Tricks for Effectively Comparing San Antonio, TX Auto Insurance Rates

Sick and tired of trying to scrape together enough money to buy car insurance? You are in the same boat as the majority of other car owners in Texas. Many auto insurance companies compete for your business, and it can be difficult to compare rates to find the lowest cost out there.

If you are insured now or are just looking to switch companies, you can follow these tips to reduce the price you pay while maintaining coverages. Finding the best rates in San Antonio is not that difficult. Texas consumers just need to learn the best way to get comparison quotes online.

How to Compare San Antonio Auto Insurance Rates

All the larger auto insurance companies like GEICO, State Farm and Progressive give prices for coverage online. Getting quotes is pretty painless as you simply enter your required coverages as requested by the quote form. Behind the scenes, the system orders reports for credit and driving violations and returns pricing information. Being able to quote online helps simplify price comparisons, but the process of having to visit each company’s website and repetitively fill out multiple forms can be a bit tiresome and repetitive. But it’s very important to do this if you want to find the best price on auto insurance.

Isn’t there an easier way to compare rates?

An easier way to lower your rates uses one form that gets price quotes from many companies. It saves time, eliminates form submissions, and makes price shopping online much more efficient. After sending the form, it gets priced and you can choose any or none of the returned quotes. If you find a better price you simply finish the application and buy the new coverage. The whole process can be completed in less than 10 minutes and you will know how your current rates stack up.

If you want to compare rates now, click here to open in new window and begin entering your coverage information. To compare your current rates, we recommend you copy the insurance coverages just like they are on your policy. Using the same limits helps guarantee you will have comparison quotes based on the exact same insurance coverage.

Verify you’re getting all your discounts

Car insurance companies don’t always publicize all their discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we researched some of the best known and the more hidden savings tricks you should be using. If they aren’t giving you every credit you qualify for, you’re just leaving money on the table.

• Discount for Life Insurance – Some companies give a break if you buy a life insurance policy as well.
• Anti-theft Discount – Vehicles with anti-theft systems help deter theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
• Driver Safety – Taking part in a course teaching defensive driving skills can save you 5% or more if you qualify.
• Discounts for Safe Drivers – Insureds without accidents may receive a discount up to 45% less than drivers with accident claims.
• Fewer Miles Equal More Savings – Fewer annual miles can earn better rates on cars that stay parked.

It’s important to note that some of the credits will not apply to the entire cost. Most only reduce specific coverage prices like liability, collision or medical payments. So when it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, auto insurance companies aren’t that generous.

To see a list of insurers who offer auto insurance discounts in San Antonio, click here.

What about using a local agent?

Certain consumers would prefer to visit with an insurance agent and that is OK! Agents can answer important questions and help you file claims. The best thing about comparing rates online is the fact that you can find the best rates and still choose a local agent.

For easy comparison, once you complete this short form, your insurance data is instantly submitted to companies in San Antonio who will compete to get your business. You don’t have to leave your house since price quotes are sent immediately to your email address. How’s that for easy!

Deciding on an insurer should depend on more than just a low price. These are valid questions to ask:

• What insurance companies do they work with?
• Are you getting all the discounts the company offers?
• If they are an independent agency, which companies do they recommend?
• Will their companies depreciate repairs to your car based on the mileage?
• How much can you save by raising your physical damage deductibles?
• How are they compensated?
• Do you have coverage for a rental car if your vehicle is in the repair shop?
• Does the agency support the community they serve?

Types of insurance agents

When looking for a local agent, you must know there are a couple different types of agents from which to choose. Agencies in San Antonio can either be independent or captive. Both write coverage properly, but it’s worth learning how they differ because it can influence your agent selection.

Captive Insurance Agents

Captive agencies write business for a single company like Allstate, State Farm and Farmers Insurance. These agents are not able to place coverage with different providers so keep that in mind. These agents are usually quite knowledgeable in insurance sales which helps them compete with independent agents.

Shown below is a list of captive insurance agencies in San Antonio who can help you get price quotes.

Liberty Mutual Insurance – 15056 San Pedro Ave – San Antonio, TX 78232 – (210) 496-3611
State Farm Insurance – 2002 NW Military Hwy # 2 – San Antonio, TX 78213 – (210) 340-0215
Farmers Insurance Group – 24123 Boerne Stage Rd # 106 – San Antonio, TX 78255 – (210) 698-7790
Allstate Insurance – 8240 Culebra Rd – San Antonio, TX 78251 – (210) 681-4494
Farm Bureau Insurance – 2391 NE Loop 410 – San Antonio, TX 78217 – (210) 656-2200

Independent Agents (or Brokers)

These agents are not employed by any specific company but rather can write business with multiple insurance companies and potentially find a lower price. To move your coverage to a new company, the agent simply finds a different carrier and you don’t have to find a new agent. When comparison shopping, you should always get quotes from at a minimum one independent agency for maximum quote selection.

Below are San Antonio independent agents who can help you get price quote information.

Martinez-Oliveri Agency – 1918 Fredericksburg Rd – San Antonio, TX 78201 – (210) 731-9515
Fred Loya Insurance – 426 Old Us Highway 90 – San Antonio, TX 78237 – (210) 730-3344
All Indemnity Insurance Agency – 2113 Bandera Rd – San Antonio, TX 78228 – (210) 434-3136
John Teter Agency – 16410 Blanco Rd – San Antonio, TX 78232 – (210) 493-3082
Art Madden Insurance – 85 NE Loop 410 # 204 – San Antonio, TX 78216 – (210) 349-2632

To view a full list of San Antonio insurance agents, please view this page.

Once you have received answers to your satisfaction to your questions and a low price estimate, it’s possible that you found an insurance agency that is a good match to insure your vehicles.

What is the best insurance coverage?

When it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage, there is no one size fits all plan. Everyone’s needs are different so your insurance needs to address that. For instance, these questions may help highlight if your situation would benefit from professional advice.

• Can I pay claims out-of-pocket if I buy high deductibles?
• What are the best liability limits?
• Is borrowed equipment or tools covered if stolen or damaged?
• Are split liability limits better than a combined single limit?
• I have good health insurance, so how much medical payments coverage do I need?
• Do I have any recourse if my insurance company denies a claim?
• What can I do if my company denied a claim?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions but one or more may apply to you, you may need to chat with a licensed insurance agent. To find an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and you can get the answers you need.

Factors that affect insurance rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that come into play when calculating the price you pay for auto insurance. Understanding what determines base rates empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in lower auto insurance prices.

• Occupation reflects on rates – Careers like real estate brokers, executives and stock brokers are shown to have the highest rates in part from high stress levels and long work hours. On the other hand, occupations such as actors, students and retirees pay the least.
• Women pay lower rates – The statistics show that men are more aggressive behind the wheel. Now that doesn’t mean women are BETTER drivers than men. Women and men have accidents at a similar rate, but the male of the species tend to have more serious accidents. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations like reckless driving and DUI.
• Safer cars cost less to insure – Safer cars are cheaper to insure. Safer cars result in less severe injuries and any reduction in injury severity means lower claim amounts and thus lower rates.
• Lower rates come with age – Teen drivers in Texas are known to get distracted easily in a vehicle so they pay higher auto insurance rates. Mature drivers are more responsible, tend to file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel.
• High deductibles save money – Physical damage insurance, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, is used to repair damage to your car. Examples of covered claims would be a windshield shattered by a rock, damage from fire, or theft. Deductibles for physical damage are how much you are required to spend before a claim is paid by your company. The more expense you’re willing to pay, the less your auto insurance will be.
• More than one policy can earn a discount – Some insurance companies give discounts to policyholders who buy several policies from them, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even with this discount, you may still want to compare rates to verify if the discount is saving money.
• Little extras can really add up – There are a lot of extra bells and whistles that can waste your money on your auto insurance policy. Insurance for roadside assistance, accident forgiveness and membership fees may be wasting your money. They may seem good when talking to your agent, but your needs may have changed so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.

Is there truth in advertising?

Texas drivers constantly see and hear ads for the lowest price auto insurance from companies such as GEICO, State Farm and Progressive. They all make an identical promise of big savings after switching your policy.

But how can every company say the same thing? It’s all in the numbers.

All the different companies are able to cherry pick for the right customer they prefer to insure. For instance, a desirable insured could be over the age of 40, is a homeowner, and has a short commute. A propective insured who matches those parameters is entitled to the best price and most likely will pay quite a bit less when switching companies.

Potential insureds who don’t meet the “perfect” profile must pay more money and this can result in the driver buying from a lower-cost company. The ad wording is “customers that switch” not “everybody who quotes” save that much money. That’s why insurance companies can confidently state the savings. This illustrates why it is so important to get a wide range of price quotes. It’s impossible to know which auto insurance company will give you the biggest savings.

Final considerations

The cheapest auto insurance can be sourced both online in addition to many San Antonio insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both to get a complete price analysis. A few companies do not provide online price quotes and usually these smaller companies provide coverage only through local independent agents.

In this article, we covered many ways to shop for auto insurance online. It’s most important to understand that 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 rates come from a smaller regional carrier. Regional companies can often provide lower rates in certain areas than their larger competitors like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive.

More tips and info about auto insurance can be read at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Texas consumers can view a list of available companies, read consumer alerts, read industry bulletins, and find out which companies have the most complaints.

The following articles may also be useful.

• How to Find the Best Insurance Agent in San Antonio