7 Proven Ways to Cut Your Auto Insurance Premium in Killeen, Texas
Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an overpriced auto insurance policy? Believe me when I say you are not the only one feeling buyer’s remorse.
Multiple auto insurance companies compete for your hard-earned dollar, and because of this it can be hard to compare car insurance companies to discover the definitive lowest cost out there.
Consumers should take time to check auto insurance prices before your policy renews because rates trend upward over time. Even if you got the best deal last year you can probably find a lower rate today. You can find a lot of misleading information regarding auto insurance online, so I’m going to show you some proven techniques to find cheap auto insurance.
If you are paying for car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to lower your premiums substantially using these methods. Choosing the best insurance company for you in Killeen is not that difficult. Nevertheless, Texas vehicle owners must learn how the larger insurance companies sell online and take advantage of how the system works.
Take advantage of discounts
The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but you may find discounts that you may not know about. Some trigger automatically when you complete an application, but a few need to be manually applied before being credited.
- Life Insurance Discount – Companies who offer life insurance give a break if you buy auto and life insurance together.
- Memberships – Belonging to a qualifying organization may earn a discount on your policy.
- Defensive Driver – Successfully completing a course in driver safety could possibly earn you a 5% discount if you qualify.
- Discount for New Cars – Adding a new car to your policy can be considerably cheaper compared to insuring an older model.
- Seat Belts Save – Drivers who require all occupants to buckle their seat belts could cut 10% or more off the personal injury premium cost.
- Paperless Signup – A handful of insurance companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks simply for signing digitally online.
It’s important to note that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the overall cost of the policy. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like comprehensive or collision. Just because it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce the amount you have to pay.
For a list of insurance companies offering auto insurance discounts in Texas, follow this link.
Comprehensive Killeen Auto Insurance Comparison Quotes
When shopping for auto insurance there are multiple ways to get quotes from local in Killeenauto insurance companies. The easiest way by far to find competitive insurance rates is to use the internet to compare rates. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in a couple of different ways.
- The fastest way to find the lowest comparison rates is an all-inclusive rate comparison click here to open form in new window. This method saves time by eliminating separate quotes for each company. In just a few minutes this one form will return price quotes from auto insurance companies with the best prices.
- A different way to analyze rates is to manually visit the website for each individual company and complete a new quote form. For sake of this example, let’s assume you want rates from Progressive, Farmers and Liberty Mutual. To get rate quotes you would need to spend time on each company’s site to input your insurance information, and that’s why the first method is more popular. For a handy list of car insurance company links in Killeen, click here.
- The most time-consuming way of comparing rate quotes is driving to insurance agents’ offices. The ability to buy insurance online can eliminate the need for a local agent unless you have a need for the trained guidance of a licensed agent. Drivers can obtain prices from the web and still use a local agent and we’ll cover that in a bit.
However you get your quotes, make sure you use exactly the same deductibles and coverage limits on every quote. If you have mixed coverages then you won’t be able to decipher which rate is best in Killeen. Slightly different insurance coverages may result in a large different in cost. And when quoting auto insurance, remember that comparing a large number of companies helps locate the best offered rates.
Buy Cheaper Auto Insurance with These Tips
An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that help determine the price you pay for auto insurance. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that could result in big savings.
The following are some of the factors used by your company to calculate premiums.
- Rate your vehicle for proper use – Driving more miles in a year’s time the higher your rate. Almost all companies charge to insure your cars based upon how you use the vehicle. Cars not used for work or commuting receive lower rates compared to those used for work or business. Ask your agent if your auto insurance coverage shows the proper vehicle usage, because improper ratings can cost you money.
- Too many auto insurance claims drive up costs – Companies in Texas award lower rates to people who file claims infrequently. If you are a frequent claim filer, you can look forward to either policy cancellation or increased premiums. Auto insurance is intended to be relied upon for the large, substantial claims.
- Extra add-on coverages are wasting money – There are a ton of extra coverages that you can buy when buying auto insurance. Insurance for vanishing deductibles, towing coverage and additional equipment coverage may be costing you every month. They may seem like a good idea when talking to your agent, but now you might not need them so eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
- Type of vehicle determines base rates – The performance of the vehicle you own makes a substantial difference in the rate you pay. The most favorable rates are generally reserved for lower performance four cylinder passenger cars, but other factors influence the final cost greatly.
- Safer cars are cheaper to insure – Cars with high safety ratings are cheaper to insure. Safe vehicles result in less severe injuries and any reduction in injury severity means lower claim amounts and more competitive rates for policyholders.
What happened to insurance agents?
Some consumers would rather talk to a local agent and that is a personal choice. The biggest benefit of comparing rates online is that you can obtain lower rates but also keep your business local. And supporting small agencies is definitely important in Killeen.
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this short form, your insurance coverage information is transmitted to participating agents in Killeen who will compete for your business. You never need to leave your computer as quotes are delivered straight to your inbox. Now that’s easy! You can find the lowest rates and work with a local agent.
If you wish to view a list of agents in Killeen to contact, visit this site.
Deciding on an insurance company should depend on more than just the bottom line cost. Some important questions to ask are:
- Are claim adjusters local or do you have to take your car somewhere else?
- Can glass repairs be made at your home?
- Do they have advanced training designations such as CPCU, AAI, AIC, or CIC?
- Are they properly licensed to sell insurance in Texas?
- If they are an independent agency, which companies do they recommend?
- Does the agency support the community they serve?
- Is vehicle mileage a factor when determining depreciation for repairs?
Once you have answers to your satisfaction and a good coverage price, you’ve probably found an provider that will properly insure your vehicles.
Don’t believe everything you hear
Companies like Progressive, Allstate and GEICO continually stream television and radio advertisements. All the ads have a common claim about savings after switching your policy. How can each company claim to save you money? It’s all in the numbers.
All companies have a certain “appetite” for the type of customer that earns them a profit. For instance, a driver they prefer could be over the age of 40, is a homeowner, and chooses high deductibles. Any new insured who matches those parameters gets the lowest rates and as a result will probably save a lot of money.
Consumers who fall outside this ideal profile must pay higher rates and this can result in the driver buying from a lower-cost company. Company advertisements say “drivers who switch” but not “drivers who get quotes” save that much money. That is how companies can advertise the way they do.
This illustrates why it’s extremely important to get a wide range of price quotes. Because you never know which auto insurance company will provide you with the cheapest rates.
One last thing
Lower-priced auto insurance is definitely available on the web in addition to many Killeen insurance agents, and you should be comparing both in order to have the best chance of saving money. A few companies do not provide the ability to get a quote online and many times these small, regional companies only sell through independent insurance agents.
When shopping online for auto insurance, it’s a bad idea to skimp on coverage in order to save money. In too many instances, an accident victim reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits and discovered at claim time they didn’t purchase enough coverage. Your aim should be to purchase plenty of coverage at an affordable rate while still protecting your assets.
More information can be found on the website for the Texas Department of Insurance located here. Texas consumers can view agent and company licensing information, get help finding coverage, learn about insurance regulations, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.
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