9 Ways to Save Money on Mercedes-Benz E550 Insurance

Expensive car insurance can drain your bank account and put a big crunch on your finances. Comparing price quotes is a smart way to tighten up your finances.

With so many options when it comes to car insurance, it’s difficult to pick the cheapest insurer.

Vehicle Insurance Comparison

When shopping for car insurance there are multiple ways to compare quotes from local car insurance companies. The quickest method to find the lowest Mercedes-Benz E550 rates consists of obtaining rate quotes online. This can be done using a couple different methods.

• The recommended way to get quotes for comparison is to use a rate comparison form (click to open form in new window). This method saves time by eliminating separate forms for every car insurance company. Just one form compares rates direct from many companies.
• A more difficult way to shop for car insurance online requires a visit to the website for every company you want to comare and complete a new quote form. For sake of this example, we’ll assume you want to compare rates from GEICO, Esurance and Allstate. To get rate quotes you would need to take the time to go to each site to enter your coverage information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. For a list of links to insurance companies in your area, click here.
• The hardest way of getting rate comparisons is to waste gas driving to insurance agents’ offices. The internet eliminates the need for an insurance agent unless you prefer the professional guidance only provided by licensed agents. You can, however, obtain prices from the web and get advice from an agent in your area and we’ll touch on that later.

It’s up to you how you get prices quotes, just ensure you are comparing apples-to-apples coverages for each comparison quote. If you compare higher or lower deductibles it’s not possible to truly determine the lowest rate. Slightly different insurance coverages could mean much higher rates. And when quoting car insurance, remember that obtaining a wide range of quotes helps you find the best rates.

Verify you’re getting all your discounts

Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but you can get discounts to reduce the price significantly. Some trigger automatically at quote time, but a few need to be manually applied before you will receive the discount.

• Drive Less and Save – Keeping the miles down on your Mercedes-Benz can earn a substantially lower rate.
• Defensive Driving Course – Successfully completing a defensive driving course could possibly earn you a 5% discount depending on where you live.
• More Vehicles More Savings – Buying insurance for multiple cars or trucks on one policy could earn a price break for each car.
• Auto/Life Discount – Companies who offer life insurance give better rates if you take out a life insurance policy as well.
• Discounts for Safe Drivers – Insureds without accidents may save up to 50% more for E550 insurance than less cautious drivers.
• Multi-policy Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles with one insurance company you could get a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
• Anti-theft Discount – Vehicles with anti-theft systems help deter theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
• Anti-lock Brake Discount – Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control can avoid accidents and will save you 10% or more.
• Organization Discounts – Affiliation with certain professional organizations could trigger savings when shopping for car insurance for E550 insurance.

Keep in mind that some credits don’t apply to the entire cost. Some only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as collision or personal injury protection. So when the math indicates adding up those discounts means a free policy, it just doesn’t work that way. Any amount of discount will cut your overall premium however.

To see a list of insurance companies offering car insurance discounts, click this link.

Are insurance agents a thing of the past?

Certain consumers would prefer to talk to a local agent. The best thing about getting online price quotes is you may find better rates and still have an agent to talk to. Supporting local insurance agencies is especially important if you live in a smaller city or town.

After completing this short form, your insurance data is emailed to local insurance agents who will give you bids for your business. You won’t need to drive around since price quotes are sent directly to your email. It’s the lowest rates and a licensed agent to work with.

Is a captive or independent car insurance agent right for you?

When looking for an insurance agent, there are a couple of different agency structures that you can select. Agencies are either independent (non-captive) or captive.

Independent Agents

Independent agencies are not employed by any specific company so they have the ability to put coverage with any number of different companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. If you are not satisfied with one company, an independent agent can move your coverage and you don’t have to find a new agent. When searching for an agent, we recommend you get quotes from at least one independent agent to have the most options to choose from.

Agency Captives

These agents are contracted to one company and some examples include State Farm, Allstate and AAA. These agents are not able to compare other company’s rates so they have no alternatives for high prices. Captive agents are very knowledgeable in insurance sales which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums.

For a full directory of insurance agents, click here.

Deciding on an insurance agent should depend on more than just the price. These are valid questions to ask:

• If your car is in the repair shop, do you have coverage for a rental car?
• Do they regularly work with personal auto policies?
• Do they assist clients in filing claims?
• Is vehicle damage repaired with OEM or aftermarket parts?
• What insurance company do they write the most business with?
• What will you get paid if your car is a total loss? How is that amount determined?
• What are the financial ratings for the companies they represent?

Upon getting reasonable responses for all questions you ask and a low price estimate, it’s possible that you found a car insurance agent that is a good match to insure your vehicles. Just keep in mind once you purchase a policy you can cancel coverage at any point so don’t feel you’re contractually obligated to a specific agent for the full term.

Parts of your car insurance policy

Knowing the specifics of car insurance can help you determine which coverages you need for your vehicles. Policy terminology can be difficult to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. Listed below are typical coverages offered by car insurance companies.

Liability auto insurance – This coverage will cover damages or injuries you inflict on other’s property or people. Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. You might see values of 50/100/50 which means $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a total of $100,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $50,000 of coverage for damaged propery. Another option is one number which is a combined single limit which limits claims to one amount rather than limiting it on a per person basis.

Liability coverage protects against things such as funeral expenses, attorney fees, legal defense fees, loss of income and medical expenses. How much coverage you buy is up to you, but buy as high a limit as you can afford.

Collision coverages – This covers damage to your E550 resulting from a collision with an object or car. You have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be paid by your insurance company.

Collision coverage pays for things like colliding with a tree, damaging your car on a curb, sideswiping another vehicle, rolling your car and scraping a guard rail. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so consider removing coverage from vehicles that are older. Another option is to raise the deductible to save money on collision insurance.

Medical costs insurance – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance kick in for immediate expenses such as funeral costs, EMT expenses and dental work. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. It covers you and your occupants in addition to any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not universally available and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay

Comprehensive or Other Than Collision – This coverage covers damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things like fire damage, vandalism, hitting a deer, rock chips in glass and a broken windshield. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider dropping full coverage.

UM/UIM Coverage – This protects you and your vehicle when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. It can pay for hospital bills for your injuries and damage to your Mercedes-Benz E550.

Since a lot of drivers have only the minimum liability required by law, their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family. Frequently your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages are similar to your liability insurance amounts.

In the end, you save

Cheaper Mercedes-Benz E550 insurance is possible from both online companies in addition to many insurance agents, so compare prices from both to have the best rate selection. Some companies do not provide online quoting and many times these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.

We just showed you some good ideas how you can shop for Mercedes-Benz E550 insurance online. The key concept to understand is the more price quotes you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even find the most savings is with some of the lesser-known companies. They may only write in your state and offer lower rates compared to the large companies like State Farm or Progressive.