Trying to come up with a payment for overpriced auto insurance can diminish your bank account and put a big crunch on your finances. Doing a rate analysis is a smart way to tighten up your finances.
Many insurance companies compete to insure your vehicles, so it’s not easy to compare every provider to find the best rate
Smart consumers take time to do price comparisons periodically since insurance rates change frequently. Even if you think you had the lowest rate for Legacy coverage a few years ago there may be better deals available now. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about auto insurance because it’s time to teach you one of the best ways to find better rates and still maintain coverage.
Earn discounts to get lower-cost Texas auto insurance quotes
Not too many consumers would say auto insurance is affordable, but there could be available discounts to reduce the price significantly. Most are applied when you quote, but a few must be specifically requested before they will apply.
- Senior Discount – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you can possibly qualify for a small decrease in premiums for Legacy coverage.
- Full Payment Discount – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time instead of paying each month you can actually save on your bill.
- ABS and Traction Control Discounts – Cars with ABS and/or traction control are much safer to drive and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Active Service Discounts – Having a family member in the military could be rewarded with lower auto insurance rates.
- Include Life Insurance and Save – Not all companies offer life insurance, but some may give you better prices if you take out some life insurance too.
- Driver’s Education for Students – Reduce the cost of insurance for teen drivers by having them enroll in driver’s education in school.
- Good Driver Discount – Drivers who don’t get into accidents may save up to 50% more for Legacy coverage compared to rates paid by drivers with frequent claims.
Consumers should know that many deductions do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as comp or med pay. Even though it appears having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy.
Companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts are detailed below.
- Progressive may offer discounts for online signing, good student, homeowner, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, online quote discount, and continuous coverage.
- AAA offers discounts for pay-in-full, good driver, AAA membership discount, multi-policy, multi-car, education and occupation, and good student.
- Farmers Insurance offers premium reductions for early shopping, teen driver, good student, bundle discounts, and electronic funds transfer.
- GEICO policyholders can earn discounts including seat belt use, air bags, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, federal employee, and defensive driver.
- Esurance has savings for online quote, renters, good student, anti-theft, and online shopper.
- SAFECO includes discounts for accident prevention training, safe driver, multi-car, homeowner, and bundle discounts.
- State Farm offers discounts including anti-theft, good driver, student away at school, Drive Safe & Save, safe vehicle, and multiple autos.
Before purchasing a policy, check with every insurance company what discounts are available to you. A few discounts may not apply to policies in every state.
Compare free San Antonio auto insurance quotes
Finding a lower price on Subaru Legacy insurance is actually easier than you may think. You just have to invest a few minutes to compare from online providers. This can be accomplished in just a few minutes using one of these methods.
- The fastest and easiest way consumers can analyze rates is an all-inclusive rate comparison click here to open form in new window. This easy form prevents you from having to do separate forms to each individual auto insurance company. One simple form gets you price quotes instantly.
- A harder way to compare prices requires you to visit the website for every company you want to comare to request a price quote. For examples sake, we’ll pretend you want to compare rates from Nationwide, 21st Century and Allstate. You would need to spend time on each company’s site to enter the same coverage data repeatedly, which is why the first method is more popular. For a list of companies in San Antonio, click here.
It’s up to you which method you use, but make darn sure you compare apples-to-apples deductibles and coverage limits on every price quote you get. If your comparisons have different liability limits then you won’t be able to determine the lowest rate for your Subaru Legacy in San Antonio.
Insurance Rate Influencing Factors
Lots of things are part of the calculation when pricing auto insurance. Some of the criteria are obvious such as your driving record, although some other factors are not as apparent such as whether you are married or your financial responsibility.
- Your career may increase rates – Jobs such as military generals, social workers and emergency personnel generally have higher premiums than the average policyholder attributed to high stress and lots of time spent away from family. On the flip side, careers like farmers, historians and retirees receive lower rates for Legacy coverage.
- Discounts for alarms and GPS tracking – Selecting a car model with advanced anti-theft systems can get you a discount on your auto insurance. Theft deterrent systems such as LoJack tracking devices, vehicle tamper alarm systems or GM’s OnStar system can help prevent car theft and help bring rates down.
- Multi-policy discounts can save money – Lots of companies will give better rates to customers who buy several policies from them in the form of a multi-policy discount. Discounts can add up to ten or even up to twenty percent in some cases. Even if you’re getting this discount it’s always a smart idea to shop around to make sure you are getting the best deal.
- Liability protection is important – A critical coverage on your policy, liability insurance will protect you when you are responsible for damages caused by your negligence. Liability insurance provides you with a defense in court to attempt to prove you were not liable. This coverage is very inexpensive as compared to coverage for physical damage, so do not skimp.
- With age comes responsibility – Older drivers are proven to be safer behind the wheel, are lower risk to insure , and usually have better credit.Youthful drivers are statistically shown to be easily distracted with other occupants in the car so auto insurance rates are higher.
- Be proud to be claim-free – Car insurance companies in Texas award cheaper rates to drivers who are not frequent claim filers. If you’re an insured who likes to file claims you can expect much higher rates or policy non-renewal. Auto insurance is meant to be used in the event of major claims that would cause financial hardship.
Tailor your auto insurance coverage to you
When choosing the right insurance coverage for your vehicles, there isn’t really a perfect coverage plan. Every situation is different so your insurance should reflect that These are some specific questions may help highlight whether your personal situation would benefit from professional advice.
- Can I get a multi-policy discount for packaging my home and auto coverage?
- Who is covered by my policy?
- Do I really need UM/UIM coverage?
- Do I need added coverage for expensive stereo equipment?
- Does my car insurance cover rental cars?
- Does my Subaru Legacy qualify for pleasure use?
- Should I sign the liability waiver when renting a car?
- Should I file a claim if it’s only slightly more than my deductible?
- Can I afford to pay high deductible claims out of pocket?
- Am I covered when pulling a rental trailer?
If you’re not sure about those questions but you think they might apply to your situation, you might consider talking to a licensed insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and can help protect your family.
Beware of misleading auto insurance ads
Texas drivers can’t avoid all the ads that promise big savings by companies like Progressive, Allstate and GEICO. They all advertise claims about how much you will save after switching your coverage.
But how can every company give you a lower rate? This is the way they can do it.
Insurance companies have specific criteria for the right customer they prefer to insure. For example, a profitable customer might be described as between the ages of 40 and 55, is a homeowner, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. Anyone who matches those parameters will get low car insurance rates and will probably save a lot of money.
Drivers who are not a match for these standards will have to pay more expensive rates which results in the customer buying from a different company. The ad wording is “people that switch” not “everyone who quotes” save that much. That’s the way companies can state the savings.
Because of these techniques, you really should compare often. It is just not possible to predict which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings.
Better coverage you can count on
The cheapest Subaru Legacy insurance is definitely available on the web and with local San Antonio insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. A few companies may not offer online rate quotes and most of the time these smaller providers work with local independent agencies.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, do not reduce needed coverages to save money. There are many occasions where an insured cut liability limits or collision coverage and learned later that the small savings ended up costing them much more. The aim is to purchase plenty of coverage at the best price, but do not sacrifice coverage to save money.
Much more information about auto insurance in Texas is available on the Texas Department of Insurance website located here. Visitors are able to read consumer alerts, download brochures, and find disaster information.
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