When buying car insurance, you’ll have several decisions concerning rates, coverage, state requirements, and financial considerations. These tips can help everyone learn about car insurance requirements in Texas while providing recommendations for finding Texas car insurance quotes.

Texas Information

If you’re a resident of Texas and a driver, you should know Texas is an at-fault state. For drivers, this means if you’re at fault for causing any car accidents, you are the person who will be paying for the cost of injuries and damages.

To assure that these financial obligations are covered, people in Texas must carry liability car insurance or cover the expenses through other methods such as deposits filed with the comptroller or county judge. Drivers can also purchase a surety bond instead of liability insurance.

If you opt for the insurance route, you must have your identification card from the insurer to prove you’re carrying the required amounts of liability. The minimum insurance requirements for complying with Texas state laws are:

• $25,000-property damage
• $60,000-injuries per accident
• $30,000-injuries per person

Of course, these are only minimums, and it’s up to you if you wish to carry higher amounts of liability. In addition, depending upon your circumstances, you might want to have additional insurance such as:

• Comprehensive
• Collision
• Towing
• Uninsured drivers
• Underinsured drivers

Texas also has a program called TexasSure used by police for verifying insurance coverage.

The state also promotes a program called Drug and Alcohol Driving Awareness. This program encourages safe driving. In addition, insurance companies in Texas must offer drivers who complete a voluntary alcohol and drug awareness class a discount of five percent on car insurance premiums.

Texas also offers a unique program to drivers that cannot find a company to insure them. It’s called the Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association or TAIPA. You might look into this coverage if you’re having difficulty finding insurance.

What are Texas Car Insurance Quotes?

Texas car insurance quotes are insurance rates or estimates provided by insurance agents or websites. Of course, quotes can change depending on the accuracy of drivers’ information when they request the quote.

Understanding Car Insurance in Texas

New drivers and people considering insurance changes must understand car insurance terms when requesting quotes. Unfortunately, you will not receive the most accurate car insurance quotes if you are unfamiliar with insurance terms. In addition, if you don’t understand the legal jargon surrounding insurance, you might buy too much insurance or too little for the age of your vehicle, your driving history, and financial considerations.

You should either research car insurance terms online or contact a qualified insurance agent to talk about coverage requirements and provide you with a better understanding of insurance coverages.

Insurance Decisions

Before shopping for insurance and investigating car insurance quotes, research and think about each type of insurance that you need so that your selection includes adequate coverage. In addition, each driver may have different needs, so policies vary. Besides carrying the required liability, residents of Texas may want to consider these factors:

• Collision insurance is good coverage if you’re prone to car accidents that damage your car. In addition, collision pays for vehicle repairs if your truck, car, or van is damaged or totaled by other insured drivers.
• Shoppers should consider comprehensive insurance when requesting car insurance quotes. For example, if they live or work in the wrong area, their car will likely be stolen or vandalized. It also covers unusual circumstances like animal damage, shattered windshields, and natural disasters like hail storms, hurricanes, or tornadoes.
• Both collision insurance and comprehensive are required if you lease or obtain a car loan. Therefore, intelligent drivers always include these two when carrying a loan.
• It’s often not worth the extra cost of insuring older cars with full coverage. Make sure to know the car’s value before choosing coverage. When there is no bank loan on a vehicle, and it’s worth very little, you might reconsider collision or comprehensive.

Required Information for Texas Car Insurance Quotes

It’s much easier and quicker to fill out car insurance quotes if you make notes or gather the necessary information to fill out forms ahead of time.

• Locate your declarations page in your insurance packet. It shows each type of coverage you’re currently paying for, making it much easier to fill out forms if you’re not making any changes.
• You’ll need the Vehicle Identification Number or VIN for the car you’re insuring, the model, make, and year.
• Check your odometer reading in the car to determine a reasonable estimate for mileage to and from work.
• Gather notes about previous violations, tickets, and accidents. These should include who caused the accident, the dates and whether there were injuries.
• All forms require your gender, occupation, and name. In addition, you need to supply a list of all drivers’ license numbers for any drivers driving the vehicle.
• Note any security and safety features on the vehicle that may result in a discount. These include a Lojack, anti-theft systems, monitoring systems for tires, rearview cameras, anti-lock brakes, airbags, and automatic restraining devices.

Car Insurance Quotes and Considerations

Drivers researching quotes need to be aware that many insurance websites will provide fast quotes instantly, which is very helpful. However, some sites only take down your personal information. Then, you may receive a callback, or they email you with car insurance quotes. When applying for new car insurance quotes, you must enter identical information on each website. For instance, when you request car insurance quotes for underinsured motorists and comprehensive at one website, you request a quote for the very same coverage at all sites supplying car insurance quotes. Therefore, shopping around is the only way to compare rates properly.

If you receive good car insurance quotes from several companies, you should take down some notes for handy reference and further research. Please note their business name, contact number, and email address for each insurance company. Note applicable discounts you qualify for so you will remember them later. Research profitable companies with the Better Business Bureau and check company ratings to determine if they have a good reputation.

Online Car Insurance Quotes Versus a Live Agent

Thanks to Internet access, you have your choice of utilizing car insurance quotes online, by phone, or in-person from a live agent. Each method may have advantages or disadvantages. Online Texas car insurance quotes require you to fill out a simple form at your leisure whenever you have time. You’ll often get the rate information from online records much faster than you would from a busy insurance agent. On the other hand, some people may be intimidated by an agent and prefer receiving quotes from their computer.

Speaking with a natural person allows you the chance to ask questions and get answers. In addition, after talking to an agent, you may discover additional discounts not listed on a website. When researching car insurance quotes, take your time to fill out the forms correctly and get answers to questions. Always get at least three or more car insurance quotes to compare rates before making decisions. Look for companies that offer adequate coverage, reasonable rates, excellent customer service, and reliability.