Are you tired of not being able to afford to buy car insurance? Your situation is no different than many other Texas consumers.
Numerous insurers battle for your hard-earned dollar, so it’s not easy to compare every insurer and get the definite cheapest price
It’s a good habit to shop coverage around once or twice a year because insurance rates are adjusted regularly by insurance companies. Even if you think you had the best rates two years ago there is a good chance you can find better rates now. There is a lot of bad advice regarding car insurance on the web, but I’m going to show you the easiest ways to reduce your car insurance bill.
Vehicle Insurance Comparison
When shopping for car insurance there are multiple ways of comparing rate quotes and find the best price. The easiest way by far to find the lowest rates is to get quotes online. This is very easy and can be done in just a few minutes using one of these methods.
- The recommended way consumers can make multiple comparisons is to use a rate comparison form click here to open form in new window. This form keeps you from doing separate quotes for every car insurance company. One form submission gets you coverage quotes from many national carriers.
- A more difficult way to find lower rates requires a visit to each individual company website and complete a new quote form. For examples sake, we’ll pretend you want rates from Allstate, 21st Century and Farmers. To find out each rate you need to visit each site and enter your policy data, which is why most consumers use the first method.
To view a list of companies in Edinburg, click here.
It’s up to you how you get prices quotes, just ensure you are comparing exactly the same coverages and limits with each company. If you use different limits and deductibles on each one it’s impossible to determine the lowest rate in Edinburg. Having just a slight variation in coverages can mean a large discrepancy in price. It’s important to know that comparing more company’s prices will increase your chances of finding lower pricing.
Do you qualify for a discount?
Companies that sell car insurance don’t always publicize every discount in a way that’s easy to find, so we researched some of the more common and also the lesser-known car insurance savings.
- New Car Discount – Insuring a new car can be considerably cheaper because new vehicles have to meet stringent safety requirements.
- Military Discounts – Being on active duty in the military can result in better rates.
- Memberships – Participating in a qualifying organization may earn a discount when shopping for car insurance.
- Accident Forgiveness – A handful of insurance companies will forgive one accident before hitting you with a surcharge so long as you haven’t had any claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
- Anti-lock Brake System – Vehicles with anti-lock braking systems are safer to drive and will save you 10% or more.
- Early Switch Discount – Some insurance companies reward drivers for buying a policy before your current expiration date. It’s a savings of about 10%.
- Drivers Education – Require your teen driver to successfully complete driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
- Multiple Cars – Insuring all your vehicles on one policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
- Student in College – Kids in college who attend school more than 100 miles from home and do not have access to a covered vehicle can be insured at a reduced rate.
Keep in mind that some credits don’t apply to the entire cost. The majority will only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. Just because you may think it’s possible to get free car insurance, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
To see a list of insurance companies with discount car insurance rates in Edinburg, click this link.
Tips to Get Lower Edinburg Rates
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the rating factors that go into determining your car insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what impacts premium levels enables informed choices that may reward you with lower car insurance prices.
- Do you need the policy add-ons? – There are a lot of additional coverages that you can buy on your policy. Things like roadside assistance, towing coverage and membership fees are some examples. They may seem like a good idea initially, but your needs may have changed so remove them from your policy.
- Never allow your policy to lapse – Driving your car without having proper coverage is a misdemeanor and as a result your rates will increase for letting your insurance expire. Not only will you pay more, but not being able to provide proof of insurance may earn you a revoked license or a big fine.
- Sex matters – Statistics have proven that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. However, don’t assume that men are WORSE drivers than women. They both tend to get into accidents in similar percentages, but the males cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. They also receive more costly citations such as DWI and reckless driving.
- Increase deductibles and save – Your deductibles define the amount you are willing to pay before your car insurance pays a claim. Physical damage insurance, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, insures against damage to your car. Some examples of claims that would be covered are running into the backend of another car, collision with an animal, and windstorm damage. The more the insured has to pay upfront, the bigger discount you will receive.
Quote often and quote early
We just covered some good ideas how to compare car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more times you quote, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. Consumers may even find the most savings is with a small local company. Some small companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost compared to the large companies like Progressive and GEICO.
Discount car insurance is possible both online in addition to many Edinburg insurance agents, and you need to price shop both so you have a total pricing picture. Some car insurance companies do not provide online price quotes and most of the time these small, regional companies sell through independent agents.
More tips and info about car insurance is located at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Consumers can read consumer alerts, get help finding coverage, and read industry bulletins.