No one in their right mind looks forward to paying for car insurance, particularly when their premiums are too high.
Multiple auto insurance companies compete for your hard-earned dollar, so it’s not easy to compare every company to discover the definitive best rate
If you are paying for car insurance now, you will be able to save some money using these methods. Buying car insurance in Portland is not rocket science. But Texas vehicle owners benefit from understanding the methods companies use to compete online because it can help you find the best coverage.
How to Compare Car Insurance in Portland, Texas
Most major insurance companies like State Farm, GEICO and Progressive quote coverage prices directly from their websites. This process is pretty painless as you simply enter the coverage amounts you desire into a form. Upon sending the form, their rating system requests your credit score and driving record and quotes a price based on these factors. This simplifies rate comparisons, but the time it takes to visit a lot of sites and complete many quote forms is repetitive and time-consuming. But it is imperative to get many rate quotes if you are searching for the lowest car insurance rates.
There is an easier way!
The smarter way to compare car insurance pricing uses one form that gets prices from several companies at one time. This type of form saves time, requires much less work on your part, and makes online shopping much easier to do. Once the form is submitted, it is quoted and you can choose any one of the returned quotes.
If one or more price quotes are lower than your current rates, it’s easy to complete the application and buy the new coverage. The whole process takes 15 minutes at the most and you’ll know if lower rates are available.
In order to find out how much you’re overpaying now, click here to open in a new tab and enter your vehicle and coverage information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you enter the coverage information identical to your current policy. This way, you are getting comparison quotes for similar insurance coverage.
Are you getting all your discounts?
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but there could be available discounts that you may not know about. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at the time of quoting, but some may not be applied and must be manually applied before being credited.
- Paperwork-free – Certain companies will give a small break simply for signing online.
- Memberships – Belonging to a civic or occupational organization could trigger savings on your policy.
- Air Bag Discount – Vehicles equipped with air bags can receive discounts of up to 25% or more.
- Government Employees – Employees or retirees of the government can earn a discount up to 10% with a few car insurance companies.
- Seat Belt Usage – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts can save up to 15% off the personal injury premium cost.
- Multiple Policy Discount – When you have multiple policies with one insurance company you could get a discount of at least 10% off all policies.
- Theft Prevention System – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems can help prevent theft and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Fewer Miles Equal More Savings – Keeping the miles down could be rewarded with discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
- Own a Home – Being a homeowner can save you money due to the fact that maintaining a home shows financial diligence.
- College Student – Children who are attending college and do not have access to a covered vehicle can be insured at a reduced rate.
Drivers should understand that most discount credits are not given to your bottom line cost. Some only apply to specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. Just because you may think you can get free auto insurance, companies wouldn’t make money that way. But any discount will cut the amount you have to pay.
Tailor your coverage to you
When choosing proper insurance coverage, there really is not a single plan that fits everyone. Each situation is unique and your policy should reflect that. For instance, these questions could help you determine if your insurance needs might need an agent’s assistance.
- Does liability extend to a camper or trailer?
- Should I put collision coverage on all my vehicles?
- Can I afford to buy a different vehicle if my vehicle is totaled?
- What vehicles should carry emergency assistance coverage?
- When would I need additional glass coverage?
- Is my cargo covered for damage or theft?
- Do I need motorclub coverage?
- Which companies will insure high-risk drivers?
If it’s difficult to answer those questions but you know they apply to you then you might want to talk to an insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies.
Why your price might be higher
An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that come into play when calculating car insurance rates. Knowing what determines base rates enables informed choices that may reward you with big savings.
- More claims means more premium – Companies in Texas give cheaper rates to drivers who do not file claims often. If you frequently file small claims, you can pretty much guarantee either higher rates or even cancellation. Auto insurance is designed for larger claims.
- Allowing your policy to lapse raises rates – Allowing your car insurance policy to lapse is a quick way to trigger a rate increase. And not only will insurance be more expensive, getting caught without coverage may earn you a revoked license or a big fine.
- Better crash test results mean better rates – Vehicles with high crash test scores get lower rates. The safest vehicles reduce injuries and fewer injuries means less money paid by your insurance company passed on to you as lower rates.
- Performance makes a difference – The make and model of the car you drive makes a substantial difference in how high your rates are. Economy passenger cars generally have the cheapest insurance rates, but other factors influence the final cost greatly.
- Lower rates with optional equipment – Owning a car with a theft deterrent system can get you a discount on your car insurance. Theft prevention features like GM’s OnStar, tamper alarm systems and vehicle immobilizers can help prevent your vehicle from being stolen.
- Careful drivers pay lower rates – Whether or not you get tickets has a big impact on rates. Only having one speeding ticket can increase rates by as much as thirty percent. Good drivers have lower premiums than their less careful counterparts. Drivers with dangerous tickets such as DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions are required to file a SR-22 with the DMV in their state in order to prevent a license revocation.
- High deductibles save money – Physical damage coverage, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, is used to repair damage to your car. A few examples of covered claims would be running into the backend of another car, collision with an animal, and burglary. Your deductibles are how much you are willing to pay in the event of a claim. The higher the amount you have to pay, the less your car insurance will be.
Don’t believe everything you hear
Car insurance companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Progressive regularly use ads on television and other media. They all seem to make an identical promise of big savings if you move your policy. How do they all say the same thing? It’s all in the numbers.
All the different companies have a preferred profile for the right customer that makes them money. For instance, a driver they prefer might be profiled as between 30 and 50, owns a home, and has a high credit rating. Any driver who fits that profile is entitled to the best price and is almost guaranteed to pay quite a bit less when switching companies.
Drivers who don’t measure up to these standards will have to pay more money which usually ends up with business not being written. The ad wording is “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much. That’s the way insurance companies can confidently state the savings.
Because of the profiling, it’s extremely important to get as many quotes as possible. You cannot predict which insurance companies will have the lowest rates.
Final thoughts
We just covered a lot of information how to shop for car insurance online. The key thing to remember is the more rate quotes you have, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. Drivers may discover the lowest priced car insurance comes from the smaller companies. These companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Nationwide.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, make sure you don’t buy poor coverage just to save money. In too many instances, an accident victim reduced liability coverage limits and discovered at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The ultimate goal is to buy a smart amount of coverage for the lowest price.
Much more information about car insurance in Texas can be read on the website for the Texas Department of Insurance through this link. Consumers can read enforcement actions against agents and companies, view agent and company licensing information, and file complaints about a company.
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