Have you fallen victim to high-priced auto insurance? Trust us when we tell you you’re not the only one.
Popular companies such as State Farm, Progressive and GEICO persitently shower you with TV and radio ads and it can be hard to ignore the promise of big savings and find the best price available.
It is always a good idea to shop coverage around once or twice a year because rates tend to go up over time. Just because you found the lowest price on Legacy insurance on your last policy you can probably find a better price now. There is too much inaccurate information about auto insurance online, so by reading this article, you’re going to learn some tested techniques to find cheap auto insurance.
Lesser-known factors impacting Subaru Legacy insurance rates
Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that come into play when calculating auto insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates helps enable you to make changes that will entitle you to much lower annual insurance costs.
The list below includes a few of the “ingredients” that factor into prices.
- High performance equals high price – The performance level of the car you own makes a big difference in how high your rates are. The lowest base rates are for low performance passenger cars, but other factors influence the final cost greatly. Since the Subaru Legacy is a sedan, insuring your vehicle will cost about the same compared to average rates.
- Your location affects your rates – Choosing to live in less populated areas can save you money when insuring your vehicles. Fewer people means reduced accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft. Drivers in populated Texas areas regularly have traffic congestion and much longer commute distances. Higher commute times means more change of being in an accident.
- Safer occupants lowers premiums – Vehicles with high crash test scores get lower rates. The safest vehicles result in less severe injuries and fewer injuries translates into savings for insurance companies passed on to you as lower rates. If your Subaru has ratings of a minimum four stars on Safercar.gov or an “acceptable” rating on iihs.org you may qualify for a discount.
- Rates may be higher depending on your occupation – Careers like doctors, executives and dentists tend to have the highest average rates in part from high stress and lengthy work days. Other occupations such as actors, historians and the unemployed receive lower rates on Legacy insurance.
- Males pay more for insurance – Statistics show that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. However, don’t assume that men are worse drivers. They both have accidents in similar percentages, but men cause more damage and cost insurance companies more money. Men also get more serious tickets such as DWI and reckless driving.
- Extra add-on coverages are wasting money – There are many extra coverages that can waste your money on your Legacy policy. Insurance for rental car reimbursement, accident forgiveness and motor club memberships are some examples. They may seem good when talking to your agent, but if you don’t need them eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
- Having a spouse can save you money – Being married helps lower the price on your policy. Marriage usually means you are more mature and it’s proven that being married results in fewer claims.
- Claim-free discounts can add up – Car insurance companies in Texas award cheaper rates to insureds who are claim-free. If you file claims often, you can pretty much guarantee either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Car insurance is intended to be relied upon for the large, substantial claims.
Compare Auto Insurance Today
Most companies like GEICO, State Farm and Progressive give insurance quotes on the web. This process doesn’t take much effort as you just type in as requested by the quote form. Behind the scenes, their system collects your credit score and driving record and returns pricing information. Online price quotes helps simplify price comparisons, but the work required to visit many different websites and fill out multiple forms is not the best way to spend an afternoon. But it’s very important to do this in order to get the best price possible.
The quickest way to find cheaper rates requires only one form that obtains quotes from several companies at one time. The form is fast, eliminates form submissions, and makes online price comparison much more efficient. After sending your information, it is rated with multiple companies and you can pick any of the pricing results.
If you find a better price you can simply submit the application and buy the policy. The entire process can be completed in a matter of minutes and may result in a nice savings.
If you want to compare rates now, click here to open in a new tab and fill out the form. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you duplicate exactly as shown on your declarations page. Doing this assures you will have a fair comparison based on identical coverages.
Cut your premium with discounts
Insurance can be prohibitively expensive, but discounts can save money and there are some available to cut the cost considerably. Some discounts apply automatically when you get a quote, but a few must be inquired about prior to receiving the credit.
- Accident Forgiveness – Certain companies will allow you to have one accident before your rates go up if you are claim-free for a particular time prior to the accident.
- Service Members Pay Less – Being on active duty in the military could mean lower rates.
- Paperless Signup – Some insurance companies give back up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up digitally online.
- Air Bag Discount – Cars that have air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can receive discounts up to 30%.
- Anti-lock Brake Discount – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles can reduce accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
- Multiple Vehicles – Buying insurance for multiple vehicles on one policy could earn a price break for each car.
- Homeowners Pay Less – Being a homeowner can help you save on auto insurance because maintaining a house requires personal responsibility.
Drivers should understand that most discounts do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Some only apply to specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. Just because you may think you could get a free auto insurance policy, auto insurance companies aren’t that generous. Any qualifying discounts will cut your overall premium however.
Buying auto insurance from a local agent
Certain consumers prefer to get advice from a local agent and that is a personal choice. One of the best bonuses of getting online price quotes is you can get the best rates but still work with a licensed agent. And supporting small agencies is important particularly in smaller rural communities.
For easy comparison, once you complete this simple form, the quote information is sent to agents in your area who will give you bids for your business. There is no reason to even leave your home since price quotes are sent directly to your email. How cool is that?! It’s the lowest rates and an insurance agent to talk to.
Multiple types of auto insurance agents in Texas
When looking for a good insurance agency, you need to know there are two types of insurance agents from which to choose. Texas agents can either be independent or captive.
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Independent agents do not work for one specific company so they have the ability to put coverage with multiple insurance companies and possibly get better coverage at lower prices. If you are not satisfied with one company, the agent simply finds a different carrier and that require little work on your part.
When shopping rates, we recommend you contact at least one independent agent to ensure the widest selection of prices.
Agency Captives
Captive agencies are contracted to one company such as Farmers Insurance or State Farm. They generally cannot compare other company’s rates so always compare other rates. They are very knowledgeable on their products and sales techniques which can be an advantage.
To view a complete directory of insurance agents in Texas, visit this page.
Selecting a car insurance agent shouldn’t rely on just the bottom line cost. Here are some questions to ask:
- What insurance company do they write the most business with?
- What insurance companies do they work with?
- Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?
- How long has their agency been open?
- Do they receive special compensation for putting your coverage with one company over another?
After receiving satisfactory answers to all your questions and a low price estimate, you may have just found an auto insurance agent that is a good match to provide auto insurance coverage.
But I don’t know anything about car insurance
When it comes to choosing proper insurance coverage, there isn’t really a “perfect” insurance plan. Your needs are not the same as everyone else’s so your insurance needs to address that. For instance, these questions may help highlight if your insurance needs could use an agent’s help.
- Do I have any recourse if my insurance company denies a claim?
- Do I need added coverage for expensive stereo equipment?
- Do I get a pro-rated refund if I cancel my policy early?
- Do I have coverage when making deliveries for my home business?
- Are rental cars covered under my policy?
- Is business property covered if stolen from my car?
- Should I buy more coverage than the required Texas minimum liability coverage?
- Do I need special endorsements for business use of my vehicle?
If you’re not sure about those questions, you may need to chat with an agent. If you don’t have a local agent, complete this form or click here for a list of auto insurance companies in your area.
More information can be read on the website for the Texas Department of Insurance through this link. Visitors are able to get help finding coverage, read consumer alerts, find a variety of consumer forms, and discover disciplinary actions.
Other informative sites include this Car Insurance FAQ and Travelers car insurance basics.
Smart consumers save more
Throughout this article, we presented a lot of tips how to get a better price on Subaru Legacy insurance. The key concept to understand is the more companies you get rates for, the better chance you’ll have of finding lower rates. You may be surprised to find that the lowest priced auto insurance comes from some of the smallest insurance companies. Smaller companies can often insure niche markets at a lower cost than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate, GEICO and Progressive.
Cheaper Subaru Legacy insurance is possible both online in addition to many Texas insurance agents, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some insurance providers do not provide the ability to get a quote online and usually these small, regional companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.