Houston buyers have a choice when searching for the best price on Dodge Challenger insurance. You can either waste hours calling around to compare prices or use the internet to make rate comparisons. There is a better way to find auto insurance online so we’re going to tell you the proper way to quote coverages for a new or used Dodge and find the cheapest rates from Houston insurance agents and online providers.
Consumers should take time to do price comparisons as often as possible because auto insurance prices trend upward over time. Even if you think you had the lowest rate on Challenger coverage a year ago other companies may now be cheaper. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about auto insurance because you’re about to learn how to quote online to get good coverage at a lower rate.
Most major insurance companies allow consumers to get insurance quotes from their websites. Doing online price comparisons is easy for anyone as all you need to do is type in your required coverages as detailed in the form. After you submit the form the system obtains your driving and credit reports and returns pricing information based on these factors.
Online price quotes makes it easy to compare insurance prices but having to visit each company’s website and repetitively type in the same data can get tiresome after awhile. But it is imperative to compare as many rates as possible if you want to get a lower rate.
A more efficient way to find lower prices uses just one form that gets prices from multiple companies. The form is fast, helps eliminate reptitive entry, and makes online price comparison much easier to do. Once the form is submitted, it is rated and you can choose any of the quotes returned. If a lower price is quoted, you can simply submit the application and buy the policy. This process only takes a few minutes and you will find out if you’re overpaying now.
To compare rates now, click here to open in a new tab and begin entering your coverage information. To compare your current rates, we recommend you complete the form with deductibles and limits exactly as shown on your declarations page. This guarantees you will be getting a price comparison based on the exact same insurance coverage.
Lower your auto insurance rates with these six discounts
Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but there’s a good chance there are discounts that many consumers don’t even know exist. Some trigger automatically at the time of purchase, but a few need to be asked for in order for you to get them.
- Discount for Good Grades – A discount for being a good student can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. Most companies allow this discount well after school through age 25.
- Policy Bundle Discount – When you have multiple policies with one company you may save approximately 10% to 15%.
- Passenger Safety Discount – Vehicles with factory air bags or motorized seat belts may get savings of up to 25% or more.
- No Claims – Insureds with no claims or accidents are rewarded with significantly better rates on compared to drivers with a long claim history.
- Membership in Organizations – Being in a civic or occupational organization in Houston is a simple method to lower premiums when getting a .
- Safe Driver Discount – Drivers who don’t get into accidents can save as much as half off their rates on Challenger coverage than drivers with accident claims.
While discounts sound great, it’s important to understand that most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. Some only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as comp or med pay. Despite the appearance that all the discounts add up to a free policy, nobody gets a free ride. Any amount of discount will cut your policy premium.
Companies and a selection of discounts include:
- GEICO has savings for seat belt use, federal employee, daytime running lights, defensive driver, good student, five-year accident-free, and emergency military deployment.
- MetLife has discounts for good driver, good student, claim-free, accident-free, and multi-policy.
- State Farm may offer discounts for good driver, driver’s education, safe vehicle, multiple autos, passive restraint, and multiple policy.
- Progressive may include discounts for continuous coverage, multi-vehicle, online quote discount, multi-policy, good student, homeowner, and online signing.
- Mercury Insurance discounts include good student, multi-policy, ease of repair, accident-free, and type of vehicle.
- 21st Century offers discounts for student driver, early bird, air bags, driver training, automatic seat belts, teen driver, and defensive driver.
- Allstate may have discounts that include new car, defensive driver, multi-policy, good payer, and anti-theft.
When getting a coverage quote, ask every prospective company to apply every possible discount. A few discounts might not be available to policyholders in your area. If you would like to see a list of auto insurance companies that offer discounts in Texas, click here.
Compare rate quotes or from car insurance agents
Certain consumers would prefer to buy from a licensed agent. A nice benefit of price shopping on the web is the fact that you can find cheap rate quotes but also keep your business local.
By using this form (opens in new window), your information is immediately sent to agents in your area that give free quotes for your insurance coverage. You never need to even leave your home because quoted prices will be sent to your email. Get lower rates without a big time investment. In the event you want to compare rates from one company in particular, you just need to navigate to their website and give them your coverage information.
Finding a good company is decision based upon more than just a cheap price quote. These are some questions you should get answers to.
- Will the agent help in case of a claim?
- Is the agent and/or agency licensed to do business in Texas?
- Do they receive special compensation for putting your coverage with one company over another?
- Do the companies they represent have a solid financial rating?
- Do they specialize in personal lines coverage?
- Which insurance companies are they affiliated with?
- Are there any hidden costs in their price quote and does it include driving and credit history?
Types of auto insurance agents in Houston
When looking for a good Houston insurance agent, you need to know there are two types of insurance agents and how they work. Auto insurance agents in Houston can either be independent or captive depending on the company they work for.
Captive Auto Insurance Agencies
Captive agencies can only write with one company and examples are Farmers Insurance or State Farm. They usually cannot give you multiple price quotes so they have to upsell other benefits. Captives are well schooled on the products they sell which helps them compete with independent agents. Consumers often buy insurance from these agents partially due to high brand loyalty and the convenience of having a single billing for all their coverages.
Independent Agents
Independent agencies are not employed by one company so as a result can place your coverage through many companies and get you the best rates possible. If they find a lower price, they simply move the coverage in-house and you don’t have to find a new agent. If you need cheaper auto insurance rates, you absolutely need to get some free quotes from multiple independent agents to get the best comparison. Most also have access to smaller regional carriers that may provide cheaper auto insurance rates.
Situations that may require an agent’s advice
When it comes to buying adequate coverage for your vehicles, there really is not a “best” method to buy coverage. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs.
These are some specific questions may help you determine if your situation may require specific advice.
- Am I covered when renting a car or should I buy coverage from the car rental agency?
- Why am I be forced to buy a membership to get insurance from some companies?
- Can I still get insurance after a DUI?
- Are my friends covered when driving my Dodge Challenger?
- Does coverage extend to a rental car in a foreign country?
- Am I getting all the discounts available?
- At what point should I drop full coverage?
- When do I need to add a new car to my policy?
- Does liability extend to a camper or trailer?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions but a few of them apply, you might consider talking to a licensed agent. If you don’t have a local agent, take a second and complete this form.
Auto insurance coverages and their meanings
Learning about specific coverages of your policy helps when choosing which coverages you need at the best deductibles and correct limits. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage – Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle from other drivers when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. This coverage pays for injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants and also any damage incurred to your Dodge Challenger.
Since a lot of drivers have only the minimum liability required by law (30/60/25 in Texas), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea.
Medical payments coverage and PIP – Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage kick in for short-term medical expenses such as surgery, chiropractic care and ambulance fees. They can be utilized in addition to your health insurance plan or if you lack health insurance entirely. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
Comprehensive coverage – This pays to fix your vehicle from damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You first have to pay a deductible and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive insurance covers things like hitting a bird, fire damage and damage from flooding. The maximum payout you’ll receive from a claim is the actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider dropping full coverage.
Liability auto insurance – Liability insurance provides protection from damage or injury you incur to a person or their property that is your fault. It protects you from legal claims by others. Liability doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.
Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. As an example, you may have limits of 50/100/50 which means a $50,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and a limit of $50,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability can pay for things such as medical expenses, repair costs for stationary objects and emergency aid. How much liability should you purchase? That is a personal decision, but consider buying higher limits if possible. Texas state law requires minimum liability limits of 30,000/60,000/25,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy higher limits.
Collision coverages – This coverage will pay to fix damage to your Challenger resulting from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. You have to pay a deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision insurance covers claims like rolling your car, crashing into a ditch, driving through your garage door and colliding with another moving vehicle. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so consider removing coverage from lower value vehicles. Another option is to raise the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.
More detailed Texas auto insurance information is available at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Texas drivers can read state legal mandates and laws, find disaster information, read consumer alerts, and get help finding coverage.
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Cheaper auto insurance is a realistic goal
Affordable Dodge Challenger insurance is definitely available online and with local Houston insurance agents, so get from both of them in order to have the best price selection to choose from. A few companies may not offer online price quotes and many times these regional carriers prefer to sell through independent agents.
When trying to cut insurance costs, you should never reduce needed coverages to save money. There have been many situations where an insured dropped collision coverage and found out when filing a claim that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. The ultimate goal is to purchase a proper amount of coverage for the lowest price.
People change insurance companies for a number of reasons such as being labeled a high risk driver, policy non-renewal, an unsatisfactory settlement offer or even poor customer service. No matter why you want to switch, finding a new company is less work than it seems.