No one anticipates paying for auto insurance, especially when they are aware that they could get a better deal. Companies like Allstate and Progressive constantly blast consumers with fancy advertisements and consumers find it hard to see through the deception and do the work needed to find the best deal.
If you currently have a car insurance policy, you stand a good chance to be able to cut costs considerably using these techniques. Buying car insurance in Fort Worth is quite easy. But Texas vehicle owners must know how the larger insurance companies sell insurance online.
Do you qualify for discount auto insurance?
Auto insurance is neither fun to buy or cheap, but discounts can save money and there are some available to help offset the cost. Some of these disounts will be visible at quote time, but a few need to be inquired about before you will receive the discount.
- Good Student – This discount can be rewarded with saving of up to 25%. Earning this discount can benefit you until age 25.
- Use Seat Belts – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts could cut 10% or more on the premium charged for medical payments and/or PIP.
- ABS and Traction Control Discounts – Cars, trucks, and SUVs that have anti-lock braking systems can reduce accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Drivers Education – Have your child enroll in driver’s education in school or through a local driver safety program.
- Government Employee Discount – Employees or retirees of the government could qualify for a slight premium decrease for Town & Country insurance depending on your auto insurance provider.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Driving fewer miles could earn lower auto insurancerates on the low mileage vehicles.
- Senior Discount – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may receive a small decrease in premiums for Town & Country insurance.
- Active Military Service – Being deployed in the military could mean lower premium rates.
As is typical with insurance, most credits do not apply to the entire policy premium. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. So even though they make it sound like you can get free auto insurance, you’re out of luck.
A few popular companies and a partial list of their discounts include:
- American Family includes discounts for TimeAway discount, early bird, Steer into Savings, air bags, defensive driver, and bundled insurance.
- Farm Bureau offers premium reductions for good student, multi-vehicle, safe driver, youthful driver, renewal discount, and driver training.
- State Farm policyholders can earn discounts including Drive Safe & Save, multiple autos, defensive driving training, driver’s education, and student away at school.
- Travelers discounts include good student, payment discounts, multi-policy, multi-car, driver training, and home ownership.
- The Hartford has discounts for driver training, bundle, air bag, good student, anti-theft, defensive driver, and vehicle fuel type.
- GEICO may include discounts for military active duty, seat belt use, good student, federal employee, defensive driver, and multi-policy.
- Progressive may have discounts that include multi-policy, homeowner, multi-vehicle, good student, and continuous coverage.
Before you buy a policy, ask all companies you are considering the best way to save money. Some credits may not apply to policyholders in every state. To view companies with discount rates in Fort Worth, click here to view.
When looking for , there are a couple ways of comparing rate quotes from many different Texas insurance companies. The fastest way to find the cheapest Chrysler Town & Country insurance rates is to use the internet to compare rates. This can be accomplished using a couple different methods.
- The easiest and least time consuming way to find low rates is to use a rate comparison form like this one (opens in new window). This form prevents you from having to do repetitive form submissions to each individual auto insurance company. A single form gets you price quotes direct from many companies.
- Another way to find better pricing is to take the time to go to the website for each individual company and get a separate price quote. For instance, let’s say you want to compare prices for Nationwide, 21st Century and Progressive. To get each rate you have to navigate to each company’s site and repeatedly type in your coverage information, which is why the first method is more popular. For a list of companies in Fort Worth, click here.
How you compare quotes is your choice, just make sure you compare the same coverage limits for each quote you get. If you are comparing mixed coverages it’s not possible to decipher which rate is best in Fort Worth. Quoting even small variations in insurance coverages could mean much higher rates. And when comparison shopping, more quotes will increase your chances of finding the best offered rates.
Five Things That Influence Your Insurance Premiums
Many factors are part of the equation when pricing auto insurance. Some are pretty understandable such as traffic violations, although others are not quite as obvious like where you live and annual miles driven.
The itemized list below are just a few of the factors used by companies to determine premiums.
- Poor credit can mean higher costs – Having a bad credit score will be a significant factor in determining what you pay. Drivers who have excellent credit scores tend to be less risk to insure than drivers with bad credit. Therefore, if your credit is low, you could save money insuring your Chrysler Town & Country by improving your rating.
- Marriage can save on auto insurance – Having a significant other may save some money compared to being single. Having a spouse usually means you are more mature and responsible and it’s proven that being married results in fewer claims.
- Which gender costs less? – Over the last 50 years, statistics have shown that females tend to be a little less risky than males. The data does not necessarily mean that men are worse drivers. Females and males are responsible for at-fault accidents at a similar rate, but males cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Men also tend to receive more costly citations like DWI (DUI) or reckless driving. Young men ages 16 to 20 are the most expensive to insure and therefore pay the highest rates.
- How do annual miles impact rates? – Driving more miles every year the higher the price you pay to insure it. A lot of insurance companies calculate prices partially by how you use the vehicle. Cars that do not get driven very much cost less to insure as compared to vehicles used primarily for driving to work. It’s a smart idea to ensure your policy is showing annual mileage, because improper ratings can cost you money. Having an incorrect usage rating on your Town & Country can cost quite a bit.
- Policy add-ons could be costing you – Insurance policies have a lot of extra add-on coverages that can add up if you aren’t careful. Insurance for things like vanishing deductibles, death and dismemberment, and membership fees may not be needed and are just wasting money. You may think they are a good idea when discussing your needs, but if you’ve never needed them in the past consider taking them off your policy.
Ads can be misleading
Auto insurance companies such as State Farm, Allstate and GEICO continually stream ads on TV and radio. All the companies make an identical promise about how much you will save if you move your policy. How does every auto insurance company cost less than your current company? It’s all in how they say it.
Auto insurance companies give the cheapest rates for the type of insured they prefer to insure. For example, a driver they prefer could possibly be over the age of 35, owns their home, and drives a safe vehicle. A customer getting a price quote who matches that profile will probably get cheap prices and will probably save when switching.
Insureds who don’t qualify for the ideal profile will probably have to pay higher premium rates with the end result being the customer buying from someone else. The trick is to say “drivers that switch” not “everyone who quotes” save the amount stated. That is how insurance companies can confidently claim big savings.
Because of these techniques, you need to get price quotes at each policy renewal. It’s impossible to know which company will be your best fit.
Auto insurance savings summarized
More affordable auto insurance is possible online in addition to many Fort Worth insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some companies may not offer online price quotes and many times these regional carriers only sell coverage through independent insurance agencies.
When shopping online for auto insurance, make sure you don’t skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There are a lot of situations where drivers have reduced collision coverage and discovered at claim time they didn’t purchase enough coverage. Your goal should be to find the BEST coverage at a price you can afford, but do not skimp to save money.
Learn more today
Much more information about auto insurance in Texas can be found on the through this link. Texas drivers can read consumer alerts, report car insurance fraud, file complaints about an insurance agent or broker, and find out which companies have the most complaints.
The following information may also be useful.