Tightwads Guide to Saving on Odessa Car Insurance

Tired of scraping the payment together each month for car insurance? You're in the same situation as most other car owners in Texas.

Because you have many choices, it can be hard to find the right company.

The purpose of this post is to instruct you on how to get online quotes. If you are paying for car insurance now, you should be able to lower your premiums substantially using these methods. But Texas car owners do need to know the methods companies use to sell insurance online and use this information to your advantage.

Odessa Rates are Influenced by These Factors

Consumers need to have an understanding of the rating factors that go into determining your car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively controls the rates you pay enables informed choices that could result in big savings.

Listed below are a few of the "ingredients" car insurance companies consider when setting premiums.

Don't sacrifice liability coverage - Liability insurance will protect you if you are found to be at fault for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. It will provide for a legal defense which can cost thousands of dollars. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap compared to physical damage coverage, so drivers should carry high limits.
Safer cars cost less to insure - Vehicles with good safety scores tend to have better insurance rates. Safe vehicles reduce injuries and fewer injuries translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims passed on to you as lower rates.
Tickets mean higher rates - Whether or not you get tickets has a big impact on rates. Careful drivers receive lower rates than bad drivers. Only having one ticket can boost insurance rates by twenty percent. Drivers with serious tickets like reckless driving, hit and run or driving under the influence are required to file a SR-22 with their state motor vehicle department in order to continue driving.
Credit scores impact car insurance rates - A driver's credit score is a large factor in your rate calculation. So if your credit rating is lower than you'd like, you could save money insuring your by improving your rating. Drivers who have excellent credit tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims as compared to drivers with poor credit.
One company can mean more discounts - Most car insurance companies will award you with lower prices to policyholders who carry more than one policy, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even though this discount sounds good, you may still want to comparison shop to ensure the best deal. You may still be able to find better rates by buying insurance from more than one company.
Are you male or female? - The statistics show women tend to be less risk to insure than men. That doesn't necessarily mean that men are worse drivers. They both tend to get into accidents in similar percentages, but the male of the species cause more damage. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations such as reckless driving. Teenage male drivers are several times more likely to be in an accident and are penalized with high car insurance rates.
Your occupation can affect rates - Did you know your job can affect your rates? Occupations such as lawyers, executives and stock brokers tend to have the highest rates attributed to stressful work requirements and lots of time spent at work. On the other hand, professions such as farmers, students and homemakers receive lower rates.

Save big with these discounts

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but you can get discounts that you may not even be aware of. Most are applied when you complete an application, but lesser-known reductions have to be asked about before they will apply.

Organization Discounts - Belonging to a professional or civic organization could trigger savings when buying car insurance.
Service Members Pay Less - Having a family member in the military could mean lower rates.
Early Signing - A few companies offer discounts for switching to them prior to your current policy expiration. This can save 10% or more.
Braking Control Discount - Vehicles equipped with ABS or steering control are safer to drive and earn discounts up to 10%.
55 and Retired - If you're over the age of 55, you may qualify for better car insurance rates.
Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Driving fewer miles can earn better rates on cars that stay parked.
No Accidents - Claim-free drivers can save substantially when compared with accident-prone drivers.
Employee of Federal Government - Employees or retirees of the government may qualify you for a discount depending on your company.
Auto/Home Discount - If you insure your home and vehicles with the same company you will save approximately 10% to 15%.
Air Bag Discount - Vehicles equipped with air bags can receive discounts of more than 20%.

Drivers should understand that many deductions do not apply to the entire cost. Most only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, companies wouldn't make money that way. But all discounts will help reduce your overall premium however.

To choose insurers offering car insurance discounts in Texas, click this link.

Car insurance ads bend the truth

Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly bombard you with ads on TV and radio. All the companies make the same claim that you'll save big if you switch to their company. But how can every company make the same claim?

All the different companies can use profiling for the driver that makes them money. For example, a profitable customer could be over the age of 40, has no tickets, and drives less than 10,000 miles a year. Any new insured who matches those parameters is entitled to the best price and most likely will save a lot of money.

Consumers who fall outside this ideal profile must pay higher rates which leads to business going elsewhere. Company advertisements say "people who switch" not "people who quote" save that much. That's why companies can advertise the way they do.

This illustrates why you should get as many comparisons as possible. It's just too difficult to predict the company that will provide you with the cheapest rates.

More Texas car insurance information

Much more information about car insurance in Texas can be found on the website for the Texas Department of Insurance through this link. Consumers can find out which companies have the most complaints, find disaster information, file complaints about a company, and find out industry alerts.

Other informative sites include this link for Texas car insurance quotes and this link which helps you find a Odessa agent.

Shop smart and save

Budget-conscious car insurance is available from both online companies and also from your neighborhood Odessa agents, and you need to comparison shop both to get a complete price analysis. Some car insurance companies may not provide online price quotes and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

You just learned many ideas to save on car insurance. The key thing to remember is the more rate comparisons you have, the better your chances of lowering your rates. You may even find the lowest premiums are with a company that doesn't do a lot of advertising. Some small companies may only write in your state and offer lower rates than their larger competitors like .