How to Know You’re Paying Too Much for Car Insurance in San Antonio

I can’t think of a single person who looks forward to paying for car insurance, especially knowing their premiums are too high.

You have so many insurance companies to choose from, and although it’s a good thing to have multiple companies, it can be more difficult to find a good deal.

Cheap San Antonio Car Insurance Comparisons

There are a lot of ways to compare car insurance prices but some are less labor-intensive and much quicker. You could spend the better part of a day driving to local insurance agents in San Antonio, or you could save time and use the internet for quick rates.

Many popular insurance companies belong to a marketplace that allows shoppers to submit one quote, and every company then returns a price quote determined by their information. This saves time by eliminating repetitive form submissions for each company you want a rate for.

To find out how much you can save on car insurance click to open in new window.

One minor caviat to using this type of system is you are unable to specify which companies you want pricing from. So if you want to select specific insurance companies to receive pricing from, we have a listing of the cheapest car insurance companies in Texas. View list of Texas insurance companies.

However you get your quotes, make darn sure you compare identical coverage information for every company. If you have different liability limits it’s not possible to decipher which rate is best in San Antonio. Having just a slight variation in coverage limits may result in large price differences. It’s important to know that comparing more company’s prices will improve the odds of getting a lower rate.

Car insurance ads bend the truth

Companies like Progressive, Geico, Allstate and State Farm consistently run ads on TV and radio. All the ads make the same claim that you’ll save big if you change your policy. How can each company make almost identical claims? This is how they do it.

All companies have a preferred profile for the driver that earns them a profit. A good example of a profitable customer might be between the ages of 30 and 50, has no tickets, and chooses high deductibles. A customer getting a price quote who fits that profile is entitled to the best price and as a result will probably save a lot of money.

Potential insureds who fall outside the requirements must pay higher premiums which leads to business not being written. Company advertisements say “people who switch” not “everyone that quotes” save that much. That’s why companies can truthfully make the claims of big savings. This illustrates why it’s extremely important to get quotes from several different companies. It’s just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will fit your personal profile best.

Save big with these discounts

Car insurance companies don’t always publicize every discount in an easy-to-find place, so here is a list some of the more common and also the lesser-known savings tricks you should be using.

  • Passive Restraints – Vehicles equipped with air bags may earn rate discounts of more than 20%.
  • Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Requiring all passengers to use a seat belt could cut 10% or more off your medical payments premium.
  • Multi-policy Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles with one company you will save approximately 10% to 15%.
  • Save over 55 – Older drivers may qualify for a discount up to 10%.
  • Anti-theft System – Anti-theft and alarm systems help deter theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
  • Government Employees – Simply working for the federal government can earn a discount up to 10% with a few car insurance companies.
  • Claim Free – Drivers who don’t have accidents can save substantially when compared with drivers who are more careless.
  • Anti-lock Brakes – Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control can reduce accidents and will save you 10% or more.
  • Paperless Signup – A few companies will give a small break just for signing your application digitally online.

Consumers should know that most discount credits are not given the the whole policy. Some only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like collision or personal injury protection. Just because it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, it doesn’t quite work that way.

To see a list of insurers who offer car insurance discounts in Texas, click here.

Are insurance agents obsolete?

A small number of people just want to sit down with an agent and that is a personal choice. One of the best bonuses of getting online price quotes is you may find the best rates and still have an agent to talk to.

After completing this simple form, your coverage information is instantly submitted to insurance agents in San Antonio who will return price quotes for your insurance coverage. There is no need to visit any agencies due to the fact that quote results will go to your email. How cool is that?! You can find better rates and work with a local agent.

Deciding on an insurer needs to be determined by more than just the price. Agents should be asked these questions:

  • How many years of experience in personal lines insurance coverages do they have?
  • Does the agency provide any after hours assistance?
  • How long has their agency been in business in San Antonio?
  • Who is covered by the car insurance policy?
  • Can they provide you with a list of referrals?
  • Do the coverages you’re quoting properly cover your vehicle?

Two types of San Antonio car insurance agents

When looking for a local agent, there are a couple of types of insurance agents that you can select. San Antonio agents are categorized either captive or independent.

Captive Insurance Agents

Captive agents write business for a single company like AAA, Allstate, State Farm, Farmers Insurance or Liberty Mutual. They usually cannot place coverage with different providers so keep that in mind. Captive agencies are trained well on their company’s products which can be an advantage.

Shown below are captive agents in San Antonio that can give you price quotes.

Farmers Insurance Group – 2235 Thousand Oaks Dr # 113 – San Antonio, TX 78232 – (210) 494-2313
Farm Bureau Insurance – 2391 NE Loop 410 – San Antonio, TX 78217 – (210) 656-2200
Liberty Mutual Insurance – 700 N Saint Marys St – San Antonio, TX 78205 – (210) 527-9497
Allstate Insurance – 4425 E Houston St – San Antonio, TX 78220 – (210) 333-7501
State Farm Insurance – 8507 Mccullough Ave # C7 – San Antonio, TX 78216 – (210) 342-8999

Independent Agents

Independent agents are not employed by any specific company so they have the ability to put coverage with multiple insurance companies enabling the ability to shop coverage around. To move your coverage to a new company, the business is moved internally and you don’t have to find a new agent. When comparison shopping, we recommend you include several independent insurance agents to get the best comparison.

The following are San Antonio independent insurance agents that are able to give price quotes.

San Antonio auto insurance

Kittel Agency – 7410 Blanco Rd # 101 – San Antonio, TX 78216 – (210) 366-3994
Roger Rios Agency – 1818 S New Braunfels Ave # 2 – San Antonio, TX 78210 – (210) 532-9733
Monte R Muecke Insurance – 16410 Ledge Park St – San Antonio, TX 78232 – (210) 545-9008
Nipp Insurance At Leon Springs – 23705 W Ih 10 # 102 – San Antonio, TX 78257 – (210) 698-0107
Texas Insurance Agency – 7550 W Ih 10 # 700 – San Antonio, TX 78229 – (210) 366-0671

To view a complete directory of San Antonio insurance agents, please view this page.

Upon receiving good answers to your questions and an affordable coverage quote, most likely you have located a car insurance agent that will service your policy.

Even more information is available at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Visitors are able to learn about specific coverages, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, read consumer alerts, and view agent and company licensing information.

The following articles may also be useful.

In Summary

In this article, we presented a lot of ways to lower your car insurance rates. The key concept to understand is the more providers you compare, the higher the chance of saving money. Drivers may discover the most savings is with some of the lesser-known companies. They may only write in your state and offer lower rates compared to the large companies like State Farm or Progressive.

Lower-priced car insurance is available on the web as well as from independent agents in San Antonio, and you should be comparing both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some companies don’t offer you the ability to get quotes online and these regional insurance providers work with independent agents.