Expensive auto insurance can drain your personal savings and make it impossible to make ends meet. Comparing price quotes is a great way to make sure you’re not throwing money away. Companies like Allstate, Progressive and GEICO continually hit you with catchy ads and it can be hard to see through the deception and do the work needed to find the best deal.
Automobile Insurance Quotes in Texas
Finding a lower price on Ford Focus insurance is surprisingly easy. The only thing you need to do is take a couple of minutes comparing rates provided by online insurance companies. This can be accomplished in several different ways.
- The best way to find low rates would be an industry-wide quote request form (click to open form in new window). This form prevents you from having to do repetitive form submissions for each company you want a rate for. One quote request gets you price quotes from many national carriers.
- A different way to shop for auto insurance online is to take the time to go to the website for each individual company to complete a price quote. For examples sake, we’ll pretend you want rates from GEICO, Safeco and Farmers. To get each rate you have to spend time on each company’s site and enter your policy data, which is why most consumers use the first method. For a handy list of car insurance company links in your area, click here.
- The hardest way to get comparison rates is to spend your day driving to and from local insurance agencies. Shopping for auto insurance online makes this process obsolete unless you require the personal advice that only a license agent can provide. However, consumers can compare the best prices online and get advice from an agent in your area and we’ll talk about that later.
It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just double check that you are using exactly the same quote information for every company. If you compare different liability limits it’s impossible to make a fair comparison for your Ford Focus.
Companies offer discounts so take them!
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but you may find discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at the time of purchase, but a few must be requested specifically before you will receive the discount. If you don’t get every credit possible, you’re paying more than you need to.
- Auto/Home Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles with one insurance company you could get a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
- Early Signing – Some companies give discounts for switching to them prior to your current policy expiration. This can save 10% or more.
- Senior Discount – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may receive better auto insurance rates for Focus coverage.
- Military Discounts – Having a deployed family member could be rewarded with lower premiums.
- Student Driver Training – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to enroll in driver’s education if offered at their school.
- One Accident Forgiven – Some insurance companies allow you one accident before hitting you with a surcharge so long as you haven’t had any claims for a set time period.
- Organization Discounts – Being a member of certain professional organizations could qualify you for a break on auto insurance for Focus coverage.
- Passive Restraint Discount – Cars that have air bags can get savings of up to 25% or more.
- Good Student – A discount for being a good student can save 20 to 25%. Earning this discount can benefit you up until you turn 25.
Drivers should understand that many deductions do not apply the the whole policy. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like liability, collision or medical payments. Just because you may think you could get a free auto insurance policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way. But all discounts will reduce your premiums.
To see a list of companies with the best auto insurance discounts in Texas, follow this link.
Comparing rates from local agents
Some people would rather buy from a local agent and that is OK! Agents are trained to spot inefficiencies and give you someone to call. The biggest benefit of getting online price quotes is that you can obtain lower rates and still choose a local agent. And providing support for small agencies is especially important if you live in a smaller city or town.
To find an agent, once you fill out this short form, the coverage information is instantly submitted to insurance agents who will compete for your business. There is no reason to drive around since price quotes are sent directly to your email. How cool is that?!
Types of insurance agents
When researching a reliable agent, you need to know there are two types of insurance agents that you can select. Agencies in Texas are categorized either captive or independent (non-captive). Either one can insure your vehicles, but it’s important to know how they differ since it can impact your selection of an agent.
Independent Insurance Agents
These agents are not required to write business for one company so they have the ability to put coverage with any number of different companies depending on which coverage is best. To transfer your coverage to a different company, an independent agent can move your coverage and that require little work on your part.
When comparing rates, we recommend you include at a minimum one independent agency to get the best comparison.
Agency Captives
Captive agents write business for a single company and examples are Allstate, AAA, Liberty Mutual and State Farm. They generally cannot provide prices from multiple companies so it’s a take it or leave it situation. These agents are trained well on their company’s products which can be an advantage.
To view a complete directory of agents in Texas, click here.
Selecting an auto insurance agent shouldn’t rely on just the premium amount. Some important questions to ask are:
- Which insurance companies are they affiliated with?
- Is their price quote a firm figure or are their hidden costs?
- How many years of experience in personal lines insurance coverages do they have?
- Are you getting all the discounts the company offers?
- Is working in the agency their full-time job?
Upon getting acceptable answers for all questions you ask and an acceptable price quote, most likely you have located a car insurance agent that will provide auto insurance coverage.
It’s not one size fits all
When it comes to buying proper insurance coverage, there really is not a “perfect” insurance plan. Every insured’s situation is different and a cookie cutter policy won’t apply. Here are some questions about coverages that may help highlight whether or not you would benefit from professional advice.
- Do I have coverage when pulling a U-Haul trailer?
- Does my policy cover my teen driver if they drive my company car?
- Do I need higher deductibles?
- Am I getting all the discounts available?
- Am I covered when driving a rental car?
- Which companies will insure high-risk drivers?
- Can I drive in Mexico and have coverage?
If you’re not sure about those questions but you know they apply to you then you might want to talk to an agent. If you don’t have a local agent, complete this form or click here for a list of auto insurance companies in your area. It only takes a few minutes and you can get the answers you need.
Why your Ford Focus might be costing you more
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that help determine auto insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with lower auto insurance prices.
The following are some of the items used by your company to calculate rates.
- Where you live is a factor – Residing in a small town has it’s advantages when buying auto insurance. Drivers in populated areas regularly have congested traffic and longer commutes to work. Less people living in that area translates into fewer accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft.
- Do men or women drive better? – Statistics have proven women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, don’t assume that men are WORSE drivers than women. They both are in accidents at about the same rate, but the male of the species cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Men also tend to receive more costly citations like DUI and reckless driving.
- Is your vehicle built for speed? – The performance of the vehicle you are buying insurance for makes a huge difference in your rates. The lowest base rates are usually for lower performance four cylinder passenger cars, but other factors influence the final cost greatly. Because the Ford Focus is a passenger car, insuring your vehicle will cost similar in price or lower as compared to the average rate.
- Extra add-on coverages are wasting money – There are quite a few additional coverages you can purchase on your Focus policy. Insurance for roadside assistance, better glass coverage and term life insurance are examples of these. These coverages may sound good when talking to your agent, but if they’re wasting money eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
- Rates may be higher depending on your occupation – Did you know your auto insurance rates can be affected by your occupation? Occupations like lawyers, executives and stock brokers have the highest rates due to high stress and long work hours. On the other hand, jobs such as pilots, students and homemakers get better rates for Focus coverage.
- What are your deductibles? – Your deductibles represent how much money you are willing to pay out-of-pocket before your auto insurance pays a claim. Coverage for physical damage, termed comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, protects your car from damage. A few examples of covered claims could be colliding with a building, damage from fire, and burglary. The higher the amount you have to pay, the less your company will charge you for insurance for Focus coverage.
- Protect yourself with liability coverage – Your policy’s liability coverage is the protection when you are found liable for damages from an accident. It will provide you with a defense in court which can cost thousands of dollars. Liability insurance is quite affordable as compared to coverage for physical damage, so drivers should carry high limits.
- Please use or commuting – The more you drive in a year the higher your rate. Most companies rate vehicles determined by how the vehicle is used. Autos used primarily for pleasure use get more affordable rates compared to those used for work or business. Double check that your auto insurance policy is rated on the correct driver usage. If your policy improperly rates your Focus may be wasting your money.
Can you really save $395 a year?
Texas drivers get pounded daily by advertisements for the lowest price auto insurance by companies like Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm. All the companies make an identical promise that you’ll save big after switching to them.
How do they all say the same thing?
All companies can use profiling for the right customer that earns them a profit. A good example of a driver they prefer might be profiled as between 25 and 40, insures multiple vehicles, and drives newer vehicles. Any driver that hits that “sweet spot” will qualify for the lowest rates and therefore will save quite a bit of money when switching.
Potential customers who don’t qualify for the requirements will have to pay higher premiums which leads to business not being written. Company advertisements say “customers that switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much money. This is how companies can make the claims of big savings.
Because of the profiling, drivers must get quotes from several different companies. It is impossible to predict which auto insurance company will give you the biggest savings.
Best coverage at the best price
When you buy insurance online, it’s not a good idea to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There have been many situations where someone dropped uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret at claim time that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. The proper strategy is to find the BEST coverage at an affordable rate while still protecting your assets.
You just learned quite a bit of information on how to get a better price on Ford Focus insurance. It’s most important to understand that the more rate quotes you have, the better your comparison will be. Drivers may discover the lowest rates come from a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. Regional companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments as compared to the big name companies such as Progressive or GEICO.
Lower-priced Ford Focus insurance is definitely available both online and also from your neighborhood Texas agents, so compare prices from both so you have a total pricing picture. There are still a few companies who may not provide the ability to get a quote online and many times these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.
Some additional reading
Additional information can be read on the website for the Texas Department of Insurance. Click here for link. Consumers can find a variety of consumer forms, read state legal mandates and laws, and learn about insurance regulations.
Other useful links include this resource for Texas auto insurance prices and this helpful list of insurance agents in Texas.