Car Insurance in Pasadena, TX – 6 Tricks to Cut Costs

Having to pay for overpriced car insurance can empty your bank account, especially in this economy. Comparing price quotes is a great way to slash your bill and have more diposable income. With so many choices of insurance companies, it can be challenging to pick the lowest cost car insurance company.

This article will instruct you on how car insurance quotes work and some tips to save money. If you have car insurance now, you should be able to cut costs considerably using this strategy. Texas drivers just need to understand the tricks to get comparison rates online.

Discounts are great for lower rates

Car insurance can cost a lot, but companies offer discounts to help bring down the price. Some discounts apply automatically when you complete an application, but less common discounts must be requested specifically before you get the savings. If they aren’t giving you every credit you qualify for, you’re paying more than you need to.

• Club Memberships – Affiliation with a professional or civic organization is a good way to get lower rates when shopping for car insurance.
• Safety Course Discount – Completing a defensive driving course could save 5% or more and easily recoup the cost of the course.
• Paperwork-free – A few companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying a policy and signing up over the internet.
• Good Students Pay Less – Performing well in school can save 20 to 25%. The good student discount can last up to age 25.
• Student Driver Training – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to take driver’s ed class in high school.
• Low Mileage Discounts – Driving fewer miles can qualify you for a substantially lower rate.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discounts do not apply to your bottom line cost. A few only apply to individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when the math indicates all the discounts add up to a free policy, you won’t be that lucky. But all discounts will help reduce the amount you have to pay.

For a list of providers with discount car insurance rates in Texas, click this link.

How to Buy Pasadena Car Insurance Online

There are a variety of methods to shop for car insurance, and some are easier and takes less work. You can spend countless hours driving to insurance companies in Pasadena, or you could use the web to achieve your goal.

Many popular insurance companies are enrolled in a marketplace where prospective buyers complete one form, and every company returns a rated price determined by their information. This saves time by eliminating quote requests to every company. To find out how much you’re overpaying now click here (opens in new window).

The single downside to using this type of system is you are unable to specify which providers to get pricing from. If you wish to select specific insurance companies to compare, we put together a list of companies who write car insurance in Texas. Click to view list.

Whichever method you choose, compare identical coverage information on every quote. If you compare different values for each quote you can’t possibly determine the lowest rate in Pasadena.

Car insurance coverages and their meanings

Learning about specific coverages of your car insurance policy aids in choosing appropriate coverage and the correct deductibles and limits. Policy terminology can be confusing and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Listed below are the usual coverages found on the average car insurance policy.

Comprehensive auto coverage – This coverage covers damage from a wide range of events other than collision. A deductible will apply and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage pays for things such as damage from a tornado or hurricane, hitting a bird, theft and falling objects. The maximum payout you’ll receive from a claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Collision coverage – Collision insurance pays for damage to your vehicle resulting from colliding with another car or object. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision can pay for things such as crashing into a building, crashing into a ditch, damaging your car on a curb and sustaining damage from a pot hole. This coverage can be expensive, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. It’s also possible to bump up the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Liability – Liability insurance can cover damage or injury you incur to people or other property that is your fault. It protects YOU against claims from other people, and does not provide coverage for damage sustained by your vehicle in an accident.

Coverage consists of three different limits, per person bodily injury, per accident bodily injury, and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have limits of 100/300/100 which means a $100,000 limit per person for injuries, a per accident bodily injury limit of $300,000, and property damage coverage for $100,000. Some companies may use a combined limit that pays claims from the same limit with no separate limits for injury or property damage.

Liability coverage pays for claims like legal defense fees, attorney fees, pain and suffering, medical services and court costs. How much liability coverage do you need? That is up to you, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase higher limits if possible. Texas requires drivers to carry at least 30,000/60,000/25,000 but you should think about purchasing more coverage.

Medical payments and PIP coverage – Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance kick in for short-term medical expenses for things like nursing services, ambulance fees and funeral costs. They can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance plan or if you are not covered by health insurance. Medical payments and PIP cover all vehicle occupants and also covers any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP coverage is not available in all states and may carry a deductible

UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage – Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage provides protection from other drivers when they either have no liability insurance or not enough. This coverage pays for hospital bills for your injuries and also any damage incurred to your vehicle.

Since many Texas drivers carry very low liability coverage limits (which is 30/60/25), their liability coverage can quickly be exhausted. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is very important. Usually these limits do not exceed the liability coverage limits.

Compare but don’t skimp

When buying insurance coverage, it’s not a good idea to reduce needed coverages to save money. There are many occasions where an insured cut full coverage only to regret that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your aim should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage for the lowest price while not skimping on critical coverages.

The cheapest car insurance can be sourced online in addition to many Pasadena insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to have the best selection. Some insurance companies do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these small, regional companies sell through independent agents.