Finding lower priced Seattle Nissan Altima insurance quotes might appear impossible for drivers that are relatively new to buying their insurance on the internet. With such a large number of agents and insurers to choose from, how can you efficiently compare them all to find lower insurance premiums?
It’s amazing but over 70% of consumers kept their policy with the same company for at least the last four years, and 38% of customers have never compared rates to find lower-cost insurance. Most drivers in Seattle could save nearly $430 each year, but they don’t invest the time required to compare rates online.
It’s a good idea to shop coverage around occasionally because insurance prices are rarely the same from one policy term to another. If you had the best rates on Nissan Altima insurance in Seattle on your last policy you can probably find a lower rate today. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about insurance because we’re going to demonstrate how to use the internet to reduce your cost while improving coverage.
If you are already insured, you stand a good chance to be able to save money using the ideas you’re about to read. The intent of this article is to instruct you on how car insurance quotes work and also pocket some savings But Washington vehicle owners must know how big insurance companies calculate their prices and apply this information to your search.
Get Lower-cost Insurance Rates by Understanding These Factors
Many different elements are used in the calculation when you quote your car insurance policy. Some are obvious such as your driving record, but some are more transparent like your vehicle usage and annual miles driven. Smart consumers have a good feel for some of the factors that help determine the level of your policy premiums. When you understand what determines base rates, this enables you to make decisions that could help you find cheaper rates.
- Liability coverage is peace of mind – Your policy’s liability coverage provides coverage if ever you are ruled to be at fault for causing personal injury or damage in an accident. It provides you with a defense in court to attempt to prove you were not liable. This coverage is very inexpensive compared to other policy coverages, so insureds should have plenty of protection for their assets.
- Safety first – Safer cars tend to have better insurance rates. Safe vehicles help reduce the chance of injuries in an accident and better occupant protection means lower claim amounts which can mean better rates for you.
- Performance impacts rates – The performance level of the vehicle you need to insure makes a substantial difference in your car insurance bill. Since the Nissan Altima is considered a sedan, insurance will be about the same compared to average rates in Seattle. Smaller low performance passenger cars usually have the lowest premiums, but the cost you end up paying is determined by many additional factors.
- Insurance rates in urban areas – Residing in a small town can save you money when insuring your vehicles. Fewer drivers on the road means a lower chance of having an accident and a lower car theft rate. People who live in big cities tend to have more auto accidents and more severe claims. More time on the road means more chance of being in an accident.
- Traffic violations inflate premiums – Drivers with clean records get better prices compared to drivers with tickets. Having a single driving citation can boost insurance rates twenty percent or more. Drivers who have received flagrant violations such as hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions may be required to maintain a SR-22 to the state department of motor vehicles in order to keep their license.
- Fewer miles means better rates – The higher the mileage driven annually the more you’ll pay to insure it. Most insurance companies calculate prices based upon how much you drive. Cars and trucks that have low annual miles get more affordable rates than those that get driven frequently. It’s always a good idea to double check that your insurance declarations sheet correctly shows the correct usage. Improper usage on your Altima is throwing money out the window.
- Get better premiums if you’re married – Being married actually saves money on your policy. It generally demonstrates drivers are more mature than a single person and insurance companies like that married drivers tend to have fewer serious accidents.
- Loss probability for a Nissan Altima – Companies use past insurance losses when determining insurance costs. Vehicles that tend to have increased losses will have higher rates. The data below shows the loss history for Nissan Altima vehicles.
For each insurance policy coverage type, the claim amount for all vehicles averaged together is equal to 100. Values below 100 indicate better than average losses, while numbers shown that are more than 100 point to more frequent losses or larger claims.
Nissan Altima Insurance Claim Statistics
Specific Nissan Model Collision Property Damage Comp Personal Injury Medical Payment Bodily Injury Nissan Altima 110 97 119 144 147 114 Statistics Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for 2013-2015 Model Years
Most companies like 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm give coverage price quotes online. Obtaining pricing for Nissan Altima insurance in Seattle doesn’t take a lot of time as you just type in your personal and coverage information into the quote form. Upon sending the form, their system requests your driving record and credit report and returns a price quote determined by many factors.
This makes it easy to compare insurance prices and it’s also necessary to have as many quotes as possible if you want to find lower-cost prices.
In order to find out how much you can save on insurance, compare rate quotes from the providers shown below. If you have coverage now, it’s recommended that you enter the limits and deductibles identical to your current policy. Doing this assures you will have rate quotes for similar coverage.
The companies in the list below are our best choices to provide price comparisons in Seattle, WA. If more than one company is shown, we recommend you get rates from several of them to find the lowest auto insurance rates.
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altima 2.5 4-Dr Sedan | $122 | $248 | $334 | $20 | $100 | $824 | $69 |
| Altima 2.5 S 4-Dr Sedan | $230 | $496 | $304 | $18 | $90 | $1,138 | $95 |
| Altima Hybrid 4-Dr Sedan | $156 | $328 | $356 | $22 | $106 | $968 | $81 |
| Altima 2.5 S 2-Dr Coupe | $160 | $302 | $314 | $18 | $94 | $888 | $74 |
| Altima 3.5 SR 4-Dr Sedan | $232 | $448 | $398 | $24 | $120 | $1,222 | $102 |
| Altima 3.5 SR 2-Dr Coupe | $136 | $338 | $376 | $22 | $112 | $984 | $82 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
Data rating is based on single male driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Washington minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, safe-driver, homeowner, multi-vehicle, and multi-policy. Rates do not factor in vehicle garaging location which can change coverage prices significantly.
Does it make sense to buy full coverage?
The chart below illustrates the difference between Nissan Altima insurance premiums with full coverage and liability only. Data assumes no claims or driving violations, $100 deductibles, married male driver, and no discounts are applied.
When to drop comprehensive and collision coverage
There is no set guideline for excluding physical damage coverage on your policy, but there is a general guideline. If the yearly cost of comp and collision coverage is more than 10% of replacement cost minus your deductible, then you may need to consider dropping full coverage.
For example, let’s assume your Nissan Altima claim settlement value is $4,000 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is damaged in an accident, the most you would get paid by your company is $3,000 after paying your deductible. If it’s costing in excess of $300 annually for full coverage, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.
There are a few cases where buying only liability insurance is not a good idea. If you still owe money on your vehicle, you have to carry full coverage in order to keep the loan. Also, if your finances do not allow you to purchase a different vehicle in the even your car is totaled, you should not opt for liability only.
How accidents and tickets impact rates
The illustration below shows how traffic citations and accidents raise Nissan Altima insurance rates for each different age category. The premiums are based on a married female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $100 deductibles, and no policy discounts are applied.
Are you falling for claims of savings?
Car insurance companies such as 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm constantly bombard you with ads on TV and radio. They all advertise claims that you can save after switching your coverage. How do they all lower your prices? Here is the trick they use.
All the different companies have a preferred profile for the type of customer that earns them the highest profit. For example, a preferred risk might be over the age of 50, has no prior claims, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. A customer that meets those criteria will most likely get cheap premium rates and most likely will pay quite a bit less when switching companies.
People who do not meet these stringent criteria must pay higher premiums and this can result in the customer not purchasing. If you listen closely, the ads state “people who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. That is how insurance companies can advertise the savings.
Because of these techniques, you need to do a quote comparison often. It’s impossible to know with any certainty which company will fit your personal profile best.
Auto insurance protects more than just your car
Even though Seattle Altima insurance rates can get expensive, insuring your vehicle serves several important purposes.
First, just about all states have mandatory insurance requirements which means you are required to carry a specific level of liability coverage in order to be legal. In Washington these limits are 25/50/10 which means you must have $25,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $10,000 of property damage coverage.
Second, if your vehicle has a lien holder, more than likely the lender will require that you have comprehensive coverage to ensure they get paid if you total the vehicle. If you let the policy lapse, the bank will be required to insure your Nissan at a significantly higher premium and make you pay much more than you were paying before.
Third, insurance safeguards both your car and your personal assets. It will also pay for many types of medical costs for you, your passengers, and anyone else injured in an accident. One of the most valuable coverages, liability insurance, will also pay attorney fees if you cause an accident and are sued. If damage is caused by hail or an accident, comprehensive and collision coverage will pay to restore your vehicle to like-new condition.
The benefits of insuring your car more than offset the price you pay, especially with large liability claims. According to a recent study, the average American driver is currently overpaying as much as $750 every year so it’s very important to do a rate comparison at least once a year to ensure rates are competitive.
Companies offer many types of discounts on Nissan Altima insurance in Seattle
Some companies don’t list the complete list of policy discounts in an easy-to-find place, so the following list contains both well-publicized and the harder-to-find credits available to you.
- Homeowners Savings – Just owning your own home can get you a discount because maintaining a house demonstrates responsibility.
- Telematics Data Discounts – Seattle drivers who agree to allow driving data collection to analyze where and when they drive through the use of a telematics system such as Drivewise from Allstate or Snapshot from Progressive might see lower rates as long as they are good drivers.
- Driver’s Education for Students – Have your child enroll in driver’s education in high school.
- Smart Student Discounts – Maintaining excellent grades can save 20 to 25%. Many companies even apply the discount to college students up to age 25.
- Multiple Vehicles – Drivers who insure multiple cars on a single policy can get a discount for every vehicle.
- Discounts for Cautious Drivers – Accident-free drivers can save as much as half off their rates than drivers with accidents.
- Payment Method – By paying your entire bill at once instead of making monthly payments you may have a lower total premium amount.
- Fewer Miles Equal More Savings – Driving fewer miles could qualify for slightly better rates than normal.
Don’t be surprised that most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. The majority will only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. So when it seems like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, insurance companies wouldn’t stay in business.
Some companies that possibly offer these discounts are:
Check with every insurance company how you can save money. Discounts may not be available in your area. To see insurers who offer insurance discounts in Seattle, follow this link.
Local neighborhood Seattle car insurance agents
A lot of people just prefer to have an agent’s advice and often times that is recommended One of the great benefits of comparing rates online is the fact that you can find cheap car insurance rates and still have a local agent. And supporting neighborhood insurance agencies is especially important in Seattle.
By using this simple form, your coverage information is emailed to local insurance agents that provide free Seattle auto insurance quotes to get your business. It’s much easier because you don’t need to search for an agent due to the fact that quote results will go directly to you. You can most likely find cheaper rates without having to waste a lot of time. If you want to compare rates from a particular provider, you would need to visit that company’s website and submit a quote form there.
Seattle car insurance agents come in two flavors
When finding a reputable agency, it helps to know the two types of agencies and how they differ in how they quote coverages. Insurance agencies in Seattle can be categorized as either exclusive or independent.
Independent Car Insurance Agents (or Brokers)
Agents that choose to be independent are not locked into one company and that allows them to write policies with any number of different companies and find the cheapest car insurance rates. 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 comparing rates, you should always get some free quotes from a few independent agents in order to have the best price comparison. Many can place coverage with mutual insurance companies which can save you money.
Below is a short list of independent insurance agents in Seattle that may be able to give pricing information.
- Michael Wong Insurance
1200 Westlake Ave N #607 – Seattle, WA 98109 – (206) 284-0171 – View Map - Spangler Insurance
431 15th Ave E – Seattle, WA 98112 – (206) 329-7447 – View Map - Secord Agency Insurance
265 NE 45th St – Seattle, WA 98105 – (206) 783-4024 – View Map
Exclusive Insurance Agents
These type of agents normally can only provide a single company’s rates and examples are Allstate and State Farm. Exclusive agents are unable to provide rate quotes from other companies so they have no alternatives for high prices. Exclusive agents receive extensive training on their products and sales techniques which aids in selling service over price. Some consumers prefer to buy insurance from these agents primarily because of the brand name rather than having the cheapest rates.
Shown below is a short list of exclusive agencies in Seattle who can help you get price quotes.
- Andy Hubbard – State Farm Insurance Agent
1515 NW 52nd St a – Seattle, WA 98107 – (206) 789-4211 – View Map - Dave Newman – State Farm Insurance Agent
3435 California Ave SW – Seattle, WA 98116 – (206) 932-1878 – View Map - Mark Hafemeister – State Farm Insurance Agent
14322 Lake City Way NE – Seattle, WA 98125 – (206) 365-0600 – View Map
Deciding on an auto insurance agent should include more criteria than just the premium amount. Any agent in Seattle should be willing to answer these questions.
- Are there any hidden costs in their price quote and does it include driving and credit history?
- By raising physical damage deductibles, how much would you save?
- Do you qualify for any additional discounts?
- What is the financial rating for the quoted company?
- Will they take your side in the event of a claim?
- Do they specialize in personal lines auto insurance in Seattle?
- Is there a 24/7 contact number?
Keep this in mind when shopping around
As you restructure your insurance plan, do not skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There are too many instances where someone sacrificed uninsured motorist or liability limits and learned later that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The proper strategy is to find the BEST coverage at an affordable rate but still have enough coverage for asset protection.
More affordable auto insurance in Seattle is possible online as well as from insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best selection. Some auto insurance companies may not offer online price quotes and these smaller companies prefer to sell through independent insurance agents.
Insureds switch companies for a number of reasons such as poor customer service, policy non-renewal, delays in paying claims and delays in responding to claim requests. Regardless of your reason, finding a great new company is pretty simple and you could end up saving a buck or two.
Helpful information
- When is the Right Time to Switch Car Insurance Companies? (Allstate)
- Who Has Affordable Seattle Car Insurance for High School Students? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance for Low Mileage Drivers in Seattle? (FAQ)
- How Much is Seattle Car Insurance for Drivers Over Age 60? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance Rates for 16 Year Olds in Seattle? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Seattle Car Insurance for a School Permit? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Car Insurance Quotes for Uninsured Drivers in Seattle? (FAQ)
- Eight Auto Insurance Myths (Insurance Information Institute)
- Rental Reimbursement Coverage (Allstate)