situation could use an agent’s help.

• How much liability insurance is required?
• What is medical payments coverage?
• Should I bundle my homeowners policy with my auto?
• Is business equipment covered while in my vehicle?
• Do I need replacement cost coverage?
• Does my insurance cover damage caused when ticketed for reckless driving?
• At what point should I drop full coverage?
• Does coverage extend to my business vehicle?
• How many claims can I have before being canceled?

If you can’t answer these questions but you know they apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, complete this form. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and can help protect your family.

Ads can be misleading

Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements that promise big savings from the likes of GEICO, State Farm and Progressive. They all seem to have a common claim that you’ll save big after switching your coverage to them.

But how can every company make the same claim? It’s all in the numbers.

All companies have a certain “appetite” for the type of driver that earns them a profit. A good example of a desirable insured might be between 30 and 50, insures multiple vehicles, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. Any driver who matches those parameters gets the lowest rates and as a result will probably save when they switch companies.

Drivers who don’t meet this ideal profile will be quoted a more expensive rate and ends up with business not being written. The ad wording is “customers that switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that kind of money. That’s the way insurance companies can advertise the way they do.

This emphasizes why drivers must compare as many rates as you can. Because you never know the company that will give you the biggest savings on Mercury Cougar insurance.

Insurance coverage options for a Mercury Cougar

Having a good grasp of a insurance policy can be of help when determining the right coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be difficult to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring.

Comprehensive auto coverage – This coverage pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You need to pay your deductible first then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as theft, damage from flooding, hitting a bird, falling objects and rock chips in glass. The maximum payout you’ll receive from a claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.

Medical payments and PIP coverage – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for immediate expenses like EMT expenses, rehabilitation expenses, hospital visits, doctor visits and surgery. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance program or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover both the driver and occupants in addition to any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not universally available and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Collision coverage – Collision insurance pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision can pay for things such as sideswiping another vehicle, colliding with a tree, sustaining damage from a pot hole, scraping a guard rail and driving through your garage door. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle from other motorists when they do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered losses include medical payments for you and your occupants as well as damage to your Mercury Cougar.

Since a lot of drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. So UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Usually your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are set the same as your liablity limits.

Auto liability insurance – This will cover damage that occurs to people or other property by causing an accident. This insurance protects YOU against other people’s claims. Liability doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You commonly see liability limits of 50/100/50 which means a limit of $50,000 per injured person, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and a total limit of $50,000 for damage to vehicles and 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 can pay for things like emergency aid, bail bonds, pain and suffering, medical expenses and structural damage. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but consider buying as large an amount as possible.

In Summary

You just learned many ideas to lower your 1996 Mercury Cougar insurance rates. It’s most important to understand that the more rate comparisons you have, the better your comparison will be. You may even find the best prices are with the least-expected company.

Low-cost insurance is available both online and also from your neighborhood agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best rate selection. Some insurance providers may not provide you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

Insureds who switch companies do it for any number of reasons including delays in responding to claim requests, questionable increases in premium, denial of a claim and even lack of trust in their agent. It doesn’t matter what your reason, finding a great new company is less work than it seems.

More tips and info about auto insurance can be read in the articles below:

• Determing Auto Insurance Rates (GEICO)
• Booster Seat Ratings (iihs.org)
• What is Covered by an Auto Insurance Policy? (Insurance Information Insitute)
• Parking Tips to Reduce Door Dings (State Farm)
• Think You’re a Safe Driver? (State Farm)
• Liability Insurance Coverage (Nationwide)