Expensive auto insurance can take a big chunk out of your personal savings and make it impossible to make ends meet. Shopping your coverage around is free and is an excellent way to slash your bill and have more diposable income.
Companies like GEICO, 21st Century and Progressive continually bombard you with ads and consumers find it hard to ignore the propoganda and find the best price available.
Consumers need to price shop coverage yearly due to the fact that insurance rates are adjusted regularly by insurance companies. If you had the lowest price for Sorento coverage a few years ago you will most likely find a better rate today. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because I’m going to let you in on the secrets to one of the quickest ways to save money, get proper deductibles and limits, all at the lowest rate.
Comparison of Auto Insurance in Texas
To find the best auto insurance prices, there are several ways of comparing rates from local in Texasauto insurance companies. The quickest method to compare insurance prices involves getting comparison quotes online. It is quite easy and can be accomplished using a couple different methods.
The most efficient way to get the best comparison quotes would be an industry-wide quote request form click here to open form in new window. This form eliminates the need for boring form submissions for every auto insurance company. In just a few minutes this one form will return quotes .
A slightly less efficient method to find lower rates consists of going to the website of each company to complete their respective quote request forms. For sake of this example, let’s assume you want to compare rates from Allstate, Farmers and State Farm. You would have to spend time on each company’s site and enter your information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in your area, click here.
The least efficient way of getting rate comparisons to different agent offices. Shopping for auto insurance online makes this process obsolete unless you want the trained guidance that only a license agent can provide. Drivers can get the lowest quotes online but buy from a local insurance agent.
Whichever method you choose, ensure you are comparing apples-to-apples information with each company. If the quotes have differing limits it’s impossible to truly determine the lowest rate. Quoting even small variations in coverage limits may result in large price differences. And when price shopping your coverage, obtaining a wide range of quotes helps locate a lower rate.
Policy discounts you shouldn’t miss
Insuring your vehicles can cost a lot, buy you may qualify for discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at quote time, but some may not be applied and must be manually applied prior to getting the savings.
- Good Students Pay Less – Performing well in school can earn a discount of 20% or more. The discount lasts well after school through age 25.
- Resident Student – Youth drivers living away from home attending college and do not have a car can be insured at a reduced rate.
- Life Insurance Discount – Companies who offer life insurance give lower rates if you buy life insurance.
- Discount for Swiching Early – Some companies give discounts for switching to them prior to your current policy expiration. The savings is around 10%.
- Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time rather than paying monthly you can actually save on your bill.
- Theft Prevention System – Vehicles with anti-theft systems can help prevent theft and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Paperless Signup – A handful of insurance companies give back up to $50 simply for signing over the internet.
- No Claims – Claim-free drivers pay less as compared to accident-prone drivers.
- Homeowners Savings – Being a homeowner can help you save on auto insurance due to the fact that maintaining a home requires personal responsibility.
Keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to the entire policy premium. Some only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like medical payments or collision. So when the math indicates all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way. But all discounts will help reduce the cost of coverage.
To see a list of insurance companies offering auto insurance discounts in Texas, follow this link.
Car Insurance through a local agent
Certain consumers would rather buy from a local agent and that is OK! The best thing about comparing insurance prices online is you can get the best rates and still choose a local agent. Supporting small agencies is definitely important if you live in a smaller city or town.
To find an agent, once you fill out this short form, your insurance data is emailed to participating agents who will give you bids for your insurance coverage. You don’t have to leave your computer since price quotes are sent immediately to your email address. You’ll get the best rates AND an agent nearby.
What types of auto insurance agents are in Texas?
If you’re trying to find a reliable agent, you must know there are a couple different types of agents from which to choose. Texas agents are classified as either captive or independent.
Independent Agents (or Brokers)
Independent agents are not employed by any specific company but rather can write business amongst many companies and potentially find a lower price. If your agent finds better pricing, an independent agent can move your coverage without you having to go to a different agency. When comparison shopping, it’s recommended you get quotes from multiple independent agents for maximum quote selection.
Captive Agents
Captive agents write business for a single company and some examples include American Family, State Farm and Allstate. Captives cannot provide prices from multiple companies so it’s a take it or leave it situation. They are usually quite knowledgeable on the products they sell which helps them compete with independent agents.
To view a complete directory of Texas agencies, view this site.
Picking an insurance agent needs to be determined by more than just a cheap price. Any agent should have no problem answering these questions:
- Are glass claims handled on-site or do you have to take your vehicle to a repair shop?
- What insurance companies do they work with?
- Is the agency involved in supporting local community causes?
- If your car is totalled, how to they determine the replacement cost?
- Which members of your family are coverage by the policy?
- Do the companies they represent have a solid financial rating?
Once you have answers to your satisfaction for all questions you ask and a low price estimate, you have narrowed it down to an auto insurance agent that is a good match to properly service your auto insurance policy. Just keep in mind once you purchase a policy you can cancel coverage at any time so never assume that you’re stuck with a specific agent for the full term.
Additional information is available on the website for the Texas Department of Insurance located here. Visitors are able to download brochures, find disaster information, and get help finding coverage.
Auto insurance 101
Having a good grasp of your policy aids in choosing which coverages you need for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. These are typical coverage types offered by auto insurance companies.
Auto liability insurance – Liability insurance provides protection from damages or injuries you inflict on people or other property by causing an accident. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show limits of 25/50/25 that translate to $25,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Occasionally you may see a combined single limit or CSL which limits claims to one amount with no separate limits for injury or property damage.
Liability coverage protects against things such as funeral expenses, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and emergency aid. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but you should buy as high a limit as you can afford. Texas state minimum liability requirements are 30,000/60,000/25,000 but drivers should carry more coverage.
Comprehensive (Other than Collision) – This coverage will pay to fix damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first must pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive can pay for claims like vandalism, hitting a bird, a tree branch falling on your vehicle, damage from flooding and a broken windshield. The maximum amount your auto insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Collision coverages – Collision coverage covers damage to your Sorento caused by collision with an object or car. You will need to pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.
Collision coverage pays for claims such as crashing into a building, hitting a parking meter, scraping a guard rail and damaging your car on a curb. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so you might think about dropping it from older vehicles. Another option is to bump up the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers – This provides protection from other drivers when they are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for injuries to you and your family and damage to your Kia Sorento.
Since a lot of drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (30/60/25 in Texas), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is very important. Frequently these limits are similar to your liability insurance amounts.
Medical expense insurance – Med pay and PIP coverage reimburse you for bills for things like doctor visits, surgery and funeral costs. They can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants and will also cover if you are hit as a while walking down the street. Personal injury protection coverage is only offered in select states and may carry a deductible
Quote often and quote early
Lower-priced Kia Sorento insurance is attainable on the web and also from your neighborhood Texas agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. A few companies may not provide online price quotes and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.
When buying insurance coverage, make sure you don’t buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There are too many instances where an accident victim reduced full coverage only to regret at claim time they didn’t have enough coverage. Your goal should be to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate while still protecting your assets.
We just showed you some good ideas how to compare Kia Sorento insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more times you quote, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. Drivers may discover the biggest savings come from the smaller companies. Regional companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments compared to the large companies like Progressive and GEICO.