Are you intimidated by the crazy number of car insurance options in Dallas? Many other drivers are as well. Drivers have so many choices that it can be a real hassle to find the perfect company for you.
It is always a good idea to price shop coverage yearly because rates change regularly. Even if you think you had the best rates last year there is a good chance you can find better rates now. Don’t believe everything you read about car insurance online, so by reading this article, you’re going to learn some great ways to slash your car insurance rates.
Finding affordable coverage in Dallas is not rocket science. If you are paying for car insurance now, you should be able to cut costs considerably using these techniques. Texas drivers just need to understand the proper way to compare price quotes on the web.
How to Compare Car Insurance Costs in Dallas
Most companies like State Farm, GEICO and Progressive quote coverage prices on their websites. Obtaining pricing is fairly simple as you just type in the coverage amounts you desire into a form. Upon sending the form, their system will obtain your driving and credit reports and generates a price determined by many factors.
Being able to quote online makes it a lot easier to compare rates but the time required to go to multiple sites and enter the same data into a form gets old quite quickly. But it’s absolutely necessary to perform this step in order to get the lowest car insurance rates.
A less time-consuming method to find cheaper rates is to use a quote form that gets price quotes from more than one company. The form is fast, reduces the work, and makes comparison shopping much more enjoyable. After sending your information, your coverage is rated and you can select any or none of the quotes returned. If a lower price is quoted, it’s easy to complete the application and buy the new coverage. This process takes 15 minutes at the most and can result in significant savings.
To get comparison pricing now, click here to open in a new tab and submit your coverage information. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you complete the form with identical to your current policy. This makes sure you will have rate comparison quotes based on the exact same insurance coverage.
You probably qualify for some discounts
Car insurance companies do not list all available discounts very well, so we took the time to find both well-publicized and the more hidden ways to save on car insurance. If you don’t get every credit you deserve, you are throwing money away.
- Multiple Cars – Buying coverage for all your vehicles with the same company could earn a price break for each car.
- Passive Restraints – Vehicles equipped with air bags can get savings of more than 20%.
- 55 and Retired – Mature drivers can possibly qualify for a discount up to 10%.
- Good Students Pay Less – Getting good grades can save 20 to 25%. Earning this discount can benefit you up to age 25.
- Drive Less and Save – Low mileage vehicles could be rewarded with lower rates on the low mileage vehicles.
- Government Employees – Employees or retirees of the government could cut as much as 10% off with select insurance companies.
- Life Insurance Discount – Some companies give lower rates if you buy life insurance.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – If you pay your bill all at once instead of paying each month you could save 5% or more.
- Safe Drivers – Drivers who avoid accidents can pay as much as 50% less than their less cautious counterparts.
- Driver’s Ed – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to take driver’s ed class in high school.
It’s important to note that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the overall cost of the policy. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like medical payments or collision. So despite the fact that it appears adding up those discounts means a free policy, it just doesn’t work that way.
To see a list of providers offering car insurance discounts in Dallas, click this link.
Make smart decisions and save
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that play a part in calculating the price you pay for car insurance. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay allows you to make educated decisions that can help you get much lower annual insurance costs.
Shown below are a partial list of the pieces companies use to determine your rates.
- Do you work long hours in a high stress job? – Did you know your job can affect your rates? Occupations like doctors, executives and financial analysts tend to have higher average rates attributed to high stress and long work days. Conversely, occupations such as scientists, engineers and homemakers receive lower rates.
- Special features that cut premiums – Choosing a vehicle with an alarm system can save you a little every year. Theft prevention features such as tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar can thwart your car from being stolen.
- Clean credit earns discounts – Your credit score is a important factor in determining your rates. Therefore, if your credit score is lower than you’d like, you could pay less to insure your by improving your credit score. Drivers who have high credit scores tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims than drivers who have poor credit.
- A lapse in coverage is a bad thing – Allowing your coverage to lapse is a guaranteed way to pay more for car insurance. Not only will rates go up, failure to provide proof of insurance can result in a license revocation or jail time.
- Do you need those extra coverages? – There are many extra bells and whistles that you can get tricked into buying on your policy. Coverages like personal injury protection, accidental death and motor club memberships are examples of these. They may seem like a good idea initially, but if you don’t need them get rid of them and save.
- Frequent car insurance claims increase rates – Companies in Texas give cheaper rates to drivers who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. If you frequently file small claims, you can pretty much guarantee either policy cancellation or increased premiums. Your insurance policy is designed for larger claims.
- Multi-policy discounts can save money – Some companies will give a discount to people who buy several policies from them in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even if you’re getting this discount you may still want to compare rates to ensure the best deal. Drivers may still find a better deal by insuring with multiple companies.
Don’t listen to company ads
Consumers in Texas can’t ignore all the ads for the lowest price auto insurance from the likes of State Farm, GEICO and Progressive. All the ads make an identical promise about savings if you move your coverage to them.
How does each company claim to save you money? It’s all in the numbers.
Different companies have a preferred profile for the driver they prefer to insure. An example of a profitable customer could possibly be between 25 and 40, has no prior claims, and has great credit. A driver who meets those qualifications will qualify for the lowest rates and most likely will save when they switch companies.
Consumers who fall outside this ideal profile will be charged a higher premium which leads to the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ads state “customers that switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save money. That is how companies can advertise the way they do. That is why you should compare as many rates as you can. Because you never know which company will give you the biggest savings.
Better coverage you can count on
In this article, we presented some good ideas how to shop for car insurance online. The most important thing to understand is the more times you quote, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. You may be surprised to find that the biggest savings come from a small local company.
As you go through the steps to switch your coverage, don’t be tempted to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. In many instances, an accident victim reduced physical damage coverage only to regret that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your focus should be to find the BEST coverage at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.
Cost effective car insurance is available both online and with local Dallas insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both so you have a total pricing picture. Some companies do not offer the ability to get a quote online and usually these small insurance companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.
Additional car insurance links
Even more information is available at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Texas drivers can report car insurance fraud, find disaster information, and read state legal mandates and laws.
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