Locating the cheapest insurance for a new or used Dodge Ram 1500 Pickup in Texas can be a lot of work, but you can learn these tips and make it easy. There are both good and bad ways to shop for auto insurance so you’re going to learn the quickest way to price shop coverage for a Dodge and locate the lowest possible price either online or from Houston insurance agents.
If you have a current auto insurance policy or are just looking to switch companies, you can follow these tips to shop for the lowest rates while maintaining coverages. Locating the cheapest coverage in Houston can be fairly easy. Texas consumers just need to understand the proper methods to get comparison quotes on the web.
Auto insurance quotes and discounts
Companies offering auto insurance don’t always advertise all possible discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we break down a few of the more common as well as the least known credits available to you. If you don’t get every credit available, you could be paying more than you need to.
- Driver Education Discount – Require your teen driver to sucessfully take a driver\s education course as it will make them better drivers and lower rates.
- Active Military Service – Being deployed with a military unit can result in better premium rates.
- Defensive Driving Course – Taking a defensive driving course could cut 5% off your bill and make you a better driver.
- Distant College Student Discount – living away from home attending college and won’t have access to an insured vehicle can be insured at a reduced rate.
- Paperless Signup – A few larger online companies will give you a small discount simply for signing online.
- Telematics Devices – Houston drivers who agree to allow their company to scrutinize where and when they drive by using a small device installed in their vehicle such as Progressive’s Snapshot might get better premium rates as long as they are good drivers.
- Cautious Driver Discount – Safe drivers may save up to 50% more for Ram pickup insurance as compared to drivers with claims.
- Seat Belts Save – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to fasten their seat belts can save up to 15% off PIP or medical payments premium.
- Buy New and Save – Buying a new car model can be considerably cheaper since newer vehicles are generally safer.
- Organization Discounts – Belonging to a qualifying organization could qualify you for a break on your next auto insurance statement.
While discounts sound great, it’s important to understand that some of the credits will not apply to the entire cost. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like comp or med pay. So even though it sounds like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, you’re out of luck.
Popular auto insurance companies and a partial list of their discounts are:
- GEICO has savings for emergency military deployment, defensive driver, daytime running lights, military active duty, good student, five-year accident-free, and air bags.
- MetLife policyholders can earn discounts including good student, good driver, accident-free, defensive driver, claim-free, multi-policy
- State Farm may have discounts that include good driver, passive restraint, defensive driving training, driver’s education, Drive Safe & Save, and good student.
- Progressive may offer discounts for homeowner, online quote discount, online signing, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, good student, and continuous coverage.
- Mercury Insurance may include discounts for annual mileage, good student, good driver, ease of repair, and multi-policy.
- 21st Century offers discounts including good student, early bird, 55 and older, anti-lock brakes, automatic seat belts, air bags, and driver training.
- Allstate offers premium reductions for economy car, multi-policy, premier discount, senior citizen, and EZ pay plan discount.
If you need lower rates, check with every company which discounts can lower your rates. Discounts might not apply in Houston.
Performing a rate comparison can be a lot of work if you don’t utilize the fastest way to get free quotes. You can spend your afternoon talking to insurance companies in Houston, or you could use online quoting to get the quickest rates.
Many of the larger companies belong to a marketplace where prospective buyers submit their information once, and at least one company returns a competitive quote based on that information. This saves time by eliminating form submissions to every company.
To compare rates using this form now click here (opens in new window).
One minor caviat to doing it this way is that consumers can’t choose which insurance companies you want pricing from. If you would rather choose specific insurance companies to compare prices, we have assembled a list of low cost auto insurance companies in Texas. View list of Texas insurance companies.
It doesn’t matter which method you choose, just try to use nearly identical quote information on every quote you get. If the quotes have unequal deductibles or liability limits it will be nearly impossible to determine which rate is truly the best in Houston.
Independent and captive insurance agents
A small number of people just want to get advice from a local agent and often times that is recommended Good agents can answer important questions and give you someone to call. One of the best bonuses of getting free rate quotes online is that you can find lower rates and still buy from a local agent.
By using this form (opens in new window), the coverage information is immediately sent to insurance agents in Houston who want to provide quotes for your business. You won’t even need to drive around since price quotes are sent straight to your inbox. If for some reason you want to get a rate quote for a specific company, feel free to go to their quote page and complete a quote there.
Finding a good insurer requires you to look at more than just the bottom line cost. A good agent will have answers to these questions.
- Does the agency have a positive business rating?
- Does the agency have a current Errors and Omissions policy?
- What insurance companies do they work with in Houston?
- Do they see any coverage gaps in your plan?
- Are claims handled at the agent’s location?
- Do they review policy coverages at every renewal?
To view licensed agents near you, you can click for a full listing of Houston, TX auto insurance providers.
Ads can be misleading
Texas drivers can’t ignore all the ads that claim the best car insurance rates from the likes of Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm. All the ads advertise the message about savings if you move to them.
That’s great but how can every company charge you less for car insurance? It’s all in the words they use.
All companies have a certain “appetite” for a prospective insured that earns them the most money. One example of a profitable customer could be between the ages of 30 and 45, has no tickets, and drives a car with an anti-theft system. Anyone that matches those criteria will probably get the lowest car insurance rates as well as save if they switch.
Potential insureds who don’t qualify for the “perfect” profile will be quoted higher rates with the end result being business not being written. The ad wording is “customers that switch” but not “everyone who gets a quote” save that much when switching. That’s the way companies can make those claims. This really drives home the point why you should compare quotes as often as possible. It’s impossible to know which auto insurance company will give you lower car insurance rates than your current company.
Auto insurance specifics
Having a good grasp of auto insurance can help you determine which coverages you need and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be difficult to understand and reading a policy is terribly boring.
Liability coverages
Liability coverage protects you from damage or injury you incur to other people or property by causing an accident. Coverage consists of three different limits, bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. You might see liability limits of 100/300/100 which stand for $100,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and a limit of $100,000 paid for damaged property.
Liability coverage protects against things such as repair bills for other people’s vehicles, attorney fees, funeral expenses and loss of income. How much liability should you purchase? That is your choice, but buy higher limits if possible. Texas state law requires minimum liability limits of 30,000/60,000/25,000 but it’s recommended drivers buy better liability coverage.
Coverage for collisions
Collision insurance will pay to fix damage to your Ram 1500 Pickup caused by collision with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible and the rest of the damage will be paid by collision coverage.
Collision insurance covers claims such as colliding with a tree, crashing into a building, driving through your garage door and sustaining damage from a pot hole. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Another option is to bump up the deductible to bring the cost down.
Medical payments and PIP coverage
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for immediate expenses like ambulance fees, dental work, nursing services, prosthetic devices and hospital visits. They are utilized in addition to your health insurance program or if you lack health insurance entirely. It covers all vehicle occupants and also covers if you are hit as a while walking down the street. PIP is not an option in every state but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage
UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage provides protection when other motorists are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include medical payments for you and your occupants and also any damage incurred to your Dodge Ram 1500 Pickup.
Because many people carry very low liability coverage limits (30/60/25), their limits can quickly be used up. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage should not be overlooked.
Comprehensive auto coverage
Comprehensive insurance coverage pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. A deductible will apply then your comprehensive coverage will pay.
Comprehensive coverage protects against claims like falling objects, damage from a tornado or hurricane, hitting a bird and hitting a deer. The most a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the market value of your vehicle, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s not worth carrying full coverage.
Cheaper coverage is out there
Insureds switch companies for a variety of reasons including lack of trust in their agent, policy cancellation, policy non-renewal and delays in responding to claim requests. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch switching companies is not as hard as you think.
The cheapest Dodge Ram 1500 Pickup insurance can be sourced online in addition to local insurance agencies, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance companies may not have online rate quotes and these regional carriers only sell coverage through independent insurance agencies.
Throughout this article, we presented a lot of techniques to compare Dodge Ram 1500 Pickup insurance car insurance rates online. The most important thing to understand is the more providers you compare, the higher the chance of saving money. You may even discover the best car insurance rates are with a smaller regional carrier.
More sites with auto insurance information
More detailed Texas auto insurance information is located at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Texas drivers can find out industry alerts, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, and read industry bulletins.
The following articles may also be useful.