Tightwads Tips for Saving on Gonzales Car Insurance

Did you fall for a flashy sales pitch and buy an underperforming, overpriced car insurance policy? Trust us, many consumers are feeling buyer's remorse and feel like there's no way out. Drivers have so many to buy insurance from, and even though it's nice to be able to choose, too many choices makes it more difficult to compare rates.

It's important to compare prices at least once a year due to the fact that insurance rates are constantly changing. Just because you had the lowest rates a year ago there is a good chance you can find better rates now. Starting right now, block out anything you think you know about car insurance because I'm going to teach you the tricks you need to know to find lower rates on car insurance.

Choosing the best insurance company for you in Gonzales is easy if you know what you're doing. If you have car insurance now, you will be able to lower your premiums substantially using these techniques. Texas vehicle owners just need to know the proper way to find the lowest price online.

How to Lower your Car Insurance Rates

Consumers need to have an understanding of the factors that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. Knowing what controls the rates you pay empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with lower car insurance prices.

Listed below are a few of the "ingredients" used by your company to calculate rates.

Are you male or female? - Statistics demonstrate that women are safer drivers than men. That doesn't necessarily mean that women are BETTER drivers than men. Women and men cause accidents in similar percentages, but the males cause more damage. They also get more serious tickets like DUI and reckless driving. Teenage male drivers are several times more likely to be in an accident and are penalized with high car insurance rates.
Extra coverages can waste money - There are many extra coverages that you can buy when buying car insurance. Coverages for personal injury protection, towing coverage and additional equipment coverage are some examples. They may seem like a good idea at first, but now you might not need them so eliminate them to save money.
Bad driving skills means higher rates - Your driving citation history has a lot to do with how much you pay for insurance. Drivers who don't get tickets receive lower rates than bad drivers. Even a single ticket can bump up the cost forty percent or more. Drivers who have serious citations like DUI or reckless driving may need to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) to the state department of motor vehicles in order to continue driving.
Teen drivers pay high rates - Youthful drivers in Texas are statistically proven to be more careless when behind the wheel so they pay higher car insurance rates. Older insureds are viewed as being more responsible, tend to file fewer claims and tend to be better behind the wheel.
Adjust deductibles and save - Coverage for physical damage, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, is used to repair damage to your car. A few examples of covered claims would be colliding with a building, damage caused by hail, and burglary. The deductibles are how much you are willing to pay if you file a covered claim. The higher the amount you have to pay, the less your car insurance will be.
Safer cars cost less to insure - Cars with high safety ratings get lower rates. These vehicles protect occupants better and any reduction in injury severity means lower claim amounts and thus lower rates.
Don't sacrifice liability coverage - Liability insurance provides coverage if ever you are found liable for personal injury or accident damage. Liability insurance provides for a legal defense starting from day one. This coverage is very inexpensive compared to physical damage coverage, so do not skimp.

How to Compare Gonzales Car Insurance Costs

There are multiple methods to compare car insurance prices but one way is less labor-intensive and much quicker. You can spend your afternoon talking to insurance companies in Gonzales, or you can utilize the internet to quickly compare rates.

Most of the larger companies belong to a marketplace that enables customers to submit one quote, and each participating company then gives them pricing for coverage. This prevents consumers from doing form submissions to each individual car insurance company. To submit your quote information now, click here to open in new window.

The only drawback to doing it this way is you cannot specify which providers to receive prices from. So if you want to select specific providers to compare rates, we have a page of low cost car insurance companies in Texas. Click here for list of insurance companies in Texas.

Whichever method you choose, compare identical coverages and limits for each price quote. If you use different deductibles it will be next to impossible to truly determine the lowest rate in Gonzales.

Don't pay full price with these discounts

Companies offering auto insurance don't necessarily list all their discounts very clearly, so we break down both the well known and the more hidden discounts you could be receiving. If you're not getting every credit possible, you are paying more than you should be.

Senior Citizens - If you're over the age of 55, you may qualify for a small decrease in premiums.
Defensive Driver - Completing a defensive driving course could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
Discount for Good Grades - This discount can get you a discount of up to 25%. This discount can apply until age 25.
College Student - Youth drivers who attend school more than 100 miles from home and do not have a car may be able to be covered for less.
Multi-car Discount - Having more than one vehicle with the same company could earn a price break for each car.
Drive Less and Save - Driving fewer miles can earn a substantially lower rate.
Organization Discounts - Being a member of a qualifying organization may earn a discount on car insurance.
Lower Rates for Military - Being deployed with a military unit could mean lower rates.
Federal Government Employee - Employees or retirees of the government can save as much as 8% with select insurance companies.
No Charge for an Accident - Certain companies permit an accident before hitting you with a surcharge as long as you don't have any claims prior to the accident.

Drivers should understand that some credits don't apply the the whole policy. Most only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies wouldn't make money that way.

To choose companies offering car insurance discounts in Texas, click here.

The car insurance bait and switch

Consumers in Texas can't ignore all the ads that promise big savings from the likes of Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm. They all seem to have a common claim that you'll save big if you switch your coverage to them.

How does each company claim to save you money?

All companies are able to cherry pick for the type of customer that makes them money. For example, a desirable insured might be between 25 and 40, has no tickets, and has excellent credit. Any driver that hits that "sweet spot" is entitled to the best price and therefore will save when switching.

Drivers who don't measure up to these standards will have to pay higher premiums and this can result in the customer not buying. Company advertisements say "people who switch" not "everyone that quotes" save that much money. That's the way companies can make those claims. Because of the profiling, you need to get a wide range of price quotes. You cannot predict which car insurance company will have the lowest rates.

More detailed Texas car insurance information can be found at the Texas Department of Insurance website. Visitors are able to learn about insurance regulations, discover disciplinary actions, file complaints about a company, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.

A tidy conclusion

While you're price shopping online, it's very important that you do not reduce coverage to reduce premium. There are many occasions where an insured dropped uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret they didn't purchase enough coverage. Your aim should be to buy enough coverage at an affordable rate.

Budget-conscious car insurance is available both online as well as from independent agents in Gonzales, so you should compare both to have the best chance of lowering rates. Some companies don't offer online price quotes and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

We just presented a lot of ways to compare car insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more times you quote, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may even discover the most savings is with a company that doesn't do a lot of advertising. These smaller insurers may only write in your state and offer lower rates as compared to the big name companies such as .