Top Ways to Save on Lone Star Auto Insurance

Tired of being strong-armed each month for car insurance? You're in the same situation as many other drivers in Texas.

With consumers having so many choices of insurance companies, it can be challenging to choose the lowest cost provider.

It's important to do rate comparisons once or twice a year since insurance rates are constantly changing. If you had the best price a year ago you may be paying too much now. Ignore everything you know about auto insurance because you're about to learn the fastest and easiest way to get good coverage at a lower rate.

How to Compare Auto Insurance Costs in Lone Star

Most major insurance companies provide pricing on their websites. Getting online quotes is pretty easy as you just type in the amount of coverage you want as detailed in the form. Behind the scenes, their system will obtain your driving and credit reports and returns pricing information. This makes comparing rates easy, but the time it takes to visit many different websites and fill out multiple forms can be a bit repetitive. But it's very important to perform this step if you want to find better auto insurance pricing.

Quote rates the easy way

A less time-consuming method to find cheaper rates requires only one form that gets price quotes from several different companies. The form is fast, eliminates repetitive work, and makes online quotes much more efficient. After your information is entered, it gets priced and you are able to buy any or none of the returned quotes. If a lower price is quoted, you simply finish the application and purchase the new policy. The whole process takes 15 minutes at the most and you'll know if lower rates are available.

To quickly find out what other companies charge, click here to open in new window and enter your information. If you currently have coverage, we recommend you input the limits and deductibles identical to your current policy. This way, you will have a fair comparison based on similar coverages.

Why some people pay less for insurance in Lone Star

It's important that you understand the rating factors that come into play when calculating auto insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels allows you to make educated decisions that may reward you with much lower annual insurance costs.

Men fork out a little more - The statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, don't assume that women are better drivers. Both sexes are in accidents in similar percentages, but the males cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. They also have more aggressive citations like reckless driving and DUI.
Keep rates low by being claim-free - Car insurance companies in Texas give discounts to insureds who file claims infrequently. If you are a frequent claim filer, you can expect higher rates. Your insurance policy is intended to be relied upon for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
Your credit rating is important - Credit rating is a important factor in your rate calculation. Drivers with excellent credit tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records than drivers with lower credit scores. If your credit can use some improvement, you could be paying less to insure your by improving your rating.
How many coverages with the same company - The majority of auto insurance companies will give a discount to people who consolidate policies with them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even if you're getting this discount you still need to shop around to make sure you are getting the best deal. Consumers may find better rates by insuring with multiple companies.
Being married can save on auto insurance - Having a spouse actually saves money on your auto insurance policy. It is viewed as being more responsible and it's proven that drivers who are married are more cautious.
Traffic citations inflate rates - Your driving citation history has a big impact on rates. Just one moving violation can increase rates forty percent or more. Good drivers have lower premiums than people who have multiple driving citations. Drivers who have severe citations like DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions may need to submit a SR-22 form with the DMV in their state in order to drive a vehicle legally.
Pleasure use saves money - The more you drive every year the more you will pay for auto insurance. Most companies price each vehicle's coverage based upon how you use the vehicle. Autos used primarily for pleasure use qualify for better rates than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Double check that your auto insurance policy properly reflects the correct driver usage.

These discounts can lower your rates

Companies offering auto insurance don't necessarily list all their discounts very well, so we took the time to find some of the best known as well as the least known ways to save on auto insurance.

Senior Discount - Older drivers can possibly qualify for reduced rates.
Driver's Ed - Require your teen driver to complete a driver education course in high school.
Employee of Federal Government - Simply working for the federal government could cut as much as 10% off with select insurance companies.
Passive Restraint Discount - Factory air bags can receive discounts of 20% or more.
Military Rewards - Having a family member in the military can result in better rates.
Theft Prevention Discount - Vehicles equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems are stolen less frequently and will save you 10% or more.

As a disclaimer on discounts, many deductions do not apply to the entire cost. Some only apply to individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. Even though it may seem like all the discounts add up to a free policy, auto insurance companies aren't that generous.

For a list of companies with the best auto insurance discounts in Texas, click this link.

Even more information can be found at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Texas drivers can learn about insurance regulations, download brochures, find out industry alerts, and read consumer alerts.

Other useful links include this Car Insurance FAQ and this page of insurance agents in Lone Star.

Final considerations

While you're price shopping online, don't be tempted to reduce needed coverages to save money. There are many occasions where an insured dropped physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time they didn't purchase enough coverage. Your aim should be to get the best coverage possible at a price you can afford.

In this article, we covered many ideas to lower your auto insurance rates. The key concept to understand is the more times you quote, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may be surprised to find that the best price on auto insurance is with a small local company. Smaller companies may have significantly lower rates on certain market segments than the large multi-state companies such as .