A Guide To Auto Insurance In Texas (TX)

If you live in Texas, and you drive, then you are going to need Texas Auto Insurance. Finding good auto insurance can be as simple as doing some Internet searching, finding a good provider at the best rates, and then paying for it. But there are some factors that can dramatically affect what you'll pay when you buy Texas auto insurance online, and if you know what they are, you have a better chance of getting the best rates possible.

In this article I am going to explore in detail how to get cheap Texas Auto Insurance Quotes that really deliver value for money, how to check the financial rating of the top 25 auto insurance companies in Texas, and who in fact the biggest and best companies to deal with are for auto insurance in Texas, as well as looking at state minimum requirements and what you really need.

I am also going to delve deep in to the detail of what you can ACTUALLY expect to pay in terms of the average cost of auto insurance in Texas, with real figures from the Texas Department of Insurance for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (the largest Texas Auto Insurance Company) for different age groups, genders and credit histories so that you can see the difference that these can make to the final cost of your insurance.

Let's start by considering the basics of what constitutes the Texas Auto Insurance State Minimums for insuring your car in Texas.

Texas Auto Insurance State Minimums

In Texas you have to have a minimum amount of liability coverage that will cover the costs of repairing any other cars that you are involved in an accident with, and paying their medical expenses. At the moment the minimum statutory amounts for this in Texas are:

This basic coverage is commonly referred to as 30/60/25.

Texas Auto Insurance Quotes

It is important to note that these amounts are to cover the OTHER person and their car or property. Not yours. So if you were to only buy these minimum amounts you would end up being liable for any costs to repair your own car, and also any medical expenses that you might incur.

Because the costs of repairing (let alone replacing) an expensive car could easily exceed $25,000, and in the event of a serious crash $30,000 per person may end up being woefully inadequate to cover medical expenses; you could also end up getting sued for the difference by the other party.

With all of these factors weighing against it, getting the minimum amount of Auto Insurance Cover in Texas is certainly NOT recommended, and you should really be looking to get a more comprehensive policy that not only has more generous limits when it comes to insuring the other party in any accident; but which also covers you and your car for both damage and medical expenses.

Remember, if you only get the Texas Insurance Minimums you may be legally able to drive your vehicle, but you are very much playing Russian Roulette with your savings every time you drive, as one little accident could end up ruining you financially.

So, don’t put yourself in that position, get more comprehensive Texas Auto Insurance by shopping around for quotes to make sure that you get the best deal possible.

Let's now take a look at six key factors that you need to bear in mind with TX Auto Insurance Quotes in order to get the most affordable policy possible.

Six Factors to bear in mind to get Cheaper Texas Auto Insurance Quotes

Your age and gender

Your age as the driver is going to affect what you pay for Texas auto insurance. If you are under the age of 25, you'll pay more for insurance than older drivers will, and if you're under 25 and male, you'll pay the highest premiums of any demographic group. Although it may seem unfair, it's because young male drivers are a bigger risk than older drivers or women in general.

They have more accidents and take more risks. The good news is, as you get older, that risk drops away as long as you continue to drive safely.

If we look at two example auto insurance quotes provided by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company then we can immediately see at a glance the difference that age and gender makes in practice to the cost of your car insurance in Texas, all other factors being equal.

This is based on data from the figures that the top 25 auto insurance companies in Texas are legally obliged to submit to the Texas Department of Insurance.

I discuss the uses that you can put that data to more fully below, but here are some figures purely to show the impact that age and gender can have on any Texas Auto Insurance Quotes that you end up getting.

I have used State Farm Mutual as the example quote only because it is the largest auto insurance company in Texas (see figures below), and not based on any particular preference for the companies policies..

Living in Dallas
Zip Code - 75001
Single
Good Credit Rating
Coverage Limits - 30/60/25
Drives 2007 Toyota Camry
Drives To and From Work
No Driving Violations in the last 3-Years

So, given that all of those factors above were equal, let's look at how age and gender would have affected the State Farm Mutual Texas Auto Insurance Quote, based on official figures they provided to the Texas Department of Insurance, and checked in May 2011.

From these figures you can plainly see that young male drivers have the worst of it when it comes to the cost of their auto insurance. But that as they get past the age of 25 it becomes a much more level playing field.

In fact, for men the move from age 24 to 25 heralds a 2/3rds drop in the cost of their policy.

Below I go into much greater detail about how you can reduce the cost of your auto cover, starting with your driving record.

Your driving record

Your driving record is going to be a major factor in determining what you pay for Texas auto insurance. If you're a safe driver, and you avoid getting speeding tickets or other driving violations, you'll pay much less for insurance than drivers who are not as safe or take bigger risks do.

If you're a young driver, again, you'll pay more for premiums than older drivers will. But as long as you keep a safe driving record your renewal rates should continue to go down with age.

In fact, based on actual figures (see below), the drop in price is typically very dramatic by about 2/3rds of what you will pay for a policy when you are under 25.

The odd traffic ticket doesn't seem to make a tremendous amount of difference to what you will pay for your policy. But just one 'At Fault' driving incident on your record within the last three years can typically raise the cost of your premiums by between 15% and 20%, and so it is well worth trying to be just a little more careful when you drive, wherever possible.

Also bear in mind that auto insurance companies in Texas, as elsewhere, tend to calculate premiums based on a rolling 3 year driving record. So if you haven't had any problems for the last three years, even if you did previously, then you will find that your auto insurance premiums will generally decrease, all else being equal.

It's a simple fact that insurance companies charge less to insure cars that are "safe" and "stodgy".

"Hot" cars that are in demand or trendy get stolen or vandalized a lot more often, too. And clearly cars that are rated as safer tend to go wrong less often, cost less to fix when they do, and don't cost as much to mend even if they have been involved in a car accident.

To lower your insurance rates, choose a car with good safety features over a sporty model that's not as safe; there's less risk of theft, and you'll be rewarded for driving a safe car, too.

Of course, that is clearly NOT an option that most people will want to take. But it is well worth checking out the potential prices of different models of car BEFORE you buy them, because otherwise you could find that the cost of the Texas auto insurance quotes for a sports car or performance car might come as a shock.

At least if you have checked it out prior to purchase then you will have factored those costs into any calculations of whether or not you can afford it.

It is actually a good idea to check out the 'Top Safety Picks' from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety which carries out all manner of safety tests on different types of vehicles annually, and then produces a big long list of their top choices from a safety perspective.

Apart from simply being useful information to know, it is also important to realise that Texas Auto Insurance Companies also pay close attention to these type of official safety statistics (as well as carrying out their own tests); and the safer your car, the less you will end up having to pay in auto insurance premiums.

It is important to realise that all of the quotes on this page are based on driving a 2007 Toyota Camry, which is an extremely safe car, and has a good safety record. And so if you were to get quotes for an older car, a classic car, a sports car, or a car with a poor safety record then you can reasonably expect the insurance premiums to be significantly higher.

Here for example is a list of cars that Forbes Magazine Rated as the overall Safest Cars of 2011, based on the Insurance Institute Test data.

Whilst on the flip side, some vehicles that had safety problems in the same tests included:

Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute and Mercury Mariner - These three cars all did poorly in rollover tests

It is a good idea to have a look at the IIHS website before buying a new car. But it is also important to realise that ALL new cars are still much safer then cars that were made even 10 years ago.

So the older your car is, the higher you can expect auto insurance Texas wide to cost you.

Your location

Where you live in Texas can have a big impact on how much you pay for Texas auto insurance. If you live in the city, you'll pay more, because accidents are much more likely to happen in areas that are more congested, with many more drivers on the road.

And if you live in an area that's considered "dangerous," or one that has a high crime rate, you'll also pay more because your vehicle is more likely to be stolen or vandalized.

By choosing to live in a safe area that's also much more suburban or less congested, you'll pay less for auto insurance, too.

Of course often you won’t have as much immediate control over this factor as you might like, in order to lower your auto insurance premiums you would have to move after all! But if you are about to move, or are considering a move imminently, then it is well worth getting some comparative Texas auto insurance quotes for different areas that you are considering moving to, so that you can get a feel not only of how much your auto insurance premiums might be, but also to give a real world dimension to how safe or unsafe a particular zipcode area is perceived to be.

Rates between areas even within the same county in Texas can vary dramatically, and so don't be surprised if your auto insurance costs more than you expect.

"Bundling" with other insurance policies

If you've got homeowner's or renters insurance, or Texas life insurance you can often bundle that with your Texas auto insurance for cheaper rates overall. You should get auto insurance quotes from your current insurance provider to see whether or not that's going to be possible for you (it isn’t in all cases). But if it is you should still be sure to get some comparative Texas auto insurance quotes from other dedicated providers, so that you can be sure that you are in fact getting a good deal.

Some other Texas Auto Insurance Considerations...

Often times a bundled deal can lead to significant savings, but that is not always the case, and just as frequently you will find that changing your auto insurance policy frequently (even every year) and to a totally different company can also lead to greater savings than staying loyal to one particular provider.

Unfortunately, loyalty is not always rewarded when it comes to getting auto insurance in Texas, and many bonus deals and introductory rates are only offered to new customers.

Hence one great way to save money on your policy is simply to always be a new customer!

Again, this will depend on the deal you have found, and increasingly Auto Insurance Companies are becoming more in tune with the idea of customer retention, as the internet has lowered the barriers to switching policies to other companies with minimum fuss.

But don't automatically assume that you have the best deal, or that your TX Auto Insurance Company is being "loyal" to you. They probably aren', and are just as likely to hike up your second year's insurance rate as they are to drop it.

Be sure to get a wide variety of auto insurance Texas quotes to compare every year so that you can be re-assured that you have the best deal at any particular moment.

If you do find a better deal then be sure to first phone up your existing Texas Auto Insurance Company and suggest that they price match it. They may or may not be willing to do this, or may point out some reasons why they are a better choice.

If it doesn't, then you always have the option of switching to the new company that you got the cheaper Texas auto insurance quote from.

Texas Auto Insurance Price Comparison

There are all manner of Texas Auto Insurance Price Comparison websites that you can find for quotes for Auto Insurance online in Texas, but perhaps the most impartial place to first turn to get a comparative idea about the price of auto policies in Texas is on the Texas Department of Insurance's own website.

By law the largest 25 auto insurance companies in Texas have to submit a series of policy quotes for various scenarios to the Texas Department of Insurance every year, indicating what the likely premium for a policy would have been given various different sets of circumstances.

These are:

In other words, all of the same type of questions that you would be asked if you were genuinely filling out a Texas Auto Insurance quote form online.

One of the nice things about the Texas Insurance Departments auto insurance price comparison is that because the options are so specific, you end up feeling confident that the quotes would have been realistic. Though, it is worth noting that these are only sample auto quotes, and that they are based on only two types of vehicle, a Toyota Camry from 2007, and a Ford F150 truck also from 2007, so these quotes are only meant to be used for guidance. Not as the final word in the prices that you could actually get.

Nevertheless, it is very revealing and useful information. Texas is one of the few states who offer this facility in quite such a polished way, and the final results include not only sample auto insurance premiums for about 50 different companies on one page (more than the statutory 25 tend to provide the quotes, even though they don't have to by law), but also an AM Best Financial rating so that you can get a better idea of that company’s financial probity, a ratio of complaints and how that number has changed from the preceding year.

This really is fabulous information to help you to make an informed decision about your Texas Auto Insurance, rather than simply stabbing in the dark and ending up with a policy from the Texas Auto Insurance Company that has the slickest advertising.

The nice thing about checking with these is that the Texas Department of Insurance genuinely doesn’t have any axe to grind about which Texas Auto Insurance Company you should get cover through, because they are an independent body. It also offers a very useful feature to allow you to compare different policies so that you can get a brief idea about what the policy does and does not cover you for.

It isn't an exact science, and isn't the last word in where to buy your policy. But it is good information that is genuinely helpful for Texan consumers.

What Are Average Texas Auto Insurance Quotes?

If we return to the earlier quote example using State Farm Mutual data, then you can get a better idea about what a more comprehensive Texas auto insurance policy might cost, and also get a better idea about what some average Texas car insurance quotes might be.

In this section I am going to discuss a whole host of scenarios, so that you can get a feel for how your Texas Auto Insurance Premiums might change based on age, gender, credit rating and driving record.

I also discuss how the average prices for this cover goes up as you get more cover.

If for example, instead of using the state minimums of 30/60/25 you had got more comprehensive auto insurance (such as you would usually buy to feel safe that you were properly covered) then the quotes would go up, but perhaps not by as much as you might expect.

(State Farm Mutual Texas Auto Insurance Quote, based on official figures they provided to the Texas Department of Insurance, and checked in May 2011.)

Living in Dallas
Zip Code - 75001
Single
Good Credit Rating
Drives 2007 Toyota Camry
Drives To and From Work
No Driving Violations in the last 3-Years

Let's now increase the amount of cover and see what effect it has on the State Farm Mutual Texas Auto Insurance Quotes.

- $50,000 for each injured person
- Up to a total of $100,000 per accident
- $50,000 for property damage per accident

- $100,000 for each injured person
- Up to a total of $300,000 per accident
- $100,000 for property damage per accident

What is striking about these quotes is that the costs of getting far more coverage is actually rather small, and so unless money is extremely tight, you are generally better off getting a more comprehensive Texas Auto Insurance Policy, rather than skimping on the cover, because you won't actually be saving all that much money.

What these figures don't illustrate is the dramatic effect that having bad credit or driving violations can have on your insurance premiums.

For example, here are the 100/300/100 rates for the example scenario above, only with the driver now having bad credit (but no driving violations).

Here are the same 100/300/100 rates for the example scenario above, only with the driver now having bad credit AND 1 At-Fault Accident in the last three years on their record.

Male - Under 25 - $2670 ($1065 more than good credit and no accidents)
Female - Under 25 - $2083 ($840 more)

Male - Age 25 - 65 - $878 ($376 more)
Female - Age 25 - 65 - $878 ($376 more)

Male - Aged 66 and Older - $793 ($343 more)
Female - Aged 66 and Older - $793 ($343 more)

So protecting your credit rating is one good way of lowering your TX Auto Insurance Costs. As it is very clear from these figures (which remember are straight from State Farm Mutual themselves), that how good your credit rating is plays a massive part in how much you will end up paying for your Texas Auto Insurance.

Interestingly, whilst having 1 'At-Fault' Accident added massively to the cost of the premiums, just having one speeding ticket in the last three years made no difference at all to the cost.

So don't sweat it too much if you just have the one speeding ticket in the last three years, but more than that may start to add to your premiums.

Also, remember that different Texas Auto Insurance Companies handle their quotes in different ways, and so whilst State Farm Mutual may not add to the premiums for one speeding ticket, other companies may well do so.

There are typically three general levels when it comes to credit ratings and auto insurance, and the Texas Department of Insurance refers to them as "Good", "Average" and "Bad".

The middle ground that many people fall into though is the nebulous area of an 'Average' credit rating, which lies somewhere between good and bad.

A driver with no accidents or violations, but with only an average credit rating would pay the following for 100/300/100 cover in our example.

Male - Under 25 - $1870 ($265 more than good credit)
Female - Under 25 - $1449 ($206 more than good credit)

Male - Age 25 - 65 - $585 ($83 more)
Female - Age 25 - 65 - $585 ($83 more)

Male - Aged 66 and Older - $525 ($75 more)
Female - Aged 66 and Older - $525 ($75 more)

Again, remember that this is only for one company (State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company), and under a very specific set of circumstances. But hopefully it should serve to illustrate the point of how important your credit rating is, and also give you some idea of the average costs of auto insurance in Texas that you might expect to have to pay.

As always, you need to shop around and get a variety of different quotes as they really can differ quite dramatically between auto insurance companies in Texas. But all of them will be factoring your credit score into their calculations; no matter how cheap they are, so you can ALWAYS get lower quotes by improving your credit score (which I discuss below)

But based on these figures improving your credit rating (and doing nothing else) can make a massive difference to how much you end up paying for your auto insurance Texas wide.

To further hammer the point home, below I have kept ALL other details the same, APART from the credit rating, which I have changed, and it is quite eye-opening to see how much it changes the price that you would have had to pay for the policy.

Again, I have based this on 100/300/100 cover, as this is more common than the basic liability cover for most drivers in Texas and have kept the same basic scenario as before.

The actual amounts themselves are not the key thing here. Simply notice the big percentage changes in the cost of premiums as your credit score improves or declines.

Good Credit --> Bad Credit = 46.35% price increase
Bad Credit --> Good Credit = 31.67% price decrease

Good Credit --> Bad Credit = 46.41% price increase
Bad Credit --> Good Credit = 31.7% price decrease

Good Credit --> Bad Credit = 46.44% price increase
Bad Credit --> Good Credit = 31.71% price decrease

So you can see from these figures that improving your credit rating can save you considerable sums on the cost of your TX Auto Insurance, with savings of about a third if you move from a Bad Credit rating to a Good Rating, which is possible.

Let's now discuss how you can go about improving your credit rating, which is the first step to saving a big chunk of money on your automobile insurance.

As I hope I have illustrated this is actually a much bigger deal than most people realise when it comes to the final cost of your auto insurance.

I discussed above a whole series of actual facts and figures for Texas Auto Insurance Quotes that demonstrates that improving your credit rating can lower your auto insurance costs in Texas by about a third (and possibly much more depending on the company), and that this can equate to hundreds (possibly thousands) of dollars in saved premiums every year.

So it is worth taking steps to improve your credit rating if you want to get the best possible deal on your Texas Auto Insurance.

What many people don't realise is that because of the Fair Credit Reporting Act that each of the big credit reporting companies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) HAVE to provide you with a FREE credit report, if you request it, once every 12 months.

So it doesn't have to be an expensive endeavour to take the first steps to improving your credit rating.

Instead you should visit this US Government website and request your FREE credit report from those three companies.

Once you have done that, than be sure to read through them and check that everything is in order.

It is not uncommon to find errors in your credit report that, once fixed, can dramatically improve your credit score, and in the process reduce the cost of your TX Auto Insurance dramatically!

A Few Downsides to The Texas Auto Insurance Price Comparison Service

The Texas Auto Insurance Price Comparison service is not as well advertised as most services and not as well heard of. In reality it is more of a research tool than anything else, and considerable effort need to be put in to make a proper analysis of all the different permutations.

Hence the reason that I have presented many of my findings here, so that you don't have to spend hours poring over the figures.

Remember, you cannot actually get a Texas Auto Insurance Quote through the service directly. You do still have to track down the relevant companies to do that (if you put your zipcode in the box at the top of this page then you can instantly get free quotes from many of them).

But it is a good starting point to research your TX Car Insurance requirements in a more intelligent and less scattergun manner.

The other downside is that price is still only one consideration (though clearly a big one) in which auto insurance company you do decide to go for in the end, because you also have to consider other factors such as financial stability of the company, and also how quickly and easily they pay out on claims (they are all good at accepting money, but some are considerably worse at paying it out when you claim!) and the terms on which they pay out can differ markedly between companies.

The online Texas Auto Insurance Price Comparison site does help consumers to determine financial stability through the AM Best rating, but it does nothing to inform about actual, real life claim handling experiences. So you would still be well advised to look around on online forums for comments about companies that you are considering buying an auto policy with.

It is also a good idea to realise that this is only one make of car that specific statistics have been sought for, and that even slight variations in the car you drive or a blemish on your driving record can totally alter which companies offer the lowest price Texas auto insurance.

Also, importantly, the Texas Auto Insurance Price Comparison site does NOT ask how long you have had your licence. It simply asks for age. So if you are an older driver, but have only had a licence for a few years, then the statistics may be less reflective of what you might pay.

Additionally, remember that there are literally hundreds of Texas Auto Insurance Companies who sell auto insurance in Texas, but only the top 25 are legally obliged to submit sample rates (although in practice quite a few more do submit them voluntarily).

So, it is still far from the whole picture, but it can nevertheless be a useful addition to any research that you do before finally getting a TX auto insurance policy.

You can find it here if you want to carry out further studies beyond those I have done here:

https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/helpinspublic/Start.do?type=auto

The Top 40 Texas Auto Insurance Companies Based on Premiums Written

If you are looking to get a cheap Texas Auto Insurance Quote then it can be useful to know who the Big Guns’ are in the market, so that you can be sure to get quotes from them, or at least check out what they have to offer.

Accordingly, here is a list of the Top Forty Texas Auto Insurance Companies (based on premiums written in 2009).

It is interesting to note that the top 10 auto insurance companies in Texas have 60.23% of the market between them, and together have written $7.94 billion worth of auto insurance premiums in Texas in just one year!

So it is clear that the size of the TX auto insurance market is huge, and that the size of the TX auto insurance companies it is able to support are also huge.

In fact, each of the top forty companies wrote more than $50 million worth of auto premiums, which is a staggering amount.

Other Texas Auto Insurance Resources

Texas Department of Insurance

The first port of call if you want to look more closely into the legal minutiae of Car Insurance in Texas is the Texas Department of Insurance which has overall responsibility for the legislative aspects of overseeing how auto insurance in Texas is regulated. And you can also do a Texas Department of Insurance Agent Search on this site.

https://www.tdi.state.tx.us/insurance/index.html

List of Regulated Texas Auto Insurance Companies

This is a great page which has an updated list of Texas Car Insurance Companies who are authorized to sell auto insurance in Texas.

https://www.tdi.state.tx.us/webinfo/colists.html

Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association (TAIPA)

The Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association is a body that was set up by statute to ensure that all drivers in Texas are able to get at least the state minimum amount of liability cover so that they can drive legally.

https://www.taipa.org/

Texas Insurance Code

The legal and regulatory framework upon which insurance in Texas is built is governed by the Texas Insurance Code. You can read the Texas Insurance Code here:

https://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/?link=IN

A Final Note on Comparison Shopping via the Internet...

It is very easy these days to get Texas auto insurance quotes from a variety of companies so that you can get the best rates for your particular situation.

Every provider, for example, will charge more if you are a high-risk driver, young driver, etc., versus a safe or an older driver, as I have outlined in this guide. But you can still save a significant amount of money by comparison-shopping for Texas auto insurance rates online.

Shop carefully to get the best Texas auto insurance policy for you at the most reasonable rates possible, and remember that there is considerable competition in the auto insurance sector in Texas (as I have shown above), so there is no need to settle for anything less than a great deal!

You can take a look right now what is on offer by putting your Texas zipcode in the box at the top of this page.

Happy Hunting!

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A Guide to Auto Insurance in Texas (TX)

Let's start by considering the basics of what constitutes the Texas Auto Insurance State Minimums for insuring your car in Texas.

Some other Texas Auto Insurance Considerations...