Nobody that owns a car fancies paying their premiums for auto insurance, especially knowing it costs too dang much. Multiple car insurance companies compete for your insurance dollar, so it’s not easy to compare every insurance company to find the lowest rate possible.
It’s smart to price shop coverage occasionally because insurance prices go up and down regularly. Just because you found the best deal six months ago there is a good chance you can find better rate quotes now. You can find a lot of misleading information regarding auto insurance online, but by reading this article, you’re going to learn some of the best techniques to find affordable auto insurance.
Quote Galveston auto insurance online
Cutting your Galveston auto insurance rates doesn’t have to be difficult. Just take the time getting comparison quotes from online providers. This can easily be done in several different ways.
- The best way consumers can analyze rates would be an industry-wide quote request form click here to open form in new window. This form keeps you from doing separate forms for each price estimate. Completing one form gets you price quotes from all major companies.
- Another way to find lower rates is spending the time to visit each individual company website and get a separate price quote. For examples sake, we’ll assume you want to compare Farmers, Safeco and Progressive. In order to compare rates, you need to go to every website and repeatedly type in your coverage information, which explains why we recommend starting with the first method. For a list of links to companies insuring cars in Galveston, click here.
- The hardest way of comparing rate quotes is to spend your day driving to different Galveston agent offices. The fact that you can get quotes online makes this unnecessary unless you want the professional guidance of a local Galveston agent. Although, it is possible comparison shop online but purchase the actual policy in an agency.
You can use whichever method you prefer to find lower rates, just make sure you compare apples-to-apples quote information for each price quote. If you compare different deductibles it will be nearly impossible to determine the best price in Galveston.
Auto insurance companies offer lots of discounts
Insuring your fleet can be pricey, but discounts can save money and there are some available to reduce the price significantly. Certain discounts will be applied at quote time, but lesser-known reductions have to be manually applied in order for you to get them. If you are not receiving all the discounts possible, you’re paying more than you need to.
- Distant Student – Children who live away from home at college and leave their car at home may be able to be covered for less.
- Paperwork-free – Certain auto insurance companies will give a small break for buying a policy and signing up online.
- Government Employees – Active or retired federal employment could qualify for a slight premium decrease depending on your company.
- Early Signing – Some larger companies give discounts for switching policies prior to the expiration date on your current policy. It’s a savings of about 10%.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – If you pay your bill all at once as opposed to paying monthly you could save up to 5%.
- Club Memberships – Participating in qualifying employment or professional organizations could trigger savings on your next auto insurance statement.
- First Accident Forgiveness – but companies like Allstate and Progressive will let one accident slide before they charge you more for coverage if your claims history is clear prior to the accident.
- Good Student – Getting good grades may save you up to 25%. This discount can apply well after school through age 25.
- No Claims – Insureds with no claims or accidents pay much less as opposed to policyholders that have many claims.
A quick disclaimer, most discounts do not apply the the whole policy. Most cut the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though it may seem like you could get a free auto insurance policy, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy.
To see companies that offer discounts in Texas, click here to view.
When do I need to get advice from an insurance agent?
Certain consumers prefer to sit down and talk to an agent and that is not a bad decision Most agents will help you protect your assets and help submit paperwork. A good thing about comparing rate quotes online is that drivers can save money and get cheap auto insurance rates and still have an agent to talk to. And buying from neighborhood insurance agencies is still important in Galveston.
To find an agent, once you fill out this quick form, the quote information is immediately sent to participating agents in Galveston who will give you bids for your business. It’s much easier because you don’t need to leave your computer as quotes are delivered to the email address you provide. If for some reason you want to get a price quote from a specific company, don’t hesitate to go to their quote page to submit a rate quote request.
When searching for an insurance agent, it can be helpful to understand the types of agencies and how they are distinctly different. Auto insurance agents in Galveston can be classified as either independent or captive. Both types can sell auto insurance policies, but it’s worth learning how they differ since it may influence the kind of agent you use.
Independent Agents (or Brokers)
These agents are not employed by one company so they can write business through many companies and find the cheapest auto insurance rates. If your agent finds better pricing, they simply move your policy to a different company and you stay with the same agent. If you are comparing rate quotes, we highly recommend that you include at least one independent agent for maximum quote selection.
Shown below is a short list of independent agencies in Galveston who can help you get price quote information.
Jim Murray Agency – 6511 Stewart Rd – Galveston, TX 77551 – (409) 740-7788
Galveston Insurance Assoc – 6025 Avenue P 1/2 – Galveston, TX 77551 – (409) 740-1251
Neil Nathan Agency – 2102 Mechanic St # 107 – Galveston, TX 77550 – (409) 763-4391
Michael W Price Insurance – 5014 Avenue R Rear – Galveston, TX 77551 – (409) 744-5028
Captive Agents
Captive agencies are contracted to one company like Farmers Insurance or State Farm. They are unable to provide prices from multiple companies so always compare other rates. These agents receive extensive training on their company’s products which helps offset the inability to provide other markets.
Below is a short list of captive agents in Galveston willing to provide price quote information.
Allstate Insurance – 5928 Stewart Rd – Galveston, TX 77551 – (409) 744-1888
To see available agents near you, click for a page of insurance agents in Galveston, TX.
Picking the best insurance agent needs to be determined by more than just a cheap price quote. The following questions are important to ask.
- What insurance companies do they work with in Galveston?
- What will you get paid if your car is a total loss? How is that amount determined?
- Does the agent recommend any additional coverage?
- Which companies do they recommend if they are an independent agency?
- Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?
More information can be found on the found here. Texas drivers can get help finding coverage, find disaster information, and find out which companies have the most complaints.
Don’t give up on cheaper premiums
Cheaper auto insurance is available both online in addition to many Galveston insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. A few companies don’t offer online quoting and usually these regional insurance providers sell through independent insurance agents.
As you shop your coverage around, do not buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There have been many cases where someone sacrificed uninsured motorist or liability limits and found out when filing a claim that they should have had better coverage. Your goal is to buy the best coverage you can find at a price you can afford while still protecting your assets.