Are you a victim of high-priced car insurance? It’s quite common and many Houston consumers feel financially strained by their car insurance policy. Popular companies such as Progressive, State Farm and GEICO continually hit you with catchy ads and it is challenging if not impossible to see past the corporate glitz and do the work needed to find the best deal.
Consumers should take time to quote other rates quite often since prices are usually higher with each renewal. Even if you got the best deal for Tacoma insurance on your last policy there is a good chance you can find better rate quotes now. There is a lot of wrong information about car insurance online, but we’re going to give you a bunch of ideas how to lower your car insurance bill.
Buy Houston car insurance online
Most companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive make it easy to get prices directly from their websites. Doing online quotes doesn’t take a lot of time as you simply type in into a form. Upon sending the form, their system orders reports for credit and driving violations and generates a price based on many factors. Online price estimates makes it simple to compare prices but the work required to visit each company’s website and repetitively type in the same data is a big time waster. But it’s very important to do this in order to get a better rate.
A better way to lower your rates uses one form to get prices from a lot of companies. It’s a real time-saver, requires much less work on your part, and makes rate comparisons much more enjoyable and efficient. As soon as the form is sent, your coverage is rated with multiple companies and you can pick any one of the returned quotes. If the quotes result in lower rates, you simply finish the application and purchase coverage. It can be completed in less than 10 minutes and can result in significant savings.
In order to get comparison pricing now, click here and fill out the form. If you have coverage now, it’s recommended that you enter the coverages identical to your current policy. This guarantees you will be getting comparison quotes for similar insurance coverage.
Are car insurance companies telling the truth?
Consumers in Texas can’t ignore all the ads that claim the lowest prices from companies such as Allstate, GEICO and Progressive. All the ads make an identical promise that drivers will save a bundle just by switching your car insurance coverage to their company.
That’s great but how can every company charge you less for auto insurance? It’s all in the numbers.
All the different companies can use profiling for the driver that will not have excessive claims. For example, a desirable insured might be between the ages of 30 and 45, has a clean driving record, and insures a new vehicle. Any new insured that fits those parameters receive the lowest rate quotes and will most likely cut their rates substantially.
Drivers who are not a match for the “perfect” profile will have to pay a higher premium which leads to the customer not purchasing. The wording the ads use say “people that switch” not “everyone who quotes” save that kind of money. This is how insurance companies can state the savings. This emphasizes why you really need to quote coverage with many companies. It’s just not possible to know which insurance companies will provide the lowest premium rates.
How do Insurance Companies Determine Toyota Tacoma Insurance Costs?
Many factors are considered when pricing auto insurance. Some of the criteria are obvious such as your driving record, although some other factors are not as apparent like your continuous coverage or your financial responsibility.
- More performance means higher costs – The performance level of the car, truck or SUV you are buying insurance for makes a huge difference in your rates. Because the Toyota Tacoma falls in the pickup truck class, rates will be similar in price than the average rate where you live in Houston. Smaller low performance passenger cars normally have pretty low rates, but the final cost of insurance is determined by many other factors.
- Multiple policies with one company – Most insurers allow a discount for people who consolidate policies with them such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. Discounts can add up to 10 percent or more. Even with this discount, you still need to get quotes from other companies to verify if the discount is saving money.
- Cheaper rates after marriage – Walking down the aisle helps lower the price on car insurance. Having a spouse generally demonstrates drivers are more stable financially and insurance companies like that married couples file fewer claims.
- Car insurance policy lapses increase prices – Having a lapse in insurance coverage can be a quick way to bump up your car insurance costs. Not only will you pay more, being ticketed for driving with no insurance could result in a hefty fine and possibly a revoked license. You may have to provide proof of insurance in the form of an SR-22 filing with the Texas DMV.
- An active insurance claims history can cost you more – Auto insurance companies in Texas give most affordable rates to insureds who only file infrequent claims. If you file a lot of claims you can pretty much guarantee higher premiums or even policy non-renewal. Your car insurance is intended to be relied upon for major claims that would cause financial hardship.
- Do you need those add-on coverages? – There are a lot of extra coverages that you can get tricked into buying if you don’t pay attention. Insurance for rental car reimbursement, accidental death, and extra equipment coverage may be wasting your money. The coverages may be enticing when deciding what coverages you need, but if you don’t need them get rid of them and save.
- Lower rates for cars with good safety ratings – Safe vehicles tend to be cheaper to insure. Vehicles engineered for safety help reduce the chance of injuries in an accident and lower injury rates translates into savings for insurance companies which can mean better rates for you. If your Toyota Tacoma is rated at least four stars on Safercar.gov it may cost less to insure.
- Credit rating impacts rates – Your credit score can be a huge factor in your rate calculation. Drivers with very high credit ratings tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers with lower ratings. If your credit leaves room for improvement, you may save money insuring your Toyota Tacoma by taking the time to improve your credit score.
Affordable Houston car insurance rates with discounts
Some insurance providers don’t list every policy discount very well, so we break down a few of the more well known and the more hidden savings tricks you should be using when you .
- Pay Upfront and Save – By paying your policy upfront rather than paying in monthly installments you may have a lower total premium amount.
- Multiple Cars – Purchasing coverage when you have primary and secondary vehicles on one policy can get a discount on all vehicles.
- Savings for New Vehicles – Buying a new car instead of a used car may earn a small discount because new model year vehicles keep occupants safer.
- Anti-theft System – Vehicles equipped with tracking devices and advanced anti-theft systems have a lower chance of being stolen and earn discounts up to 10% off your .
- Defensive Driver Discounts – Taking time to complete a driver safety course can save you 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
- Accident-Free Discounts – Houston drivers who stay claim-free can save substantially as opposed to policyholders that have many claims.
- Own a Home – Owning your own home or condo can help you save on car insurance since home ownership is proof of financial responsibility.
- Drivers Education – Require your teen driver to enroll and complete driver’s education as it will make them better drivers and lower rates.
- Passive Restraints – Vehicles equipped with air bags or automatic seat belts may qualify for discounts up to 30%.
- Telematics Data Discounts – Policyholders that allow data collection to analyze when and where they use their vehicle by using a small device installed in their vehicle such as Drivewise from Allstate or Snapshot from Progressive might get better premium rates as long as they are good drivers.
As is typical with insurance, some credits don’t apply to your bottom line cost. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. So even though you would think you can get free auto insurance, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
If you would like to see a list of car insurance companies that have a full spectrum of discounts in Texas, click here.
Cheaper car insurance is a realistic goal
You just read some good ideas how you can compare Toyota Tacoma insurance auto insurance rates online. The most important thing to understand is the more companies you get premium rates for, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may be surprised to find that the best auto insurance rates are with an unexpected company. Smaller companies can often provide lower premium rates in certain areas than the large multi-state companies such as GEICO and State Farm.
When searching for , never skimp on coverage in order to save money. In many instances, an insured cut collision coverage only to regret at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your goal should be to find the BEST coverage at the best price.
Some additional reading
Additional detailed information can be found at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Texas consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, view agent and company licensing information, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.
The following articles may also be useful.