Unthinkable but true, almost 70% of insureds renewed their policy with the same company for at least four years, and nearly half have never compared auto insurance rates at all. With the average premium in Oklahoma being $1,800, drivers can cut their rates by about $600 a year just by comparing rates, but they don’t want to take the time to shop their coverage around.
If saving money is your primary concern, then the best way to save money on auto insurance rates is to regularly compare prices from companies in Oklahoma City.
Step 1: Spend some time learning about how car insurance works and the factors you can control to prevent rate increases. Many factors that are responsible for high rates like at-fault accidents, speeding tickets, and a less-than-favorable credit rating can be rectified by making minor driving habit or lifestyle changes.
Step 2: Quote rates from independent agents, exclusive agents, and direct companies. Direct and exclusive agents can only give prices from a single company like Progressive and State Farm, while independent agencies can provide price quotes from multiple companies.
Step 3: Compare the quotes to the premium of your current policy and see if there is a cheaper rate in Oklahoma City. If you find a lower rate quote, make sure there is no lapse between the expiration of your current policy and the new one.
Step 4: Provide notification to your current agent or company of your decision to cancel your current policy. Submit the application along with any required down payment to your new insurance company. When you receive it, keep your new certificate verifying coverage in an easily accessible location in your vehicle.
The key thing to remember is that you use similar deductibles and liability limits on each price quote and to quote with as many auto insurance providers as possible. This ensures a level playing field and a better comparison of the market.
If you have a current auto insurance policy or need a new policy, use these techniques to shop for the lowest rates and possibly find even better coverage. Finding affordable coverage in Oklahoma City is much easier if you know where to start. Smart shoppers just have to know the best way to compare rate quotes online.
Compare Toyota Prius insurance rates
All the larger auto insurance companies make it easy to get prices on the web. Getting online quotes for Toyota Prius insurance in Oklahoma City is fairly straightforward as all you need to do is type in your required coverages as requested by the quote form. After the form is submitted, their rating system requests information on your driving record and credit history and returns a price determined by many factors. Getting online quotes for Toyota Prius insurance in Oklahoma City makes it simple to compare prices and it’s necessary to perform this step in order to find lower-cost prices.
To save time and fill out one form to compare multiple rates now, compare rate quotes from the providers shown below. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you type in your coverages exactly as shown on your declarations page. This makes sure you are getting rate quotes for exact coverage.
The companies shown below are ready to provide free rate quotes in Oklahoma City, OK. If multiple companies are shown, it’s highly recommended you visit two to three different companies to find the lowest auto insurance rates.
Car insurance statistics for a Toyota Prius
The data table below highlights a range of insurance premium costs for Toyota Prius models. Being able to understand how insurance quotes are figured can be useful when making informed decisions.
Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
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Prius | $352 | $580 | $514 | $30 | $154 | $1,630 | $136 |
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Data assumes single female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and Oklahoma minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, claim-free, and homeowner. Premium costs do not factor in the specific area where the vehicle is garaged which can revise premium rates significantly.
Physical damage deductibles
One common question asked by Oklahoma City drivers is how high should the physical damage deductibles be. The comparisons below summarize the rate difference when you choose different coverage deductibles. The first price estimate table uses a $250 physical damage deductible and the second rate table uses a $500 deductible.
Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
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Prius | $392 | $584 | $382 | $22 | $114 | $1,519 | $127 |
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Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prius | $318 | $472 | $382 | $22 | $114 | $1,308 | $109 |
Get Your Own Custom Quote Go |
Data assumes married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and Oklahoma minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, claim-free, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, and safe-driver. Rate information does not factor in garaging location in Oklahoma City which can lower or raise coverage rates significantly.
Using the data above, we can ascertain that using a $250 deductible costs approximately $18 more each month or $216 every year than requesting the higher $500 deductible. Because you would be required to pay $250 more to settle a claim with a $500 deductible as compared to a $250 deductible, if you go at least 14 months between claims, you would come out ahead by selecting a higher deductible.
How to determine if raising deductibles makes sense
Average monthly premium for $250 deductibles: | $127 |
Average monthly premium for $500 deductibles (subtract): | – $109 |
Monthly savings from raising deductible: | $18 |
Difference between deductibles ($500 – $250): | $250 |
Divide difference by monthly savings: | $250 / $18 |
Number of months required between physical damage coverage claims in order to save money by choosing the higher deductible | 14 months |
One important caveat is that a higher deductible means you will have to pay more out-of-pocket when you have a comprehensive or collision claim. You should have enough extra money in the event you need to pay the deductible for vehicle repair.
Should you buy full coverage?
The example below shows the comparison of Toyota Prius insurance costs with full coverage compared to only the Oklahoma minimum liability coverage. The information is based on no violations or claims, $100 deductibles, marital status is single, and no policy discounts are applied.
When to stop buying physical damage coverage
There isn’t a written rule to stop buying comp and collision coverage, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is more than 10% of the replacement cost minus the deductible, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.
For example, let’s assume your Toyota Prius replacement value is $6,000 and you have $1,000 deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident, the most you would receive is $5,000 after paying your deductible. If it’s costing in excess of $500 a year to have full coverage, then you might consider buying liability only.
There are a few situations where dropping physical damage coverage is not recommended. If you have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, you have to maintain full coverage to satisfy the loan requirements. Also, if you don’t have enough money to buy a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should not remove full coverage.
Insurance Rate Influencing Factors
One of the most helpful ways to save on car insurance is to to have a grasp of the factors that are used to determine the level of your policy premiums. If you have a feel for what determines premiums, this enables informed choices that will entitle you to cheaper rates. Lots of things are considered when premium rates are determined. Some factors are common sense such as your driving record, although others are less apparent such as whether you are married or your commute time.
Shown below are a partial list of the pieces utilized by car insurance companies to help set your premiums.
- Vehicles with better crash test results means cheaper insurance – Vehicles with good safety scores tend to have lower insurance rates. Safe vehicles help reduce the chance of injuries in an accident and reduced instances of injuries means less claims paid and cheaper rates on your policy.
- Do you qualify for a multi-policy discount? – Many companies provide better rates to policyholders that have more than one policy in the form of a multi-policy discount. Discounts can be as much as ten percent or more Even with this discount applied, you still need to shop around to help guarantee you have the best rates. It’s possible to still find lower rates even if you insure with multiple companies
- High comp and collision deductibles equal low rates – Your deductibles define how much you are willing to pay if a covered claim is submitted. Physical damage insurance, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, is used to repair damage to your car. Some instances where coverage would apply would be collision with another vehicle, vandalism, and having a roll-over accident. The more of the claim you choose to pay out-of-pocket, the less your car insurance will be.
- Do you know you’re credit score? – An insured’s credit score can be a huge factor in calculating your premium rate. So if your credit history can be improved, you could pay less to insure your Toyota Prius by improving your credit score. Drivers with high credit scores tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than those with bad credit.
- Claim-free discounts can add up – If you are the type of insured that files lots of claims you shouldn’t be surprised to get higher rates. Auto insurance companies in Oklahoma give the lowest premiums to drivers who are not frequent claim filers. Your insurance policy is meant to be used in the event of claims that pose a financial burden.
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Type of vehicle determines base premiums – The performance of the car, truck or SUV you need insurance for makes a huge difference in how high your rates are. The lowest premiums will normally be found when insuring smaller low performance passenger cars, but other factors influence the final cost greatly.
The next chart uses these assumptions: single female driver age 50, full coverage with $250 deductibles, and no discounts or violations. The chart compares Toyota Prius insurance rates compared to other models of vehicles that have different performance rating factors.
- Liability coverage – The liability coverage on your policy provides coverage when a court rules you are at fault for causing personal injury or damage in an accident. Your liability coverage provides you with a defense in court which can cost a lot. Liability insurance is quite affordable compared to insuring for physical damage coverage, so buy as much as you can afford.
- Prevent car insurance policy lapses – Driving your car without having proper coverage can get you a ticket and any future policy may cost more because you let your coverage have a gap. Not only will you pay higher rates, failure to provide proof of insurance might get you a steep fine or even jail time.
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Insurance loss statistics a Toyota Prius – Insurers use claims history to calculate a rate that offsets possible losses. Vehicles that the data shows to have increased losses will have a higher premium rate.
The table below outlines the historical insurance loss data for Toyota Prius vehicles. For each policy coverage, the statistical loss for all vehicles combined as an average equals 100. Values that are 100 or less indicate better than average losses, while values that are above 100 point to more losses or tendency to have higher losses.
Toyota Prius Insurance Loss Statistics Specific Toyota Model Collision Property Damage Comp Personal Injury Medical Payment Bodily Injury Toyota Prius C Hybrid 113 100 87 120 121 113 Toyota Prius Hybrid 101 97 98 103 118 103 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid 98 89 87 106 114 93 Toyota Prius V Hybrid 94 86 88 88 94 97 BETTERAVERAGEWORSEStatistics from IIHS.org for 2013-2015 Model Years
Why do I need car insurance?
Despite the potentially high cost of Toyota Prius insurance, insurance is required in Oklahoma but it also protects you in many ways.
- Most states have minimum liability requirements which means you are required to carry a specific level of liability coverage if you drive a vehicle. In Oklahoma these limits are 25/50/25 which means you must have $25,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of property damage coverage.
- If your vehicle has a lienholder, more than likely the lender will make it a condition of the loan that you buy full coverage to protect their interest in the vehicle. If you let the policy lapse, the bank may insure your Toyota at a much higher premium rate and require you to pay for it.
- Insurance protects not only your Toyota but also your financial assets. It will also pay for medical expenses for not only you but also any passengers injured in an accident. Liability insurance, one of your policy coverages, also pays expenses related to your legal defense in the event you are sued. If your vehicle suffers damage from an accident or hail, comprehensive and collision coverage will pay all costs to repair after the deductible has been paid.
The benefits of insuring your car are definitely more than the cost, particularly when you have a large claim. But the average American driver overpays more than $700 annually so compare rates at least once a year to make sure the price is not too high.