Car insurance shoppers not familiar with buying auto insurance online will find buying to be a formidable task.
Auto insurance quotes and discounts
The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but you may qualify for discounts that you may not know about. Some discounts will apply when you get a quote, but some need to be specifically requested prior to getting the savings.
- Accident-Free Discounts – Drivers with accident-free driving histories pay much less in comparison to accident-prone drivers.
- Senior Citizen Discount – Seniors may be able to get a discount up to 10%.
- Multi-car Discount – Buying a policy with all your vehicles with the same company can reduce rates for all insured vehicles.
- Safety Course Discount – Taking a safe driver course can save you 5% or more and also improve your driving technique.
- Memberships – Belonging to certain professional organizations can get you a small discount when shopping for auto insurance.
- Drivers Ed for Students – Have your child successfully complete driver’s ed class if it’s offered in school.
- Military Rewards – Having a deployed family member may qualify for rate reductions.
As a sidenote, some of the credits will not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as collision or personal injury protection. Even though it appears adding up those discounts means a free policy, you aren’t that lucky. But all discounts should definitely cut your policy premiums.
A list of auto insurance companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts are detailed below.
- AAA has discounts for education and occupation, good driver, pay-in-full, multi-car, and multi-policy.
- Progressive offers discounts including online quote discount, homeowner, continuous coverage, good student, and multi-policy.
- State Farm discounts include good student, passive restraint, driver’s education, safe vehicle, student away at school, and accident-free.
- Esurance includes discounts for online quote, paid-in-full, good driver, multi-policy, homeowner, defensive driver, and claim free.
- Nationwide offers discounts for accident-free, Farm Bureau membership, defensive driving, family plan, easy pay, business or organization, and anti-theft.
Double check with each insurance company which discounts they offer. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts might not be offered in Mansfield.
Price influencing factors
Smart consumers have a good feel for the factors that go into determining your premiums. If you have some idea of what influences your rates, this enables informed choices that can earn you cheaper rates.
- Too many policy claims and you’ll pay more – Car insurance companies in Texas award discounts to people who are not frequent claim filers. If you file claims often, you can look forward to much higher rates or policy non-renewal. Your car insurance is meant to be used in the event of claims that pose a financial burden.
- Drive less and get lower prices – The higher the miles on your car in a year’s time the higher your rate. Most companies charge rates based upon how the vehicle is primarily used. Cars and trucks that have low annual miles qualify for better rates than vehicles that have high annual mileage. Double check that your declarations sheet is showing the right rating data, because it can save money.
- High deductibles equal low rates – Deductibles for physical damage define how much you are willing to pay if a covered claim is submitted. Insurance for physical damage, aka comp and collision, covers damage that occurs to your car. Some instances where coverage would apply could be colliding with a stationary object, collision with a deer, or theft of your vehicle. The more money you have to pay, the less your company will charge you for insurance.
- Lower performance equals lower insurance premiums – The make and model of the car, truck or SUV you are trying to find cheaper insurance for makes a significant difference in your rates. Smaller low performance passenger cars generally have the cheapest insurance rates, but your final cost has many other factors.
- With age comes lower premiums – Drivers with little experience are statistically shown to be less responsible behind the wheel so they pay higher auto insurance rates. Older drivers are more responsible, statistically cause fewer accidents and tend to be get fewer driving tickets.
- Costs also based on gender – Over the last 30 years, statistics show women are more cautious behind the wheel. Now that doesn’t mean females are better drivers. Females and males have auto accidents in similar numbers, but the men tend to have higher claims. Not only are claims higher, but men receive more major tickets like reckless driving and DUI.
Situations that may require an agent’s advice
When it comes to buying the right insurance coverage, there really is no one size fits all plan. Everyone’s needs are different.
Here are some questions about coverages that may help highlight whether your personal situation may require specific advice.
- Is borrowed equipment or tools covered if stolen or damaged?
- Will my rates increase for filing one claim?
- When would I need rental car insurance?
- Can my teen driver be rated on a liability-only vehicle?
- If my vehicle is totaled, can I afford another vehicle?
- Exactly who is provided coverage by my policy?
- Do I need PIP coverage since I have good health insurance?
- Do I have coverage when making deliveries for my home business?
- Does my car insurance cover rental cars?
- Do I qualify for additional discounts?
If you’re not sure about those questions but you think they might apply to your situation, you might consider talking to an agent. If you don’t have a local agent, complete this form.
Much more information about auto insurance in Texas is located on the Texas Department of Insurance website through this link. Texas consumers can file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, discover disciplinary actions, and download brochures.
Other related articles:
- Tips for Researching a Mansfield Car Insurance Agent
- Auto Insurance in Mansfield Ohio 10 Tricks to Cut Costs
Do the work, save more money
Throughout this article, we presented some good ideas how you can compare auto insurance prices online. The key concept to understand is the more you , the higher the chance of saving money. You may even find the best price on auto insurance is with the least-expected company.
Drivers who switch companies do it for a number of reasons such as policy non-renewal, not issuing a premium refund, poor customer service and being labeled a high risk driver. It doesn’t matter what your reason, choosing a new company is pretty easy and you might even save some money in the process.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, don’t be tempted to reduce needed coverages to save money. There have been many cases where someone dropped liability limits or collision coverage and found out when filing a claim that they should have had better coverage. The proper strategy is to purchase plenty of coverage at a price you can afford and still be able to protect your assets.