8 Tricks Proven to Save on Auto Insurance Costs in Mcallen

Expensive auto insurance can drain your bank account and make it hard to pay other bills. Comparison shopping is free, only takes a few minutes, and is a good way to slash your bill and have more diposable income. Since consumers have many insurance companies to choose from, it can be hard to pick the lowest cost company.

It’s a good idea to compare prices on a regular basis since insurance rates fluctuate regularly. Even if you got the lowest rates a couple years back you may be paying too much now. There is a lot of bad advice regarding auto insurance online but with this article, you’re going to get some guaranteed methods to slash your auto insurance rates.

Compare Mcallen Auto Insurance Costs

Reducing your insurance rates isn’t really that difficult. Consumers just need to invest a little time to get quotes provided by online insurance companies. This can be accomplished in a couple of different ways.

  1. The easiest and least time consuming way to get quotes for comparison is an all-inclusive rate comparison click to view form in new window. This form prevents you from having to do a different quote for each company you want a rate for. Taking the time to complete one form will return quotes from all major companies.
  2. A slightly less efficient method to find lower rates requires you to visit each individual company website to complete a price quote. For example, we’ll pretend you want rates from Progressive, Allstate and State Farm. To get each rate you have to spend time on each company’s site to enter your coverage information, which is why the first method is quicker.

    To view a list of companies in Mcallen, click here.

Which method you use is up to you, but double check that you are using exactly the same deductibles and coverage limits for every quote you compare. If you compare different values for each quote you will not be able to decipher which rate is best in Mcallen.

Discounts are basically free money

Companies offering auto insurance do not advertise every discount in a way that’s easy to find, so here is a list both the well known as well as the least known auto insurance savings. If you aren’t receiving every discount you deserve, you’re just leaving money on the table.

  • Anti-lock Brake System – Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control can avoid accidents and will save you 10% or more.
  • Payment Method – By paying your policy upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save 5% or more.
  • Sign Early and Save – Some insurance companies reward drivers for switching to them before your current expiration date. It can save you around 10%.
  • Seat Belts Save – Drivers who require all occupants to wear their seat belts could cut 10% or more off your PIP or medical payments premium.
  • Safe Drivers – Drivers who don’t get into accidents can pay as much as 50% less than drivers with accidents.
  • Auto/Life Discount – Some companies give a break if you buy life insurance.
  • Fewer Miles Equal More Savings – Driving fewer miles could be rewarded with better rates on cars that stay parked.
  • Defensive Driver – Successfully completing a driver safety course could save 5% or more if you qualify.

It’s important to understand that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire cost. Some only reduce individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. So when it seems like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, you’re out of luck.

For a list of insurance companies with discount auto insurance rates in Texas, follow this link.

Auto insurance coverage breakdown

Learning about specific coverages of your auto insurance policy helps when choosing appropriate coverage and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be impossible to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Shown next are the usual coverages available from auto insurance companies.

Collision coverage – This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. A deductible applies then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision coverage pays for claims like backing into a parked car, rolling your car, driving through your garage door, sustaining damage from a pot hole and damaging your car on a curb. Paying for collision coverage can be pricey, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. Another option is to increase the deductible to get cheaper collision coverage.

Coverage for liability – This coverage provides protection from damage that occurs to other’s property or people. It protects YOU against claims from other people, and does not provide coverage for damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

Liability coverage has three limits: per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. Your policy might show values of 50/100/50 that means you have a $50,000 limit per person for injuries, a limit of $100,000 in injury protection per accident, and $50,000 of coverage for damaged propery.

Liability coverage protects against things like funeral expenses, court costs, structural damage and medical expenses. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but you should buy higher limits if possible. Texas requires minimum liability limits of 30,000/60,000/25,000 but you should consider buying better liability coverage.

Comprehensive coverage (or Other than Collision) – This pays for damage from a wide range of events other than collision. A deductible will apply then your comprehensive coverage will pay.

Comprehensive can pay for things like vandalism, hitting a bird, damage from a tornado or hurricane, a broken windshield and falling objects. The maximum payout a auto insurance company will pay at claim time is the actual cash value, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Insurance for medical payments – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance reimburse you for expenses like ambulance fees, funeral costs and pain medications. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you lack health insurance entirely. They cover you and your occupants and will also cover any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not an option in every state but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist insurance – This coverage protects you and your vehicle from other motorists when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered losses include hospital bills for your injuries as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Since many Texas drivers have only the minimum liability required by law (Texas limits are 30/60/25), their limits can quickly be used up. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family.

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Do the work, save more money

When trying to cut insurance costs, it’s a bad idea to skimp on critical coverages to save a buck or two. There have been many situations where an insured cut full coverage and learned later that they should have had better coverage. Your aim should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at a price you can afford.

Budget-conscious auto insurance can be sourced online and also from your neighborhood Mcallen agents, and you need to price shop both in order to have the best chance of saving money. Some insurance companies may not provide online quoting and these small insurance companies work with independent agents.

Additional detailed information is located at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Texas consumers can learn about insurance regulations, find out industry alerts, read consumer alerts, and discover disciplinary actions.

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