How much is car insurance in Jacksonville, FL?

If you are looking for the best car insurance company in Jacksonville, Florida, one of the things you want to do is to shop around.

Just like when you shop for anything else, you do not want to choose the first thing you see. You need to have standards you are looking for to make sure you get the best car insurance for your money.

Your car is important to you. It takes you to work everyday, then takes you home at night. It takes you out for dinner, and on family vacations. You want to protect it, and protect your investment. So shopping around for the best and most complete car insurance is important.

What to Know About Insurance in Jacksonville

For Florida drivers, the mandatory coverage is fairly easy to remember.

1. $10,000 personal injury protection (PIP)
2. $10,000 property damage liability (PDL)

PIP is also known as no fault insurance, because the insurance carrier does not care who is at fault. Instead, the focus is on you. If you sustain injuries or damage to your vehicles or property, then you file a claim for benefits on your policy.

When Florida Mandates Additional Coverage

In some instances, Florida requires drivers to buy additional coverage. It is on a case-by-case basis.

Usually if you have a record of certain types of car accidents or crashes or convictions, then the state may require you to buy bodily injury liability coverage.

The state even requires a form stating that you have obtained bodily injury liability coverage, in form SR-22.

Usually what precipitates form SR-22 is one of a few things. A point suspension, judgement from a crash, habitual traffic revocation or involved in an accident that caused injuries and you had no BIL coverage. It might make sense to carry bodily injury liability as a matter of course, to avoid such nuisances as an SR-22.

In other cases, the state will revoke a license or suspend it. Reasons the state revokes and suspends driving privileges include:

• Caused injuries in a car accident
• Maximum Driving Penalty Points
• Habitual Moving Violations
• Judgment from a Crash

Often, the legal fees are costly and the state is not very forgiving. They may take as long as they want to reinstate your full driving privileges and charge you a lot of money in the meantime.

In addition, state laws and local laws are not easy on drivers with serious offenses. For those drivers who are caught driving under the influence, Florida has a special form called the FR-44.

Florida stipulates you must have a six-months non-cancellable SR-22 if you are stopped without proper proof of insurance.

Always have insurance if you are driving, and carry proof of insurance that meets the $10,000 PIP and $10,000 PDL or $30,000 combined single limits per occurrence when driving in Florida.

Protecting Yourself and Your Family

Not only are you protecting your car when you purchase the best car insurance. You are protecting yourself and your family’s lives and well-being. All states have minimums on liability insurance.

This is the minimum amount set forth by the states that covers an accidental death if you end up in an accident in which someone is killed.

But what about bodily injuries you or your family might sustain if you are in an accident with an underinsured driver?

What happens when someone isn’t insured?

Should an accident occur while you are driving, there is a chance the other drivers involved may not be properly insured. Then you will be out medical expenses on any injuries yourself.

For this reason you may want to consider adding the “uninsured or underinsured” motorist clause on your car insurance policy.

What this will do is “insure” that your insurance will pay for the expenses in the event you are involved in a collision with an underinsured or uninsured driver.

This added protection normally does not cost too much more per month in premiums but it is a critical part of an insurance policy that can give you that added protection in case you need it.

How to Find the Best Deals on Car Insurance

The best thing to do to make sure you get the best deal on car insurance is to shop around. After all, you shop around for everything else, from clothes to stereos, so insurance should be no exception.

The Criteria for Comparison Shopping

What are the most important factors that should be considered when shopping for insurance? Here are a few suggestions:

Price

Compare prices among similar insurance companies before your purchase to make sure you are getting the best deal for the money. You will be paying a monthly premium so also make sure you can reasonably afford the cost of your selected insurance before deciding which one to choose.

Coverage Limitations

It is important to know the coverage limits on your policy. Read the “fine print” and know what it means. Sometimes this takes talking to an expert to truly understand the legal terms involving coverage limits.

Talk to an online insurance advisor to make sure you understand what this involves. Basically put, this is what the car insurance policy will NOT cover, rather than what it will cover. It is just as important to know what it will not do, as well as what it will do.

Exclusions

These are the exceptions as to when the coverage will kick in. They are contingencies which will negate the coverage. Terms like “in the event of,” “provided the situation is….” “unless otherwise noted,” and other phrasing are indicating exceptions to the rule and these should always be read thoroughly and completely and understood before deciding on a car insurance policy.

Payment Options

It is important to find a policy which allows multiple payment options. Though this is not required, it is certainly preferable. Some insurance companies even offer a discount for automatic payment options, providing you a way to have your payment deducted monthly automatically in return for the discount you get for doing so. Other payment options might be the use of an online credit or debit card deduction, check, or mailed payment.

Discounts

Typical discounts which might be offered may include: student discounts, military discounts, safe driving discounts, or disability discounts. Look for other ways you can save money by comparison shopping online between similar car insurance companies to find the best deals and discounts available.

Options

Look for a policy that allows several options. Though you don’t need all of them, it is nice to have options such as “roadside assistance” and other add-ons in case you need them. Compare these side-by-side with other companies to determine the best policy for your needs.

How to Get the Best Deals

In order to get the best possible deal on car insurance in Jacksonville, start with a search using terms like “Jacksonville car insurance,” or “car insurance quotes in Jacksonville, FL.” This will show you some comparison sites where you can view different companies that offer quotes.

The best idea for doing a quick comparison of the best car insurance companies is to find one car insurance comparison site you like and stick with it. This allows you to get a quote online in one place and compare various car insurance companies side-by-side to see the best aspects of all of them.

Then contact an online agent or customer service representative on the phone to go over the specifics and the fine print to make sure you understand what each of them are offering.

When looking for the best car insurance, focus on premiums, coverage limitations, exclusions, and the fine print to make sure you are getting the most for your money.

Find out more about the company and ask questions in ensure that your insurance will be there when you need it.

Insurance is one of those things we don’t want to have to worry about but when you need it, it becomes more important.

Take the time to research and do comparative shopping to look at the coverage and limitations. Look for discounts which you might qualify for which will save you money.

There are many discounts offered based on your demographic status, your particular job category, or other factors such as disabilities or affiliations with military or other groups.

What’s Next?

Get your facts together on what you think you need, write down the VIN number and make/model of your car, and try our online comparison site now to save both time and money at the front end.

You can compare companies side-by-side, look into discounts, and get a quote all on the same site without wasting hours of time trying to dig this information out yourself.

We can help you make a decision on what the best coverage for your needs, what discounts you qualify for, and what you should do to make sure you get the most for your money.

Ask us any questions you have and we can take you through this process step-by-step. So visit us today and let us know how we can help and you’ll be well on your way to the best car insurance policy.

If you are in the Jacksonville area, we are your best choice for a car insurance quote on the web. We can connect you with a live agent and discuss your quote anytime online or over the phone.

Protect your property and the lives you cherish by getting a quote today.