The recommended way to find affordable quotes for Toyota Highlander Hybrid insurance in Baltimore is to regularly compare quotes from insurance carriers who provide auto insurance in Maryland.
Step 1: It will benefit you to learn about car insurance and the changes you can make to keep rates low. Many rating criteria that cause rate increases like distracted driving and a poor credit score can be amended by paying attention to minor details. Read the full article for more ideas to get better rates and get discounts that may be available to you.
Step 2: Quote rates from exclusive agents, independent agents, and direct providers. Direct companies and exclusive agencies can only give rate quotes from a single company like GEICO or Allstate, while agents who are independent can quote prices from many different companies.
Step 3: Compare the new rate quotes to your existing coverage to see if you can save by switching companies. If you find a better price and buy the policy, make sure there is no coverage gap between policies.
Step 4: Notify your current company of your intent to cancel your current coverage. Submit a completed policy application and payment to the new company. As soon as you have the new policy, put the certificate of insurance in an easily accessible location.
The most important part of this process is to use the same deductibles and limits on each quote and and to get rates from as many auto insurance providers as possible. Doing this provides an apples-to-apples comparison and a thorough selection of prices.
Surprisingly, a recent survey revealed that most insurance policyholders have remained with the same insurance company for at least the last four years, and practically 40% of insurance customers have never compared rates with other companies. With the average insurance premium being $1,490, Maryland drivers could save themselves almost $750 a year by just shopping around, but most undervalue the amount of money they would save if they bought a different policy.
Why Your Insurance Prices might be higher
Multiple criteria are used when premium rates are determined. A few of the factors are predictable such as traffic violations, but some are not as apparent like your continuous coverage or your vehicle rating.
Listed below are just a few of the factors car insurance companies consider when setting your rates.
Bad credit hurts insurance prices – A driver’s credit score can be a huge factor in determining what you pay. So if your credit rating can be improved, you may save money insuring your Toyota Highlander Hybrid by repairing your credit. Drivers who have excellent credit tend to be better risks to insure than drivers with lower credit ratings.
Save money with higher physical damage deductibles – Physical damage insurance, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, insures against damage to your Toyota. Some examples of claims that would be covered are running into the backend of another car, vandalism, and rolling your vehicle. Comprehensive and collision coverage deductibles define how much you are required to spend out-of-pocket before your car insurance pays a claim. The more of the claim the insured is willing to pay, the better rate you will receive.
Type of car determines base costs – The performance of the vehicle you drive makes a substantial difference in how high your rates are. Lower cost passenger cars receive the most favorable rates, but that’s not the only thing that factors into the final price.
Do you work long hours in a demanding occupation? – Jobs like judges, executives, and accountants tend to pay higher premium rates due to high stress and lots of time spent away from family. Conversely, careers such as professors, historians and retirees have the lowest average rates.
Mature drivers are lower risk – Young drivers in Maryland are proven to be more careless when at the wheel of a vehicle so they pay higher car insurance rates. Older drivers are viewed as being more responsible, tend to file fewer claims, and are safer drivers.
Big cities mean more claims – Being located in small towns and rural areas can be a good thing when talking about car insurance. Fewer drivers on the road means a lower chance of having an accident and lower theft and vandalism rates. Drivers who live in large Maryland cities regularly have congested traffic and more time behind the wheel. Higher commute times means more chance of being in an accident.
Toyota Highlander Hybrid insurance claim data – Companies use statistical claims data as a tool for profitable underwriting. Models that the data determines to have higher claim amounts or frequency will cost more to insure. The table below shows the historical loss data for Toyota Highlander Hybrid vehicles.
For each type of coverage, the claim probability for all vehicles averaged together is considered to be 100. Values that are below 100 imply a favorable loss record, while values that are 100 or greater indicate higher probability of having a loss or an increased likelihood of larger losses.
| Make and Model | Collision | Property Damage | Comp | Personal Injury | Medical Payment | Bodily Injury |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Highlander Hybrid 4dr 4WD | 111 | 143 |
Empty fields indicate not enough data collected
Statistics from IIHS.org for 2013-2015 Model Years
Buy Baltimore Toyota Highlander Hybrid insurance online
All the larger car insurance companies provide coverage price quotes direct online. Getting quotes for Toyota Highlander Hybrid insurance in Baltimore is fairly simple because you just enter your personal and coverage information as requested by the quote form. When the form is submitted, their quoting system automatically orders your credit score and driving record and gives you a price quote based on many factors. This makes it simple to compare prices and it is important to compare as many rates as possible if you want to find the cheapest price on car insurance.
To compare rates now, consider comparing rates from the companies shown below. If you have coverage now, it’s recommended you replicate the coverage information identical to your current policy. This guarantees you will have a fair comparison using the exact same coverages.
The following companies have been selected to offer price quotes in Maryland. To get the best cheap car insurance in Baltimore, we suggest you visit as many as you can to get the best price comparison.
Three good reasons to insure your Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Despite the high insurance cost for a Toyota Highlander Hybrid in Baltimore, auto insurance is most likely required but also gives you several important benefits.
- Almost all states have compulsory liability insurance requirements which means state laws require specific minimum amounts of liability protection if you don’t want to risk a ticket. In Maryland these limits are 30/60/15 which means you must have $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $60,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $15,000 of property damage coverage.
- If you took out a loan on your Highlander Hybrid, almost every bank will require that you have insurance to guarantee payment of the loan. If coverage lapses or is canceled, the bank or lender will purchase a policy for your Toyota for a lot more money and make you pay a much higher amount than you were paying before.
- Insurance safeguards both your Toyota Highlander Hybrid and your assets. It will also reimburse you for hospital and medical expenses that are the result of an accident. One policy coverage, liability insurance, also covers legal expenses if you cause an accident and are sued. If your Toyota gets damaged, collision and comprehensive coverages will pay all costs to repair after the deductible has been paid.
The benefits of carrying adequate insurance are definitely more than the cost, particularly when you have a large claim. The average driver in Maryland overpays more than $820 a year so it’s very important to do a rate comparison every year to ensure rates are competitive.
Cheap Baltimore car insurance rates with discounts
Some providers don’t necessarily list all possible discounts in a way that’s easy to find, so the next list breaks down some of the best known and also the more inconspicuous credits available to bring down your rates.
- Driver Safety – Completing a course that instructs on driving safety may get you a small discount and make you a better driver.
- Multi-car Discount – Having multiple cars or trucks on the same car insurance policy can get a discount for every vehicle.
- Drivers Ed for Students – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to enroll in driver’s education in school or through a local driver safety program.
- Early Payment Discounts – By paying your policy upfront rather than spreading payments over time you could save up to 5%.
- Save with a New Car – Putting insurance on a new Highlander Hybrid can save up to 30% because newer models have to meet stringent safety requirements.
- Onboard Data Collection – Insureds that choose to allow their car insurance company to spy on vehicle usage by using a small device installed in their vehicle such as Drivewise from Allstate or Snapshot from Progressive could see a rate decrease if they exhibit good driving behavior.
- Online Discount – A handful of larger companies will provide an incentive for buying a policy and signing up on the internet.
- Bundle and Save – If you can bundle your auto and home insurance with one company you will save approximately 10% to 15%.
- First Accident Forgiveness – Not a discount per se, but a few companies such as Progressive and Allstate will turn a blind eye to one accident before hitting you with a surcharge so long as you haven’t had any claims before the accident.
Policy discounts save money, but most of the big mark downs will not be given to your bottom line cost. Most only reduce individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So even though it sounds like you could get a free car insurance policy, you won’t be that lucky.
Some companies who may offer some of the above discounts include:
- State Farm
- Liberty Mutual
- American Family
- Progressive
- Farmers Insurance
- Auto-Owners Insurance
- SAFECO
When comparing rates, check with every company which credits you are entitled to. Some discounts might not apply in your area. To view car insurance companies that offer some of these discounts in Maryland, click here to view.
Compare rates but work with a local Baltimore insurance agent
Some consumers just prefer to get professional advice from a licensed agent and that is recommended in a lot of cases A good thing about getting online price quotes is you may find lower rates and still buy from a local agent.
After completing this simple form, your insurance data gets sent to participating agents in Baltimore who will gladly provide quotes for your coverage. There is no reason to contact any agents since rate quotes are delivered immediately to your email address. You can find lower rates and an insurance agent to talk to. If you need to get a price quote for a specific company, you would need to visit that company’s website and fill out the quote form the provide.
Picking an company should depend on more than just the quoted price. Here are some questions you should ask.
- Will you get a loaner vehicle if you car is being repaired?
- How are claims handled?
- If your car is totaled, how to they determine the replacement cost?
- Does the company use OEM repair parts?
- Are they paid to recommend certain coverages?
What is the best auto insurance company in Baltimore?
Insuring your vehicle with the highest-rated car insurance company can be rather challenging considering how many choices drivers have in Maryland. The company rank data below may help you pick which auto insurance companies you want to consider comparing prices from.
Top 10 Baltimore Car Insurance Companies Ranked by Customer Satisfaction
- USAA – 91%
- AAA Insurance – 90%
- Esurance – 90%
- Mercury Insurance – 89%
- Nationwide – 89%
- Travelers – 88%
- Progressive – 88%
- Safeco Insurance – 88%
- State Farm – 88%
- Allstate – 88%
What is YOUR best insurance company?
When shopping online for insurance, it’s not a good idea to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are many occasions where an accident victim reduced full coverage and learned later that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The goal is to find the BEST coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.
You just read a lot of information how to lower your Toyota Highlander Hybrid insurance premium rates in Baltimore. The key concept to understand is the more price quotes you have, the higher the chance of saving money. You may even find the best price on insurance is with a small mutual company. Regional companies may have significantly lower prices on certain market segments than their larger competitors like Progressive and GEICO.
Much more information about insurance in Maryland can be found on the following sites:
- Protect Yourself Against Auto Theft (Insurance Information Institute)
- Who Has Affordable Car Insurance for Homeowners in Baltimore? (FAQ)
- What Insurance is Cheapest for Young Drivers in Baltimore? (FAQ)
- Child Safety FAQ (iihs.org)
- Five Mistakes to Avoid (Insurance Information Institute)
- A Tree Fell on Your Car: Now What? (Allstate)