Pricey car insurance can consume your budget and force you to prioritize other expenses. Popular companies such as State Farm and GEICO constantly bombard you with fancy advertisements and it can be hard to ignore the flying pigs and cute green geckos and do the work needed to find the best deal.
It’s important to price shop coverage once or twice a year because rates change regularly. Despite the fact that you may have had the lowest rate for Prius insurance on your last policy you will most likely find a better price today. Block out anything you think you know about car insurance because you’re about to learn the fastest and easiest way to eliminate unnecessary coverages and save money.
Smart Buyers Know How to Find Car Insurance at a Discount
Lots of things are taken into consideration when quoting car insurance. Some are pretty understandable such as your driving history, but other factors are not quite as obvious like where you live or how safe your car is.
The itemized list below are some of the most rate-impacting factors car insurance companies consider when setting premiums.
- More annual miles equals more premium – The more you drive in a year’s time the higher the price you pay to insure it. A lot of insurance companies price each vehicle’s coverage based upon how much you drive. Cars and trucks used primarily for pleasure use can be on a lower rate level than cars that get driven a lot. Make sure your policy is rated on the correct driver usage. An incorrectly rated Prius is throwing money out the window.
- Avoid traffic tickets – Your driving citation history influences premium rates substantially. Getting just one speeding ticket or other violation can increase rates by twenty percent. Careful drivers pay lower auto insurance prices than their less careful counterparts. Drivers who have multiple violations like DUI, reckless driving or excessive speeding are required to prove financial responsibility to the state department of motor vehicles in order to prevent a license revocation.
- Never let your car insurance policy expire – Driving your car without having proper coverage can get you a ticket and your next policy will cost more because you let your insurance lapse. Not only will you pay more, not being able to provide proof of insurance may earn you a hefty fine and possibly a revoked license. You will then be forced to provide proof of insurance in the form of an SR-22 filing with the Texas department of motor vehicles.
- Gals tend to take less risk – The statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, don’t assume that women are better drivers. Both sexes cause auto accidents in similar percentages, but the men have costlier accidents. Men also tend to get higher numbers of serious violations like DUI and reckless driving. Young men ages 16 to 20 are most likely to cause an accident and therefore have the most expensive car insurance rates.
- How much liability coverage – Your policy’s liability coverage is the protection if ever you are ruled to be at fault for an accident. Liability insurance provides for a legal defense which can cost thousands of dollars. Liability insurance is pretty cheap when compared to the cost of physical damage coverage, so drivers should buy more than the minimum limits required by law.
- Insurance rates in urban areas – Residing in areas with lower population may provide you with better prices when buying car insurance. Fewer people means a lower chance of having an accident in addition to lower liability claims City drivers have traffic congestion and more severe claims. Higher commute times can result in more accidents.
Car insurance policy discounts
Auto insurance companies do not advertise the entire discount list in an easy-to-find place, so the list below details a few of the more well known as well as some of the hidden discounts that you can inquire about if you .
- Federal Employees – Federal government employees could cut as much as 10% off for Prius insurance with a few car insurance companies.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Low mileage vehicles could earn better rates on cars that stay parked.
- Active Service Discounts – Being deployed with a military unit could be rewarded with lower car insurance rates.
- Drive Safe and Save – Drivers who avoid accidents could pay up to 40% less for Prius insurance than their less cautious counterparts.
- Accident-Free Discounts – Insureds who avoid accidents and claims can earn big discounts when compared with insureds who have frequent claims or accidents.
- Multi-car Discount – Purchasing coverage when you have several vehicles with one company could earn a price break for each car.
- Passenger Safety Discount – Cars that have air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems could see savings of 20% or more.
- Bundled Policy Discount – When you combine your homeowners and auto insurance with one insurance company you could save at least 10% off all policies.
Discounts save money, but please remember that many deductions do not apply to your bottom line cost. A few only apply to individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, companies don’t profit that way.
Large car insurance companies and some of the premium reductions they offer are:
- State Farm offers discounts for passive restraint, driver’s education, anti-theft, defensive driving training, and good student.
- American Family has savings for Steer into Savings, TimeAway discount, mySafetyValet, early bird, defensive driver, good driver, and accident-free.
- GEICO may have discounts that include multi-vehicle, multi-policy, driver training, daytime running lights, defensive driver, and military active duty.
- 21st Century offers premium reductions for theft prevention, student driver, anti-lock brakes, defensive driver, and driver training.
- Progressive offers discounts including multi-policy, online quote discount, homeowner, continuous coverage, multi-vehicle, and online signing.
When comparing rates, check with all companies you are considering the best way to save money. All car insurance discounts may not apply to policyholders in your area. To see a list of car insurance companies that have a full spectrum of discounts in San Antonio, click here.
Additional Texas car insurance resources
More detailed Texas car insurance information can be found at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Consumers can read enforcement actions against agents and companies, view a list of available companies, download brochures, and read industry bulletins.
More related San Antonio car insurance information:
In conclusion
You just learned many ideas to get a better price on Toyota Prius insurance. The key thing to remember is the more companies you get prices for, the higher your chance of finding . Consumers could even find that the most savings is with the smaller companies. Some small companies can often provide lower prices in certain areas compared to the large companies like Progressive and GEICO.
As you shop your coverage around, don’t be tempted to skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There are too many instances where someone dropped physical damage coverage to discover at claim time that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your objective should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the best price while not skimping on critical coverages.