If price shopping car insurance online is new to you, it’s easy to get confused by the hoards of online companies offering coverage in Duncanville.
Buying the cheapest car insurance in Duncanville is easy if you know what you’re doing. Just about anyone who is shopping for car insurance most likely will be able to lower their premiums. But Texas drivers need to learn how companies price insurance differently because it can help you find the best coverage.
You have some control over your rates
It’s important that you understand some of the elements that help determine the price you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay allows you to make educated decisions that will entitle you to lower car insurance prices.
- Safer cars cost less to insure – Vehicles with good safety scores can get you lower premiums. These vehicles have better occupant injury protection and fewer injuries translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims passed on to you as lower rates.
- Lower rates come with age – More mature drivers are more responsible, file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel. Young drivers tend to get distracted easily when driving therefore car insurance rates are much higher.
- Bad driving skills means higher rates – Your driving record has a lot to do with how much you pay for insurance. Even a single moving violation may increase your cost by as much as thirty percent. Drivers with clean records tend to pay less for car insurance compared to drivers with tickets. Drivers who get flagrant violations like hit and run, DWI or reckless driving convictions may be required to submit a SR-22 form with the DMV in their state in order to keep their license.
- Frequent car insurance claims increase rates – Car insurance companies in Texas give discounts to drivers who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. If you are a frequent claim filer, you can pretty much guarantee either higher rates or even cancellation. Auto insurance is designed for the bigger claims that can’t be paid out-of-pocket.
- Are you male or female? – Statistics demonstrate that women are safer drivers than men. That doesn’t necessarily mean that men are WORSE drivers than women. They both are in accidents in similar percentages, but the men cause more damage. Men also statistically have more aggressive citations such as DWI and reckless driving. Teenage male drivers tend to get in the most accidents and are penalized with high car insurance rates.
- Don’t get talked into coverage you don’t need – There are a lot of add-on coverages that you can buy on your car insurance policy. Insurance for roadside assistance, towing coverage and membership fees are examples of these. They may seem good at first, but your needs may have changed so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
- High performance equals high price – The performance level of the car you are insuring makes a significant difference in the rate you pay. Lower performance four cylinder passenger models generally have the cheapest insurance rates, but the final cost of insurance is determined by many other factors.
- Multi-policy discounts can save money – Some car insurance companies will give a discount to customers who carry more than one policy, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even with this discount, it’s in your best interest to compare rates to confirm you are receiving the best rates possible.
Don’t miss these discounts
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but companies offer discounts to help bring down the price. Larger premium reductions will be automatically applied at the time of quoting, but a few need to be asked about before you get the savings.
- Safety Course Discount – Successfully completing a course in driver safety could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
- Seat Belt Usage – Requiring all passengers to wear their seat belts could save 15% on the medical payments or PIP coverage costs.
- Anti-lock Brake System – Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control can reduce accidents and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
- More Vehicles More Savings – Buying insurance for multiple cars or trucks on the same car insurance policy qualifies for this discount.
- Homeowners Savings – Simply owning a home can help you save on car insurance because of the fact that having a home shows financial diligence.
- Claim Free – Drivers who don’t have accidents can save substantially compared to drivers who are more careless.
Keep in mind that many deductions do not apply the the whole policy. Some only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like collision or personal injury protection. So even though it sounds like adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any amount of discount will help reduce the amount you have to pay.
For a list of insurers who offer car insurance discounts in Texas, follow this link.
Your local neighborhood insurance agent
Certain consumers would prefer to visit with an insurance agent and that is a personal choice. One of the best bonuses of price shopping on the web is that you can obtain the best rates and still choose a local agent. Supporting local insurance agencies is especially important in Duncanville.
After completing this form (opens in new window), your insurance coverage information is transmitted to insurance agents in Duncanville who will give you bids for your insurance coverage. You won’t need to leave your computer as quotes are delivered straight to your inbox. How cool is that?! It’s the lowest rates AND an agent nearby.
The following is a list of insurers in Duncanville that can give you price quotes.
- Allstate Insurance – 1005 S Main St, Duncanville, TX 75137 – (972) 296-8998
- State Farm Insurance – 415 E Highway 67, Duncanville, TX 75137 – (972) 296-0961
- Farmers Insurance Group – 519 N Cedar Ridge Dr # 1, Duncanville, TX 75116 – (972) 298-9239
- All Tex Insurance – 515 N Cedar Ridge Dr, Duncanville, TX 75116 – (972) 709-3101
- Ken Phipps Insurance – 1326 W Ridge Dr, Duncanville, TX 75116 – (972) 572-3311
To view a complete directory of licensed insurance agents in Duncanville, view this link.
Picking an insurer requires more thought 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?
- Who are their largest clients?
- Do the companies they represent have a solid financial rating?
- How long have they worked with personal auto insurance coverage?
- What will you get paid if your car is a total loss? How is that amount determined?
- Is working in the agency their full-time job?
- Are you getting all the discounts the company offers?
- Are they able to influence company decisions when a claim is filed?
Upon getting good answers for all questions you ask and a low price estimate, you may have just found a company that meets your needs to properly service your car insurance policy.
Is there truth in advertising?
State Farm and Allstate regularly use ads in print and on television. All the companies make an identical promise of big savings if you move to their company. How does each company claim to save you money? It’s all in the numbers.
Insurance companies can use profiling for the right customer that makes them money. For instance, a desirable insured might be profiled as between the ages of 30 and 50, has no prior claims, and has a high credit rating. Any driver who matches those parameters will get the preferred rates and therefore will save a lot of money.
Potential insureds who fall outside this ideal profile will be quoted higher rates which usually ends up with the driver buying from a lower-cost company. Company advertisements say “people who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save money. That’s why companies can claim big savings.
This emphasizes why it is so important to get as many quotes as possible. It’s not possible to predict which company will fit your personal profile best.
Additional resources for Texas consumers
More information is available on the Texas Department of Insurance website. Click here for link. Consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, and find out industry alerts.
Buy online or local, you save
Discount car insurance can be sourced from both online companies and with local Duncanville insurance agents, so compare prices from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some companies do not offer online quoting and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.
Throughout this article, we presented some good ideas how you can compare car insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more rate comparisons you have, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may even discover the best price on car insurance is with the least-expected company.
People who switch companies do it for a variety of reasons including policy cancellation, lack of trust in their agent, high rates after DUI convictions and delays in paying claims. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch switching car insurance companies is easier than you think.