Auto Insurance Quotes for a Ford Flex in Long Beach

If you’re looking for more affordable insurance on the web, are you intimidated by the sheer number of car insurance choices available to you? Many other drivers are as well. Consumers have such a large number of options that it can really be a lot of work to compare prices on Ford Flex insurance. Everyone knows Long Beach is an excellent city in which to live, but expensive car insurance premiums makes it difficult to affordably buy enough coverage.

How to find the cheapest rates for Ford Flex insurance in Long Beach

It takes a little time, but the best way to get the cheapest auto insurance rates is to regularly compare quotes from insurance carriers who provide auto insurance in Long Beach.

• Step 1: Take a few minutes and learn about how insurance works and the changes you can make to prevent rate increases. Many policy risk factors that result in higher prices such as high-risk driving behaviors and poor credit can be remedied by making small lifestyle or driving habit changes.
• Step 2: Quote rates from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Direct companies and exclusive agencies can only give prices from a single company like Progressive or Allstate, while independent agents can provide price quotes from many different companies.
• Step 3: Compare the new rates to the premium of your current policy and see if you can save money. If you can save money and make a switch, ensure there is no coverage lapse between policies.
• Step 4: Notify your agent or company to cancel your existing policy and submit a signed application and payment to the new company. As soon as you receive it, put the certificate verifying proof of insurance along with the vehicle’s registration papers.

A good piece of advice is to try to use the same deductibles and limits on each quote request and and to compare as many companies as possible. This provides a fair rate comparison and a complete price analysis.

A recent car insurance study revealed that the vast majority of consumers have stayed with the same insurance company for at least four years, and nearly the majority have never even shopped around for lower-cost coverage. American drivers could save $860 every year just by shopping around, but they think it’s difficult to compare rates and save money.

You should make it a habit to shop coverage around yearly because insurance rates are usually higher with each renewal. Even if you got the best premium rates on Ford Flex insurance in Long Beach on your last policy the chances are good that you can find a lower price today. Block out anything you think you know about car insurance because you’re going to learn the best way to find better rates and still maintain coverage.

Ford Flex Insurance Rate Factors

An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the factors that help determine auto insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels, this allows you to make good choices that could help you find lower rates. Multiple criteria are taken into consideration when premium rates are determined. Most are fairly basic like your driving record, although others are not quite as obvious like your vehicle usage or your commute time.

• Where you reside plays a part – Having an address in smaller towns and rural areas of the country is a positive aspect when insuring your vehicles. Fewer drivers translates into fewer accident claims and also fewer theft and vandalism claims. People who live in big cities tend to have congested traffic and much longer commute distances. Spending more time driving statistically corresponds to a higher accident and claim rate.

• Responsible drivers pay less – Getting just one moving violation can bump up the cost by twenty percent. Attentive drivers pay lower auto insurance prices than bad drivers. Drivers who have careless violations like reckless driving or DUI might be required by their state to maintain a SR-22 with their state’s department of motor vehicles in order to continue driving.

  The diagram below shows how speeding tickets and at-fault claims impact Ford Flex premium costs for different categories of driver ages. The data is based on a single male driver, full physical damage coverage, $250 deductibles, and no discounts are factored in.

• The type of vehicle you drive affects your costs – The type of car you drive makes a substantial difference in determining your rates. Smaller low performance passenger cars generally have the cheapest insurance rates, but your final cost has many other factors.

  The data below uses these assumptions: single female driver age 50, full coverage with $500 deductibles, and no discounts or violations. It illustrates Ford Flex car insurance rates compared to other makes and models that have a range of risk factors.

• Additional coverages that may be costing you – There are a ton of extra coverages that sound like a good idea at the time but may not be useful. Coverages like rental car coverage, death and dismemberment, and extra life insurance coverage may be costing you every month. You may think they are a good idea at first, but your money might be better spent on other coverage so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.

• Insurance loss data for Ford Flex vehicles – Auto insurance companies analyze the history of losses when they set coverage costs for each model. Vehicles that tend to have high amounts or severity of claims will cost more for coverage. The next table shows the insurance loss data for Ford Flex vehicles.

  For each policy coverage, the claim probability for all vehicles compiled together equals 100. Percentage values below 100 suggest losses that are better than average, while percentage numbers above 100 point to more losses or statistically larger claims.

  
  

  Auto Insurance Loss Data for Ford Flex Models

  Vehicle Make and Model	Collision	Property Damage	Comp	Personal Injury	Medical Payment	Bodily Injury
  Ford Flex 4dr 2WD	89	84	107	91	100	87
  Ford Flex 4dr 4WD	105	84	119	77	79	75

  BETTER

  AVERAGE

  WORSE

  Data Source: iihs.org (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) for 2013-2015 Model Years

Insurance rate breakdown

The rate table shown next covers a range of coverage prices for Ford Flex models. Learning a little about how insurance prices are figured can aid in making decisions when shopping your coverage around.

Above prices assume single male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, homeowner, safe-driver, multi-vehicle, and claim-free. Prices do not factor in specific Long Beach garaging location which can change coverage prices considerably.

Raise deductibles and save

When comparing insurance rates, the most common question is which deductibles should you choose. The rates shown below can help you visualize the cost difference of buying low and high coverage deductibles. The first rate comparisons uses a $250 physical damage coverage deductible and the second rate chart uses a $500 deductible.

Data based on married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, claim-free, multi-policy, homeowner, and multi-vehicle. Premium amounts do not factor in the specific area where the vehicle is garaged which can modify premium rates noticeably.

Based on the data above, we can derive that using a $250 deductible will cost in the ballpark of $19 more each month or $228 a year averaged for all Flex models than opting for the higher $500 deductible. Since the policyholder would be required to pay $250 more out-of-pocket with a $500 deductible as compared to a $250 deductible, if you tend to average at least 13 months between claim filings, you would come out ahead if you opt for a higher deductible.

An important thing to remember is that increasing deductibles to lower your rates means you will have to pay more when you have a claim. It will be required that you have a higher level of savings in the event you have to pay the higher deductible.

Does full coverage make sense?

The chart below compares Ford Flex insurance premiums with and without full coverage. The data assumes no claims, a clean driving record, $250 deductibles, single marital status, and no discounts are taken into consideration.

When to drop comprehensive and collision coverage

There is no exact rule that is best for determining when to drop full coverage on your policy, but there is a general convention. If the annual cost of comprehensive and collision coverage is more than 10% of the replacement cost of your vehicle minus the policy deductible, then it might be time to buy liability only.

For example, let’s pretend your Ford Flex claim settlement value is $5,000 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is damaged in an accident, the most your company would pay you is $4,000 after paying the physical damage deductible. If you are paying more than $400 annually for your policy with full coverage, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.

There are some conditions where removing full coverage is not financially feasible. If you have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, you have to carry full coverage in order to satisfy the requirements of the loan. Also, if your savings is not enough to buy a different vehicle in case of an accident, you should maintain full coverage.

Score discounts on Long Beach insurance

Companies do not advertise every discount available very well, so the following is a list of some of the more common and also the lesser-known insurance savings. If they aren’t giving you every credit available, it’s possible you qualify for a lower rate.

• Life Insurance – Select insurance carriers reward you with a discounted price on car insurance if you buy life insurance from them.
• Good Students Pay Less – Being a good student may save as much as 25% on a Long Beach car insurance quote. The good student discount can last up until you turn 25.
• Accident Free – Drivers with accident-free driving histories get the best insurance rates when compared to policyholders that have many claims.
• Student in College – College-age children who are enrolled in a college that is more than 100 miles from Long Beach and do not have a car could qualify for this discount.
• Onboard Data Collection – Drivers that enable driving data collection to monitor vehicle usage by using a telematics device such as Drivewise from Allstate or Snapshot from Progressive may see discounts as long as they are good drivers.

We need to note that most discount credits are not given to the whole policy. Some only reduce individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. So when the math indicates you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any amount of discount will lower your policy cost.

The information below illustrates the comparison of Ford Flex insurance costs with and without some available policy discounts. The costs are based on a female driver, no claims, a clean driving record, California state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $100 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with homeowner, claim-free, multi-policy, safe-driver, multi-car, and marriage discounts applied.

Larger insurance companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts are:

• State Farm has savings for anti-theft, student away at school, Drive Safe & Save, accident-free, Steer Clear safe driver discount, driver’s education, and defensive driving training.
• Progressive includes discounts for homeowner, online quote discount, online signing, multi-policy, and continuous coverage.
• Travelers offers discounts for home ownership, multi-policy, multi-car, student away at school, and hybrid/electric vehicle.
• American Family may include discounts for early bird, bundled insurance, mySafetyValet, Steer into Savings, and air bags.
• Liberty Mutual policyholders can earn discounts including exclusive group savings, new graduate, newly married, good student, hybrid vehicle, and newly retired.

Check with each company or agent to give you their best rates. All car insurance discounts might not be offered in your area. To locate companies that offer multiple discounts in California, click this link.

Car insurance company ratings

Finding the top company is difficult considering how many companies there are in Long Beach. The company ratings in the next section could help you decide which insurers to look at when looking for cheaper rates.

Top 10 Long Beach Car Insurance Companies by A.M. Best Rank

1. USAA – A++
2. Travelers – A++
3. State Farm – A++
4. GEICO – A++
5. Esurance – A+
6. Nationwide – A+
7. Allstate – A+
8. Mercury Insurance – A+
9. Progressive – A+
10. Titan Insurance – A+

Top 10 Long Beach Car Insurance Companies Ranked by Customer Satisfaction

1. Titan Insurance – 95%
2. USAA – 94%
3. AAA of Southern California – 92%
4. AAA Insurance – 91%
5. Nationwide – 90%
6. State Farm – 90%
7. The Hartford – 89%
8. GEICO – 89%
9. The General – 88%
10. 21st Century – 88%

One last note

When searching for affordable Long Beach car insurance quotes, you should never reduce needed coverages to save money. In too many instances, someone dropped liability limits or collision coverage only to regret that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The goal is to buy the best coverage you can find at the best cost, but do not skimp to save money.

People switch companies for any number of reasons including policy cancellation, not issuing a premium refund, delays in responding to claim requests or even denial of a claim. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, finding a great new company can be easier than you think.

You just read many ways to reduce Ford Flex insurance car insurance rates online in Long Beach. It’s most important to understand that the more you quote Long Beach car insurance, the higher the chance of saving money. Consumers may even find the best car insurance rates are with the smaller companies.

Steps to finding cheaper rates for Ford Flex insurance in Long Beach

If you want to save money, the best way to get more affordable Ford Flex insurance is to regularly compare quotes from insurance carriers in Long Beach.

• Step 1: Read about what is in your policy and the measures you can take to keep rates down. Many factors that drive up the price like traffic tickets, fender benders, and your credit history can be controlled by making minor changes to your lifestyle.
• Step 2: Request price quotes from direct carriers, independent agents, and exclusive agents. Direct companies and exclusive agencies can give quotes from a single company like Progressive or State Farm, while independent agents can provide price quotes for a wide range of insurance providers.
• Step 3: Compare the new rate quotes to your current policy and determine if cheaper Flex coverage is available in Long Beach. If you find a better price, make sure there is no lapse in coverage.
• Step 4: Provide notification to your current agent or company to cancel the current policy. Submit the completed application along with a down payment to the new company. Immediately keep your new certificate of insurance in a readily accessible location in your vehicle.

A tip to remember is that you use the same amount of coverage on each quote request and and to look at as many carriers as you can. Doing this ensures an apples-to-apples comparison and a thorough price selection.

To read more, feel free to browse the resources below:

• Front crash protection reduces rear-end crashes (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
• Who Has Affordable Long Beach Car Insurance Quotes for Good Drivers? (FAQ)
• Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance for Drivers Under 25 in Long Beach? (FAQ)
• Winter Driving (Insurance Information Institute)
• Dangers of fake or stolen airbags (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
• All About Airbag Safety (State Farm)