Did you make the mistake of buying high-priced car insurance? Don’t feel bad because many Austin drivers have buyer’s remorse. Insurance companies such as GEICO, Progressive and Allstate increase brand awareness with TV and radio ads and it can be hard to separate fact from fiction and find the best price available.
To find the best car insurance quotes, there are several ways to compare prices from many different Texas insurance companies. The best method to find the cheapest insurance rates is to use the internet to compare rates. This can be done by using one of the methods below.
The most efficient way consumers can make multiple comparisons would be an industry-wide quote request form click here to open form in new window. This form eliminates the need for repetitive form entry for each company you want a rate for. One quote request gets prices estimates from multiple companies.
A more time consuming way to find better pricing is spending the time to visit the website of each company to complete their respective quote request forms. For examples sake, we’ll pretend you are doing a rate comparison from Farmers, State Farm and Liberty Mutual. To get each rate you have to go to each individual site and punch in your information repeatedly, which is not fast way to get rate quotes.
To view a list of companies in Austin, click here.
How you compare quotes is your choice, just do your best to enter identical coverage limits with every price quote. If each company quotes differing limits it will be nearly impossible to make a fair comparison for your Chevy Suburban 1500 in Austin. Slightly different limits can make a big difference in price. Keep in mind that comparing more company’s prices will enable you to find lower pricing.
Nine discounts to earn lower Austin car insurance rates
Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you may find discounts that can drop the cost substantially. Certain reductions will be credited when you get a quote, but a few must be requested specifically before you will receive the discount.
- Discounts for Safe Drivers – Drivers who avoid accidents may receive a discount up to 45% on Suburban insurance than their less cautious counterparts.
- ABS Braking Discount – Cars, trucks, and SUVs with ABS braking systems or traction control can avoid accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Driver Safety – Taking time to complete a class that teaches defensive driving techniques could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
- Multi-line Discount – Not all companies offer life insurance, but some may give you a small discount if you purchase some life insurance in addition to your auto policy.
- Data Collection Discounts – Austin drivers who agree to allow companies to study vehicle usage remotely such as Progressive’s Snapshot and State Farm’s In-Drive could save a few bucks if they exhibit good driving behavior.
- Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your entire premium ahead of time as opposed to paying monthly you can actually save on your bill.
- More Vehicles More Savings – Purchasing coverage when you have more than one vehicle on one policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
- Home Ownership Discount – Owning a home in Austin can save a few bucks since home ownership requires a higher level of personal finance.
- Auto/Home Discount – If you can combine your home and auto policy and insure them both with the same insurance company you may earn approximately 10% to 15%.
One last thing about discounts, most of the big mark downs will not be given to the overall cost of the policy. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like comprehensive or collision. So despite the fact that it appears having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, that’s just not realistic. Any amount of discount should help lower your policy premium.
If you would like to see a list of insurance companies that offer many of these discounts in Texas, click this link.
More detailed Texas car insurance information is available at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Visitors are able to find a variety of consumer forms, view a list of available companies, download brochures, and find disaster information.
More related Austin car insurance information:
Car insurance coverages for a Chevy Suburban 1500
Understanding the coverages of car insurance can be of help when determining which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. Car insurance terms can be difficult to understand and coverage can change by endorsement. Below you’ll find typical coverage types found on most car insurance policies.
UM/UIM Coverage
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle when other motorists either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. It can pay for medical payments for you and your occupants and damage to your Chevy Suburban 1500.
Because many people carry very low liability coverage limits (Texas limits are 30/60/25), their limits can quickly be used up. For this reason, having high UM/UIM coverages is a good idea.
Medical costs insurance
Coverage for medical payments and/or PIP kick in for short-term medical expenses like doctor visits, EMT expenses and ambulance fees. The coverages can be used in conjunction with a health insurance plan or if you do not have health coverage. It covers all vehicle occupants in addition to getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not universally available but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision
Comprehensive insurance coverage covers damage that is not covered by collision coverage. You need to pay your deductible first and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive coverage protects against things such as hitting a deer, damage from a tornado or hurricane, fire damage and hitting a bird. The most 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.
Collision protection
Collision coverage pays for damage to your Suburban 1500 resulting from colliding with another car or object. You have to pay a deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision insurance covers claims like damaging your car on a curb, colliding with a tree, sustaining damage from a pot hole, crashing into a building and hitting a mailbox. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. Drivers also have the option to choose a higher deductible to save money on collision insurance.
Liability coverages
This coverage provides protection from damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property by causing an accident. This insurance protects YOU from legal claims by others, and doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.
It consists of three limits, bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident and property damage. Your policy might show liability limits of 100/300/100 which means $100,000 bodily injury coverage, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and $100,000 of coverage for damaged propery.
Liability coverage pays for claims like bail bonds, pain and suffering and structural damage. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but consider buying higher limits if possible. Texas state minimum liability requirements are 30,000/60,000/25,000 but drivers should carry more liability than the minimum.
Cheaper car insurance is a realistic goal
You just read quite a bit of information on how to lower your Chevy Suburban 1500 insurance prices. The most important thing to understand is the more price quotes you have, the better your comparison will be. You may even find the lowest prices come from the least-expected company. They can often provide lower rates in certain areas than their larger competitors like Progressive or GEICO.
As you shop your coverage around, do not reduce needed coverages to save money. There are many occasions where an insured dropped liability coverage limits and found out when filing a claim they didn’t purchase enough coverage. Your strategy should be to buy the best coverage you can find for the lowest price and still be able to protect your assets.