Have you fallen victim to overpriced car insurance? Believe me when I say there are many Grapevine consumers feeling the pinch from expensive car insurance. Many insurers compete for your business, and it can be difficult to compare rates to get the best price available.
It is always a good idea to shop coverage around on a regular basis because insurance rates tend to go up over time. Just because you had the best price six months ago other companies may now be cheaper. So just block out anything you think you know about car insurance because you’re going to get a crash course in one of the quickest ways to save money, get proper coverage and the best rates.
If you are insured now or are shopping for new coverage, you can use these tips to cut your premiums while maximizing coverage. Finding affordable coverage in Grapevine is easy if you know what you’re doing. Texas drivers just need to know the proper methods to compare prices online.
Compare Car Insurance Today
Finding a lower price on insurance is surprisingly easy. Drivers just need to spend a little time to compare rate quotes from different insurance companies. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in several different ways.
- The easiest and least time consuming way to get the best comparison quotes is a comparison rater form click here to open form in new window. This type of form keeps you from doing a different quote for each company. A single form gets rate comparisons instantly.
- A slightly less efficient method to compare prices requires a visit to the website for each individual company and request a quote. For examples sake, let’s assume you want rates from Allstate, 21st Century and GEICO. To get each rate you have to take the time to go to each site and enter your information, which is why most consumers use the first method.
For a list of links to companies insuring cars in Grapevine, click here.
It’s up to you how you get prices quotes, just ensure you’re using exactly the same coverages with each company. If the quotes have mixed coverages you will not be able to determine the best price in Grapevine.
These ten discounts can lower your rates
Car insurance companies don’t necessarily list all available discounts in a way that’s easy to find, so we break down some of the best known and the more hidden ways to save on car insurance. If you aren’t receiving every discount available, you’re just leaving money on the table.
- Passive Restraints and Air Bags – Factory air bags can get savings up to 30%.
- Anti-theft Discount – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems prevent vehicle theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Defensive Driving Course – Successfully completing a defensive driving course can save you 5% or more depending on where you live.
- Drive Less and Save – Fewer annual miles could qualify for discounted rates on garaged vehicles.
- Accident Forgiveness – Certain companies permit an accident before raising your premiums as long as you don’t have any claims prior to the accident.
- Auto/Life Discount – Some companies give lower rates if you buy life insurance from them.
- Save over 55 – Mature drivers may be able to get a small decrease in premiums.
- Payment Discounts – By paying your policy upfront instead of paying each month you could save up to 5%.
- Multiple Vehicles – Buying insurance for multiple vehicles on the same car insurance policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
- New Car Discount – Insuring a new car can cost up to 25% less due to better safety requirements for new cars.
Consumers should know that some of the credits will not apply to your bottom line cost. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like medical payments or collision. Just because it seems like you could get a free car insurance policy, it doesn’t quite work that way.
For a list of companies offering car insurance discounts in Texas, click this link.
Additional detailed information can be read at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Visitors are able to find out industry alerts, find disaster information, report car insurance fraud, and read consumer alerts.
Misconceptions in car insurance advertisements
Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements for the lowest price auto insurance by Progressive, Allstate and GEICO. They all say the same thing that you’ll save big if you change to their company.
How does each company make the same claim?
Different companies can use profiling for the type of customer that makes them money. For example, a desirable insured might be profiled as over the age of 50, has no driving citations, and drives less than 7,500 miles a year. Any new insured who meets those qualifications receives the best rates and therefore will save a lot of money.
Consumers who fall outside these standards will be quoted a higher premium which leads to business going elsewhere. The ad wording is “drivers who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much. That is how insurance companies can make the claims of big savings. This emphasizes why drivers must compare as many rates as you can. It’s just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will provide you with the cheapest rates.
Specific coverage details
Knowing the specifics of your policy can be of help when determining the best coverages at the best deductibles and correct limits. Policy terminology can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Listed below are typical coverages available from car insurance companies.
Comprehensive coverages
This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage from a wide range of events other than collision. You first have to pay a deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as fire damage, hail damage and falling objects. The maximum payout your car insurance company will pay is the ACV or actual cash value, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Coverage for medical payments
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for immediate expenses like dental work, chiropractic care and doctor visits. The coverages can be utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover you and your occupants and also covers getting struck while a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Auto liability insurance
This coverage will cover damage or injury you incur to people or other property by causing an accident. It protects you from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show values of 25/50/25 that means you have a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a total of $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability coverage pays for claims like medical services, medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of income and repair costs for stationary objects. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a personal decision, but you should buy as large an amount as possible. Texas requires minimum liability limits of 30,000/60,000/25,000 but you should consider buying more coverage.
Collision coverage
This coverage will pay to fix damage to your vehicle from colliding with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You first must pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision can pay for things like crashing into a building, hitting a mailbox and rolling your car. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. It’s also possible to choose a higher deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.
Uninsured and underinsured coverage
Your UM/UIM coverage gives you protection from other motorists when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your occupants and also any damage incurred to your vehicle.
Because many people only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (30/60/25), their limits can quickly be used up. So UM/UIM coverage should not be overlooked.
Best coverage at the best price
We just showed you a lot of techniques to save on car insurance. The most important thing to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Consumers could even find that the best prices are with a smaller regional carrier. Regional companies may cover specific market segments cheaper as compared to the big name companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Nationwide.
While you’re price shopping online, make sure you don’t reduce coverage to reduce premium. In many cases, an insured cut physical damage coverage and discovered at claim time that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. The aim is to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.