Are you tired of paying out the nose to buy car insurance? You are no different than millions of other consumers.
With so many companies and agents to choose from, it can be challenging to choose the most cost effective insurance company.
It’s a good idea to compare rates before your policy renews since rates fluctuate regularly. If you had the lowest rates a few years ago other companies may now be cheaper. You’ll find quite a bit of inaccurate information about auto insurance online, so we’re going to give you some great ideas on how to stop overpaying for insurance.
Don’t pay full price with these discounts
Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you may find discounts that many people don’t even know exist. Some discounts apply automatically when you complete an application, but some may not be applied and must be inquired about prior to getting the savings.
- Good Student – This discount can save 20 to 25%. The discount lasts up until you turn 25.
- Bundle and Save – When you combine your home and auto insurance with the same company you could get a discount of at least 10% off all policies.
- No Charge for an Accident – Some insurance companies will allow you to have one accident before your rates go up if you are claim-free for a set time period.
- Accident Free – Drivers who don’t have accidents pay much less when compared with accident-prone drivers.
- Sign Early and Save – A few companies offer discounts for buying a policy prior to your current policy expiration. It can save you around 10%.
As a disclaimer on discounts, most credits do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. The majority will only reduce individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. Even though it may seem like you can get free auto insurance, companies wouldn’t make money that way. But all discounts will help reduce the amount you have to pay.
Finding Auto Insurance Deals in Taylor, TX
Most companies like GEICO, State Farm and Progressive quote prices directly from their websites. This process is fairly straightforward as you simply enter as detailed in the form. After you complete the form, the system requests credit information and your driving record and quotes a price based on these and other factors. This makes comparing rates easy, but the work required to visit different websites and type in the same information is monotonous and tiresome. But it’s very important to compare as many rates as possible in order to find the lowest auto insurance rates.
A quicker way to compare rates uses one form to obtain quotes from several different companies. It saves time, reduces the work, and makes online shopping much easier to do. As soon as you send your information, your coverage is rated with multiple companies and you can pick any one of the resulting price quotes.
If the quotes result in lower rates, you simply finish the application and buy the policy. The whole process can be completed in less than 10 minutes and may result in a nice savings.
To quickly use this form to compare rates, click here to open in a new tab and enter your vehicle and coverage information. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you copy the coverages identical to your current policy. This way, you will be getting rate comparison quotes based on identical coverages.
Factors that affect insurance rates
An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the elements that go into determining auto insurance rates. Understanding what influences your rates allows you to make educated decisions that may reward you with lower auto insurance prices.
Listed below are some of the items companies use to determine rates.
- Older drivers pay less – Mature drivers are more cautious drivers, tend to file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel. Teen drivers are statistically proven to get distracted easily in a vehicle and because of this, their auto insurance rates are much higher.
- Never allow your policy to lapse – Driving without insurance is illegal and your next policy will cost more because you let your coverage lapse. Not only will rates go up, but being ticketed for driving with no insurance will get you a license revocation or jail time.You may then be required to provide proof of insurance in the form of an SR-22 filing with the Texas DMV.
- Performance influences rates – The performance of the car you drive makes a big difference in how high your rates are. The lowest base rates are for lower performance four cylinder passenger models, but the final cost of insurance is determined by many other factors.
- Your spouse saves you money – Getting married can get you a discount on your auto insurance policy. Having a significant other translates into being more responsible and it’s proven that being married results in fewer claims.
- An active claims history can cost you – If you tend to file frequent claims, you can look forward to higher rates. Insurance companies in Texas provide lower rates to policyholders who are claim-free. Insurance coverage is meant to be used in the event of larger claims.
- Choose a safe vehicle and save – Cars with high safety ratings get lower rates. The safest vehicles have better occupant injury protection and better occupant protection means lower claim amounts and thus lower rates.
- Traffic violations increase rates – Only having one citation can increase rates forty percent or more. Good drivers tend to pay less for car insurance than their less careful counterparts. Drivers with dangerous tickets like 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.
Are auto insurance companies telling the truth?
GEICO, State Farm and Progressive constantly bombard you with ads on TV and radio. All the companies say the same thing of big savings if you switch your coverage to them. How does each company claim to save you money?
All companies are able to cherry pick for the driver that makes them money. A good example of a driver they prefer could possibly be over the age of 50, a clean driving record, and has a high credit rating. Any driver that hits that “sweet spot” is entitled to the best price and as a result will probably pay quite a bit less when switching companies.
Potential customers who are not a match for the “perfect” profile will have to pay a higher premium which usually ends up with business not being written. The ads say “customers who switch” not “everybody who quotes” save money. This is how insurance companies can make those claims.
Because of the profiling, it’s extremely important to quote coverage with many companies. You cannot predict which company will have the lowest rates.
More quotes mean more savings
Throughout this article, we presented some good ideas how to save on auto insurance. The key concept to understand is the more you quote, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may even find the lowest premiums are with the smaller companies. Smaller companies may cover specific market segments cheaper than the large multi-state companies such as Progressive or GEICO.
When you buy insurance online, it’s not a good idea to reduce needed coverages to save money. There have been many situations where someone dropped liability coverage limits only to regret that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your strategy should be to buy the best coverage you can find at a price you can afford.
More information is located on the website for the Texas Department of Insurance through this link. Texas consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, get help finding coverage, and find out industry alerts.