Save Money on Toyota Prius Insurance in Albuquerque

Are you tired of overpaying and want cheaper Toyota Prius insurance in Albuquerque? Are you sick and tired of sacrificing other expenses to pay high auto insurance rates every month? You are no different than many other New Mexico consumers.

It’s an obvious statement that car insurance companies don’t want you to look for a cheaper policy. Insureds who shop for lower prices will, in all likelihood, move their business because the odds are good of finding a cheaper policy. A study discovered that drivers who make a habit of shopping around saved as much as $72 a month compared to drivers who never shopped for cheaper rates.

If finding the most affordable Toyota Prius insurance in Albuquerque is your goal, then having some knowledge of the best ways to shop for insurance can make the process more efficient.

Many auto insurance companies compete to insure your vehicles, and because of this it can be hard to compare auto insurance companies to find the absolute lowest price on Toyota Prius insurance in Albuquerque.

If you’re already insured, you will surely be able to get lower rates using these methods. Choosing the most cost-effective auto insurance policy in Albuquerque can be made easier if you know where to look. But New Mexico consumers must learn how companies compete online and apply this information to your search.

All major auto insurance companies such as Progressive, Allstate and GEICO make it easy to get pricing on the web. Getting Toyota Prius insurance prices online doesn’t take much effort as all you need to do is type in the amount of coverage you want on the page. When complete, the company’s rating system will obtain your driving and credit reports and returns a price based on many factors. Using the web to get quotes for Toyota Prius insurance in Albuquerque streamlines rate comparisons, and it’s necessary to do this in order to get the best auto insurance rates.

To compare rates now, take a look at the companies shown below. If you have coverage now, it’s recommended you duplicate the insurance coverages identical to your current policy. Doing this guarantees you’re receiving a rate comparison for similar coverage.

The car insurance companies shown below can provide quotes in New Mexico. In order to find cheaper auto insurance in Albuquerque, we suggest you get rates from several of them in order to find the most competitive rates.

Insurance data for a Toyota Prius

The premium information displayed below outlines estimates of insurance prices for Toyota Prius models. Having a better understanding of how car insurance premiums are calculated can assist in making smart choices when purchasing an insurance policy.

Above prices assume single male driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $250 deductibles, and New Mexico minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, multi-vehicle, safe-driver, claim-free, and homeowner. Rate information does not factor in vehicle location which can revise premiums greatly.

Physical damage deductible comparison

One of the hardest decisions when shopping for insurance is where should you set your physical damage deductibles. The following insurance rates show the rate difference when you buy lower versus higher policy deductibles. The first data set uses a $100 physical damage deductible and the second data table uses a $500 deductible.

Data based on married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and New Mexico minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, homeowner, claim-free, multi-vehicle, and multi-policy. Price estimates do not factor in specific location which can revise coverage prices noticeably.

Using the data above, we can ascertain that using a $100 deductible will cost you approximately $23 more each month or $276 for a full year across all Toyota Prius models than choosing the higher $500 deductible. Because you would pay $400 more out of your own pocket with a $500 deductible as compared to a $100 deductible, if you tend to have at a minimum 17 months between claims, you would probably save some money by going with a higher deductible.

One thing to note is that higher deductibles means you will have to cover more of the damage yourself when you have a physical damage claim. That will force you to have access to more funds in the event you have to pay the deductible to have repairs made.

Annual premiums comparing men and women

The illustration below shows the difference between Toyota Prius annual premium costs for male and female drivers. Data assumes no driving violations, no at-fault accidents, full coverage, $1,000 deductibles, single status, and no policy discounts are applied.

Full coverage or liability only

The example below shows the difference between Toyota Prius insurance costs with full coverage compared to only the New Mexico minimum liability coverage. The premiums assume no accidents, no driving violations, $1,000 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no additional discounts are factored in.

Guidelines for dropping full coverage

There is no exact rule for dropping comp and collision coverage, but there is a guideline you can consider. If the annual cost of having full coverage is 10% or more of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.

For example, let’s assume your Toyota Prius replacement value is $4,000 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is severely damaged, the most you would get paid by your company is $3,000 after paying the physical damage deductible. If you are paying in excess of $300 annually for physical damage coverage, then it might be time to buy liability only.

There are some conditions where dropping physical damage coverage is not a good plan. If you haven’t paid off your loan, you must maintain physical damage coverage as part of the loan requirements. Also, if you don’t have enough money to buy a different vehicle if your current one is totaled, you should not consider dropping full coverage.

Buying the right Toyota vehicle insurance in New Mexico is an important decision

Despite the high cost of buying insurance for a Toyota Prius in Albuquerque, auto insurance is most likely required but also gives you several important benefits.

First, almost all states have minimum mandated liability insurance limits which means the state requires a specific minimum amount of liability protection in order to license the vehicle. In New Mexico these limits are 25/50/10 which means you must have $25,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $10,000 of property damage coverage.

Second, if you have a lien on your Toyota Prius, it’s guaranteed your bank will require you to buy insurance to guarantee payment of the loan. If you cancel or allow the policy to lapse, the bank or lender will purchase a policy for your Toyota for a lot more money and force you to pay the higher premium.

Third, insurance safeguards both your car and your assets. Insurance will pay for medical bills for you, any passengers, and anyone injured in an accident. One of the most valuable coverages, liability insurance, will also pay to defend you if you are sued as the result of your driving. If your vehicle suffers damage from an accident or hail, your auto insurance policy will pay to repair the damage minus the deductible amount.

The benefits of having auto insurance more than offset the price you pay, especially for larger claims. As of last year, the average driver in New Mexico is wasting up to $810 a year so you should quote and compare rates at every policy renewal to ensure rates are competitive.

Car insurance coverages 101

Knowing the specifics of car insurance can help you determine which coverages you need at the best deductibles and correct limits. Car insurance terms can be difficult to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage

Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and damage to your Toyota Prius.

Since a lot of drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (25/50/10), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked.

Liability coverages

This coverage provides protection from damage or injury you incur to a person or their property that is your fault. This coverage protects you from claims by other people, and doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

It consists of three limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You might see liability limits of 25/50/10 which means $25,000 bodily injury coverage, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $10,000.

Liability insurance covers things like medical services, repair bills for other people’s vehicles, emergency aid and legal defense fees. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is your choice, but consider buying as large an amount as possible. New Mexico state law requires minimum liability limits of 25/50/10 but it’s recommended drivers buy more liability than the minimum.

The next chart demonstrates why buying the state minimum limits may not be enough coverage.

Medical payments coverage and PIP

Med pay and PIP coverage reimburse you for immediate expenses such as funeral costs, doctor visits, nursing services, chiropractic care and EMT expenses. The coverages can be used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. Coverage applies to not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and also covers being hit by a car walking across the street. PIP is only offered in select states but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Comprehensive coverage

Comprehensive insurance pays for damage that is not covered by collision coverage. A deductible will apply then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive insurance covers things such as falling objects, a broken windshield, rock chips in glass and hitting a bird. The highest amount you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Collision protection

This covers damage to your Prius caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision can pay for claims like damaging your car on a curb, rolling your car, driving through your garage door and hitting a mailbox. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider dropping it from vehicles that are older. Another option is to bump up the deductible on your Prius to get cheaper collision coverage.