View 1996 Mazda Protege Insurance Quotes

Have you had enough of trying to scrape together enough money to pay your car insurance bill each month? You are no different than the majority of other car owners. Big-name insurance companies like Allstate, Liberty Mutual and State Farm all promote huge savings with TV and radio ads and consumers find it hard to ignore the propoganda and effectively compare rates to find the best deal.

If you have a current auto insurance policy or are looking for a new policy, you can use this information to shop for the lowest rates while maintaining coverages. Choosing the best insurance company for you is not rocket science. Drivers only need an understanding of the most efficient way to get comparison rates online.

Factors that can influence insurance rates for a Mazda Protege

It’s important that you understand the rating factors that come into play when calculating insurance coverage rates. Having a good understanding of what determines base rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that will entitle you to lower insurance coverage prices.

The list below includes some of the factors used by your company to calculate prices.

  • Credit scores impact insurance coverage rates – A driver’s credit score is a large factor in calculating your insurance coverage rates. Drivers with high credit scores tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than those with lower credit scores. If your credit history is low, you could pay less to insure your 1996 Mazda Protege by repairing your credit.
  • Rate your vehicle for proper use – The more you drive in a year the higher your rates will be. The majority of insurers price each vehicle’s coverage based on how the vehicle is used. Cars that are left in the garage qualify for better rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. If your policy improperly rates your Protege may be costing you. Verify your insurance coverage policy is showing the correct driver usage.
  • Being married is a good thing – Getting married can get you a discount on insurance coverage. It translates into being more mature than a single person it has been statistically shown that being married results in fewer claims.
  • Frequent insurance coverage claims increase rates – Car insurance companies award discounts to drivers who do not file claims often. If you file claims often, you can pretty much guarantee higher rates. Your insurance policy is intended to be relied upon for the large, substantial claims.
  • Don’t get talked into coverage you don’t need – There are many add-on coverages that you can get tricked into buying on your insurance coverage policy. Insurance for rental car reimbursement, accidental death and term life insurance may be costing you every month. They may seem like a good idea initially, but if they’re wasting money eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
  • Better crash test results mean better rates – Cars with high safety ratings can get you lower premiums. These vehicles have better occupant injury protection and any reduction in injury severity translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and thus lower rates. If your Mazda Protege earned at least an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website or four stars on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website it may be receiving lower rates.

How to Get Auto Insurance

Finding cheaper 1996 Mazda Protege auto insurance prices is surprisingly easy. Drivers just need to spend a little time comparing rates provided by online insurance companies. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in just a few minutes using one of these methods.

  • Probably the best way to find low rates would be an industry-wide quote request form click here to open form in new window. This type of form prevents you from having to do multiple quote forms to each individual auto insurance company. Filling out one form will get you rate comparisons instantly.
  • A more difficult way to compare rate quotes requires you to visit each company’s website and fill out their own quote form. For instance, we’ll pretend you want to compare USAA, Progressive and American Family. To find out each rate you need to visit each site to enter your coverage information, which is why the first method is more popular.

    For a handy list of car insurance company links in your area, click here.

Which method you use is up to you, but compare identical coverage limits with each company. If each company quotes mixed coverages it will be impossible to make a fair comparison for your Mazda Protege.

Insurance coverage ads bend the truth

Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements for car insurance savings by State Farm, Geico and Progressive. They all say the same thing of big savings if you switch to their company.

How do they all make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.

Different companies can use profiling for the type of customer that makes them money. An example of a preferred risk might be between 30 and 50, has no driving citations, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. A propective insured who matches those parameters will get the preferred rates and is almost guaranteed to pay quite a bit less when switching companies.

Potential insureds who don’t meet the requirements will be quoted a more expensive rate which leads to business not being written. The ad wording is “people who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. That’s why insurance companies can confidently advertise the savings. This emphasizes why drivers should quote coverage with many companies. Because you never know which insurance coverage company will fit your personal profile best.

Discounts are available to cut your rates

Companies that sell car insurance don’t necessarily list every available discount very well, so we took the time to find some of the more common and the harder-to-find ways to save on insurance. If you don’t get every credit you deserve, you are throwing money away.

  • Employee of Federal Government – Active or retired federal employment can earn a discount up to 10% on Protege coverage depending on your company.
  • Passive Restraints – Vehicles with factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can get savings up to 30%.
  • Drive Safe and Save – Insureds without accidents can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates on Protege coverage than drivers with accidents.
  • Multi-car Discount – Buying coverage for more than one vehicle on the same insurance policy qualifies for this discount.
  • Seat Belts Save – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to wear their seat belts could save 15% off the personal injury premium cost.
  • Payment Method – If you pay your bill all at once rather than paying monthly you can actually save on your bill.
  • Anti-theft Discount – Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems are stolen less frequently and will save you 10% or more.

Keep in mind that many deductions do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only cut the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. Just because you may think you would end up receiving a 100% discount, you’re out of luck.

Car insurance companies who might offer these benefits are:

It’s a good idea to ask each insurance company how you can save money. Savings might not apply in your state.

Everyone needs different coverages

When it comes to choosing the best auto insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is not a perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s situation is unique so this has to be addressed. For example, these questions can help discover whether your personal situation might need an agent’s assistance.

  • Is rental equipment covered for theft or damage?
  • Does coverage extend to Mexico or Canada?
  • Does having multiple vehicles earn me a discount?
  • Am I covered when driving someone else’s vehicle?
  • Do I need added coverage for expensive stereo equipment?
  • What exactly is covered by my policy?
  • Where can I find DUI or SR-22 insurance?
  • When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
  • Are my friends covered when driving my car?

If you’re not sure about those questions but a few of them apply then you might want to talk to a licensed insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It is quick, free and you can get the answers you need.

Information about specific coverages

Understanding the coverages of a insurance policy helps when choosing appropriate coverage at the best deductibles and correct limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. Listed below are the normal coverages available from insurance companies.

Coverage for collisions

This coverage covers damage to your Protege resulting from a collision with an object or car. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision insurance covers claims such as crashing into a ditch, colliding with another moving vehicle and sideswiping another vehicle. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from lower value vehicles. You can also bump up the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance

Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle when the “other guys” either have no liability insurance or not enough. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and also any damage incurred to your Mazda Protege.

Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is very important.

Insurance for medical payments

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance reimburse you for expenses such as funeral costs, surgery, ambulance fees, nursing services and prosthetic devices. The coverages can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. It covers all vehicle occupants in addition to any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Coverage for liability

This coverage will cover damage or injury you incur to other people or property that is your fault. This coverage protects you from legal claims by others, and doesn’t cover damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

Coverage consists of three different limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You might see values of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $300,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.

Liability insurance covers claims like medical services, emergency aid and attorney fees. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but buy as high a limit as you can afford.

Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision)

Comprehensive insurance covers damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive coverage protects against things like hail damage, vandalism, damage from getting keyed, falling objects and a broken windshield. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider dropping full coverage.

In Summary

We just presented quite a bit of information on how to lower your 1996 Mazda Protege insurance rates. The key thing to remember is the more you quote, the higher your chance of finding lower rates. Consumers could even find that the lowest rates come from a lesser-known regional company. Smaller companies may only write in your state and offer lower rates compared to the large companies like Geico and State Farm.

Cost effective insurance can be sourced from both online companies as well as from independent agents, and you should compare price quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. A few companies don’t offer online quoting and many times these smaller companies only sell through independent insurance agents.

When trying to cut insurance costs, it’s a bad idea to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are a lot of situations where someone sacrificed full coverage to discover at claim time that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your aim should be to purchase plenty of coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.

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