Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an overpriced car insurance policy? Trust us when we tell you many consumers are feeling buyer’s remorse and feel like there’s no way out. Big-name insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive all claim big savings, bombarding you with TV and radio ads and it can be hard to avoid their marketing magic and find the best price available.
How much can you save with these eight discounts?
Companies don’t necessarily list every discount in a way that’s easy to find, so the following is a list of some of the best known as well as the least known savings tricks you should be using. If you aren’t receiving every discount you qualify for, you’re paying more than you need to.
- Theft Prevention System – Vehicles with anti-theft systems help deter theft and will save you 10% or more.
- Driver’s Ed – Cut your cost by having your teen driver enroll in driver’s education if offered at their school.
- New Car Discount – Buying coverage on a new vehicle can save up to 30% due to better safety requirements for new cars.
- Auto/Home Discount – When you combine your home and auto insurance with one company you may earn up to 20% off your total premium.
- Military Rewards – Being deployed with a military unit could be rewarded with lower premiums.
- Distant Student – Youth drivers who live away from home and don’t have a car can receive lower rates.
- One Accident Forgiven – A few companies permit an accident before your rates go up if your claims history is clear for a set time period.
- Air Bag Discount – Vehicles with factory air bags can get savings of more than 20%.
It’s important to note that most discounts do not apply to the entire cost. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as comprehensive or collision. So even though they make it sound like adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
How to Compare Car Insurance in Texas
Reducing your insurance rates is a fairly straight forward process. Drivers just need to take time to compare rate quotes from different insurance companies. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in a couple of different ways.
- The easiest and least time consuming way to get quotes is a comparison rater form click to view form in new window. This type of form eliminates the need for separate quotation requests for each company you want a rate for. One simple form will get you price quotes from car insurance companies with the best prices.
- A more difficult way to get comparison quotes is going to each individual company website to request a price quote. For instance, let’s say you want rates from Auto-Owners, Liberty Mutual and GMAC. To get each rate you have to spend time on each company’s site and enter your policy data, which is why the first method is more popular.
To view a list of companies in your area, click here.
Whichever way you use, ensure you are comparing exactly the same coverage information on every quote. If you enter different limits and deductibles on each one you can’t possibly find the best deal for your Toyota Rav4.
Learn about car insurance coverages for a Toyota Rav4
Knowing the specifics of your policy helps when choosing appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. Car insurance terms can be confusing and reading a policy is terribly boring. Listed below are typical coverages offered by car insurance companies.
Medical expense coverage – Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP pay for expenses like rehabilitation expenses, EMT expenses, X-ray expenses, hospital visits and nursing services. They are often utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not an option in every state and gives slightly broader coverage than med pay
Comprehensive protection – Comprehensive insurance pays for damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You need to pay your deductible first then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive can pay for claims like damage from getting keyed, vandalism, falling objects and damage from a tornado or hurricane. The maximum payout you can receive from a comprehensive claim is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low consider removing comprehensive coverage.
Liability auto insurance – Liability coverage can cover damage or injury you incur to a person or their property in an accident. This coverage protects you from claims by other people, and doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see policy limits of 50/100/50 which means $50,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $100,000, and a limit of $50,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability coverage pays for claims like legal defense fees, court costs and medical expenses. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but buy as high a limit as you can afford. Texas requires drivers to carry at least 30,000/60,000/25,000 but you should think about purchasing more liability than the minimum.
Collision coverage – Collision coverage covers damage to your Rav4 resulting from colliding with an object or car. You have to pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision coverage protects against things like crashing into a building, crashing into a ditch, hitting a parking meter and hitting a mailbox. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are older. Drivers also have the option to raise the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
Uninsured or underinsured coverage – Your UM/UIM coverage provides protection when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and damage to your Toyota Rav4.
Since many Texas drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (30/60/25), their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is important protection for you and your family.
Quote more, save more
As you restructure your insurance plan, it’s not a good idea to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. Too many times, an insured dropped uninsured motorist or liability limits only to discover later that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your goal should be to buy enough coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.
In this article, we presented many tips how you can compare Toyota Rav4 insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more price quotes you have, the better your comparison will be. You may even find the best price on car insurance is with a lesser-known regional company. They often have lower prices on specific markets as compared to the big name companies such as GEICO and State Farm.
More tips and info about car insurance can be read at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Texas drivers can view a list of available companies, discover disciplinary actions, view agent and company licensing information, and download brochures.