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When shopping for auto insurance in Texas, it is important to compare the car insurance rates through as many auto insurers as possible. Comparison shopping is the most effective way to save money on your auto insurance without being forced to reduce your coverage limits or sell your expensive vehicle.

Every auto insurance company charges their own unique rates, and finding a company that is priced to attract drivers in your age range, rating class and experience classification is key.

Read on, and learn what you need to know about the insurance industry in Texas, as well as what factors can affect your personalized rates. Be sure to use the FREE search tool above to get started!

Understanding How Rates Are Approved and Set in Texas

Before you can start your mission to find the lowest cost Texas car insurance rates, you need to understand how the insurance industry works. The insurance industry is regulated by the Texas Department of Insurance, who is part of the national regulation system overseen by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

While the NAIC is responsible for setting the national standards, the TDI is responsible for participating in the standard setting initiatives and overseeing all producers licensed to sell auto insurance in Texas. Part of state-based regulation is reviewing rate filings to ensure that consumers are protected.

All Texas car insurance companies must file their rates for approval with the department and explain why the rate filings are justified. Once the rate filings are reviewed and approved, the company may begin charging the new rate set based on each driver's profile.

Every company sets their own unique rates by using their own rating system that is designed to attract a specific market that is represented in Texas.

How to Quickly Compare Sample Rates in Texas

The most effective way to compare Texas car insurance rates is to request quotes through all of the insurers servicing your area. If you do not have the time or the information that you need to answer application questions, you can check the sample rates through actual companies licensed in Texas.

The Texas Department of Insurance has a sample rate system where you can see if an insurer has a rating system that benefits you.

Before you begin shopping, you can complete your driver profile with the TDI and get sample rates from 25 insurers so that you can see which companies have the best rates based on your age, zip code, usage and driving record.

This system uses the sample rates for a 2013 Toyota Camry or a 2013 Ford F150 truck rather than using your actual vehicle information. This is a quick way to do a price comparison with the top auto insurers licensed in Texas before you are ready to buy insurance.

What Factors Will Affect Your Personal Texas Car Insurance Rates?

Once you are in a position where you can begin pricing the cost of your insurance, you should understand how various rating factors will affect your rates. Your driver profile, your vehicle, and the coverage that you select will all play a role in how much you will pay for coverage with each insurer.

Here are some of the most common factors used out of dozens of small details and factors that are used to determine personalized rates.

Driving Record

Your driving record can dramatically affect your auto insurance rates in Texas. Many people wonder why moving violations and driving behaviors can affect rates when the convictions do not cost the insurer money, but aggressive driving and failing to obey traffic laws is a sign that the driver is more likely to get into an accident in the future.

Poor driving behaviors, like speeding or driving under the influence, are statistically proven to lead to serious and fatal accidents. In fact, speeding was involved in at least 20.6% of all fatal accidents last year alone. This is why convictions will lead to rate surcharges for a period of 3 years.

The idea is that once the surcharge period has ended, the behavior should be modified and less risk will be present.

Age and Gender

Age and gender may be two personal rating factors that you cannot change, but they are important to insurers. The accident statistics show actuaries in the insurance industry that younger drivers are much less defensive behind the wheel.

The statistics also show that males, especially males in a younger age group, have more accidents than females in their age group. This is why inexperienced operators under the age of 25 pay higher rates than experienced drivers.

To offset the high rates for young drivers, many insurers in Texas offer Good Student Discounts for responsible full-time students and Driver Training discounts if young drivers take an approved voluntary course. As you age and reach retirement, you may also notice a rise in your rates.

This is because the statistics show that drivers 65 and older were responsible for 17 percent of accident fatalities in 2012 alone. To offset this rise, you can take what is referred to as a Mature Driver course for a 3-year credit.

Years of Driving Experience

Age and years of driving experience are two very different factors. While age and years of experience may work hand-in-hand, not all people who are 25 have been licensed since they were 16 years. This is why your insurance agent will ask you when you were issued a license for the first time.

You should inform your agent of your driving experience in Texas, in other states and even internationally. This will qualify you for additional experience credits if Texas was not the state where you initially earned your driving privilege.

You may also be asked to provide a driving abstract to show that you had a clean record elsewhere.

Vehicle Classification and Safety Record

Insurers must consider several different details surrounding the vehicle that you are insuring to reasonably set Texas car insurance rates. Contrary to popular belief, the color or value of your car does not affect your rates. The only time value is considered is when you purchase a classic vehicle or a luxury car where you want to insurer it for the appraisal value under a special plan.

Instead of using the value of a car, the insurer will use the vehicle's classification and safety record to set rates. The safer the vehicle, the less damage sustained in an accident and the less likely there will be injuries in that accident.

A vehicle's crashworthiness, structural design, size, weight, restraint systems and safety features will all be considered when rating the car. If a vehicle is driven by an age group that is more likely to get into accidents, there is a chance that that detail can affect the class as well.

Vehicle Usage

How do you drive your vehicle? Do you commute to and from work, or do you work from home? Do you drive your teen to school, or do they take the bus. The answers to these questions can affect your Texas car insurance rates.

People who drive for pleasure, which means only to run errands or for recreational purposes, pay the lowest rates. This is because pleasure drivers drive under less stressful conditions. If you commute to school or work, you will pay commute rates.

The highest rates are for business drivers who drive to several different locations for business purposes because they pose the biggest exposure to the insurer.

Annual Mileage of Each Vehicle

How often you are on the road can also affect your rates. If you drive to your office that is only 5 miles away, you are much less likely to get into an accident than you would be if you were commuting to Dallas to Fort Worth.

You must consider how many miles you drive on a weekly basis to estimate your annual mileage.

If your estimations are low because you have a short commute or no commute at all, you are less of a risk to the insurance company. This is why people in low annual mileage rating bands pay lower rates than those who drive the average and those who drive more than average.

If you do not drive as much as the average resident of Texas, be sure to note your odometer so that you can receive a low mileage credit.

Many people compare their auto insurance rates with other family members who live in Texas, but this is not wise. Not only do personal factors, vehicle classifications and usage affect your rates, so does your zip code and the coverage that you purchase.

You cannot reasonable compare your rates by reviewing someone else's declarations page. You must take the time to retrieve a quote for yourself to see if one company charges better rates than another.

Use an online rate comparison tool, such as the FREE one below, and enter your personal information once, and access all of the rates of the top-rated Texas auto insurers.

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