Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can take a big chunk out of your personal savings and force you to make sacrifices. Comparison shopping is a great way to slash your bill and have more diposable income. Companies like State Farm, Farmers Insurance, GEICO and Allstate constantly bombard you with TV and radio ads and consumers find it hard to ignore the flashy ads and do the work needed to find the best deal.
It’s a good habit to compare prices at least once a year due to the fact that insurance rates are rarely the same from one policy term to another. Just because you had the best price for Prius coverage a year ago you will most likely find a better rate today. Starting now, ignore everything you know about car insurance because you’re going to get a crash course in the right way to remove unneeded coverages and save money.
How to Compare Car Insurance in Texas
Finding a better price on car insurance can be relatively painless. Drivers just need to take a few minutes to get quotes online with multiple companies. This can be done in just a few minutes using one of these methods.
- One of the best ways consumers can analyze rates would be an industry-wide quote request form like this one (opens in new window). This method eliminates the need for repetitive form entry for each company you want a rate for. Completing one form compares rates from several companies.
- A harder way to obtain and compare quotes online requires a trip to the website for each individual company and complete a new quote form. For example, we’ll pretend you want comparison quotes from USAA, State Farm and Progressive. To get rate quotes you would need to go to every website to enter your coverage information, which is why the first method is quicker.
For a handy list of car insurance company links in your area, click here.
- The least recommended way of getting rate comparisons is to spend time driving to local insurance agencies. Buying insurance online makes this process obsolete unless you prefer the trained guidance of a local agent. However, consumers can get prices online but still have the advice of a local agent and we’ll talk about that later.
It’s up to you how you get prices quotes, just be sure to compare apples-to-apples coverage limits for every quote you compare. If you use unequal deductibles or liability limits then you won’t be able to decipher which rate is best.
Discounts are basically free money
Auto insurance companies don’t list every discount in an easy-to-find place, so we took the time to find both well-publicized and the harder-to-find savings tricks you should be using. If they aren’t giving you every credit possible, you’re paying more than you need to.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Low mileage vehicles can qualify you for a substantially lower rate.
- Payment Discounts – By paying your policy upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you may reduce your total bill.
- Bundle and Save – When you combine your home and auto insurance with one insurance company you could get a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
- Drivers Ed for Students – Cut your cost by having your teen driver take driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
- Discounts for Safe Drivers – Insureds without accidents may receive a discount up to 45% less for Prius coverage than less cautious drivers.
- Government Employees – Simply working for the federal government can save as much as 8% for Prius coverage with select insurance companies.
- Discount for Life Insurance – Companies who offer life insurance give better rates if you take out life insurance.
- Good Students Pay Less – This discount can get you a discount of up to 25%. This discount can apply until age 25.
It’s important to understand that some of the credits will not apply to your bottom line cost. A few only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like medical payments or collision. So despite the fact that it appears having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it just doesn’t work that way.
To choose companies with discount car insurance rates in Texas, click here.
More tips and info about car insurance is located at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Consumers can file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, file complaints about a company, and discover disciplinary actions.
Other informative sites include Auto Insurance 101 and this list of Texas insurance agents.